Rodeo Beach - Cali trip pt 3

One of the days we were there we took a trip to Rodeo beach as a family. It wasn't like any of the beaches I'd ever been to before but I loved it so much & it was extra special because it's the beach Kellan and his family always went together.

We brought in a picnic and played whiffle ball & then the boys went boogie boarding [because they're crazy] while the girls relaxed cuddled up in sweaters and warm quilts. It was absolutely perfect...except for when I threw a handful on sand straight into Peter's eyes & mouth... Maybe in a few years we'll be able to laugh about it.

Oakland - Cali Trip pt 2

So one of the reasons we drove out was to see one of my best friends get married! Joanna & I were roommates my very first semester & then every one till I got married. Me & her are soul sisters, sister wives, whatever you want to call it but nothing was going to stop me from gettin' to her wedding, okay that's a lie, a few things would have stopped me but Kellan & I were thrilled we could make it. It also gave us the opportunity to go to the Oakland temple which I'd never been to so we were extra excited.

We got there a little early with the intention of just wandering around a bit & because Kellan hates being late to anything, & ended up running into the bride & groom who were running late! They actually pulled up as we were walking up & yelled at us asking if we could park their car so they could run in.

The sealing was perfect & I bawled like the baby that I am.

We ended up sticking around for quite a while & somehow ended up with Tracy's (the mother of the bride) purse in our car? But by that point we were starving & HAD to find something to eat pronto so we figured we'd look in Oakland. Sounds reasonable right? Wrong!

Just a few streets down we finally found downtown Oakland and thought we were going to get jumped. We popped into McDonalds, got our food, & were outta there quick as we could & on to the reception venue. 

It was such a beautiful event & Kellan & I took advance of the dance floor & made use of our dance lessons together. I don't mean to brag or anything but we basically got the whole place dancing. 

It was such a beautiful day & we are so incredibly happy for Joanna & Micah. 

Road Trip - Cali Trip pt 1

We drove out to California for a visit with the family & to see one of my very best friends get married to her sweetheart! It was such a complete blast & I so sad it's all over but it was a completely wonderful time & I really do have the best in laws.

Kellan, Paige & I set out from Provo with food, movies & enough cheese & grapes to make the drive interesting & that it was! We had so much fun & it was actually the first time we'd stopped off at the Salt Flats!

We watched Despicable Me, stopped at our now traditional Arby's, spilled some drinks, tried to get Paige to catch cheese cubes in her mouth outside of her window as we drove (she chickened out so we waited till we were coming up to a stop sign & it didn't work...); basically just the best road trip you can have on such a long drive. 

When we finally got to Yuba City we were so excited & beat but we managed to muster up our strength for some pizza making. 

We just love our California family!

A Busy Week ... Again

This week has been a doozy! I felt like we had barely a minute to catch our breath with things planned back to back. But we've survived to tell the tale.

Monday I started watching the cutest little fellow. The family lives just down the road from us and the dad serves in Young Men's with Kellan and asked if we'd be willing to watch their little five month old two times a week. So he shows up in the morning while Kellan is at classes & then we hangout for awhile until Kellan gets back home.

Tummy time!

The rest of the week went by in a blur of homework and was punctuated only by the arrival of my favorite cousin Monica back from her mission to Vancouver, Canada! We wanted to be there at the airport, but I had classes & we both had YM & Activity Days that night so we had to miss it.

Friday was interesting because I had an interview for a position as a nanny from a woman who found me on a nanny site. It went really well but we'll have to keep you posted about it because we're not sure what's going to happen yet. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the first Friday of Spring with a picnic and soaked up the warmth. Kellan added to our gardening space and thought up lots of fun outdoor projects to spruce up our home while I worked on some projects for the living room. 

Saturday was crazy! We had to put our home back into a presentable state, which meant moving all of the piles of wood and paint out of our living room, because we had a home presentation for a friend. They wanted to win a food processor and needed us to allow someone into our home to make us a meal. Basically they were trying to sell us some cooking ware.  I don't even remember what it was called but it seemed a little hokey & it ended up making Kellan sick anyways.

Hopefully this next week will be much calmer.

Blessed

We went grocery shopping this morning after we finished our early classes and when we got home I started putting away the food and was having a bit of a difficult time finding room in our cabinets and pantry to get everything to fit, when it struck me (not just the Teddy Grahams) how incredibly blessed we are. We have so much food that we seriously have no place to put it all! 

We've been talking about poverty in my Sociology class and I felt incredibly selfish and ungrateful for not being more mindful of all the wonderful blessings we've been given; so I felt the need to express to someone just how lucky we are & writing it down seemed less awkward than calling someone up for that sole purpose. 

But all joking aside, we truly have been so blessed. We have a wonderful little home that we've made together and it fits our needs perfectly. We might not have the grandest place or all of the fancy things we'd like but we have everything we need and then some. We were so lucky to have found where we're at and in such a quick time with no difficulty and we've since learned we're paying far less than others in the same units! We love our ward and our callings and through them we've been able to meet some of the sweetest people ever. 

We have enough to meet all our needs & have extra that we can play around with. I have an incredible husband who puts up with my craziness & helps me with all of my hairbrained plans. He's a thoughtful and honest man who treats me like a queen and is generous with his time and resources. & he's handy & is willing to use his skills to help make my dreams come true. 

We have a supportive & loving family. We're healthy and have physical bodies that let us accomplish so much.

Basically everything about my life has worked out so spectacularly well & in a way so much better than I could have ever planned. You can't help but see the Lord's hand in all of it & I am so grateful for that.