catching up!

So I've been in California for about a week now. I flew in on Saturday the 26th. My in-laws were here with us settling us in, and they were a HUGE help. We are so lucky and thankful to have such wonderful families. The town is small. It's about 7 miles total. I'm still trying to figure it out. In Ogden, the streets are numbers...24th, 36th, 12th etc...and here it's all names...long names. Luckily Jill, aka GPS, has been a great help. We have a exclusive relationship and she understands me, even when I swear at her. We've got our apartment almost all the way set up and I'm not going to put pics of it up until it's all the way done. Here are some pics of the outside of the apartments. The whole complex sits on 37 acres, so there is LOT'S of places to walk around. Sorry, the slide show website was being sooooo slow, so you'll have to just look at the many, many pictures :)

We found a pumpkin patch with Gma, and Pa Chambers before they left.


Mt Diablo, the closest I'll get to a mountain.


Ponds outside the complex.


More ponds.


This is our street. I love it how it's covered with trees. I'll just imagine in winter time all the snow that would tunnel the trees.


Big cheese and more ponds....and those of you who know Trey, know that this is right up his alley. Our days are spent walking around looking for the biggest most awesomist pond!


You can't really see it, but Jeremy's school is just behind the waterfall through the trees.


The ducks or geese?? that walk around the apartments...and yes, I have almost broke my neck slipping in bird crap because it's everywhere in the grass!!


And before we left we had a farewell party up at my parents. It was good. Im going to miss everyone. Especially these ladies...I love them!! We had alot of good play-dates and dinners, and fun times with eachother. Even our hubby's did great when they were thrown into a forced friendship with one another. These girls are my very best friends and I will miss them so very much.


All of us one more time :(


And of coarse these cute people. I will miss her too! This is my gym partner. We had some fun times with our families. Addy and Trey loved playing in the day care together. And little peyton. He is so fun. He loved Trey. I loved hearing him say his name...so cute! Thanks Ash for being such a great friend. Can't wait to see you guys in Dec.


We also celebrated Avery's birthday. It's really not until Oct 17th, but we wanted our family to be there.


She really didn't love the cake, probably because it wasn't a new thing. She eats it all the time. (hee hee)


So far it's been okay. Not great, but okay. It's been wonderful having Jeremy around all the time. It feels like a vacation. The reality hasn't really set in yet. I'm betting it will, come monday when he starts school. We'll see.

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"

No use crying over dryed milk.

I've had to make a hard decision today. Last week, Avery got thrush. The doctor told me that more than likely, since I was nursing, it would spread to my "hooty-hoots". Well it did. They became so throbbing sore, much like they were when Avery was first born, that I couldn't bear to nurse her. My toes would curl in and I would curse every time I nursed her. They were so bad. But for some reason, Avery wouldn't nurse anymore either. She turned away every time, resulting in a breast infection. This being the 5th one since she was born. Maybe because her teeth are coming in, maybe because she just wasn't interested anymore, I don't know. I thought about pumping, but it was just as painful. I finally just made the decision to be done. My heart breaks just a little. All you mothers out there who have nursed babies, know what a sweet, wonderful connection it is for you and your child. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, and was blessed that both my kids wanted it as well. Now I sit here, my "ta ta's" in engorging pain, waiting for them to dry up, wondering how long it's going to take this time. With Trey it took about a week. I don't know if I will live that long.

Losing our Minds

This past week has been nothing but INSANE!! While we were in St. George our house was under contract. HALLELUJAH! Also, a girl had been contacting us on vacation to buy our Jeep. On the way home we stopped and let her test drive it. We didn't hear back from her for a few days so we gave up on that.... fast forward to the beginning of this week. We get a call on Monday from our Realtor. The people backed out of our house, I cry for at least 24 hours. Then I forget that Avery has to have a 9 month check up, so I get her in at 10 months. She is doing great, minus the toe prick to check her iron level. Wednesday, we get a call from the girl about the Jeep. She got her money and still wants to buy it. Great! Oh, except for the fact that the back window now just went out, and the brakes are squeaking. Just perfect. Jeremy comes home, I tell him, and he races to fix them, and still has time to finish laying tile with my dad in the bathroom. I now remember I have a lesson to prepare for Sunday. Thursday, my mom comes down to grout the bathroom downstairs, the carpet people come to get a bid, and we still have to meet with the girl sometime before the bank closes. We make it, she buys it, I now have no car. I start my lesson. Friday, Jeremy and Dad finish putting the sink and toilet in. I need groceries, Trey needs fluoride, I have no deodorant, I get ready to go to the gym, I forgot I have no car!! More lesson. Saturday, I wake up. Everyone comes over and helps paint, finish electrical (Thank you Charley), help with the kids, put base boards on, put trim around windows, caulking, more painting downstairs (thank you Alene, thank you everyone!), the phone rings. It's our Realtor. Someone wants to come look at the house today. If they don't mind the mess, Great! I hurry and clean up the upstairs. They come, they look, they leave. Finally time to sit...no wait,I have to finish my lesson. Time to look for cars. I find 9 cars we would be very interested in. I call on them. They all have been sold! I make a mental note to write them all emails and explain to them that when they sell their cars to please take them out of the freaking ads!! Still no car. Wait! Awesome in-laws let us borrow their car. We go get groceries, pick up a movie, put kids in bed, go over lesson one more time, explain to husband I am to tired to watch a movie. Take a bath, go to bed.
Seriously, this week has been nothing but stress! I have at LEAST 10 new gray hairs from it all. Our family helped us out a ton. We are so lucky to have them. My kids have been great through it all, even though they have nasty colds, and Avery cut 3 teeth in 3 days. My husband is WONDERFUL! He keeps me positive and sane. I love you Jeremy. Maybe next week will be better, because I was seriously losing my mind.

St George

We had a blast in St. George. It was so hot and the kids had fun swimming, playing in the sand, and boating. We went to a really fun park and I'm pretty sure the adults had more fun then the kids did. Here are a few pics from the vacation.

Before we left, Avery was in the Harrisville Heritage Days baby contest. It was so hot, but she did great! She won cutest smile and biggest dimples.


The smile that won them over.

Over the Hill and a Few Gray Hairs

Sad to say I turned 27 on Monday the 27th....I know, that is getting to darn close to 30, BUT, it was a good day. Gone are the days where you would go out and blow your paycheck shopping on your birthday (actually, that was everyday for me)I remember when me and my roommates, (or jeremy when we were dating), would go and spend the whole day swimming, laying out, shopping, eating, shopping, just pretty much doing nothing. Now, I am just as satisfied when my sweet hubby cleans the house for me, changes all the diapers, and makes me dinner on my birthday. There's only so much you can do when you've got kids, and besides, it fell on a Monday and that is so boring itself. I did have fun. Jeremy got me an Ipod for Christmas and I haven't gotten around to put music on it, so he stayed up late and put a TON of songs on it for me and my gym workout was fantastic! Who knew it could be so much fun with music. Then me and my besties (sister, mom, and sis-in-law) went to lunch...good stuff! Then I took a nap, then my hubby came home and we ate dinner, then went to the mall and shopped til we dropped! Oh how I love to shop. Thanks Jeremy for the fun day. Oh, and he got me a book. He told me it was for my "inner-nerd" Ha!