Utah 100, California 0

We were in Cali this last weekend finding a place to live. We got into Oakland around 8 am and just went from there to start looking. We went to a few I found online and just so everyone is clear, the pics online are ALWAYS nicer than the real thing. Our whole day Friday was spent wasting time, looking at dirty, smoke smelling, gross apartments. And the funny thing was, I really expected them to be half decent because of the pricing. Apartments around here, for pretty dang nice ones, go for about $900-$1000. Out there, the disgusting ones were like $1200. Needless to say, I had a minor meltdown at the hotel and told Jeremy I couldn't do it. I couldn't put my kids through this, especially if we had to live in those conditions. My sweet sweet husband sat there and let me yell, scream, cry, and swear at him...well mostly at the situation. I told him I got bad feelings every time I walked into those apartments. I told him I was physically sick thinking about moving into one. I told him I can't be uncomfortable in my own place, afraid to go outside. I told him I can't let Trey go outside and play without wondering who was watching him. I told him I don't want to have to drag my kids downstairs every hour in the hopes to get the washing machine before someone else does, and wonder if someone was watching me too...you know, those weirdo's that know every move you make. He looked at me and said "We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with. This is a decision we both have to make together. I want you to enjoy this experience, not go everyday hating it." I just LOVE him!! So we decided that the next day we would look at few more, and if the feelings were the same, we would weigh our options. We looked at some nice ones, but still weren't feeling good about any of them. My mom and dad happened to get lost when we were looking at one and called us to meet them. We got there and it happened to be in front of some cute town home/apartments. There wasn't a sign that said "for rent" so we just went to the office to ask. The lady was really nice and she said the had a 1 open for rent. She gave us a price for a 2 bed 2 bath and I about crapped my pants when the price was in our range! She took us to see it and it was AWESOME!! I had the best feeling walking into it. I couldn't stop smiling. There was a playground on site, a gym, and the whole thing was sitting on 37 acres so it was covered in ponds, fountains, streams, little cute bridges, and ducks everywhere!! We have our own garage too! We signed the lease, and found out there was no deposit because they were running some kind of special...so great!! Oh, and the best part of all you wonder? Jeremy's school is no more than walking distance...yes, that's right, I can see him walk all the way to the front door from my balcony. His school is just across the street, actually it's more like a path...Loving it so far!
Here are some pics of our new place. Sad to say I didn't take my camera when we went out there, I just forgot for some reason. We went to San Fransisco and it was very overwhelming. I hate Salt Lake because of the busy streets and crowded buildings, so San Fran was 100 times worse. We did go to Fisherman's Wharf. We saw some sea lions and ate us some good lunch, that was awesome!

One of the bigger ponds


This one is by the playground, and by some of the apartments. They are all over the place. Trey will be in heaven seeing all the ducks and water.


The play ground. It's not that big, however there is a HUGE park about 3 miles from our apartment.


This is what our living room looks like. That is a wood burning stove which I will be using to capture the Utah winter/pine smell!


Here is a bedroom. The whole apartment is about 1100 sq ft. Right now, we are living in an 1800 sq ft house, but the basement wasn't finished until just recently, so really we were living in about 900sq ft for 5 years. It will be nice to have more room. The master bedroom there is bigger than our house bedroom.


The kitchen. She even told me I could paint the walls...oh ya!


Another one of the little creeks. It's fun because they flow throughout the whole area.

Anyways, I feel really good about this place. I will post more pics as soon as we get out there.

Just a few

Saturday September 26th. This is my last day in Utah. I'm very emotional about it. I don't want to leave. But the reasons are selfish, I know this, but I can't help it. I don't do well with BIG change. I think about my kids, mostly Trey, and I don't think he's going to understand that we are moving permanently. His daily routine is what he know. He knows we are going to California but I don't think he knows it's for a LONG time. It will be hard for me to have to keep telling him over and over that we will see his "friends" aka cousins and grandparents only sometimes..(thanks Celeste)..We've invested in a skype web cam and I know it will get used. These are just a few of the things I will be missing in Utah...

-Being familiar with everything. Knowing where everything is located. Walmart, Harrison blvd, 12th street, church, school, gym...I will be getting a GPS very soon!
-My house. I love, love, love my little house. It's me and Jeremy's first house we bought. It's had alot of work done to it with our own two hands. It's where I found out I was pregnant. It's where I brought home my two babies, and raised them. I love you house.
-The mountains. I love the view from my front porch. The mountains are home.
-Ogden Valley, my REAL home. It's where I grew up. This one I will miss for sure.
-Going to Grandma's almost every Sunday. Relaxing with family. Having deep, non serious, lame conversations with cousins. Eating grandma's awesome food. Laughing. watching the guys play some sport on the front lawn. Playing cards...everything about grandma's house is comforting.
-Hanging out with my sister-in laws. We would try and get together every Wednesday. The kids loved it.
-Going to dinner on my siblings birthday. Trying to talk them into going somewhere that YOU really want to go, knowing it's their decision. Good times!
-Pizzaria!! Oh how I will miss you the most. Nothing could replace you. I vow NEVER EVER to cheat on you with some "poser" pizza place. (I wonder if pizza stays fresh if I have someone ship it to me? Hmmm)
-Utah's 4 seasons. I love having changing weather. Fall is my favorite. That will be the hardest. Not seeing leaves change, or the smell of that crisp fall air. Eventually getting a few feet of snow gorgeous flowers in the spring, and a "bloody hot" summer. Pleasant Hill only gets to about 87 in the summer and 45 in the winter....huge adjustment there!!
-Shopping!! Living off student loans is going to force me to learn how to REALLY budget. I'm pretty good, but let's face it, my name is Sarah and I'm a shopaholic. I'm going to need therapy and a 10 step program to kick this one.
-My hair dresser
-My OB, I refuse to have any kids in California unless Julia Johansson comes with me.
-The kids pediatrician
-Clean air (well, cleaner than Cali)
-The lights at Christmas
-Having a yard
-My neighborhood
-Walmart, no there isn't one around us, although there is a Target. (3 cheers!)
-Seeing my friends. Going to lunch or hanging out at one of our houses and letting the kids be monsters. Laughing with them about how cool we are.
-Watching my nieces grow up. This one is hard. Avery will probably not remember them, but they are old enough to remember her. Plus, we will be back 3 times a year so it's all good :)
-Barbeque's in the summer
-Boating with the family
-Hanging out at in-laws and just vegging
-Halo!! (our dog)
-Crossroads Fitness. I love my gym. It's going to suck finding a new one. I love knowing everyone there and feeling comfortable enough to go right out in the middle of the floor and doing burpees, or jumping lunges, or hanging knee raises, or something weirdo looking but not caring because we're all friends.

These are just a few things I will miss. Stay tuned for the "things I love so far about Cali"