Oakland.

On Monday my dad had surgery on his eyes, so we road tripped it to Oakland. Please note, that this is the first time I've been in a real city in over 18 months. It was kind of crazy, but super fun. Before my mission, I wanted nothing more than to move to San Francisco, Manhattan, or Boston and live the big city life. Then God laughed at me, sent me to Montana, and changed my heart. Now, the city is a big and stressful place. I miss the openness and beauty of Montana. The rolling hills, vast wheat fields, and breathtaking mountain landscapes. Heavenly Father sure is a tricky one. He shows us what we really want.

Anyways- we arrived in Oakland, Kenzie and I hit the pool, and my Dad got a little bit of lasik. A little later, my Mom and sister and I attempted the daunting task of shopping for clothes. Confession session: Shopping for clothes is my favorite thing in the whole world. I LOVE clothes. For the past little while I'd been wearing frumpy grandma clothes. There is absolutely nothing hot about being a sister missionary. But, it may have brain washed me just a little bit. I remember in my first couple months of missionary life, I would get ready in the morning, look in the mirror, and feel depressed with how bad I looked. Hottie Grandma. Then, a couple weeks went by, and I began to be a little more confident rocking the white collar shirt, and red v-neck sweater. Suddenly, my mind began to warp, and I would look in the mirror, and think, "Dang, I look good." The transformation had begun. Now I have the task of undoing the damage. I had to relearn what was cute, and try to learn the new snappy styles. Let me just say that I failed epically on my first couple attempts. But that's another story. Luckily we found a Forever 21, and I felt like I real girl again. Grandma days: OVER.

The next morning, we popped on over to the Oakland temple. It was beautiful. Best part? I met one of my mission companions, Sister Emily Ivie there. She drove down from San Jose, and we had a little party. Love her. We reminisced, talked about mission drama, and laughed at the crazy things that happened to us in Kalispell. Like the time that creepy man at the library gave me this classy line: "If I owned a bakery, you'd be my sweetest cupcake..." Or when elders would call us and ask us for advice on what to do about razor burn. Classic. Then we ate at The Old San Francisco Creamery. Best ice cream ever.

 A little more shopping, a sassy new dress, and some Panda Express later, we called it a night, and were all ready to go home. The next morning met us with a 5 hour car ride back to Ferndale. I got a little bored, and maybe I took a photo shoot on my phone. I heart iPhones. Also, I love road trips with my crazy family. But ultimately I love the days where nothing necessarily newsworthy happens, but you go to bed happy because guess what? Life is good. Thank you, and goodnight.