California Love

What, you were expecting a post about the Fourth of July or my birthday?!?  Ha ha, you should know by now that I'm always a day late and a dollar short when it comes to posting!  Instead of regaling you with tails of America and my's birthday, I'm finally getting around to posting the pictures from my California adventure in May.  Be prepared, lots of pictures, not a lot of content.  So without further ado, behold the wonder that is California!

{Laguna Beach public park.  Gorgeous, no?}

{Lush vegetation around every corner}

{Mom and Great Aunt Alice at the rehearsal dinner}

{Me and Great Aunt Alice}

{Sienna, Dan, Sara-the-bride-to-be, and me}

{Beautiful decor at the wedding}

{Cousin Dan and Aunt Carol}

{the vows}

{First kiss and a happy mother of the bride!  This might be my favorite pic from the whole trip.}

{First dance}

{Parents of the Bride}

{Me and cousin Andrea}

{Me and my lovely Momma}

{We decided that Andrea's husband Jordan looks a little like Pitbull in this picture.}

{Fancy fans for shade were provided for the guests}

{Centerpieces, large and gorgeous!!!}

{Uncle Bill's wedding toast}

After the nuptials and brunch the next day, the family loaded up and headed to San Diego for a few days.  Our first stop was in Old Town for lunch and browsing through the shops.

{Mexican food for lunch.  When in Rome...}

{Dan is not at all amused that he's being photographed.}

The next day four of us headed out to the San Diego Zoo and the others to the Rose Gardens or something.  I think we picked the better location, to be honest.  The San Diego Zoo was absolutely awesome, and we got to check out the panda exhibit!

{Happy panda is happy}

Later that day we headed to Del Coronado to check out the historic hotel there and do some window shopping.  This hotel is the oldest wooden hotel still standing and is home it's very own ghost story!  Very cool!

{My roommates for the week.  They both snore.  Loudly.}

On our last day, Mom, Aunt Carol, and Aunt Alice and I spent a few hours at the Botanical Gardens.  They were absolutely gorgeous and had so many types of plants from all over the world.  I took roughly 800 pictures, but I won't bore you to death with all of them.  These are some of my faves.

{There are some massive succulents in SoCal}

{Giant Bamboo}

{View from the boardwalk at the edge of the Botanical Gardens property.  Breathtaking!}

Despite some driving snafu's and some minor (and not so minor) wedding detail issues, the trip was a great success.  It's been years since I spent a vacation with my family, and I think I might need a few more to want to do it again, ha ha!  Just kidding, I love my family and enjoyed spending so much time with them.  Congrats Sara and Peter!  Where are we going for your anniversary next year???