Are you ready for this?!!!!

For a detailed story behind these pics, see previous post. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of my car or the mattresses or anything - I was a little too traumatized to worry about the camera. Can you believe it? Usually nothing gets in my way of taking pictures. Probably better that way, I don't need any more reminders of the event. Surveying the damages

I think we should get free parking for life after this, don't you?

This was the only damage to the other guys car

But this is the pole to the parking meter under his car so I am sure the damage you couldn't see was worse

We had 3 different cops there and the fire department in order to get his car off the pole

Assessing the situation

This guy was pretty proud of himself and was happy to pose with the pole, probably the most excitement he'd had in awhile that didn't involve flames.

Despite the fact the other guy jumped his parking curb hit the meter and then jumped our curb and still hit us, I don't think it slowed him down much because this is how far back he pushed our car and it was parked!

Em and Paul in front of the Washington Monument (not quite sure why half my pictures are blurry, I just have and unsteady hand I guess) We packed a lot in, in just a few days. Word to the wise - never ever ever go to DC in July, it is so freakin hot!!! We visited all the monuments at night just so we could be a little cooler but it didn't help much.

Jefferson Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

World War II Memorial

Arlington Cemetery Such a humbling place. Just look how far the graves go and this doesn't even touch the surface of it. Only in DC do you see umbrellas when there is no rain. It was mostly all the foreigners and I must admit we did make fun. However by the end we were wishing we had one of our own.Washington Monument from the Capitol US Capitol Front of the White House Back of the White House Look at that yard - isn't it to die for!! All the grounds are kept so well with such great plants and flowers Love you Em! This trip was to celebrate Paul's 30th Bday so we went out Red Hot and Blue for dinner. Best BBQ I have ever had so if you are ever there you MUST go. They give everyone their own pitcher for their drink. We were so hot, tired and thirsty I think we went through at least 3 or 4 each. Senator Bob Bennett Every time I go to DC, I hope to see a political figure just for the pure fact that I am in DC and that's where half of them live. Mr. Bennett and his wife had dinner right next to us and we had quite a nice chat. Too bad he wasn't re-elected. National Archives We weren't allowed to take pics inside but it was cool to see the original Declaration of Independce, Bill of Rights and other important documents Holocaust Museum Also not allowed to take pics here. This is one of the most humbling places aside from Arlington Cemetery. There is just an atmosphere there that cannot be described. It breaks my heart to see all that happened and am just glad it isn't still going on now.

Our tax dollars hard at work - The US Botanical Gardens Who knew we even had one? It was actually pretty cool they had so many different flowers and plants from all over.

Some weird form of cactus The rainforest area If the sidewalk weren't there I would have really thought I was in the rainforest. Don't know what most the plants are but this is a banana tree. I think the flower that buds before the fruit is so cool! The trip started with Emily cutting and coloring my hair. I wish I would have snapped a few pictures. Thanks Em you are the best to bring your salon to me. It ended with a trip to Cedar Point, which again I took no pics. Besides all the craziness we had a lot of fun with these guys. HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY PAUL, thanks for spending it with us. I'm sure it will be one you won't forget we had a great time, miss you!

Our lives seem so boring now :)

A series of unfortunate events

When it rains it pours, bad things come in threes, a stroke of bad luck, kick em when they're down, pouring salt on a wound, call it what you will but you know you've had a bad day when.....

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-One of your good friends unexpectedly passes away in an unfortunate accident (see post below). ---------------- -You wreck your car that same day and come away without a scratch wondering why you were spared and not her.----------------- -2 days later your other car is wrecked.---------------- -You lose your wallet and then your husband loses his.-------------- -It's 1 am and every hotel you go to is booked or the reservationist is straight off the special bus and can't figure out how to book you a reservation.

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We are trying to make lemonade out of all these lemons and hopefully we can laugh about it all soon.

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To keep from having to tell this tale 100 times I am blogging it here so for a more detailed explanation read on.

