April Stuff

Well, April has been a long and eventful month - starting with our one year anniversary! Leo and I were very excited to celebrate and it was fun to think back to what we were doing one year before. Preparing, partying, rehearsing, etc. That night we went to dinner at Maggiano's (where we had our rehearsal dinner) and then came home for champagne and cake. Yes, the cake was awesome. I wrapped it several layers deep in plastic and foil - there was no way freezer burn was going to take that last huge piece from us!

That part of the month seems so long ago. Since then I went to Atlanta, GA for my Arbonne conference. I had never been and I wished I had more time there. I would have liked to enjoy the aquarium and centennial park. But it was still a good time. I got to see all those Arbonne girls I talk to all year long and lay eyes on only once a year. Mom went too and she enjoyed meeting everyone and seeing all those Arbonne "celebrities". And when you meet people who have gone through it all and made it to the levels of management that they are at (making LOTS of $ too!) they truly become celebs to us.

We had a fair amount of time to enjoy each other over meals and between training sessions. And we got to see some awesome new products (think Spa and Detox! Let's just say I look, feel and smell great!). As a treat we also got a special performance from Tim McGraw. No, Faith did not grace us with her presence but Tim was enough for me.

I was home after Atlanta for only a few days when we packed up again for California. Ed's Nephew Jeremiah got married in LA and we were there to represent the family. The wedding and reception took place at the Marriott. The Marriott rocks! In Atlanta we stayed at the Marriott Marquis and I was excited to sleep in their beds again. The hotel was beautiful. As was the bride. It was the first time we had met Jen (another!) and she was even nicer than everyone said. She is perfect for Jeremiah.

Tim and his Jen were already in LA when we arrived as they had just finished their week-long vacation. We met up with Mom and Ed and the rest of the Gleasons for the rehearsal dinner. The bride is Hawaiian and Japanese and her families culture was a great treat - we had the most amazing selection of seafood - fresh tuna, seafood salad, clams, shrimp, wow!

Saturday morning I woke before everyone else and got ready to pick up Greg & Danielle who were flying in from NY mid-morning. This was their 2nd attempt to get to LA as they missed the flight the night before. It was good for me though - I had the chance to be out on my own in LA again . . a place I used to know so well. It has definitely changed since I was there last. More buildings, more people, more traffic! I drove through the beach towns though - right passed where I used to live - and found a favorite place on the beach. It was a chilly morning but I enjoyed sitting in the rental car with the heat on (it was barely past the mid-50's!) and cracked open the window to hear the ocean waves while I read a book and waited to go to the airport. It was probably one of the best parts of the trip for me - a quiet moment to relax.

From then on, there was always something going on. Us kids went to Denny's for brunch then I got to share the beach towns with them. It was nice to relive it and make new memories of the place with my siblings.

We relaxed a bit before getting ready for the wedding. Time flew! We wanted more time to catch up - the time change kicked our butts. But it was time to party. The ceremony was beautiful outdoors and the sun was finally peeking through. The huge bridal party looked great - I loved the girls dresses. Flowing brown with gold pearl accents.

The reception was fun because it had a different flair from what I have seen so often. They included family introductions and a slideshow of the bride and groom from childhood on. The food was great and we partied as long as we could.

Sunday Tim and Jen had to leave for the airport early :(. But Leo, Greg & Danielle and I were ready for some tourist action. We packed up and took the drive up the 405 (on the west side of LA) to the Hollywood area. Packing up all our bags into the little rental car was hysterical. We kind of didn't think that part through. But we managed and made the trek to the hotel on Sunset Blvd to unload.

The hotel was funky. It was not a chain, which we were looking forward to for something unique. That is was. Over each bed was a giant close-up picture of a woman's body parts. Greg & Danielle got legs. We got boobs! The rest of the hotel was ok - nothing too crazy, just different. I was in a great location though. We walked to the Saddle Ranch for dinner that night. They had bull-riding but it wasn't going on - I might have been persuaded. They did have two guys playing guitar walking around taking requests and serenading us. It was kind of weird and cool at the same time. "Do I look at them or just keep eating?"

Before that we spent much of the day in the car driving around. We went passed another old address of mine, drove around Griffith Park (for what felt like forever - sorry guys! I forgot my way!) then finally to one of my favorite places - The Observatory. From here you can see the Hollywood sign and all of LA (at least as far as the smog will allow). It was yet another trek to get there and I had to circle a few times for parking but the view was worth it I think. We also took a drive downtown to check out the Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry. For those who don't know, he does some funky stuff and this building does not disappoint.

Monday we took our time getting up only to realize that maybe we should have planned better. We had plans to go to a taping of the Tonight Show and thought we would try to get into a tour of the Warner Brothers or NBC studios. We didn't ave much time for either so we enjoyed $2.50 margaritas (Margarita Monday!) at a local mexican place. It passed the time perfectly.

The Tonight Show was a lot of fun. It was exciting to be in a real studio with all those camera, lights and crew. We saw some animal guy (who Danielle had just met through work ironically), Norm McDonald and Ashlee Simpson. It was a good show - well worth the time you spend getting in line to get in. A highlight for sure.

Leo and I were then off to the airport. It was early but we figured we would try to get an early flight to Las Vegas as that daily route is common. Good thing we did since our original flight was cancelled so we were put on another, earlier flight anyway. What a relief. I was so hunger and tired I was practically kissing the Las Vegas ground when we got there hours before we were supposed to. Leo's dad and grandma were already there enjoying a few days of vacation and he had a van so he picked us up. We dumped our stuff and had a late dinner. We watched Leno on TV later to see if we could see ourselves(you would have too!). It was weird to see it again on TV hours later in another city.

Tuesday we met with Leo's poker friends - the first time meeting in person - for lunch. We wandered around a bit and met up with Greg & Danielle who took an afternoon flight to Vegas. We hung out around where a poker tournament was taking place an ran into our buddy Daniel Negreanu. Ok so maybe he didn't run over and say "hi guys!" But Leo said hi and I'm sure if he hadn't just lost a big hand he would have talked and reminisced!

The rest of this day and the others run into each other. I had a couple mornings of sun time by the pool, we went downtown to the old parts of town to gamble and entertain ourselves and we had one very late night out. Leo taught G & D craps and I got into some of that action too towards the end of the trip. I found a new slot game that was fun - I'm not much of a gambler but I can see why some people just love it. When you get lucky it's hard to stop!

One night we were getting tired of eating out so we had pizza delivered to the room. Cool huh? Pizza and beer for dinner hit the spot. This was the day that almost didn't exist - we were out late so we got up late then we were so tired we went to bed early. Man, we are getting old!

We met another of Leo's poker friends while there. He was super nice and even offered to bring up to the airport for our flight out since he had a car. That was really nice. What wasn't as nice was the wait for our flight home - delayed and long. But we made it. It was wonderful to come home to a clean house and our own bed!

Friday was a rough day and even Saturday we felt we were fighting the time zone again. But it was a great trip. I really enjoyed the time with family, sharing old places, and discovering new ones. I hope we can continue to do that as we get old and have families. Even if it means we go to bed earlier as the years pass!

And now we are back to the real world. We have both been busy making plans for the months ahead. We hope to get down to Wilmington to visit with Mommy Sharon & Stan and I am thinking about a solo trip to NY in June. I just can't stay away for long!