Hey There

So, I had a heck of a time trying to get these restaurant pictures posted, for some reason I kept getting everything all set up and ready to go, press the publish button and wait......and wait, etc...you get the picture, (or actually you don't because they weren't showing up on my stinking blog!) Well, eighth time must be a charm, because it worked at last.

I wanted to tell you guys about the day I took the pics of the restaurant. It was the day after we had gone to Disneyland and we were just hanging out at the restaurant all day with Alice. (Our hotel room was actually adjacent to the restaurant, so it was super convenient, especially when I NEEDED coffee in the morning!) So, there we were, just enjoying eachother's company, visiting, whatever, and then they got a rush of customers and they were short servers that day, so I stepped in! It was fun to play waitress. I even got to train a few of the employees on the esspresso machine and I played barista all day for everyone who wanted a latte' or whatever. I didn't get any tips or anything, but I know that I helped Alice out a lot and I am pretty sure I helped get her tips up! Not that she needs any help, she's everyone's favorite, no matter what arena she is involved in. I swear she could sell B.B.Q. to a lady in white gloves and the lady would be excited that she bought it despite the stains on her gloves! : )

All in all, Ari and I had a really wonderful time on our impromtu trip. We are grateful that we went and for the time that we got to spend with family. My only wish was that I would have liked to have had more time with Mia/Michlien. I just love that girl! Ari and I only got to see her for maybe an hour or so, but I enjoyed every minute of it, she is a total kick in the pants! We were able to spend good quality time with most every one. Now that Ari's Aunt Veta, Uncle Yeorgous/George and four of his five cousins, and they live next door, it makes it a little bit harder to get time with everyone. Two of the cousins older, Saki and Alexi...I think they are 17 and 19ish? And of course, Ari's brother Amar! We got to go out to dinner in Manhattan Beach at a place called the Kettle all together with Alice and share some laughs and really good food.

The drive wasn't too bad, I guess it was just around 13 hours. On our trip home we WERE planning on seeing the Grand Canyon, but as it turns out, it's way farther off the highway than we had thought, so we kiboshed that idea, for getting our tired behinds HOME again! I am kinda dissappointed we didn't see it, but I did really want to get home by then, and we are planning a trip back down there in early Sept. ish. So we will swing it the next time. Sheesh! If that's my only complaint, I will take it! Yeey-ya! Seriously, Ari and I are so amazed so much of the time at how incredibly blessed we are, in everything! The Lord is so good.

love and peace ya'all!