A Much Needed Trip Back Home

Last night I got maybe an hour of sleep.

I was so frustrated that I got up and paced the kitchen... thinking maybe that would make me tired? 

I don't know. It sounded like a good plan at 3 a.m.

I was just starting to doze off when I heard Hunter's alarm go off.

you have got to be kidding me.

Somehow, I still got into work today right on time.

I had to use all my might not to show up in basketball shorts, slippers, and a t-shirt.

I still wore a not-so-t-shirt-ish t-shirt and sweats.

It took at least 15 minutes for two kids to show up.

It took at least and hour for only two more to show up.

And it then only took an hour more for my boss to tell me I could go home!

Hallelujah.

I figured this would be a good opportunity to catch up on our trip back home!

I must say, I love that we both have the same hometown.

I truly do not despise Utah. 

In fact, I kinda like it.

Because of that, Hunter and I decided we might actually be able to end up somewhere other than San Diego when we're older and have figured out where we want life to take us.

I mean, if we can have fun and make friends here, we could do that in say, South Carolina... right? (No we are not really thinking about living there, it just kinda came to my mind ha)

Welllll... then we drove into good 'ol San Marcos.

And, my heart felt full.

I could smell the ocean air, palm trees were right out my window, and of course... Jack in the Box!

San Diego is home.

It always will be, even if we do end up somewhere else for unknown reasons at this time. 

But for now, we are enjoying Utah and we are trying to make the most of our adventure in this home away from home :)

Here's some snaps from our visit with family.

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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A Belated Birthday Post

My father had a birthday on Saturday!

I still can't seem to grasp that I'm getting older, let alone my dad who has always been the playful, exciting dad that rides roller coasters, climbs mountains, and snowboards. 

I wrote in my dad's card that I don't think I will ever grow tired of bragging about how I have one of the coolest dads that ever existed. 

I know that every child feels this way, but don't burst my bubble because I really truly believe it :)

There is so much to love about my dad...

Like the fact that he will stay up all night watching the Discovery Channel because he has some strange fascination with animals hahaha. 

Or that he adores watching cooking shows and pretends he is Emeril when he does cook. Oh, and might I add that everything he creates is SO good!

He also seeks out an adventure. That is something I will cherish from my childhood and all of growing up. The cool vacations he took the whole family on are endless and the exciting places we were able to visit were all because he had a vision of having our entire family there with him. 

He is crazy about cycling. We went to Europe for a month twice during the month of July so that he could follow the Tour De France. Haha he was like a kid in a candy store watching all the bikes ride by.

He is a crazy hard worker. He started working at REI fresh out of high school when he was all on his own. He worked his way up in the company staying loyal and true the entire time. He is truly amazing.

I cherish my dad and the amazing relationship we have.

We have such a special bond that will never be replaced. 

He melts my heart when he calls me his little doll and walks me out to my car as I leave.

I have a mushy spot in my heart for him and I always will.

I'm a daddy's girl beyond belief and I love my dad more than I thought possible. 

Thank you dad for being the amazing man you are but even more importantly, thank you for being the best father this little girl could ever ask for :)

I forgot to bring my nice camera (which is so not normal I don't know what was wrong with me) so you are going to have to endure the iphone pics :)

Still keeping up with his daughters? haha

Don't worry, they don't just do this haha they were making fun of me :)

Side story... The oven decided to freak out on us and turn to broil instead of just baking the cake. Therefore it caught on fire and there was smoke everywhere. So, I created a different version of pineapple upside down cake haha.

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Lets go to the beach, each lets go get away.

We took a trip, to the wonderful world of Los Angelos. It was prom weekend, and my date is in Ohio serving a mission. It was a beautiful day. I had a wonderful time creating new memories with the beautiful Samantha Evans before she leaves me this summer for BYU.

