While He Was Gone: St. George and Las Vegas

While Josh was frolicking through the rocky tide pools of chilly Coos Bay, I made a solo trip down to visit some of my best girlfriends. With plenty of snacks, my favorite music (don't even be embarrassed that I brought my NSYNC cds), and a trusty GPS, the four-hour drive wasn't so bad.

I first stopped in St. George to meet up with my old college buddy, Pacha, and her fabulous new roommates. They were all so amiable and funny. Pacha and I stayed up talking outside, catching up on everything. It was really nice to talk for hours and cover all that's happened in the last four years. The best part, I have to say, was when she showed that the baseball fields they used for filming the second High School Musical movie were right across the street from her house! I may or may not have giggled like a 7th-grade girl as she later gave me a tour of the resort, pool, and golf course where they filmed a majority of HSM2. So great!

The next day we went to the St. George temple together. As we were walking in, I ran into my first mission president and his wife who I hadn't seen in five years. The Westons were so nice to remember my name. It was exciting to see them again.

Our session was wonderful. It was really neat to be in a gorgeously decorated 140-year old temple and to think about all the incredible people who built it and the amazing things that happened inside.

Rachel and I took pictures outside and it couldn't have been a more beautiful day. The temple looked like a cake! I love that Pacha and I are both wearing glasses. There are so many good memories with the Martels and their eye glasses...

On Saturday afternoon I drove another two hours down to Las Vegas to visit Josh and Willow Batt. They gave me the royal treatment while I stayed with them. We went out to dinner at a new sushi restaurant near their home. There were about a hundred different kinds of rolls and they all had scandalous names. I won't even tell you what some of the names were but it made the menu a rather entertaining piece of reading material. After our delicious dinner we walked around the outdoor malls. The three of us strolled into my favorite store, Anthropologie, where Willow came across a flowering pot that she had created. Apparently she didn't realize that her work was being showcased in the window display of Anthropologie! Willow is such an amazing artist/designer/creator/iceskater/cook/yogini/decorator/photographer/choreographer/model/woman. I love being around Willow because she's an inspiring person to be with. Some people have a certain place they like to go to where they think and find refreshment; my place is anywhere with Willow.
Later that night we went to Whole Foods Market and bought cacao powder, coconut oil, and almond butter to make homemade chocolate. It was delicious and literally melted in our mouths. The rest of my weekend was spent hiking around the red rock, playing games with their friends, coloring and drawing with Willow, sweating through a fantastic yoga class (taught by Willow, of course), having thoughtful conversations, going for a trot through the nature preserve, driving around the Strip, eating good food, and watching Willow practice her graceful ice skating routine. It was so nice to be with the Batts again. They are great friends!