Daddy's Little Girl!

So I know that this blog post is about a week overdue (as they all seem to be), but I had a paper due this past Friday. Needless to say, I was a little preoccupied. Excuses, excuses...I know.


Anyways! The week BEFORE last week was an AMAZING WEEK!!! Why do you ask? Well, I'll tell ya. MY DAD WAS IN TOWN! Okay, I think everyone reading this knows who my dad is, but in case you don't, this is him...

Dad and I got to spend almost an entire week together hanging out and relaxing! And it was perfect! We didn't really have anything planned, but we didn't need to. Just having him here to spend some time with (whatever we did) was awesome. He came to my practices and watched and got to meet the coaches and some of my teammates. We went down to Laguna Beach one night and ate at BJ's. He liked Laguna and saw it as an opportunity to bust out his brand new camera!

Experimenting with zoom. It actually turned out to be a really cool picture.

The houses we can only dream of living in.

And I couldn't leave there without asking someone to take a picture of us!

The one thing that we did have planned for that weekend was a trip into LA for an American Idol concert! We headed to LA kind of early so we could avoid traffic. So we got to the theater around 4. The theater was in a really cool area so we just hung out there for awhile and checked everything out. 

We ate dinner at a place there called the Yard House and I showed off my new found salad-eating skills while he enjoyed a burger. After dinner we headed into the theater.

The Nokia Theater is absolutely huge! But, thanks to eBay, we found some pretty good seat for really cheap!

And we got to see our favorite idols perform! Dad's favorite is Casey and my favorite is Haley! They even did a duet together! It was awesome! 

It was a great night! American Idol is kind of our thing. We watch it every season no matter if we are together or apart and by the time it gets down to the top 5, we have to pick someone who we think will win. Loser owes the winner a steak supper. Can you guess who owed who a steak supper? Probably because I already told you who our favorites were! Well, you guessed right! I win! So, the last night of dad's vacation, we went to Outback Steakhouse! It was delicious! Afterwards we went to Yogurtland for the second night in a row :) It was the absolute perfect ending to a great week! 

So Dad, I know you're reading this. I want to say "thank you" for coming and visiting me! It was the happiest I've been all summer! I love you! 

Kayla

P.S. Dad got me hooked on the show "Swamp People" while he was here. It is pure entertainment and I'm addicted :)

P.P.S. I know how much Dad loves "The Office" (insert sarcasm here), so here is your clip of the week! This is an episode in which Michael decides to go through the complaints folder. There is an entire box dedicated to Dwight's complaints about Jim. Enjoy!

Chocolate=Love

So, I'm still here in Anaheim training hard for USA. Things are going okay for me, I guess. I'm playing pretty well. The team has been gone the past week and a half. They are currently in Mexico competing in the Pan Am Cup. Well, I guess I should say they just finished competing in the Pan Am Cup. They placed third today, securing a spot in the World Grand Prix in 2012. Good job ladies! They get back tomorrow and its back to having everybody in the gym on Monday. We then have three full weeks of practice before the team leaves for the next tournament: World Grand Prix. They'll be gone for the entire month of August. Summer has been flying by, which might be a good thing, because it's been a tough summer (as I'm sure everyone's first summer with the team is). But, hopefully once I get this first one under my belt, it will only get easier.

Like I've said before, I'm SUPER bummed I didn't get to spend this summer in Lincoln (again, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for being blessed with this opportunity). But, a summer relaxing, working out, and hanging out with my friends would've been amazing! So, needless to say, I've been a little homesick here this summer. However, this past week I received a few smiles in the mail! The first came on Thursday from my best friend, Jess Yanz! You all know about Jess. She is amazing! The best friend anyone could ask for! Aaaaand, she has recently been named Director of Operations at the University of Dayton! Read about it here. And to learn more about my bestest friend in the world, you could also read her blog Expected Serendipity. Anyways, she read a recent status update of mine asking if anyone had any suggestions of good books that I could read. And about a week later, I received this gift in the mail. Let's start with the card. Actually, let's begin with the envelope. This is why I love her.

You laughed right? So did I. :)

And here is the card...she added her own special illustrations to it. The inside says, "This is a card to say that number 3 sucks." That is does, Jess. That is does. Anyways, like I was saying, Jess, being the bestest friend that she is, came to the rescue and sent me a beautiful, brand new book!

I'm only a few chapters in, and already I'm finding it hard to put down. But, that is not all she sent me!

Oh Jess, you know me so well :) Okay, you caught me, they're opened....but at least they're not already gone! THANK YOU JESS!!

So, after an already pleasant surprise this week, the VERY NEXT DAY I received another package in the mail. This one was from my former teammate and good friend of mine, Jordan Wilburger (I guess I should say Jordan Sauer as she was recently married to the man of her dreams). It wasn't another book, but it did include a thank you card for her wedding gift. And guess what else it had inside?

Wow. Do my friends know me or what? Gosh dang it...YES OKAY YES! THE HERSEY'S BLISS BAG IS OPEN! Geez...get off my back will ya? :)

So, thanks to my amazing friends, I received two huge smiles in the mail this week! And I feel your love from Dayton and Lincoln. THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU BOTH VERY MUCH!!

On a different note, today is July 9th, which means it is my dad's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I'm super bummed I wasn't at home for it, but I am so excited to see you in a few days! I love you!

That's all I have for tonight. Sorry, Eric, but the clip you requested was block on YouTube. But, I hope you like this clip instead because I literally just laughed out loud when I saw it (I will preface it by telling you that they are trying to figure out which one of the employees was smoking).

Enjoy!

Kayla