Mormon Helping Hands.

Two Saturdays ago, my fam and I got to participate in Mormon Helping Hands. 

A day of service put on by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Last year my family told me about them participating and I was extremely jealous and have been looking forward to participating for myself ever since then.

With the rest of our stake we had to pick up trash and clear a ravine that was recently flooded in the massive rainstorms that hit So Cal a few months ago. 

It was crazy the amount of trash, plastic bags, styrofoam, shopping carts, clothes, furniture and other half deteriorating trash we had to pick up. 

However. It was fun to be there with my whole fam, do some service and sport our little Mormon vests.
and Im not even joking, I really liked those vests, I was really excited to wear one.

   Chase was an exceptional little helper and loved picking up all of the trash. 

I kinda loved it too cause it made me feel like an archeologist finding all of these artifacts that had to be dug out and discovered. 

I dont really know why, but I love me some archeology digs.
And secretly wish that was my full time job.

I was so grateful for this opportunity to participate in a service project offered by our Church.
And I will definitely think twice about ever littering. 

oh hey T-HO!

Last year at this time my BFF Taylor Hoyt took off to New York for the summer.
We had a big going away dinner for him at Terra Mia with all of our Lanai friends.

And I wrote a long blog post all about how much I loved him and was going to miss him.
That night I drove him to his sisters as he was flying out the next day and we had to say goodbye.
We both cried and I bawled during my whole drive back to Provo.
 I had never been in Provo without him before and I didnt think I would be able to survive there without him
Turns out I didnt know how as I ended up leaving Provo myself about three weeks later...
I also cried because I thought he was gonna fall in love with the concrete jungle and we would forever live so far away from each other.
Turns out I was wrong.
This handsome gent just moved to CA. 
And as much as I wish he wasnt in Orange County
It is a lot closer to me than Provo, New York or Italy.

Welcome to California TAY!
I think Ill be making lots of trips down south this summer. 

LA Dawgs: The Stand.

 Some time in my life between eating Downtown LA hot dogs after every Laker game I attended,

and the week where I ate FOUR Dodger games in the span of five days,

I realized I love hot dogs.

And proclaimed them my #1 favorite food. 

you can keep calling me the all american tween. 

I love me some..

Dodger Dogs

Downtown LA Dogs

Costco Dogs

NY Central Park Dogs

J-Dawgs

And because of this love I have decided to become a hot dog connoisseur. And plan on trying all of the best hot dogs that LA has to offer. 

My first stop on this journey was The Stand. 

I ventured there last week with my dear friend Lillie. 

Let me just take a sec and share how much i love this girl. 

Lillie and I became closer friends when we shared a bunk in our London flat!

She recently came home from her mission and I could not have been more excited to see her. 

She has the hottest dance moves I have ever seen. 

I love how she says "suuure"

We match constantly!
(hopefully this doesnt jinx us)
We will show up to church, dances, activities, parties or just us hanging out in either the same outfit, or matching colors and styles. 

And we love matching!

I think my favorite thing about Lillie is that we are constantly experiencing the same life situations at the same time. The transition of being an adult, the struggles through finding a job and working full time, and our biggest similarity--boy problems. 

Because of this, we are able to talk about everything and anything and I am so appreciative of our chats. 

And so...we went and got hot dogs for some much needed Leigh and Lillie time. 

We were there for THREE hours. 

I think they got a little sick of us. 

But our verdict on The Stand...

we loved it!!

I loved the layout, design and especially the classic and vintage NY feel of the restaurant.

BBQ dog.
corn salsa and grilled onions dog.

and sweet potato fries. 

to.die.for.

We were also a huge fans of this outdoor seating with the trees and lights.
Ill enjoy some summer time hot dogs here.

and i loved these dogs. 

And they have $1 monday hot dog nights. yes please. 

I will be going back there often. 

Valley Ventures: Leo Carrillo Beach.

I know this really cute boy that took me out on a really cute date

to the beach. 

oh the joys of living in Southern California. 

