Wandering Aimlessly

I had written a good portion of an entry with TONS of pictures, and somehow it went *POOF*! Gone. I'm... pretty sad about that. So, we start over!

I have been pretty terrible about using this blog in the last couple months. I'm going to blame it on the fact that I have been trying to fit too many awesome things into too little time, while still giving my all to work and wedding planning. I'm going to do a series of posts backdating to end of May.

BE COOL

Some time in May, my home air conditioner died. Thankfully, Mother Nature was kind and the handful of AC-less weeks were cool and pleasant, but I live in Southern California in a valley, and I know what temperatures tend to hover around as the summer really gets into swing. Not having AC is not an option. I spent the last couple of weeks of May getting estimates and quotes, ranging in price over a span of about $8,000. I ended up going with the middle quote, which was much closer to the lowest than the highest. The first weekend in June, my shiny new air conditioner was installed.

FAMILY TIME

The same weekend as the AC installation, my entire family came out to California. It was the first time all four five of us were on the West Coast in years ever, including Steve, and it was pretty awesome!

Steve's parents also came down from Fresno so that our families could meet for the first time... before the wedding.

That Saturday, Gen threw me an amazing wedding shower at the clubhouse here at our complex. We made big floppy hats, and everyone had to add some kind of decoration to mine. It was FABULOUS.

(More shower pictures behind the cut below)

At the same time as the shower, the men (Steve and our dads) had a Man Day down in Long Beach at the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary. We reconvened for a big family dinner at Versailles Cuban Restaurant. Yum!

WEDDED BLISS AND A BIT OF PREHISTORY

On Sunday, my dear friends Jenelle and Steven tied the knot. Since my family was in town, Steve and I weren't able to attend the reception, but we went to the beautiful wedding ceremony.

Steve had to go to a conference up near San Francisco for work, so after the wedding he headed out leaving just the A-clan. We headed down to the LaBrea tar pits for the afternoon.

(A few more behind the cut below)

Then we met cousin Phil for dinner in Santa Monica.

On Monday, I took the day off work and we spent the day shopping for Mother of the Bride dresses and bathing suits, and just spending time together as a family before Mom, Dad, and Jess headed home on Tuesday. *sniff*

All in all, an EXCELLENT weekend.