Lawrence Welk

 This is from Wikipedia: 

Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, hosting The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982. His style came to be known to his large number of radio, television, and live-performance fans (and critics) as "champagne music."

However, when I hear his name, all I can think of is the place where my family and I spent countless weeks soaking up the sun in Escondido. That is where I am right now. My parents have a timeshare at the Welk Resort and I have fond childhood memories of this place.

Today marks the start of the Howard and Amy West 2010 family reunion. Included in this are all six West kids, their spouses, and their kids. There are a total of 26 of us and I am so excited to be here for the week. It's like that famous song, "reunited and it feels so good!" This week I hope to take lots of pictures, reminisce about the good old days, and create so many wonderful memories.

I've never seen the Lawrence Welk Show, but I have seen a pretty good remake on SNL. It doesn't look like this embedding thing is going to work, but just look up Lawrence Welk on Hulu. It's hilarious. 

A Place of Love and Beauty

The title of this post comes from a beloved primary song: I Love to See the Temple. This is a very true statement. I had a wonderful opportunity this morning to go to the Los Angeles temple with my dad and brother to perform baptisms for the dead. All temple trips are special, but this trip was unlike any other I've experienced. 

Whenever I go to the temple I just use the names they have on hand--I've never done family names. But today that changed. It was such a special experience. I was able to be baptized for both of my grandmothers and two of my great-grandmothers. As I was baptized I thought of them and how happy they might be. I thought of my mom's mom who had the most beautiful smile and who I spent a lot of time with in high school when she lived with us on occasion. And then I thought of my dad's mom who I've only seen pictures of--she passed away before I was born. It was the most wonderful feeling and I can only imagine them smiling and being so happy because of the events that took place today. I feel just a little bit closer to them, even though they're far away. 

Jonathan was also able to be baptized for my two grandfathers and I know that it was special for him too. I was getting dressed when Jonathan was being baptized and confirmed, but when it was time to go Jonathan said that my dad got quite emotional when he performed the confirmation for his father. My dad has a very soft heart and I know that it was such a special experience for him to be able to do this for his parents. 

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to do baptisms for my family members. I'm grateful for this gospel that has been restored on the earth by the prophet Joseph Smith. I'm grateful for temples and the work that is done there. I know this is the true church and that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet today. I'm so happy that families can be together forever.

Virginia is for Lovers: Day Twenty-three

I technically am only in Virginia for part of today, but I love it so much that I wanted to post one more time from this beautiful state. So we already went to Chick-fil-A for lunch and it was delicious. Believe it or not, it was my first time ever trying it. I was very impressed. 

We are going to leave for the airport within the hour, but I couldn't leave Ashburn without a few silly pictures. 

It's been a wonderful three weeks and I'm going to miss this state for lovers. Ie Li Anne, thank you for letting us live at your house for the last three weeks and take care of your beautiful children. We couldn't ask for a better sister. We love you!

Virginia is for Lovers: Day Twenty-two

I started off the morning with a lovely run around the Ashburn neighborhood. I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my life, but it was still refreshing. Mei Li helped me get ready and kept me company as I started packing up my suitcase. She is always very helpful. She especially likes to pick out my earrings and keep me company while I do my makeup. Mostly she just likes it when I share my makeup with her. This is quite shameful, but sometimes I try and get out of playing hello animals by offering to put some makeup on her. It usually works too.

Ie Li and I ran some errands with the girls while Stephen was asleep. My first week here I bought a new quilt for my bed and we happened to find the matching sham today. It was a nice find. I'm excited to do some decorating in my new apartment this fall. We headed home and found an awake Stephen. The first thing he said to me was, "I cracked some eggs." And I just thought, "OH NO..." Fortunately it wasn't as bad as I had pictured it in my head. We did find one cracked egg in the sink and one at the foot of the refrigerator, but there was no permanent damage.

The plan for tonight's dinner was to go out to eat because it's our last night here, but we ended up eating in and it was perfect. Ie Li whipped up some delicious waffles and buttermilk syrup and it was delcious. When Steve came home we piled in the car...(these kiddos love their Uncle Jonathan)



and headed to a little ice cream shop called:

.

Since today was my last real day in Virginia, we invited Barrett to join us for ice cream. Immediately when he walked in the door Mei Li and Stephen were jumping for joy. They love him. We ate our delcious ice cream and then headed back home. Barrett and I were able to chat for a bit while Steve and Ie Li put the kids to bed.

It's been so nice having a friend here in Virginia and being able to go to so many cool places: downtown for the fireworks, Purcellville, Field of Flowers, Gruto's, etc. I'm pretty sure today was the last time I'll see Barrett before he leaves for his mission. It was a bittersweet goodbye. I'm going to miss him, but I'm so happy that he's chosen to serve the Lord for the next two years. Barrett, thanks for everything. You're the best.