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Our bestest friends Paul and Emily were coming for a visit from Utah for his birthday. I must start by saying these guys were such troopers considering the circumstances it was a less than ideal vacation for them, if they could even call it one at all. They made all these situations bearable and kept us laughing through it all, so thanks guys we sure love ya!! Come back soon but not on July 15th :)

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I was on my way to pick our friends up from the airport. I was driving on the 70 freeway in the far left lane. To start there were cars behind me, one on my right and the cement barrier on the left. All of a sudden there were 2 queen mattresses in my lane and I had no choice but to hit them. I hit them head on going about 65 I didn't break much because I knew if I did the car behind me wouldn't have time to stop. I flew over the mattresses (yes my entire car was in the air in evil kenevil fashion) I landed on the nose and from what I can remember spun across all three lanes of oncoming traffic about 3 times. I ended up backwards on the freeway as a semi truck was heading straight for me. He missed me by an inch and then I cranked my wheel around which then slammed me into the cement barrier and my car died. 2 wonderful people stopped because they witnessed the whole thing. One guy was another semi truck driver on the other side of the freeway. The other was the man 2 cars behind me. After he made sure I was ok these were his exact words, "That was crazy, I have never seen anything like that before I don't know how you are alive right now!!!" The other guy said the same thing and noone, myself included could believe that I spun across 3 lanes of traffic without any of the cars hitting me or causing any other wrecks. Needless to say apparently it was not my time to go and I truly believe that an angel carried me through it. If you can imagine, I was pretty hysterical but let me just explain that it was partly due to the fact that one of my amazing friends had just been struck by a car that morning and killed. I frantically called Shayne more worried about who would pick up our friends than myself or the car. We made it home but I don't think I slept much that night as I replayed the wreck over and over in my mind.

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The next morning we decided to head to Washington DC as planned. Other than hitting a bit of traffic we ended up getting there in one piece. We had tons of fun in DC and crammed as much in as we could. 2 days later we were heading out of DC and stopped for a quick lunch. When we came outside a parking meter was sitting on the hood of our car. A man had jumped over 2 curbs and hit the parking meter and our car. He says his foot slipped and he hit the gas instead of his brake. So here we are in DC on our way home and the car is not driveable. We had it towed and decided rather than head home we would continue with our original plan to go to Cedar Point (yes brave I know). We weren't about to let anything ruin our trip and at this point we needed some cheering up so we pressed on.

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Since we spent half the afternoon figuring out towing and a new rental car we did not get to Sandusky until about 1 am. We didn't have a hotel yet and so drove around forever. This part won't sound that bad unless you were there and knew how tired we were after a long drive and all the events thus far. Some hotels were sold out and others that weren't seriously had the weirdest people working. I guess we shouldn't have expected much at that hour but nobody could help us get a room. When we were finally ready to give up and sleep in the car we finally found a place. It wasn't the nicest but we didn't care, we just wanted sleep at that point.

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Of course it didn't end there, the icing on the cake, are you ready? We woke up the next morning to find that I had lost my wallet - (luckily it was recovered later) and Shayne losing his as well (also recovered). Just one more thing to add to the craziness of the weekend. We had a great time at Cedar Point with no problems and even made it home without a wreck. Although it was a crazy few days we still found time to have fun and make some great memories. There is always a silver lining and noone was ever hurt which we are so greatful for.

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Hopefully it's done pouring but I think I need a personal umbrella just in case, or maybe I should just start walking everywhere.

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Pictures of this unforgettable experience to come shortly so stay tuned!!

Life is but a Moment

BUNNY BRADLEY

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yesterday I lost a dear friend to a tragic accident http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=11564670 . I just had to pay a tribute to her, she was such an amazing person and I am just heartbroken she had to leave us so soon. I can't even begin to put into words the special person that she is/was, and if you were fortunate to know her like me, you know what I mean. I met her in highschool and we cheered together for 3 years. We went on a million double dates and I remember many nights at her house talking and laughing, she was so easy to get along with and always smiling. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to see her much since living in Ohio but we manage to stay in touch nonetheless. She has 2 adorable little girls and was an amazing wife and mother. I feel so fortunate to have known her. Anyone she crossed paths with she touched with her example and influence and that will live in our hearts forever. Bunny we all love and miss you so so much. She was an amazing, kind, loving (the list goes on) wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend......person. Many prayers to your sweet family. You will be forever missed - love you Bun!

