Settling In

Well, we have been here in Malibu for a couple of weeks now. We are settling in and starting to find our groove. Minus the last few boxes in our bedroom that we have to figure out what to do with, we are unpacked and settled. My Mom stayed for a couple of weeks to help out while I set up house which was a HUGE help! To go anywhere like Costco, Walmart, Target, DMV, AAA, etc, I had to drive a minimum of 30-45 in one direction with out traqffic. Those errands are not quick trips anymore. My Mom would watch Isaac when Elizabeth and I would head on out for the day to accomplish the errands that needed to be done.

We were able to spend a few days and have fun. We wen to to the beach, Disneyland, the beach and Hollywood. My Mom has never been to the Hollywood walk of Stars nor has she see the Chinese Theatre or the Kodak Theatre so we decided to take her to her first visit to Pink's hot dogs and then to Hollywood to see the sites. When we were looking at the hand prints of celebrities at the Chinese Theatre, there is a life size statue/figure of Samuel L. Jackson. Jim and I saw it and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to play a joke on my Mom. we say, "look, there's Samuel L. Jackson." My mom responds with, "*gasp* really?" (Looking VERY excited.) Then Jim and I start laughing...really hard. She starts laughing too and saying how mean we were. We wanted to take her picture next to it, but she said it would end up on my blog (she was right) and she didn't want to look more stupid. We still think it is funny. There is also a movie theatre there, and I had to take a picture because I couldn't believe that it was $20 for an adult to get in to see a movie.







The fires in SoCal haven't effected us beside the random billow of smoke in the air seen from a distance. However, when we were in Hollywood the air quality was really poor. As awful as the air quality was and all those acres burning, it makes the sun look amazing during the day. I took some pictures but I don't think they so it justice.




After my Mom left, I was faced with being on my own while Jim is in school. It has been great so far. There are 5 other Mormon couples in my complex on campus and 4 of them has kids. Us moms walk the steep hills of Pepperdine together, work out in the morning and have play dates. Last Saturday when BYU was playing Oklahoma we reserved the clubhouse and invited others to our pot luck and watched the game. We probably had about 25 people there including kids. It was a great time. They are also in our Ward.

Our ward is the Pacific Palisades ward which is located in between Malibu and Santa Monica. We really like it so far. Everyone has been really friendly and welcoming. We are actually speaking in Church next Sunday which I am looking forward too.

Yesterday, Labor day, we decided to go to Disneyland in the afternoon Jim did some studying. On our way there, we blew a tire. We were lucky because within 2 minutes a CHP officer came and called AAA for us and AAA was there 10 minutes later. We were also fortunate that the spare on our van wasn't a doughnut but an actual tire. Yay! now we have the fun part this week of buying a new tire. Anyways, Disney;and wasn't crowded which was very nice. Isaac is really into pirates and Jack Sparrow. We bought him a pirates hat the says "Captain Isaac" on it and a pirate gun so he can shoot other pirates. He LOVES Disneyland. I think he inherited it from his Momma or maybe it is just in his blood. He told us yesterday that he likes going on the rides and doesn't want to go home. Elizabeth is a great sport. She just hangs out in her stroller and goes on all the same rides we go on with out even fussing.






When we were going to our car on the very top of the parking garage, the fireworks show started. This is the 3rd time we have seen it since we moved here and every time we have seen it, we have been in different locations. Last night was really cool because it was like we were right there with the big ones that were set off. They were so loud that you could feel the booms vibrate in your body and they would set off the car alarms which Jim and I thought were funny.

Well, now back to reality. We are enjoying it here and don't mind visitors. So if you are planning a trip down to SoCal , give us a ring. We would love to see you.