Katie, Steph & Sean at Paul McCartney Concert!

I am way behind in updating this - sorry readers! July has been a busy month. I spent the 4th of July in Hemet with my relatives. My cousin Laura had a party at her house. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and just hung out and enjoyed the nice weather outside. The younger kids swam but I enjoyed staying poolside. Later we all drove down to the park and watched the fireworks display, which was very fun (although a bit chilly - it gets cold in the desert at night!). The next day I helped my grandma buy a new computer. She needed something for faster internet (her old computer only had 350MB of RAM - yikes!) so we went to Best Buy in Beaumont and I ended up finding her a really good deal on a basic computer.

It's so nice to be able to be so close to my California relatives. I'm really enjoying getting to know my cousins, aunt, uncle and grandma better.

Speaking of relatives, last weekend I had a nice little vacation to visit my relatives in
San Francisco. My cousin Stephanie and her husband Sean and I went to see Sir Paul McCartney perform live at Giants Stadium, which is right along the bay.

It was so amazing to see Paul live again (I saw him in 2002 in Chicago during his Back in the U.S.A. Tour). Some key performances were "Blackbird," "Yesterday," "Letting Go," "Live & Let Die," "Dance Tonight," "Here Today," and "Something" (a tribute to George Harrison played on the ukelele). Paul played about 5 or 6 different instruments: bass guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, ukelele and mandolin (for Dance Tonight). Pretty awesome.

Sir Paul McCartney!

The trip to San Fran was fab as well. I loved spending time with the Larson Clan. I was able to spend a lot of quality time with my cousins and we had a great time. Definitely one of the best San Francisco trips I've made in recent years.

I head back to "The Lou" in a month! At this point I'm getting anxious to get back home for a trip. I can't believe I've been away for 4 months, almost 5. I don't think I've ever gone that long without being in St. Louis, even when I was in college and living in Indiana. There was always breaks, holidays, etc. So I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to St. Louis and seeing my parents, my family and friends because it has been a long time. Plus, it's my mom's birthday weekend so I'm glad to be home for that!

Not much else going on. I have a work BBQ at my boss's house on Thursday, which should be a lot of fun. I also have a date with the California DMV this week to get my drivers license and plates (yes, I have to get rid of the BTLFAN plates - SO sad! But I'm going to try and get personalized plates here, it just won't be the same). Next week my book club is getting together, so I need to make sure I read that book this week. Just trying to keep busy and continue to be out and about!

Promise to update this a little more frequently! For now, that's all from this California girl!