California Love

Disclaimer: This is the longest post ever...apparently I am

NOT good at being selective when it comes to

pictures or words. Skim if you like :)

Well, it's official, my little brother is home from his mission to Sao Paulo, Brazil. In many ways, those two years passed quickly, but then again I felt like it had been forever since I had talked to him or been able to give him a hug. Jeffrey and I are very close, so I was very excited to see him again :) I finished up my last day of work and flew home Wednesday afternoon. Kevin couldn't miss Wednesday, so he had to leave Thursday morning and we were able to get him a flight that "happened" to stop in Dallas. Jeffrey flew from Sao Paulo to DFW, and him and Kevin were on the same flight in to San Jose. Kevin was able to surprise Jeffrey at the terminal, then they enjoyed a first class flight the rest of the way home, compliments of my father-in-law Jerry :)

You can see Kevin video-taping the whole thing as Jeffrey comes out of his gate!! The video is priceless as you see all of us hugging Jeffrey for the first time. We had a bet of who was and wasn't going to cry. Kimberly was almost dead-on with her predictions. Mom thought she wasn't going to cry, which was ridiculous, haha. I might have cried more. But Jeffrey didn't cry? Who knew. I was obviously wrong with my predictions :/

Our good friends the Helveys also came to the airport, but it was a small gathering. Signs compliments of Mom :)
I just love this picture. My dad couldn't have been more excited. We arrived at the airport a little early so we were sitting around talking with the Helveys. Dad walked over to where Jeffrey would come out, and didn't leave his post until he could see his son. When it was close to time, we also joined him, and Dad told Mom, "Lisa, you need to pay attention", because she was talking with Michelle, haha. He was really excited and Kimberly and I were getting a kick out of it.

We headed to In-N-Out for lunch, then straight to the Oakland Temple per Jeffrey's request. It was really special to all be in the temple again since we hadn't done that since he received his endowments 2 years ago. We were able to go with him to be released as well and that was one of my favorite experiences relating to the actual "homecoming". I am certainly proud of my little brother and the amazing missionary that he was.
All I can say is that I love my family. I am lucky to be best friends with my siblings and my parents :)
The next day we signed on our house, so we are officially home owners. Kinda random timing that we closed that weekend, but that was when the papers were finished and since we were buying the home from my parents, it actually worked out in our favor to all be together to avoid overnighting documents back and forth. A notary came to the house and we completed all the paperwork in about an hour.
Then we headed out for a day in the sun. Jeffrey thought he needed to work on a tan, haha. We had a great day together and the weather was perfect. The beaches were littered with seaweed and sticks, but I think it is because CA has seen a lot of rain recently. I had never seen so much debris on the sand before.

Saturday we had a BBQ at my parent's house and we enjoyed the company of close friends.

Kevin and Kimberly both left Sunday, but I was able to stay for another 9 days :) We enjoyed another trip up to Oakland to do a session and several sealings of children to parents. Jeffrey was able to find us some family names, so that was a neat experience.

The rest of the week was spent shopping to get Jeffrey reading for school, then packing/organizing, and hanging out together. Jeffrey headed up to BYU on Friday to take a few courses Summer term before he starts in the accounting program in the Fall. He is also looking for a wife, so anyone with any eligible matches, let me know, haha.

These are out of order, but blogger won't let me rearrange so that's life I guess. These pictures were taken after church the day Jeffrey gave his talk. (Had to document Kevin's new suit that he found one day while we were shopping at the outlets.)

Since I stayed a while longer, I was home for Father's Day. I can't remember the last night that has happened. Mom and I cooked an amazing dinner (If I do say so myself). The line-up: Filet with toasted walnut and black cherry sauce, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Kevin and I are sure lucky to have such wonderful fathers in our lives.

And finally, I met up with a few friends in the area. My friend Jen (no pictures) and I had breakfast together and I also stopped by when she was working with one of her clients who happens to be our old math teacher from Junior High (she had brain tumors and has gone through chemo/radiation, etc.) It was a tender experience, and I am grateful I was able to see her again after all these years.

Then I met up with Brie (BYU roomate) and enjoyed an afternoon together. Love this girl. We laughed a lot. It was just like old times. Then we went to dinner when Jeff (her husband/also my friend) got home from work. What a fun evening :) I am glad they are living in San Jose because I can see my old roomie whenever I go home!
Overall, I had a fabulous time in California. I am grateful the timing worked out to allow for such a great visit. The only problem was that Kevin had to go home and work while I had a great time. The good news is that he managed without me :) But I was happy to be home with him again.