Leo Carrillo Beach.

just a little scenic drive through Malibu Canyon, on PCH, past Zuma. 

We packed up some food to eat dinner at the beach. 

I think my favorite part was that we seriously had the whole beach to ourselves, no one else in sight and ate dinner on the lifeguard station. 

I felt like it was a scene right out of the O.C. 

Oh hey Marissa and Ryan!

The point of this post is not to just talk about my great date but that we ventured to the beach...

in April.

Chilled on the sand. 

Took photos of the sunset.

Almost lost my shoes...

And just enjoyed being at the beach. 

Although I hardly go in the ocean whenever I actually get to the beach. Its easily one of my favorite places. 

Who can resist the sounds of the waves, the hot sand and my personal fave of a good run along the water. 

I loved going to the beach at night and snapping photos of the amazing sunset.

my boys in blue.

Spring has arrived

and Summer is just around the corner.

the nights are getting warmer.

and more and more of my time is being consumed by reading blogs, the newspaper and watching television. 

and ive fallen in love again with nine men in blue uniforms. 

yup.

its that time of year again. 

its time for Dodger baseball. 

Im not gonna lie.

On opening day I was less then estatic. 

I wasnt jumping for joy at the sound of cracking bat, the urge to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame or lusting after Andre Ethier.

Ive been a little disappointed in myself. But its been a rough off season for the Dodgers. We had a not so stellar year last season and my hate for Dodger owner, Frank McCourt has overshadowed my Dodger love. And sometimes I feel like I keep going back to that abusive boyfriend. Who I give so much love and attention to, they give me so much hope but in the end I walk away beat up and another broken heart. 

But this week I was finally able and ready to get myself to my first game of the season. 

And it sure did feel good. 

I was decked out in my Dodger gear cheering alongside my equally Dodger crazed best friend Rudy.

 We were wearing blue and cheering loud.
 I think I was still most excited to eat my number #1 favorite food.
Dodger Dogs.

And the only thing that tasted better then my hot dog...
A Dodger victory. 
I am back in full fledged THINK BLUE status.
And I will not be bad luck this year.
knocking on wood now.

I just cant get enough...

..of Utah. 

I find myself going almost every other month. 

With General Conference in April my friends and I spontaneously decided to make the trek to the Holy Land.

We made our trip a little bit more worth it by driving Thursday night as opposed to our original departure of Friday night. 

Let me just say driving through the night with boys is AWESOME. They did all of the driving and guess what I did? 

Sleep. 

They stayed up and watched movies and I slept on Rudy's lap (bless his heart). I slept from 1-6 AM. Had Denny's breakfast in Cedar City from 6-7AM (interesting crew there) and then slept some more from 7-8:30. I was well rested and enjoyed the two hours left in the drive to Provo. 

I was so ready for just a chill and low key trip to Utah since my last couple have been super busy. 

Here is a recap of my trip:

Friday.

Got some Smash Burger with my BFFs Taylor, Christina and Annie. 

My favorite part of my trip happened as soon as I got there...

Driving around Provo. With Taylor. Windows Down. B Spears playing loud. And lots of singing and dancing.

You know I said "I am so happy" and "I love this so much!" like a billion times. 

Lounged as the college kids did homework. (I dont know what the word even means anymore...)

And as mentioned early, went to the Jazz game with Annabelle. 

Saturday. 

Started out my Saturday vaca with an early 7:30 AM gym work out sesh with Annie, I guess that should be expected when I spend the weekend with her. 

We watched General Conference and LOVED it. 

It was my great idea to order out Cafe Rio in between sessions. Best.Idea.Ever.

I loved Annie for saying this to me "This is the best weekend ever. My Lee Bee is here, we are watching Conference and having Cafe Rio!" 

I got to see my cousin/ sister/ BFF Alyssa Clyde! I almost cried out of excitement to see her. 

And loved that we were wearing the same cardigan. True BFF status right there. We got Creamery ice cream and caught up on each others lives. We then went back for seconds of ice cream so I could introduce her to Graham Canyon. She joined me in being an addict. 

