the graduates

i've had the blessing and privilege to watch these two go from spunky little 10 year olds - (rachel, always eager with a hug and a snuggle; brad, always wanting to talk my ear off about a book, or a knife, or a gun) into incredible young adults (some things never change). and, as i prepare for the next chapter in my own life, i am so grateful to have been included in a few of theirs. technically, the twins (and their brother and sister) are my first cousins, once removed, but i claim them as nieces and nephews... which makes me one proud aunt!

There was also a really touching moment where two former students were finally able to receive their diplomas.  Brad makes an appearance at about 1:05.

the disney day

monday has always been the unofficial extension of the midsingles conference, during which attendees will spend the day at disneyland.  i've never participated before, and i wasn't originally planning on it.  but i was on the fence.  my local friends have told me that it's their favorite day because it gives them a chance to interact with people in smaller groups and for more than five minutes at a time. i had waffled on the decision, but on sunday, i pulled the trigger.

 earlier in the weekend, jamie had introduced me to travis, an old friend of hers whom she had known when she lived in philadephia.  our introduction was brief, and though he was also on the kayak trip, we didn't really interact (we were both paired off with other people).  i thought he was cute -- not my usual type -- but quiet cute.  i saw him at the aquarium, but again, we didn't really interact.  i knew he was planning on staying with us on sunday night since the rest of his group was leaving sunday, but i didn't think too much of it.

after i decided to take monday off and spend the day at disney, i thought we might carpool, but that we would probably meet up with the larger group and maybe go our separate ways, so i didn't think too much of it.

monday morning brought it's fair share of logistical challenges.  he had come in late on sunday night and had had trouble finding parking.  by monday morning, he didn't really know where he had parked.  so, we drove the neighborhood in search of his rental.  it took about 45 minutes, and we finally arrived at the park at about 9:30.  not bad.  except that when we got to the ticket booth, which comes after the tram ride and after the bag check line, it turned out he had left his id in the car.  so we went back.

it's fair to say that i was unimpressed, bordering on annoyed.  but i also wasn't in a huge rush and i've been trying to practice patience.  so, we eventually -- about 10:30 -- made it INSIDE the park.  and we were starving! we found the closest place with fast, but 'real', food, and sat down to enjoy.  things were starting to get better at this point.  after getting past the poor planning, it turns out, we got a long pretty well, pretty quickly.  in fact, it kind of felt like we'd been friends for a really long time.  it was easy and natural and fun, and it was turning out just fine that i was stuck with a stranger.

while we were eating, my friend jen texted that she had arrived.  we continued eating while we waited for her to join up with us.  i don't get to see jen very often, and she had been partially responsible for talking me into disney day, so i was looking forward to spending time with her.

adding a third definitely changed the dynamic. travis got real quiet real fast, but we hit our first ride - star tours (which apparently made both of them nauseous) before heading to the tomorrowland terrace for the second conference meet-up.  travis and i talked while jen ate, and we checked out the 'scene'.  there were about 20 others meeting up, but we decided that for the time being, we'd keep to our little group.

with stomachs a little more settled, we hit a couple of rides, and were then joined by jamie.  having a fourth balanced the group again and travis and i continued getting to know each other.

the rest of the day included meeting up and separating from other friends (old and new) who were also enjoying the day off.  the park was crowded for a random monday in may, but we still managed to accomplish a lot. space mountain broke down once for about 10 minutes while we were in line, and after we finished the ride, we were given front of line passes to go again.  splash mountain broke down while we were on it.  we were evacuated and given front of line passes for any ride in the park.  so a pretty eventful day!

jamie left before the last ride of the day (space mountain - the second time), so jen, jessi, travis, and i rode the beast one last time before calling it a night.

travis and i headed home, utterly exhausted.  despite the fact that he had a 5am flight, we stayed up for a little while talking before calling it a night.  it was so fun to meet someone who feels like an instant long term friend, and it was a great end to a great weekend!

the midsingles conference

the kayak crew

every year several hundred mormon midsingles (singles in roughly the 27-45 age range) converge on my former hometown of huntington beach for a weekend of activities, workshops, and mingling. and every year i look forward to it with dread.

i always feel like i should participate, particularly  since it's in my back yard, and people come (literally) from all over the world to attend.  but i've learned about myself that i don't do well in large groups, so it is an anxiety ridden 72 hours for me.  so much so that i've skipped out on it for the last couple of years.

this year, though, the schedule was much more appealing...i even begged off a work trip in order to attend.  maybe it's the sentimentality of knowing that it will probably be my last, or maybe it's just that it seemed organized in such a way as to create smaller (better) group interactions, but i found myself looking forward to it this year for the first time...ever.

the festivities started on friday, but as i was traveling home from a work event in houston, i missed day one.  i finally arrived home on friday night/saturday morning at about 1am after flight delays and local traffic jams, and i knew saturday morning would come way too fast.  in fact, i wasn't 100% committed to attending the morning workshops, but i would try.

when the alarm went off, i decided to get up, move around a bit,  and see how i felt.  i felt okay. not awesome.  definitely in need of more sleep.  but okay enough to suck it up and participate. so i did.  jamie and i headed to huntington, and though we were on time, we found seats near the middle of the cultural hall overflow.

clint and tara's kayak selfie

the first workshop speaker was probably fine, but i was so tired, and his voice so constant, that it was a struggle to stay awake. after he concluded, we moved up to cushier seats for the highlighted speaker, sister kristen oaks (wife of apostle dallin oaks).  she was much easier to stay awake for! she was charming and engaging and funny and self-deprecating -- a real pleasure to listen to.

