Our Wally Wear

I don't know if anyone heard about the monsoon that hit California just before Christmas but we were stuck in the middle of it. It rained for 6 days straight. We thought we were going to have to take an ark to travel to Utah for Christmas instead of the plane. I would check the water level in the pool every day to see if it was going to fill up completely and become one of those infinity pools. And it would have if it wouldn't have been drained one day.

In the midst of all this weather Chris and I drove some friends to the Long Beach airport which is about an hour away. The drive there was uneventful, but on the way back we were unfortunate enough to score ourselves a flat tire while driving on a busy freeway (what freeway in California isn't busy), near sundown, with a narrow shoulder. Chris changed the tire while I stood watch. After we got the little donut of a spare on we went to a tire store to see if we could get it fixed right away. Being completely soaked and having a 45 minute wait we decided to make use of the time instead of freezing while sitting in the waiting room. We walked to the Walmart across the street and found ourselves some of the most high quality and best looking outfits. Despite the fact that we look like we are about to go on a hunting trip we were more than happy to have some dry clothes to drive home in.

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!

Because we are going to be in California temporarily and space is a rare commodity Chris and I left all of our Christmas decorations in storage in Utah. Every single one.

Chris and I were kind of bummed because the weather feels more like early fall, we didn't have anything around us that made it feel like the holidays and we hadn't been feeling any Christmas vibes. Chris surprised me by stopping at Lowe's and buying the last of the little Christmas trees at the bargain price of $2.00.

I was super excited. We thought it very reminiscent of the tree Charlie Brown has, and probably just about the same size. We didn't have a tree stand so we cut a hole in a postal box and put a bowl with water underneath. We even have a couple of presents under the tree. Now we turn on the lights the first thing in the morning and leave them on all day. We definitely have a better sense of the Christmas spirit.

Christmastime in California

It is strange to think that Christmas is so close. The weather in California is rather deceiving to those of us from Utah. The leaves just started changing last week and the weather has finally cooled down to pants weather, though I'm still wearing flip flops most of the time. I feel more like I should be preparing for Halloween than gearing up for the Holidays. To help us get into the right mood Chris and I went with the youth in our ward to tour a christmas light-lit street in the foothills just above our apartment. It was very impressive to see so many houses decked out from top to bottom.

In years past Chris and I have barely gotten lights up, and when we have they are usually only half working, or we don't even turn them on. I think we are really going to have to step it up in the years to come. This year we exempted ourselves from any decorations due to us being in Utah for the Holidays.

Oma turns 80!

Happy Birthday to Grandma (Oma) who turned 80 this year! My mom was wonderful and flew me to Utah to be there for the celebration. It was so neat to see so many people come and celebrate the life of such an amazing woman. Oma is one of the most generous and kind people, and not just because she's my grandma. I am always impressed at how she remembers the name and birthday of each of her 50 or so grandkids, their spouses and her great grandchildren. Because she wants to have a personal relationship with them she still shops for birthday and christmas presents and attends graduations, weddings, and various other celebrations.

We love you Oma!

Turkey Day in Arizona

Chris and I traveled to Arizona to spend Thanksgiving at his parents new home. They had moved in just two weeks prior to us getting there and had done a great job at getting settled so quickly. Chris' brother, Joe, and his wife and son were there to help make a nice family celebration.

The only pictures we have are these couple I took while on a run. I thought the cacti were amazing. The really big ones are protected by the state of Arizona so they are everywhere. They get amazingly huge and it takes a lot of years to get there. Also on my run 4 coyotes meandered right where I was planning to run next. Not knowing much about coyotes and human attacks I decided to end my run there - just in case. I figured being pregnant I would be a pretty easy target and could feed all four. My sister did some research and found that coyote attacks are rare and only usually happen to dogs and once in a blue moon to little kids that resemble small dogs. I'm safe, but still...