CALIFORNIA!

I had the opportunity to drive down to Ventura, CA with my parents to pick Stephen up from his mission. We had such a blast! One the way down we enjoyed the most beautiful drive through several Southern California cities. We were getting so excited for the family to be reunited the next morning. While Dad was driving, Mom read us parts of this amazing book called Outliers. If you are looking for a good read I highly recommend it. It will make you a better parent, and help you understand what it is that makes people extremely successful. It was fun for all of us to be reading and discussing the book as we drove together. We were driving into Ventura as the sun was setting.

The next day we woke up early so that all of us could get ready. Everyone was anxious and excited!

This is me after blow drying my hair, haha.

After all of us were ready, we jumped in the car and drove down to the mission office. Mom was starting to get really antsy, she couldn't sit still. She took a picture of me, then opened the door and stood outside the car stepping back and forth.

As she was standing outside of the car all of the sudden a truck drove into the parking lot and we hear, "Lee Ann Nelson! Mom!! Mom!!!" Stephen was hanging out the window as the truck continued driving through the parking lot. Then he made the Elder next to him hurry and jump out of the car. He ran across the parking lot yelling "Mom!" the whole way. They finally met and embraced. It was such a perfect moment. After Mom and Dad got hugs it was my turn.

It was fun to pick Stephen up because to tour his whole mission. The first stop was the Mission Office, we had to sign him out and meet President.

The family and President Murri.

Packing up the car!

After leaving the Mission Office and officially having responsibility of Stephen again, we went to Mimi's Cafe for brunch. It was so fun to sit around and eat. Everything was EXACTLY the same. We seriously picked off right where we had left off. It was so fun to have the four of us together laughing, and just enjoying each other. After brunch, we took a nap at the hotel. Then we were off to Simi Valley! Simi Valley has the Reagan Presidential Library. It was so fun to go tour it.

They have President Reagan's Air Force One there! Cool! I walked through it! haha.

President Reagan's grave.

After touring the library we got to go see Stephen's first mission apartment.

DAY 2 BAKERSFIELD, CA

Start the day off with breakfast buffet and a brother sister picture!

Stephen's first Bakersfield apartment.

He's showing us what he use to do for morning work out, haha. He's so strong!

This is the apartment complex where police officers used Stephen and the companion he trained as part of their stake-out. They were tracting when the officer approached them and told them that they needed a visual before they could arrest a drug dealer. They used the missionaries to knock on the door so they could get a visual!
When Stephen talked to him at his door he said, "Now is NOT a good time guys." Of course Stephen was thinking, "you have no idea."

After touring, we took Stephen's last companion, Elder Bobo, out to lunch with his new companion. At lunch it was SO fun to sit at the table with those three Elders and here them talking about the area. Stephen had only been gone for 2 days but they were talking as if he had already been gone a month! Stephen said, "a lot happens in 2 days when you are on a mission!" It was so fun to hear them.

After a few hours we left Bakersfield and went back to Simi Valley to visit some families. We took the coolest road that was so beautiful through a mountain pass. California is pretty in so many different ways. It was fun to talk to families and hear amazing conversion stories. It was cool to get a glimpse of the joy that a missionary feels being involved with that work every day!

DAY 3 SOLVANG, LOMPOC, AND SANTA BARBARA

Lompoc is a tiny town that Stephen served in for a while. Friday as we were driving out there Solvang, a very touristy Dutch community, was on our way. We stopped at the tourist attraction for about an hour. The first stop was one of their famous Danish pastry shops!

Then we went to little Lompoc. The coolest thing about that little town is that it has really cool murals all over the buildings there. We have a pictures at his apartment there. Then another one of us in front of Baskin Robins because I ordered a cake for him on his 20th birthday.