Before detailing the wonderful day, I wanted to add that it was not only a wonderful Saturday, but an amazing weekend all together! As of Thursday May tenth I am officially done with high school English of every sort for the rest of my life! No more writing dreaded essays, reading pointless books in old English, or trying to interpret a poem to a degree I'm sure the poet never even intended while writing. That's right folks, I took the AP Literature exam from 8:00am-12:30pm on Thursday which marks the end of that class. Hallelujah!!! Now we watch movies and learn to Bollywood dance the rest of the semester. If you're thinking why even go anymore, I am as well. After the test Sam and I went to sushiya where we indulged in miso soup and spicy crunchy rolls. Yum! One of my favorite meals of all time :)Thank goodness I have Sam to appreciate good sushi with me. We had some time to kill so we went to Kohls and Wal Mart to look for new pillows for my new bedding. No luck, apparently nobody sells mint green, white, or light pink pillows. However we did find Aubrie Moore! All three of us went to goodwill where we found some great deals on home furnishings that only needed a little fixing. I'll post more about those when my new room is finished, but I got something I turned into an necklace hanger, a picture frame that holds 7 pictures, and a pink porcelain bowl I can use for my rings all for SIX DOLLARS! Thrifting is truly one of my favorite things to do. After school on Friday, Michelle, me, Audrey, Sam, Savannah, and Aubrie went to my high school's dance show. Our jazz team is nationally ranked sixth, so it was quite the show to say the least. The best part however, was driving home and screaming Long Live until our voices could have given out/the song ended. what a great way to begin the weekend.

Now on to Saturday! I woke up with excitement brewing inside as I thought about the adventure that lies ahead. I picked up Samantha at 9:00 am and we made our way to Santa Monica pier. We only hit a little bit of traffic and made it there in about 2 hours!

We walked up and down the pier where we found Pacific Park! Think where Lily Works in Hannah Montana! Yep, an entire amusement park on a pier! Awesome :) After exploring we decided to rent some beach cruisers for an hour of our time so we could ride down to Venice Beach and explore all the crazies over there haha. Mine was green and had a little basket. I love it so much. The wind blowing through my hair and hearing the waves crash against the shore line made for a perfect little ride.

When we made it to Venice beach we walked our bikes through the crowded street and observed all that was going on. I'm talking street performers, live bands, numerous shops, pizza slices the size of an entire pizza, oh and not to mention a freak show... Yep we saw a two headed turtle. I don't know what else to say about that nonsense.

After returning the cruisers, we walked back over to Pacific Park where we decided to ride the roller coaster! It most definitely isn't six flags material, but it was fun and so cool to be riding a coaster over the ocean! We giggled the entire time and were so giddy afterward.

Once we laid on the beach for a little while we made our way over to the famous Pink's hot dogs!it is a tiny little shack looking place with people always lined up to get their hands on these crazy dogs. The line is all part of the experience.

We decided on sharing so we could get the best of both dogs. One was called the Lord of the Rings dog complete with onion rings and barbecue sauce. The other one pretty much had everything but the kitchen sink on it. it was called the L.A. Philharmonic Conductor Gustavo Dudamel Dog. This Stretch hot dog had guacamole, American & Swiss cheese, fajita mix, jalapeno slices, and was topped with tortilla chips. Not to mention we had to get an order of fries. I would be lying if I told you even one bite was left. We literally ate it all!

After we felt like we were going to pop out of our clothes, we ventured over to Rodeo Drive where we window shopped and found our dream wedding dresses.

Once we walked around for some time we found ourselves at the Beverly Hills Sprinkles! Yep, I do have a Sprinkles way closer to me in La Jolla but this one has a Cupcake ATM! It's awesome! You use the screen to pick your cupcake, slide your card in, then the machine grabs it and delivers it to you like a vending machine. The cupcakes are fresh and the ATM is open 24 hours a day. I was very impressed. Not only that, but I got to see where the sprinkles ice cream shop is coming in! Too excited for that :)

After making it back to San Diego in a little under an hour and half (shh... I promise we were being safe) We ended the night in the jacuzzi at Sam's timeshare in Carlsbad. It was a splendid day and I am happy we were able to go on such a fun adventure.

Now I leave you with a quote that brightened my day.

"A successful woman is one who can build a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her."

All my love,

-Aleigh Joy

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