we were able to spend the new year at my sisters' houses in california! we marked our true adulthood by going to bed around 10:30 because we were simply too tired to stay up... maybe next year we will have a party or something... maybe.
we also forgot to bring our sparklers i had been saving so we had to just use giant, emergency matches...
while we were in california, parker got to experience the true leavitt family california experience which is almost completely centered around food. we ate juicy lucys (stuffed hamburgers), donuts from carlos's donuts (my FAVORITE donuts on this earth. and yeah, i've tried voodoo donuts. carlos's are better.) and kohnen's bakery sandwiches. we also had the opportunity to go to henry's café (which my brother-in-law calls ralph's for some reason...) for breakfast our last day there.
but along with all of this delicious food, we were able to do something REALLY neat this time around! my other brother-in-law recently got his pilot's license to fly small airplanes! and he was nice enough to give us a ride! it was our first time flying together and it really prepped me for our next flights... let's just say, i'll be carrying barf bags for those "just in case" moments for parker... landings just aren't that awesome for him... i, however, love everything about flying, so this will definitely be interesting!
this is the plane we rode in! most definitely the smallest plane either of us had ever been in, but it was super neat!
my brother-in-law was a great pilot! and it's been his dream to be able to fly airplanes, so it was really fun to watch him live his dream and even more fun for him to share that dream with us!
this is a cement factory thing.
and these are all solar panels. pretty cool, huh?
our quick spontaneous trip to california was SO much fun! but i think my most favorite part was waking up on new years day, and realizing that i only had to wait 14 more days until i get to marry parker!! i'm so excited to be able to share all of my new and upcoming adventures with him! for example: our first apartment with all of our gorgeous, new-to-us furniture!! *fist pumps ten hundred times*
p.s. i need to catch up on a few happenings in our life recently... such as christmas and bridal showers and such... but another day! one of my best friends is getting MARRIED today!! hint: her name starts wish sash and ends with an uhhhh sound. that's right, SASHA is getting married today!!! (well and taner too, but i don't think i have any pictures with both of them...)
p.p.s. i entered the MTC three years ago today. it surely does not feel like that long ago... but boy, oh, boy am i grateful for the blessings i've received from my mission!