Then we went to Santa Barbara! Stephen served on the UCSB campus...the #2 party school in the nation. It is funny to hear his story about the morning after Halloween and how it looked like zombies were roaming the streets. People travel from all over to go to the Halloween party there. They had to quit working early because of the holiday, then the next morning everyone said they had the best costume ever! haha. Someone said, "I was that two years ago! Where's the helmet?!" Another said, "hey are you really missionaries!?" Stephen said, "Yes!" the guy said, "...oh...cool." The funniest is when someone offered them a beer and Stephen offered them a Book of Mormon instead. Needless to say, it was fun to tour the campus. They have a beach...but BYU is so much nicer! It is actually clean with beautiful landscaping.

The Institute Building.

Bike lane to campus.

One of the biggest college party streets in the nation. Stephen says it is impossible to be LDS and live on that street.

ROAD TRIP HOME!

We had such a blast spending a few days touring Stephen's entire mission. What an awesome experience to see everything that we had been reading about! I loved it. The road trip home was fun too. I loved being able to talk to Stephen about how he was feeling and everything. It was just cool to have my brother back, we're best friends!

Stephen got to meet Kory at around midnight. It was so funny because Kory was saying hello to my parents. Then Stephen said, "it's so weird to hear someone else calling my Mom, Mom!" I think that's when it kind of his him that he has a new brother, haha.

I had such a great trip, but I was very happy to be home with my husband again! I missed him lots!

Mom and Stephen came to Utah for conference the next weekend so that is when Stephen and Kory started to really get to know each other. For the record, he thinks Kory awesome. (I know I have good taste, hehe)

What in the World is Twitter?

Twitter is a good thing to use for internet marketing. A lot of stars and big (or small) business people are using it to attract internet traffic to them and their projects. For normal people it is basically a site of just facebook type status updates. People can "follow" you and see what you are up to. I think because Twitter is more raw (only short text updates) and you see a lot more of people's personality, or lack thereof. So there you go! Twitter 101. I'm on it, if you wondered.

How could YOU use Twitter in your life? I thought of two examples.

If you want to write a book... Start networking with other writers, publishers, or readers that enjoy your genre. Through posting tweets you could generate more interest in you as a person, and in your writing. Maybe you would generate so much interest you could actually start making money as a lifestyle blogger?

If you want to have a small cake or pastry shop one day... You could use Twitter to network with other small business owners. Also with the people in the neighborhood where you want to grow your business. Martha Stewart has Twitter, there is a lot of people interested in that stuff that would love to follow someone like you.

I have also used it to see updates on internships, and Utah Business Week, and BYU Alumni etc.

What I Want to Do For a Living.

I want to get PAID to help lead tour groups through Europe.

I just want to plan the best itinerary. Then book hotels and make reservations, or choose where we are staying and what we are doing but delegate it. Then prepare the group for the trip. Once we go to Europe I will make sure the whole thing runs smoothly. I went on a European tour with a group from Utah who had a lady who did just that. I want to be her. I have also worked for BYU study abroad programs and done that. I know it is something I love.

Or I at least get paid to help people plan their itinerary, book hotels, and make tourist attraction reservations. I am really really good at that. I like doing things that I am good at. I have a passion for 2 places: Europe and Hawaii. So if I could live the rest of my life just planning people's trips to Europe and Hawaii and occasionally going on one of my own, that would be fantastic.

I know this is a random post. I'll explain where it came from. I'm having a bad afternoon. I'm feeling like I'm not that good at things I should be good at. Then I jumped on facebook and one of my friend's status updates was requesting hotel ideas for London, Paris, and Italy. It made my afternoon to be able to give her advice.

Canada Pictures!

I usually am not a fan of doing more than one blog in a day because I feel like no one reads them if you do. I have a couple of blogs to write, and now that I have pictures to go with them I can write them! However, I might only do one today so that you will read all of them haha.

Harrison Hot Springs was absolutely beautiful!

This is Kory getting ready for the formal dinner we had the second night.

This is at the formal dinner. I'm being silly in the first one.

Family picture!

They have this huge stuffed animal bear there, I was being silly next to it and Kory just caught the aftermath of me laughing, haha.

Rick is such a character. They are acting like the bear.

Beautiful morning before we leave.

On the bus!

We had such a great time. It was a short weekend though.