California Dreamin'

Get ready for a HUGE update.

We've been in California for over a month and it has been great! Like every new place, it takes time to adjust, and since this place is so new to me, I've been doing a lot of adjusting. But we finally have our doctors set up, apartment feels like home, and are finally getting to a regular schedule. We have been ridiculously busy having non-stop fun. Here's a list of all the things we've been up to!

We said goodbye to Rexburg and to these cool kids (Tristan's scouts), they were so sweet to help us pack up the truck! I can't even tell you how hard it was to say goodbye to Brittany. Love that lady.

 

Our budget truck was loaded and ready to go. Having Tristan as a husband made for the easiest and smoothest move ever. He is so organized! The ride was... uneventful, which I think I would prefer over eventful. Our brother-in-law, Nathan, flew up just to help us drive down. He's AWESOME.

 

 So happy to see the "Welcome to California" sign!

You better believe we ate here as soon as we could, this pregnant lady wasn't waiting ANY longer.

 We got acquainted with our cool complex and enjoyed sometime outside.

How beautiful is this bike trail RIGHT behind our apartment?? My parents will be stoked.

 We walked to Garret's school carnival and had a blast! Ellie LOVES her cousins. Also, I think the picture of her looking in the trash is hilarious.

Speaking of cousins, we've been spending a lot of time with them! That's Garret and Allye. 

Ellie met her brand new cousin Hailye, and always wants to hold her! It really makes me excited for our little one to get here.

We've been going swimming a TON! It's still so hot here and I'm loving it. How cool is my BIL & SIL toys? We always have fun when we're at their house.

 Can I just say that I've been to the park a LOT and every time it's a different one? I've been seriously 6 times and every single park is beautiful! Folsom is a very family-friendly neighborhood and I love it. Plus, it's seriously beautiful.

Tristan and I got our Diplomas! Prrrretttty cooooool.

At our apartment, we have a patio, instead of a backyard (but I'll take what I can get) and every time she's out there I always try and get her to smash her face up against the glass because I think it's HILARIOUS.

Here's the splash park near us. Quite different from the one in Rexburg, but equally as fun! Also, there were hardly any kids because school started! Woot!












This is at the same splash park. Look how cool this is! It has a cover for shade and a separate area for little kids to play on, since the big kids side had rock climbing and stuff. But I was loving the shade--especially since it was 95 degrees that day!

 We celebrated Tristan's grandpa turning 80! Unfortunately his grandma has been having ups and downs with her health and was in a convalescent home for a few weeks so we had to celebrate it there. But she has since been home and is doing better.

We said goodbye to this beauty. It was just guzzling up the gas, so we got a small Honda Accord that is a manual! I am not really that good with manuals, but I plan to be AWESOME. It has been awesome not having to pay that gas bill anymore, but we miss you '93 4runner!

 For Labor day, we spent the evening with family and pizza at the park! It was so fun. Ellie went crazy when she saw this "puppy".

 After the park, we went to the outdoor mall that Tristan's mom works at and went on all the little rides. They were lovin' it! And fighting over spots because, obviously, three kids don't fit very comfortably in all the rides.

We've had a few BBQs, and my brother-in-law  (both of them) rocks that grill!

 Guess who we ran into?? Garret was having his primary program, and my SIL is in Logan's mom's ward, so Kai was there seeing his aunt in the primary program! Too funny! LOOOVE these guys. I mean, seriously, how HOT are they?? ;)

And AGAIN, more sun and water time. It never gets old. We go swimming and grandma and grandpa's at least once a week. But we even have fun washing the cars! I have such good childhood memories of doing this with my mom and sibs. SO fun.

My first three weeks in California were sooooo boring because all I would do is study. Literally all day. Tristan would take Ellie in the evening when he got off work and go take her somewhere. BUT, all the sacrifice and hard work payed off because I passed the NCLEX and can finally call myself a Registered Nurse! The exam was difficult and I wasn't sure how I did, but I passed it in the minimum amount of questions (75, there could be a maximum of 265) and found out two days later that I was free from studying for that thing EVER again! 

I'm so grateful for an awesome husband who supports me in every way.

 Ellie and I meet up with Tabitha and her little ones and go on a walk to pick up Garret every day from kindergarten. We are creating lots of fun memories with our cousins.













And sorry mom, I had to take a picture of these cuties all sportin' the San Francisco Giants hats. How cute are they??

This was another time we were at the park with the NETHERCOTTS and were having a blast with them! Ellie looooved the scooter rides.

This is Ellie and her new BFF, Gwen, having a blast riding the Zebra! Gwen's mom (Cari) and I are both pregnant and due around the same time, so it's been fun hanging out with them.

And of course, Ellie is growing right before my eyes. She gets cuter, uses more words, and surprises me daily. I love her soooo much; there isn't one bad day that this little girl couldn't fix.

I'm currently 16 weeks and had my first doctor's appointment today. It was great seeing our little one and knowing that everything was going well. We don't find out what we're having for another 4 weeks, so I'll be updating with that information soon. SO excited!