Dear California,

We would like to let you know that you are a very nice state. Very beautiful, very big and very warm. It was so much fun to come visit you. We were amazed to see how green the grass is already and to watch the busy streets around us. Mom kept us very close to her and yelled at us not to stand so close to the curb. She said that the drivers are even crazier in California than in Oklahoma. You have a nice city in Sacramento. We enjoyed going out to eat and hanging out at the hotel with Hallie, Lauren, Maggie, Kiki, Nana, Gran Carolyn, Mackenzie, Trey, Jourdan and CJ. Swimming and snacking and watching movies was pretty cool. Nana let us sleep in her room every night. Luke got to stay with Gran Carolyn too. But what we really enjoyed was our day trip to San Francisco with the ORU cheerleaders. Is that the same Golden Gate Bridge that they show on Full House? And why are the houses built right next to each other like little leggos? We had a great time on the bay. Things we especially enjoyed were Fisherman's Wharf, looking across the bay at Alcatraz, visiting the Aquarium, and eating chocolates at Ghiralldi. Then, we took a drive to Pacifica beach. Oh my! Was it ever awesome! And COLD! Especially when Hallie fell down in the tide and got all wet. We thought you could warm up San Francisco a little bit - can you work on that please? Actually, the cheerleaders tried to get warm by doing some formations on the beach. Another thing...the sand wasn't really the sand we're used to... but small, smooth stones of many colors. I hate to tell you this, but Ellie stole lots of your pebbles and mom keeps finding them in pockets and suitcases. She even found them in the floor of the garage today! I think you have a zillion of them left on your beach though. Plus, Bubba Gump and The Hard Rock Cafe are two yummy restaurants! We ate there for lunch and then dinner. The only disappointment we had, California, was the ORU basketball game. We felt that we had the chance to play well against a very good team in Washington State. And we did for one half. But then... in the 2nd half, things didn't go our way and we ended up losing the game. It's funny... because at first we were just excited to be IN the tournament. But as game time grew closer and closer, we wanted that game more and more. We not only wanted it for ourselves, but for Caleb Green and Ken Tutt. But it was not the happily ever after we hoped for. Guess who cheered us up after the game? Caleb Green himself. He saw us on the elevator with sad looks on our faces, and he encouraged us, ""don't be sad! We got to the tournament twice!" We looked up 6 feet 8 inches to see a big smile on his face. That pretty much helped us feel better. Well, again, we thank you for letting us stay in your fabulous state. We had a great time and hope that we can come back again someday!
Love, Kami Ellie and Luke
P.S. We saw a t-shirt at the airport and we were wondering, who is "The Governator?"

After we ate at the Outback in Sacramento

Can you see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background?

My, Luke looks like Forest Gump! Well, at least those are Forest's shoes.

The outcropping of rocks at Pacifica

The ORU cheerleaders building on the beach

Ellie and Hallie looking for special pebbles.

At the Aquarium. Ellie was afraid the tunnel was going to burst on top of her.

Two little rockers at the Hard Rock Cafe

The biggest ORU fans of all! Kami, Mackenzie and Jourdan