Update

We have been having so much fun here. It has been 6 weeks since we've moved and time has flown. I was in MN and MI for 18 days when my dad had his surgery, so for me it especially doesn't seem like we have been here long. Aside from looking at places to live, we have been busy catching up with friends and family. The weekend of the 24th we went to a baseball game, watched fireworks, went boating with friends, and went to the Spanish Fork rodeo. Kyle's neighbor/family friend is ranked #3 in the nation for bucking horses so were able to watch him, as well as several other high-ranking performers. It was pretty cool.

I am slowly building an eyelash clientele here, and even in Orangeville which is a couple hours away and where my BFF Ashley lives. It will be fun to have an excuse to see her and her family every month. My plan is still to fly to MI every 4 weeks for about 5 days to do lashes. I have almost too many lashes to do there, I am trying to figure out how to get everyone in. I won't be doing that forever, but at least until I have a baby well on the way, or if I get a lot busier here. My friend Whitney is a school teacher and in about 6 weeks I will start watching her new baby when she goes back to work. I am really excited about that! I will continue doing eyelashes and massages on the side.

Kyle's job is going well. He is really enjoying the office here better than in California. He has been planning seminars each week and really working hard at what he does. And he looks extra handsome when he leaves for work all dressed up, cuff links and all.

My dad is doing really well. He is going to start going back to work at least for half days this week. He still isn't supposed to do any lifting over 10 lbs for 4 more weeks. For those who haven't heard, we found out that he doesn't need chemo so we are extremely relieved about that! As hard as it was being away from Kyle for so long, I'm really glad I was there with my mom and dad when he had his surgery and was able to help after. I will never regret that trip and the special time I spent with parents. It is always hard seeing my daddy scared and in pain, but definitely better to be there than worry about him 1600 miles away. And a shout out to the most supportive husband in the world. I know it wasn't easy for him to have me gone for so long, yet he understood it was where I needed to be. Coming home to him was great, and the time apart made us both appreciate each other even more. I think I received more "mushies" from him in 18 days than I have heard all year, and I have to admit, it feels great to be missed. We vowed that from here on out, our time apart will be kept to one week maximum. I told my dad that means he is to remain healthy!

It is hard to believe I get to go back to Michigan already in just a couple weeks! I am flying there on Tuesday the 16th to do lashes until Saturday, and then Kyle arrives and we are spending the following week camping in Ludington and staying on Mackinac Island with the fam. Can you believe that after almost 3 years together, my husband has yet to see Lake Michigan?? Can't WAIT.

Finally!

After months of looking in California and now Utah, we have a home!! With the help from my contractor father-in-law we found we had several options here in Utah, which made the process much harder and a little overwhelming for us (in a good way). Kyle's dream has always been for he and his dad to build a house together in Elk Ridge. We thought of doing that right away, partly because we don't know how long his dad will be building houses. However, with Kyle working 40 minutes away, and with me baby-sitting my friend's new baby (yay!) in Provo, we realized that wasn't so logical. And I decided I'm really not ready to take on the responsibility of choosing every little detail for a home. I was much more excited about finding something already built that I could see Kyle and I making our second home in. We considered renting until we do want to build someday, we looked at houses, and we looked at townhouses/condos. We even considered building a townhouse and renting the other units. Aye aye aye.

The decision for me was an easy one once we looked here:

Because not only did I fall in love with the townhouse itself, the amenities include a pool and hot tub, a clubhouse (where I can throw parties), and a movie theater room (more parties). The house is unfinished so we were able to pick out our own flooring, counters and paint which was really fun. And, we get the best of both worlds....we decided to do our own tiling in the bathrooms, laundry room, and entry way so Kyle and his dad are working on that together!

Ryan

Predictable

Kyle's friend Todd

Kyle has great friends, many of which are his family. Friday night his dad and brother Ryan stayed until 9:00 helping, and on Saturday when we thought it was going to be just us and Lee working, Ryan and two of his friends showed up without us even asking for help. They put in a LONG day of work-we owe them! Once we finish the tiling, the builder will finish everything else and we should be able to move in the end of August. So excited!

Oh Cali

I feel like Ashley from the Bachelorette, the way I can't stop talking about California. Since you didn't get your weekly dose of "Oh Bentley", you can hear me ramble instead....

