Old Friends

Seeing old friends is always so much fun. Living so far away from all of them makes it a little hard to do, though. However, a couple days ago we were able to spend time with Patrick and Maren, good friends from our time in China and before. Maren's mom just happens to live about ten minutes from my parents so we couldn't pass up the chance to see them. Thanks to Maren's mom for letting us come over (and for reading our blog!).



We sat around, talking, eating, and playing games. After a few hours we realized that we had just played 102 rounds of Apples to Apples. Maybe a world record?

Merry Christmas!

We just got back last night from spending Christmas with my family in Fontana. It was so amazing to have some time off. We drove up Christmas Eve after I got off work, leaving our apartment torn apart and filled with boxes (thanks to a mold problem resulting in a wall of our apartment needing to be torn out), making it just in time to have Christmas Eve dinner.

Last year at Christmas time Eric and I were freezing in Nanjing, China and making gingerbread cookies in a rice cooker. And although we loved that little, quiet Christmas together, it was fun to be able to have Christmas in America, with family and all the fun traditions that come with it. And a full-size Christmas tree, warm Southern California weather, an oven, and ham dinner. Yum.

Growing up, my family always read and acted out the Christmas story in the Bible, which I am sure many families do.

Our nephew Ezrah making a charming little Joseph. As you can see, there weren't quite enough grandkids to go around and fill up all the parts- my sister Celestia played Mary. Eric and I even got parts- we were two of the wisemen.

Some more pictures from Christmas:

Eric and I both knew what we got each other this year which definitely takes away some of the fun, but we were both still excited to open our gifts.

I love Christmas time. The smell of the Christmas tree, making fudge and cookies, eating lots of oranges, singing Christmas carols, reading Christmas stories, and most of all, being with family.

We love you all! Merry Christmas!

La Jolla Cove

One thing that is beautiful in San Diego is the December weather. That, combined with Kiersten having yesterday off of work, left us with no excuse not to venture outside and discover a new part of San Diego.

We had heard La Jolla Cove mentioned as one of the beautiful places of San Diego, but with all the beautiful beaches we had seen already, we weren't quite sure how much more beautiful it could be. Well, we found out yesterday. And now, we will tell you, it is the most beautiful beach either Kiersten or I has ever seen anywhere. The pictures hardly do the beauty justice.

The fact that La Jolla Cove is a "look but don't touch" beach makes it all the more beautiful. That means, when you look down into a tide pool, not only do you see the countless hermit crabs occupying their beautiful shells, but you also see other shells large are small. It added so much to the natural beauty of the cove.

We had already decided it was the most beautiful beach out there, but to add to the wonder of the area, it turns out that La Jolla Cove is also the home of hundreds of harbor seals. We spotted at least twenty of them swimming and playing and climbing on rocks. We could have watched them for hours, especially the group taking their rest on the rocks. It started with a small family of three seals (at least that's what we call them). But soon, six other seals one by one tried squeezing their way onto the rock, often knocking each other off as they did so. It was quite humorous to watch.

Unfortunately, our camera batteries died before they all got up. But, for your enjoyment until you come and visit us for your own personal tour (yes, that means all of you), here are a few pictures.

And, because we can, here are a few more.

Two Items

Finals are done, and that it is a wonderful feeling. So, to celebrate, here are a couple of news items I found interesting (read: fascinating).

First, Thomas S. Monson has been voted the most powerful octogenarian (guy over 80) in America by Slate. And, when you look at the other figures in the spots behind him, it is quite the accomplishment. By the way, who knew that B.B. King was still alive?

Second, the NY Times has put out wonderful interactive maps allowing you to view local census data from 2005-2009. You should definitely check it out. Make sure you go to "view more maps" to see the other options. You may discover something new. In my case, I discovered why I am so poor lately based on this one:

In case you didn't notice, in this map of median monthly rents, San Diego isn't the cheapest place on the map. You can also zoom into specific areas to view your own block. Quite the fun thing to do.