Cafe Rio and Graham Canyon are a must for any Provo trip. 

We then hit up SLC for dinner at the Red Iguana. 

We snapped lots of pictures as we endured the cold, the rain, and the wait outside the restaurant.

I could not have asked for a better dinner group! 

And so excited to have Monica Miller back in my life after she has served a mission in Rome, Italy. 

This girl is hotter than ever and I love her. 

We all had so much fun at dinner and I was sad to say goodbye to everyone. 

Luckily Mo and I were able to still able to have some adventures sleeping over together at Annie's dads house in Sandy since we were both going to the morning session of Conference. 

Staying up late, talking about boys and eating ice cream. 

GREAT combo. 

Sunday. 

Me and Monica's adventures didnt stop the night before. 

We overslept the alarm. 

Had to endure some pretty dirty bathrooms. 

Running late getting ready. 

Went upstairs to discover about TWO feet of snow. 

Shoveled snow for the first time in my life. 

Had to make two different stops on the drive to continue to get snow off Mo's car. 

Losing of Monica's cell phone once we got to SLC. 

Waiting in the cold. 

Being escorted to another door since I had to check in my Canon camera. 

No service in the Conference.

Not meeting up with my friends. 

Ditching Monica to find said friends, and then she randomly ended up sitting just a few rows behind me. 

It was an intense morning. 

But Conference was amazing! I love being able to watch conference live and being in the presence of the Prophet. 

After that we hit the road back to LA since we didnt want to get in too late. 

We made a stop in St. George to see the Temple! Its Rudy's favorite temple and the rest of us have never been there. 

And a stop in Las Vegas was necessary as we needed one more Cafe Rio fix. 

I love me some utah trips!

And if I didnt see you this time, chances are Ill be back in a few months time.

Told-YA

For being a strong believer in getting jinxed and knocking on wood

(i have my wood keychain to prove it)

I cant believe I let this happen to me...

Remember my basketball woes, where I claimed I have basketball identity disorder. 

I ended my post with this...

Alas, im still a little conflicted.

Ive embraced my inner LA Lakers girl.

But I will always have special place in my heart for the Jazz.

And ill just be screwed when they play each other.

I said this thinking it was no big deal

I hardly watch basketball.

I wont have to worry about this predicament very often.

And thats when I should have knocked on wood. 

Not only have I had to watch Jazz v. Lakers games this week,

Ive been in attendance. 

Not just one. 

Two.

In the span of FIVE days. 

I went to Utah over the weekend and my bestest friend Annie invited me to the game Friday night. 

My heart dropped when I realized the Jazz were playing the Lakers. 

Our seats were great and it was really fun to be there with Annabelle. 

side note--definitely a highlight of the game was being able to meet up with my sister Kelly at the game during halftime. 

Apparently we have this thing of meeting up at sporting events. 

But Im SO glad I was able to see her, since I was nervous that it might not happen again on my trip to Utah

. The game was so fun, however, I may have cheered for the Jazz a bit more for the Lakers.

Then on Monday night I come home to find out we have been given Lakers tickets for the next nights game.

Super excited to see ROW NINE on those tickets

Super bummed to see v. JAZZ.

Really? Really??

Just my luck. 

I went on a daddy-daughter date. 

 I wore my Lakers shirt, cheered loud, raised my arms in triumph over Shannon Brown's dunks and Ron Artest's threes.

 But without realizing it, would get excited over Gordon Hayward's (G-Hay) massive hops.

The game came to a shocking close as Kobe couldnt get off the final shot and the Lakers lost.

I was jinxed into having to choose between the two,

I am less conflicted,

 I was much more disappointed with a Lakers loss then the Jazz loss.

And I enjoy much more cheering for the Lakers.

And enjoy seeing celebrities...include Khloe K, Amy Adams, George Lopez, Ray-J, Monica, and my personal fave, David Beckham.

More on my trip to Utah to come soon...