The "small" things I will miss about California:

• Beautiful sunsets EVERY night
• The weather
• Disposable toilet seat covers (It must be a law-they're in every public bathroom)
• The weather
• The beach
• Disneyland (Our annual passes made for the best date nights)
• The weather
• Our gym (Fitness 19. Had the best aerobics classes with the best instructor and I made great friends, most of them in their 60's and 70's)

The "small" things that I will not miss:

• TRAFFIC
• Nutrition facts (This must also be a law-every restaurant, even fast food, displays the calories next to each item on the menu. Really, who wants to know this??)
• Earthquakes (It has been months since we felt one, but we noticed them all the time when we first got there. I was beginning to wonder if a big one was building up)
• Gas prices, rent, paying for parking everywhere we go, movie theater prices, you get the idea....

(I will probably be adding to this as time goes on)

Family Dinners

One of the things that Kyle and I missed most about Utah were family dinners every other Sunday. His brothers and their families all come to his parent's and we spend the whole afternoon and evening together. I took some pictures of our first one since moving back, which should give you an idea why I love this family so much.

Stockton, our 9 year old nephew, is enrolled in an art program this summer and he brought lots of his pictures and projects to dinner for us to choose from. Someone had the fun idea to make an art gallery, so he hung them all on the wall, as well as some of our other nieces and nephew's art. We were each handed a ticket, and we had a real live drawing/auction. When Stockton drew our number, we got to walk around the "gallery" and pick a few pictures. It was so fun and I loved it as much as the kids did. Again, the pictures are from my phone so the quality is not so good. (Someday I'll have a nice camera.....one that I may actually keep track of)

Stacy and Abby

Ryan, Wes, and Amber waiting for their turn

Lydie waiting for her number to be called

Abby

Stockton drawing the numbers

Wes picking out his pictures

And last but not least, my new prized possessions

Christmas

I figured it was time to post our Christmas pictures since I finally figured out how to retrieve the pictures from my phone. (Someone reminded me I can simply just email them to myself. Duh.)

Just remember they are from my phone, so not the best quality.

Our niece Tabitha. She was only a couple months old here.

Kyle playing the Wii with Lydie and Aiden. They're not into it at all....

Don't you just love her hair??

Peyton and Maddox

Opening presents in the basement where we had lots of room to make a mess

The kind of chaos that I love! The older kids were singing Christmas songs to us on their new toy guitars while the younger kids were playing around them

Kyle and Justin playing one of Kyle's new toys, Timber Tumblers (a knock off of Jenga) I think Wes was playing too but I must have cut him out

Abby showing me her new doll. It was a lot like one of my favorite Christmas presents as a child, California roller baby!

Justin, Leslie and Tabitha. So cute! I should have taken a picture of every family

Smell ya later!

Our awesome friends Lindsey and Megan threw us a farewell bbq at the park the night before we left. Several people from church came and it was great to see everyone once more before we left. Lindsey made the party even more fun with a cake that made us laugh out loud. Those that truly know both Lindsey and Kyle will get it....

It says:

Fart Well

Carl and Kristen

Smell you later

For those that don't get it, "Carl" is another name for Kyle, thanks to his friends growing up. "Fart well", well, that's just funny. And Kyle and Lindsey are both funny. (And I don't know about Lindsey but Kyle definitely likes farting.) As for the "Smell ya later", it's sort of Kyle's tag line, if that's the right word. You will never hear him utter a simple "good-bye" or even "see you later".

No matter where we are, I can usually find Kyle with the children:

This is Carsyn, Lindsey's youngest

Lindsey and Rache's girls

The guys (While I did interrupt their game of bocce ball, would it have killed them to stand like normal human beings for 2 seconds and smile at the camera?)

.

The girls (See, not so hard)

Debbie Jensen and Melissa Durham

Brandon and Megan Hebdon, Adam Curtis, Ashley and Amelia Durham

Taylor and Ashley Harrington, Katie and Addison Brown, Katie and Paul Ellsworth

Scott, Ranelle, and Aubrey Curtis, Matthew and Julie Good

California friends

I am trying to stay busy while we wait for my dad to come out of surgery, and I can't think of anything better to do than blog some more about California :)

I really made such amazing friends in the short year and a half that we lived in Yucaipa. From the ladies, including the aerobics instructor, at the gym, to the girls at work, to my friends at church. A week before we moved, a few of my closest church friends and I had a girl's night out. We had so much fun and regret not having done it more often. We got together all the time with our spouses and their kids for dinner and game nights, which I loved. But there is something just so great about a GNO. We went to dinner at Romano's (my favorite) and then went shopping and got ice cream. Doesn't get much better than that!

From left to right:

Ashley Harrington, Rachel Gilsen, Katie Brown, Lindsey Erkelens

I already can't wait to go back and visit these girls.