Bexleigh's First plane ride to Cali for Holly~

Hi readers :) I'm sorry... I've been very MIA lately. You see, I had every intention of composing this blog this past week, but somehow it got away from me.

My mom and I recently returned from our much needed getaway to California. We went out to help Holly, my bff from college, and her mom Suzie with the wedding planning and to attend her first bridal shower.

Our flight out was not too bad, a little long for my liking, but not bad. As soon as we landed and turned our phones back on, my text inbox was flooded with messages letting me know that Michael Jackson had just died. I was in shock. I couldn't believe that the man who inspired myself as well as millions of other dance and music artists was really gone, for good. What a sad day in history that was. On a happier note, I knew Holly & Suzie were on their way to pick us up!!! We were so excited and happy to see their faces! This was the start of our busy (but SOOO worth it) trip. On the way home we stopped at Cosi for lunch and had lots of time to fill each other in on our scoop! The Cosi waiter even delivered us a complimentary Smores dessert in honor of our beautiful bride to be! After lunch, we headed for home sweet home. The rest of the day was pretty low key. We hung around the house and Holly's bff from home came over to hang out for the evening. We played the "catch up" game with her and then started working on some of the bridal shower games for Holly's party. After finishing up those details, it was time for dinner...... taco night style! Suzie and my mom had prepared a delicious dinner of tacos, burritos, chimichangas...ok maybe not those, but you get the picture~ We had a very yummy dinner...so yummy that Bexleigh decided that she was now going to put on a show for us! For the very first time, I felt her kick. Like a real kick! I freaked out and had everyone come see if they could feel what I was feeling and they did!! Yeah! That was so unbelievably cool. I was just bummed because poor Brian was all the way back in Ohio and he missed his baby girl's first kick. I called him the next morning to fill him in and he couldn't believe he missed it :( I told him he would get his own little "Hi Daddy" kick when we get home.

The following day was meeting with the Wedding Planner and FLOWER POWER day. We all went to the wedding/reception site, and must I say it was absolutely perfect. It was such a beautiful site to marry the man of her dreams. Holly tied up some last minute details with her wedding planner and everything seemed to be pulling together quite nicely. Later that day we met with Holly's Auntie Peg, who was doing her floral arrangements for the Bridal shower and for her wedding. They picked out some really beautiful flowers and got everything needed for the shower decorations/centerpieces. The day was very successful and we returned home for pizza and cards.

Saturday was HAIR DAY! Holly found the most perfect person to do her updo for her wedding day. As soon as she introduced herself at the salon, we all knew she was going to be fabulous and be a "must have" on the vendor team. Holly had a very unique style that she was hoping to achieve, and this girl nailed it on the first try. Later that day, the person making her veil came over to see how the finished look would come together, and that, too, was a huge success. Everything was falling into place quite nicely. We ended HAIR DAY with a fun bbq at the house and also with getting things ready for the next day...SHOWER DAY!

SHOWER DAY was finally here!! The morning started off with Holly going to her makeup artists' house to get her "trial" done. She, too, was the most perfect addition to the vendor team. "Team Holly" was just getting better and better! Holly's makeup turned out so glamorous while still looking very clean and not over-done. The whole process was very cool to watch and now she was all done up for her shower! After makeup, we headed to the shower location to start getting things ready. We got all the food set up, presents in place, decorations set, and then....party time! Guests started arriving and we were asked to play a "mingling/getting to know everyone" game, which was super fun! Everyone had a blast celebrating with Holly and showered her with lots of gifts from her registry. It was a great day! The rest of the evening was pretty relaxing. We reminisced about the days events and looked at all the gifts again and ate many leftovers from the shower.

MUSIC DAY has arrived. We had a meeting with the DJ, but before we could get our minds right with that task, it was a MUST that we hit up IN-N-OUT!!! Mmmm it was just as good as I remembered and my Mom's first experience. Ok, belly's full... CHECK! Now off to the DJ we went for another successful meeting with another vendor. After that final appointment, we headed home to finally lay out in the pool, a task we had been attempting all week but seemed to keep forgetting to do! Holly's Matron of Honor/childhood BFF came over to hang with us and we had a very nice, relaxing time chatting and solving life's many problems! LOL Later that evening, for our final night in Cali, we decided to have CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) one last time. It's one of our most favorite places to eat! Y- to the U- to the M! After stuffing our faces and bellies, we headed home to pack up our things. It was time to head back home to reality- boo :(

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the Snooty Fox-a cute little diner. They had amazing breakfast and it was the perfect way to end a perfect trip. After breakfast, it was off to the airport. We got everything checked in and headed for our gate. I went to get some tasty treats for on the plane and on my way back I was thinking in my head, "Wouldn't that be random if I see someone I know?!?" Well... I look up and there's Mary & Megan O'Farrel just getting off a plane! Holy smokes- I haven't seen Megan in YEARS and have to go all the way to Cali to run into these fellow Ohioans ;) Very funny and loved seeing them both. We said our goodbyes to Holly and boarded our plane for the super long trip back to Ohio.

The flight back was below average. I had a family sitting behind me that apparently had no courtesy for other people and I CLEARLY have a low tolerance right now ;) This small child that sat behind me not only whaled and wined the entire flight, but would get disgruntled every 3 minutes or so and decide to use my seat back as his kicking bag. Lovely, how many more hours til landing Cap'n? Wow, I had the luckiest seat in the plane. It was time to serve our "meal" and I was very starving and annoyed by this point. They mentioned they were serving turkey sandwiches, which was a plus for me since that is one of the meats I will actually eat...until I saw the meat. It was brown turkey...like roast beef-looking turkey. Barf. So I ate my box of lettuce that they called a salad and my mini twix bar. Our second flight was not so bad, but the end of it was a little bumpy due to some weather conditions. I was so glad when we finally landed and it would soon be time to see Brian and my kitties- I missed them so much!

I can't believe the trip came and went so fast. We had an absolute blast and was so glad we were able to share this special time in Holly's life- she means the world to us! Holly's mom, Suzie, was by far the best host EVER and my mom and I always love being with her!

Best wishes for lots of love and happiness Boo & Matty Matt Matt! I love you guys!