Sunset Cliffs

Yesterday my parents drove up to spend the day with us. And what a perfect day to come! It was a beautiful day in San Diego, with perfect weather.  We took them to one of our favorite spots, Sunset cliffs.

 My mom fell in love with it, as anyone would.  She took tons of pictures and we were even able to convince her to climb down close to the edge a couple of times.  She was still constantly telling us to be careful, but hey, at least she was down there with us too! :)

Hiking the cliffs with my parents, Gary and Florence

Me and my Daddy

We were trying to do a cool pose, didn't quite work...

Absolutely beautiful. 

Here are some pictures of the sunset (the place isn't called Sunset Cliffs for nothing). Eric took all of these, and a few dozen more...

What a fun day! We definitely needed a little break from worrying about studying and other tiny problems like our house falling apart, and our car dying.  But our apartment seems almost back in order after our two bouts with mold in the last month (except for the fact that we think we now have termites...), and our car seems to have miraculously started running again, and school doesn't start again until tomorrow morning. And we have beautiful sunsets like these to enjoy! Life couldn't be better!

Thoughts on the weather and nursery

What a beautiful day! Have I mentioned how much we love San Diego- especially in the winter? Eric came home from church today and changed right away into shorts. I love not feeling frozen every minute of the day, even when we are inside (ie, one year ago in China). I went for a long run yesterday morning along the harbor and it was so beautiful and warm!

We had the windows wide open today during nursery to let that beautiful sun in. I thought it was a wonderful idea- that is, until toys started making their way out the window. Should have seen that coming. :). Nursery was so nice today. We lost half of our kids at the beginning of the year to Primary (that poor Sunbeam teacher!) so it has been a lot quieter due to that. But our church time was also changed to 11:00 and so I think nursery time now is during a lot of those kids' nap time. Today for example, the kids seemed so subdued and quiet, like little zombies almost- I think because they were so tired. At least it hasn't turned into a cranky tired yet. Not yet at least...

Speaking of Nursery, Eric's mom introduced me a while back to an awesome website, Sugardoodle.  It has lesson ideas and help for nursery, primary, and all the way up to Relief Society.  Tons of great ideas- it has been really helpful.  Definitely check it out if you do any sort of teaching at church, or even if you have kids- there are so many activity ideas on there. I have so many ideas now for what I can do to make nursery more than just letting the kids run wild and then feed them snacks, sneaking some for myself while we are at it. Hopefully I will be able to take the time to actually implement some of them!

I am enjoying working with these little kids a lot more than I was expecting. They are all so adorable, except of course when they decide to throw toys at each other.  And I have discovered the secret to all of their tiny hearts- bubbles.  Who know that some simple soap and water could make a little kid's face light up so quickly. If only it was that easy with everyone!

Another year over

"Another year over, and a new one just begun..."
               ~John Lennon, lyrics

Eric and I were talking over the last year together and what a wonderful year it has been for us! So much has happened and so many amazing experiences and opportunities have come to us. Definitely another year of big steps and changes for our little family! Eric and I will always remember our months in China- the excitement, traveling, food, but most of all the time we had to be together.  It was like an extended honeymoon, a great beginning for our marriage!
The time we had over the summer with Eric's family is also a time we will always be grateful for. I loved the time I had to get to know Eric's parents better.  They are such wonderful people- I've got to have the best in-laws out there!
Now in our new home in San Diego, Eric and I have settled in and are very happy. These will also be months to remember and treasure- our tiny apartment, riding our bikes every morning together to school and work, the worry and stress over finances and budget, trips to the beach, and again, time spent together.  Everything that would be so hard, difficult, and stressful has been made so much easier and enjoyable since I can go through it all with Eric.
This year has been one of growth- for each of us individually and as a family. I can't wait to see what this new year will bring.

Happy New Year to all of you!

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.