Well, it's official.
We have said goodbye to life in Huntington Beach...
We have said goodbye to life in Huntington Beach...
...and hello to life in Highland, Utah.
I still can't believe it's real. After being in Huntington Beach for 6 years, it was really hard to leave. There is so much that we love about Southern California, but the thing that we will miss most is definitely our friends. I know I've said it before, but since we have lived away from our families we have just relied on our friends who have been like family to us. Sorry if I didn't get to officially say goodbye to you, but I found myself thinking/assuming I'd see people again before we took off, then the time just disappeared. I think part of it was me subconsciously avoiding saying goodbye, since I knew it would be so hard. By the way, in case you were wondering, moving sucks...bad! We only had a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment to move and it was a nightmare. I can't imagine what it was like for my parents who moved after living in a home for 27 years. Crazy! My mom was awesome and flew out on Friday morning just to help pack and clean and then drove back with me, while Dan and a friend drove the moving truck. On Saturday morning we had a handful of guys who came to help move, which was such a huge help. I just can't believe how much stuff we had. It was crazy. And then even after the guys loaded up the truck and left, we still had a ton to do. It just felt like it was going to never end. We totally thought we'd be able to hit the beach or get pedicures, but no such luck. We did go to dinner Sat in Dana Point with my mom's brother and his family, which was fun, but we were exhausted! The Schumann's were kind enough to offer us to stay at their house Sat night, which was so nice. It was great to be able to be completely done and then sleep in a real bed, rather than an air mattress. We woke up, hit Sugar Shack for breakfast and then set off for the long trip to Utah. It wasn't too long until I was shedding a few tears (while my mom slept) as I thought about this chapter of our life closing and I thought about all the friends and the memories that we were leaving behind. Change is just hard, even when you know it's a good thing. (Or a necessary thing). On a good note, the drive was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I drove until St. George and then my mom drove the rest of the way. Dan's Acura is really comfortable, so it wasn't bad. I didn't have stop any more than we did for gas/food, so that was good. We got to my parents around 10:00 p.m. and then waited for Dan. After dropping off his friend Joel and switching cars, etc...and driving back to Highland, we didn't end up going to bed until about 2:00 a.m. The crappy part was that since we were getting there so late, we ended up asking all our family to come Monday night after work to unpack the truck, so I had all day to kill without being able to unpack anything or get settled. I'll admit it was nice to sleep in and go shopping with my mom, but I would really love to just get settled. Anyway, this whole move is definitely bitter sweet. Tonight we had both our families eating dinner together and helping us move. It was so nice just to be able to spend time with them and we feel so grateful to have them close by. (I'm sure even moreso after I have the baby). But I know there are going to be many days when I'll really miss my life in California.Things I'll miss about life in California....
My friends
Beach sunsets
Bonfires on the beach
Beach cruisers
TK Burger
The Manor ;)
Sugar Shack
The Happiest Place on Earth
Cheap pedicures
The sound of the waves
Great shopping
Sephora
Beach days at San Onofre
The traffic (kidding!)Beach days at San Onofre
Things I'm looking forward to in Utah...
Spending time with family
Having a washer, dryer & dishwasher (no more coin laundry!)
Girls night out with my mom and sister
Starry skies
The mountains
Affordable housing
Summer nights
Snowcones
Cafe Rio
Air conditioning!
Air conditioning!
Boating with my family
Free babysitting
Fresh fruits & veggies from the garden
Me & Jeni Baird
Emily Curfew, Steph Jensen, Amber Baltzer & Helen Ritter
Britney Hillstead, Amber Sim, Kristin Arnold & Michele Briscoe
Just one of the amazing handmade blankets I got. This is one that my aunt Carol Pearson made. I love the pink/brown.
A group shot of more friends
Friends & Family (L-R around the table, Aunt Carol Pearson, Sara Mortensen, Patti Payne, Candice Moffett, Natalie Moffett, Tracie Syed, Aunt Carol Plowman, cousin Kim Pearson)
As much as I hate belly shots, I figured I should have at least one picture at my baby shower. Jeni surprised me here by kissing my belly! 
Here is a cute picture of Dan's mom doing a photo shoot of all the surfers and Dan's dad watching through the binocs. I thought it was cute. 
Dan surfing
Cute Layne Barnes....love this girl! She was my little buddy.
People tell me I'll appreciate having these pictures later. I'm just taking their word for it. (There's really nothing better than hangin' out at the beach all day in your maternity swimsuit, laying next to all your skinny friends!)
Some of my favorites! (Kelly McDonald, Jen Schumann, me, Jeni Baird, Steph Jensen, Alex McDonald & Amber Sim)
My former supervisor and preceptor Donna Baker & Jennifer Higgins from the Cancer Center where I did my internship last year. I love these women!
Jake sportin' some cool shades