when she concluded, we grabbed our bagged lunches, found our friends, and spent the lunch hour chatting and catching up.  i had decided that, since my travel makes it hard for me to participate in any normal choir,  i would also participate in the choir practice that would take place at the latter half of the lunch break, and would sing in the sunday meetings the following day.

the aquarium after dark

it was there that i met my new friend clint. he'd come from yuma, az and we were insta bffs for the day.  choir practice was rough on all of us as they had only about six copies of the music for 40 people, but we were promised there would be enough music at the sunday practice.

during this time i was debating about whether or not i was going to participate in the afternoon kayaking that i had signed up for.  i had actually registered for that before registering for the conference. i loved the idea of the smaller group, and an alternative to just laying around on the beach feeling judgy and self-conscious.  but i was TIRED! and, for a californian, it was a bit chilly.

again, and contrary to my nature, i decided to suck it up.  jami was asked to be our group leader so i was able to beg her not to be too hard on my tired body.:)  when we arrived and everyone started checking in, i discovered that my new bff, clint, was also in the group, and when we were told to pair off, he asked if we could be partners.

jenn, kristina, larysa, and i

we spent the next couple of hours getting to know each other and the others in our group, while enjoying what turned out to be a beautiful sunny afternoon, weaving in and around newport harbor.  despite my exhaustion, i was really glad i had decided to go through with it.

i was planning on getting in a power nap between kayaking and the evening activity, but the timing just didn't work.  so, i powered through.  the dinner/dance was being held at the long beach aqauarium (which i love!), so i knew that even if the social aspect was a bust, that i would really enjoy the setting.  and it truly was amazing.  being there as a private group, after hours, was very very cool.  and it also afforded the opportunity to spend some time with my girls, catch up with my friend ben, and reunite with clay, an old friend from virginia who now lives in northern california.

virgina is for lovers!
(ben, clay, and i)

finally, it was time to call it a night and to slip into the bliss that was my bed!

sunday morning, i headed out a little early for the second choir practice.  the numbers had grown, and lo and behold, eventually, there was sheet music.  i think we sounded pretty good. and...we had the best seats in the house.  the chapel, overflow, and cultural hall were completely full. even the stage had filled seats.  the estimate was about 1400 people -- all of whom i watched for the duration of the meetings.  the main speaker was elder acosta of the seventy, and i enjoyed his message.

after sacrament, it was boxed lunches, then a fireside with guest speaker bishop causse, first counselor in the presiding bishopric.  if you are lds, the name might be more familiar to you as he just spoke at general conference last month.

he was an absolute delight. his accent is not hard on the ears, and i really appreciated that he spoke on a topic that was not TOO 'singles focused' but certainly had a number of apropos applications.

his talk focused on the story of the laborers in the vineyard, and he referred to a talk previously given by elder holland.  it resonated strongly with me, and i particularly appreciated this quote:

However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.

all in all, it was a great way to close out what had turned out to be a great weekend!

the sunday-family-fun day

one of the things i have loved about living in southern california, is that, largely due to it's beaches and the little amusement park called disneyland, people are always coming to visit!  this week it was my cousin russ and his family, in town for some vacation time with mickey.  on sunday eve, i headed over to the 'local' cousins, where it had been determined that we were all going to do some evening sight seeing.

the plan was to swing by the newport beach temple, and then a stop at the beach.  the irony, is that it was a nearly identical repeat of my very first day living in california.  it was october, 2007, and my cousin-in-law, jenny had some of her own cousins visiting.  as a part of the intro to socal, we went to visit the newport beach temple and then to the beach in corona.  nearly eight years later, and just a couple of months before moving out of the state, sunday night had me feeling like i had come full circle - reflecting on my time here and how many amazing opportunities and blessings it has given me.

the spartan reunion

the farewell tour has begun.  which basically means that i am trying to make sure that i see all of my local friends before i move.  schedules being what they are, sometimes that's easier said than done.

take, for example the group of six of us broad run high school, class of '94 alum, all residing in the los angeles area.  i've had the opportunity to spend a little more time with brandon and michelle, than with bronwyn, andy, or kevin, but even with brandon and michelle, it had been a couple of years.

when i reached out to them about getting together, i had no plan, other than the intention to find a good date and put it on the calendar.  so as the date got closer, bronwyn reached out to me with some ideas about activities.  i honestly didn't care -- i just wanted to see them -- so i jumped at all of the ideas she and the others had batted around, and  a plan was laid.  but here's the truly amazing thing: i was not involved.   they figured out timing, locations, transportation, everything! i feel like 90% of my life is spent planning things for other people and this simple act, unbeknownst to them, was one of the greatest going away gifts they could have given me.

they had decided, that since i was the first person they had known with a selfie-stick, that we should pretend to be tourists in our own backyard.  we met at a speak-easy in culver city before piling into andy's suv, heading to la for dinner at the iconic cafe formosa.

after dinner, it was on to a couple of other stops; jim henson studios, capitol records, the roosevelt hotel, and grauman's chinese theater/walk of fame.

i've said it before, but there's just something awesome about being with people who have known you since you were a teenager. we laughed and caught up, and took photos, and laughed some more, all of us kicking ourselves that we hadn't taken more advantage of our close proximity over the last eight years.

and while i'm sad to say farewell, it looks like we'll be going out with a bang.  during our tourist travels, we happened to drive by the magic castle.  it's been on my bucket list since i arrived in cali, but you have to be a member, or be invoted by a member.  i thought i had combed my 'friend list' carefully to see whether i might know someone who knew someone, but had always come up dry.  so this night, as we were driving by the castle, i started to ask "does anyone know...? brandon immediately responded that he thought he had a connection.  and two days later, he confirmed via text.  we've set a date, and i'm equally excited to check this off the list as i am to see my friends one more time!