Virginia is for Lovers: Day Twenty-One

What? I've been here for 21 days?! Crazy, I know. I feel like I can't even remember what I've been doing every day. Good thing I've been blogging everyday. I am quite proud of that. As I've mentioned so many times before, I've become friends with lots of kids from Virginia. One of them is Preston Redd. He has a wonderful mother named Cindy who I have become well acquainted with. We first met in California when I saw the BYU vs. Chapman lacrosse game. We met again in the spring when she came out to Provo to see her son, Taylor, play one of his final lacrosse games.

 

Well, long story short, Cindy and I are good friends now. She lives just a little ways away from Ie Li and was kind enough to invite us over to her lovely home today. Barrett picked Jonathan and me up and we headed over to the Redd's home. Barrett is such good friends with them that we just walked in through the back door. It reminds me of being back at BYU when people would just open our door and say hello. I miss those days. Anyway, back to Virginia.

 

When I walked into the kitchen I saw Cindy, Dillon, Becca, and Becca's friend, Frank. After meeting Becca I can say that I have officially met the entire Redd clan. They are indeed a wonderful family. We spent the afternoon lounging in the pool and playing pool volleyball. Jonathan and I joined up with Cindy and made a wonderful team. In terms of points, Barrett, Dillon, and JD won, but our team had a winning attitude, and that's all that really matters, right? Later on, Frank joined our team and Becca joined the other team and once again, we had winning attitudes =).

We talked and laughed as we dried off and then it was time to go. It was a beautiful afternoon. The weather was perfect, the pool was perfect, and the company was perfect. Thank you, Cindy, for a delightful afternoon.

Barrett dropped us off around dinner time and we decided that Five Guys was a good idea. So, Jonathan and I headed out to Five Guys and returned home with burgers for Ie Li and ourselves. I don't like to argue, so I'm not going to play the, "oh, In-N-Out is so overrated game." All I'm going to say is that I respect your right to enjoy Five Guys more than In-N-Out, and in return you can respect my views on In-N-Out as the greatest burger ever. 

After dinner, Ie Li and continued working on a project that we recently started: painting the kids' table. I love bonding with my sisters over crafts. There is something just so relaxing and enjoyable about it. This is close to what the final product looks like.

Next item on the to-do-list: chairs.

P.S. Thank you, Martha Stewart, for this lovely color.

Virginia is for Lovers: Day Twenty

Yesterday was a beautiful Sunday. We attended Ie Li's Belmont Ridge Ward and they were very kind. Ie Li wasn't at Relief Society for the first half, but there was a kind lady who introduced herself to me and sat next to me. Ie Li came later on and it was wonderful having baby Mina to look at. She is darling.

Our lesson was on the priesthood and I really enjoyed it. The woman who was teaching talked about some personal experiences with the priesthood. Last year her daughter was in an ATV accident where the ATV landed on her face. She told us that the girl's father, grandfather, and uncle were there to give her a blessing. When they arrived at the hospital, doctors were so surprised that her neck wasn't broken. The teacher bore her beautiful testimony of the priesthood and how she knew that her little girl was alright because of the priesthood blessing she received.

I am so grateful for the priesthood in my life. I have priesthood holders all around me: my dad, my brothers, home teachers, and friends. And one day I will be married to one. This church is amazing.

Virginia is for Lovers: Day Nineteen

Mei Li and Ie Li went to a birthday party yesterday and Steve went golfing, so that meant that Uncle Jonathan and Auntie Ie Ling got Stephen all to ourselves. We soaked up the sun at the pool for an hour and forty-five minutes and finally headed home. Stephen was an angel at the pool. All he needs is some sort of pool toy and the baby pool and he's golden.

Later in the afternoon I ran some errands for Ie Li. This was the highlight of the day. Why? Because I bought a t-shirt! And not just any ordinary t-shirt. THE t-shirt. The t-shirt whose words have been the title of my blog posts for the last 19 days. THIS t-shirt:



I couldn't possibly leave Virginia without getting one. I also picked up one for Ie Li and Jonathan. I was thinking that maybe we could wear them all on the same day and go matching to the mall. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened. For those of you who'd like to hear the story, read on.

One summer back in 2003 or 2004, I stayed with Jeremy and Michiko in their San Francisco apartment. I woke up and got dressed in a navy blue shirt and some khakis. When I looked at baby Kai, I noticed that he was wearing a navy blue shirt also. And then I had a brilliant idea! We should all wear navy blue shirts and be matching and we can see if Jeremy notices when he gets home from school.

Naturally when he got home, Michiko and I just looked at him until he noticed and he probably said something like, "you goobers" and laughed at us. We were going to head over to the mall and we thought it'd be funny if he joined the matching party. For some reason, he agreed, and all 5 of us hopped in the car in matching outfits.

We walked through the mall for about 15 minutes. We got lots of stares and laughs and finally we couldn't handle the ridicule. Jokes. It really wasn't that bad, but we did leave quite soon after we arrived, it really was a little embarrassing. Any time we match I say, "Well maybe we can all go to the mall now." And Jeremy, Michiko, and I can't help but chuckle at our funny experience in good old San Francisco.

And how could I forget! Congratulations to my beautiful friend, Cassie MacLennan. She is now engaged to Benjamin Tremblay and I am so excited for them!