House Pics

OK.... so alot of friends and family have been asking for these pictures. So here they are... our tiny but lovely 2 bedroom home.

The kids bedroom. This one is not put together at all. I am waiting for Clara to move out of her crib and then I have the most ADORABLE matching headboards that my mom gave me to use for their room. Until then, this is it.

The kids bathroom.The hallway of memories... i.e. all our family pictures.

Living room.

Dining Area.

The kitchen.

From the kitchen you walk into the Laundry room, and then we made that closet into our pantry since we don't have enough cabinetry in the kitchen. It works.

I ordered a new quilt for our Master Bedroom, so as soon as that comes I will get that one up as well.

grow plants grow....

Here is the "garden" that my mom and I worked on while she was here. We were worried that my patio would not get enough sunlight, but so far everything is doing great!

Pot 1 Basil & Cilantro
Pot 2: Cherry tomatoes & Celebrity tomatoes
Pot 3: Zuccinni

Pot 4: String Beans

*these ones are Jacks. He is in charge of watering them and talking to them to help them grow.Candice sent us a package with the "shroomy's". I was so excited to put them in with my pots. They had a fun touch of color, and every time I am out there I think of their family.

The other day I filled up two storage buckets with water and the kids had a blast playing in the water and eating mini ice cream sandwhiches.

My Side Notes

*Drivers hate me just because I have a UT liscence plate. I get honked at all the time!
*No shoes, no shirt, no problem... is a total understatement.
*Heat plus humidity = way too hot!!!
*Trader Joes is awesome awesome awesome!
*My kids are sharing a room, and suprisingly it is going GREAT!
*99% of the gas stations are G.H.E.T.T.O
*Good luck finding any Diet Mt. Dew
*Blue tooths are a necessity. Not just here in California because you can't hold the phone while driving... but in LIFE. It makes everything so much easier. I love it.
*I LOVE our apartment.
*I found a preschool for Jack. He starts next week!
*Target, Costco, Grocery Stores, the Mall, and plenty of restaurants... all around the corner!
*We have a pool.... and a hot tub. The kids love it.

Things are going great. The weather has been SOOO hot. Today it is 108. Yuck. But the pool keeps us cool, and the beach is only a 45 min drive away. I miss the comforts of home, but we are trying hard to get into a routine and find new comforts here in CA.

Missionaries for Dinner

Before we moved out here we realized that Jessie's Brother is serving an LDS mission in our area. Jessie told me what ward he was serving in, and when we were at church I realized his ward met in our same building! After our meetings ended I went straight to the chapel hoping the missionaries would be there early enough for me to have time to talk to him. Of course, they were the only ones in the chapel - ready and waiting for the meeting to start!!!

I walked right up to him and said, "Elder Lee, I know Jessie". Of course he was in mission mode and family was the farthest thing from his mind... so after a little time explaining who I was and that it was his sister that I was talking about - he was soooo excited!

We picked a day for the missionaries to come to dinner, and were lucky enough to have 4 over at our house one night!

Elder Lee is the front right missionary... and his compantion is the back left missionary. His companion is Elder Elias. He is from Jordan, Egypt. He is one of 200 members, but only 25 of that 200 are active in the church. He is also the very FIRST missionary to come from Jordan. I thought that was AWESOME!
And of course I had to get a picture with Elder Lee. I swear it looks like I am really close to him, or putting my arm around him or something, but I promise - I know my missionary boundaries. I think my hair was just extra fluffy or something?

Jessie, I am so glad we were able to spend time with your brother. He reminded me so much of you, and of course made me miss you even more.

San Clemente

We spend Monday with my friend Melis in San Clemente. She lived with us in UT for about 6 months, but is now back home here in California. I am THRILLED to be close to this girl! She makes everything in life so exciting and I am blessed to have her in my life.

We started our day off with some beach fun! This was our first trip out to the beach since moving here - and I must say - I think this will be a weekly occurance. We had a total blast!

Clara was thrilled when I let her start the day with my Diet Dr. Pepper.

These boys spent every minute in the water!

Jack and his "friend Jack".

Clara was scared of the water, but was fine with the sand as long as she had food in her hand.

*note to self... bring snacks to the beach next time.

Both of these boys dads were friends in high school.... I really need to do some recruiting of pictures and see what I can get of the two of them together - because these kids are like walking versions of their dads.

Jackson had to go to the bathroom, but I refused to walk him all the way down to the bathrooms. I tried talking him into going into the ocean - but he HATED the idea. I refused to give in, knowing that if I did it once - every time we go to the beach from here on out he would expect the same. So I carried him into the ocean. Got the waves up to waist line, and held him while he peed down my side. Yes. I held him while he peed down my side, it was a total 'mom moment'. Melis had some of her cute friends come too. Here are 3 of us lovely ladies trying to re-inact a vintage picture that Wendy was thinking she saw somewhere. I'm pretty sure we got some better ones, but this was the only one that was forwarded to me. Love this girl.

Catching up on past times. After the beach we went to the pool to rinse off the salt water and of course - enjoy more lounging in the sun.

Wendy and I were matching in our stipped cover-ups.

And the fun continued... after the pool we went back to Melissa's house and she gave me a brazillian blowout. It is awesome, and my hair feels like SILK! Look it up and go and book yourself an appointment, you will LOVE it!

Thank you Melis for introducing me to how a true Californian lives. You make everything so much, we had a blast with you and 'friend Jack'.

New Address

I just sent out an email with our new contact info. If you did not get the email but want our info, please let me know.

A weekend with Nana

My mom drove back to California with us. I could not have done it without here so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

She helped me get so much done. Things are finally on my walls. Trips to Target, IKEA, Walmart, plant stores, a variety of grocery stores, Trader Joes, Costco, and much more was accomplished. We planted a garden on our patio, I hope it gets enough sunlight to produce some fresh veggies!
Mom we miss you and thank you for your patience with the kids and all the projects!