....But nothing comes close to the golden coast.... California Girls We're Undeniable...

I wish I could say I was a true California girl. I have lived there multiple times in my life and I just love it. Every year we go to Cali with Sherri's family so we can pretend that we are. It is always so much fun and such a tease. I can only hope that one day we might live there instead of vacation. Here are the happenings from the week - warning it will be long, as you all know I am a picture freak.

Eating at one of our favorite restaurants, Wahoo's Fish Tacos

Huntington Pier at night We ate gelato til we couldn't stand it anymore. This is the best place by far!

This night in particular was the last Laker Game. It was fun to be there, anytime something good or bad happened you could hear the cheers for miles - things got pretty crazy when the won!!

We had a blast at one of the waterparks. We had multiple races - this was one of our favorites

This one was really fun too because it went underground and was completely dark and you would come shooting out. They had bleachers right in front where people would just sit and watch. It was hysterical, Shayne kept soaking everyone watching.

Tunnel to Crystal Cove in Newport Beach

The tunnel has all these really cool paintings you can look at as you walk through

All the boys - I just love them all!!

The sunsets over the ocean are always amazing, these don't do it justice at all.

Cute Sarah

The boys had fun finding all these crabs, poor thing were probably scared to death!

Of course you can't go to Cali and not go to the Happiest Place on Earth Just in case you haven't noticed this is where Grant spent much of his time. His mom told him he had to pick a buddy to stick with and he chose Shayne!

Sarah in Toon Town at Minnie's House. She is doing Grandma's makeup here

Oh the things you will do for a 4 year old. Minnie's bed, if you can't tell it was a little stiff

We ran into quite a few people down there of all places. This is Shayne's buddy from his mission John Jones we saw him on Space Mountain!

Disneyland couldn't be called the Happiest Place on Earth without the infamous turkey legs. My dad's face says it all - they are so so good!!

I had to laugh cause there was a lot of this going on - can't go anywhere without these bad boys can we? SMALL WORLD I love this ride cause it takes me back to my childhood, I remember loving this ride. It's a bit slower than I remember but still cool.

Apparently not everyone thought so. No Darren is not plugging his ears, he is holding in his headphones. Guess the small world song wasn't good enough for them. The 2 in the front are Sherri's parents and this trip was thanks to them so thanks guys it was so much fun!!

Teacups - I just can't do them. I've always wanted to but I get sick just watching

Sherri's brother and his fam on Matterhorn

Chillaxin on the beach

Sarah and Grandpa had fun racing the waves. She would just scream if they caught up to her, it was too cute!

Boys being boys San Diego Zoo This place is huge it's a little overwhelming

The Koalas were so dang cute and Sherri's favorite part. Apparently they are only awake for like 4 hours a day and we just happened to catch them for part of it

This guy was not camera shy at all, he was posing all over the place. It was hard to get a good pic through the glass

It was really hot - we saw quite a few shows. This was during one of them and it was too cute to pass up a quick pic

Grauman's Chinese Theater

We had to kill some time before our flight so Shayne and I hung out in Hollywood to catch the sites. We toured the stars walk of fame. Apparently this is the only one that has never been put on the ground. Guess they didn't want it to get trampled all over.

We toured the star's homes, do you recognize any? This is the Bel Aire mansion from Fresh Prince

Father of the Bride House

House used in all the Halloween Movies

This is the entry way to Quentin Tarantino's house. We couldn't even see his house but if this is the entrance I can only imagine. The entry is bigger than our actual house.

The house that Oprah built aka Dr. Phil's House

Diane Keaton's house

Cortney Cox' House Jen Aniston's House

Greystone Manor from the Batman movies

Ringo Star's House Gotta love the stars on his gate, some people are so cheesy!Broccoli Trees Each street in Beverly Hills is lined with beautiful groomed trees. No 2 streets are the same. This was one of my favorites, they called them broccoli trees This is the closest we got to the Hollywood Sign The view from up there is awesome - don't you just love all that smog?

Look who we met at the airport!!!! -----------------------------------Dikembe Mutombo

Yet another street with matching trees. My favorite thing about Cali.....I will miss them....Until Next Year!!!