Guess What I'm Reading

My very talented friend Stacy Henrie just published her first novel. I've been anticipating reading Lady Outlaw for months. It just came out last week. I preordered my copy and got it on Thursday. I have loved the read. It's a historial novel with love, adventure, and spirituality. It doesn't disappoint. Read it. Enjoy Stacy's talent as a writer and storyteller and then wait for her next publishing. In March 2014 she is slated to publish a three book series of World War I romance novels. Way to go Stacy! All her talent and hard work are really paying off. I am very proud of her and lucky to be her friend. 

What We've Been Up To

One of my favorite places around the Bay is Coyote Point. I love the views of the Bay. No matter the weather, fog or sunshine, it is always beautiful here. The girls and I love to sit on the "cliffs" and watch the planes fly in as they make their decent on the SF airport. It's tradition that we watch the planes while sharing a bag of Famous Amos cookies. 

 We went to Half Moon Bay and Fitzgerald Marine Reserve one more time before school started. It was foggy and the water was cold like always. But that never stops my girls from going in. We were nearly the only ones at the beach and certainly the only ones in the water without wetsuits. 

Lucy stayed bundled that the beach. 

 We join other ladies and their kids from the Ward and took the train to Burlingame. It was a cute city with a charming downtown. It had Parisan-styled sidewalk cafes. Though we opted for Italian food. I think we will have to go back with Stephen for a family date night. There were restaurants with some good looking food I think we will have to try sometime. 

One of the shops in Burlingame had a cute name.

Our new command center. We bought an iMac. No, it's not a TV, though it is almost as big as our TV. Now we have 5 computers, one for each of us. We got the new computer partly because Stephen convinced me we would be able to consolidate our compter files from a few computers on to it to save space. Anyone local want an old computer and monitor? 

Mally started her first day of school at her new school. So far she is enjoying school. 

The girls love their little Lucy. Maybe too much. She looks a little concerned. 

…and breathe

As stressful and overwhelming as this summer has been, it is equally as overwhelming to sit down and try to express in words what we experienced. To say the least, this summer was a blur. I don’t know how we handled having a baby, deciding to apply for a new job, interviewing for the job, getting the job, blessing Lucy, throwing a party to celebrate her blessing, going to many family parties, preparing our house to move out of state, finding and place to live in CA, talking in church, selling our house, selling our car, selling our furniture, getting rid of our junk, packing our stuff, Stephen working full-time and all the time, trying to properly take care of three active girls, going to doctor appointments, going to dentist appointments, living temporarily at Grandma’s, traveling to CA, unpacking, settling in a “new” area, registering for elementary, starting a new job, joining a “new” ward… I guess I do know how we did it all. With help from God. Although it was hard, really hard, I know we received so many miracles and blessings. With God’s help everything just fell into place.

I had a wonderful delivery. Induced. Absolutely no pain. She was born healthy and beautiful.

Her sisters love her. 

Lucy’s baby blessing

For Sale by owner. We listed our house on KSL classifieds and it sold in 1 day! A true miracle.

Look what we unpacked.

Lucy has become a very happy baby.

Check out how California cool she is.

The “Home” Tour

I am happy to report we have only one more cardboard box to unpack from our move. It’s full of pictures, and there just isn’t wall space for it. We have been in the Bay Area 12 days and are slowly settling in. We have an apartment, we’ve gone to our “new” Ward, Mally is registered for school and Stephen and I got our CA drivers licenses today. So, I think that means we are officially CA residents.

Here are pictures of our apartment. It’s 950 square feet, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. It’s definitely not as large or as nice as our UT home. But, it’s home for now and we are liking it just fine. Hey, it’s bigger than our apartment last summer and this time around we even have our furniture.

The kitchen and girls’ room

The family/living/office/dining room.

The master bedroom.

The bathrooms.

That’s all folks.

The Graduate

This past Friday was Stephen's Master degree graduation. We are all very proud of him. It was fun to hear the girls yell "Yey, Dad," when they read his name. This has been quite the growing experience for our whole family. And it all would not have been possible without the guidance of the spirit, many answered prayers, helpful neighbors, and the support of our extended family.

To celebrate this accomplishment we are spending the week as a family in Park City. Which is good because I am exhausted from all of Stephen's hard work.

The Master is in the House

Stephen successfully defended his thesis yesterday and now you can officially refer to him as Master Stephen. He did a great job in his presentation defense in front of his peers and committee. He hardly seemed to get flustered or sweat it when they grilled him with questions. In contrast I was worried for him and literally kept my fingers crossed the whole time praying they would be easy on him and not ask too hard of questions. Man, those professors are smart guys and one in particular seemed to like to hear himself talking about math equations filled with Greek letters. I really wanted him to stop asking questions.

But all in all, Stephen out smarted all of them and convinced them to pass off this thesis and give him a Masters degree. One degree down now on to the next one. I am a very proud wife. He has truly worked hard for this degree.

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