How Nuvi is saving our marriage

Our parents teamed up and got Ryan not one but TWO GPSs for graduation, one for roads and one for trails. Ever since our Garmin Nuvi joined the family, we've been all the happier for it. In fact, we like to say it's saving our marriage. No more little tiffs about which way to go... We've been "lost" so many times and in so many cities, but those days are over!

So thanks, Nuvi, for saving our marriage, and thanks to our parents for knowing just what we needed! :)

So far...

We've only been here two weeks, but we've already...

- Shared a milkshake from In-N-Out
- Bought a wetsuit on craigslist
- Relaxed at two of our favorite beaches
- Unpacked everything, including all the baby's cute clothes!
- Gotten a little sunburned while Ryan surfed and I watched
- Had an overnight guest, our friend Tommy
- And been visited by Grandpa and Grandma Wood and Mom

Tomorrow we're even meeting G&G and Mom at Fenton's!

Here are a few random pictures. The first is of Ryan and Tommy before they attempted to surf on Saturday. (It's harder than it looks!)

The next photo is our cute Walmart table, which I'm proud to say I assembled. On the drive out I was talking to Ryan about wanting to try doing something new, something I wouldn't normally do. I think he had visions of backpacking up near Tahoe or me on a surfboard...But when this dining set entered our lives, I knew it was just the thing. Normally, I would recruit anyone else to do this kind of thing, but I set my mind to read the instructions, learn something about spring washers and nuts, and build the whole thing myself. Obviously, I'm pretty proud of it.

This was taken at my wonderful, wonderful Utah baby shower. Our baby is spoiled already! Thank you everyone for coming. I had SUCH a fantastic time catching up with family and friends.

The last photo here is my personal favorite. I call it "Ryan: The Pink Princess."

To his credit, he did have a long day unpacking. And I wouldn't post this if I hadn't already posted the manly-man picture of him in his wetsuit.

Back in Business!

After what feels like a long absence, we've finally rejoined the 21st century and have working internet access in our apartment! (Cross your fingers that we won't have to call AT&T again anytime soon.)

We love California! We're ecstatic to be in our new apartment and getting used to life here (pre-baby, that is). The apartment is bigger than I remembered on our walk-through, which was a nice surprise, and our furniture looks cute in it. After our marathon two-week move (and with a LOT of help from our families!), it couldn't feel better to be settled down.

Our patio door leads to the pool, so we've taken our picnic basket out to the pool twice already for lunch. We went to family night at the bishop's house Monday, and we've done two activities with a couple in the ward. The HOA board members (especially the women!) seem happy to have us here, and we both like my new doctor.

The apartment had new carpet and paint when we arrived, and we've since gotten a new fridge, dishwasher, and oven. (How great is that?!) Now all we need is fully functioning plumbing! We've got a couple leaky toilets, a couple leaky sinks, a showerhead that had been pulled out of the wall, no mirrors in the bathrooms, etc. Oh yeah, and the door to our bathroom didn't work at all (my personal favorite). Slowly but surely, we're getting things taken care of. And once it's all done, this place will be perfect for us.

Congrats, Ryan!

We thoroughly enjoyed having Gregg, Julia, Launa, and Sarah in town for Ryan's graduation this weekend. It was fun to show them our apartment, take them on a walking tour of campus, and introduce them to a lot of our friends. Friday night after they got in at about 10:30, we headed right for the grotto. Saturday was our walk around Notre Dame, commencement mass, and a formal dinner for Ryan's program. Sunday was graduation for the business school in front of the library and the infamous Touchdown Jesus mural. It was such a fantastic location for graduation, and I could hardly believe it was happening. What a fast year! After graduation was a brunch put on by his program, and then we chatted for a while at our place before sending the Nielsens on their way. (Thank you so much for coming!)


Thank goodness it didn't rain!


Us in Ryan's building, the Mendoza College of Business. (Can you see my little bump?)


The baby wanted to have his/her picture taken with the golden dome.


The girls by one of the lakes.


Ryan and I with some of our closest friends here, David and Ashely. We are going to miss them and their cute kids! This was taken at the fancy dinner Saturday night.


Everyone in Ryan's program. (He's toward the top, on the left.)

Ryan, Dwight, Austin, and David--friends from his program.

Next stop for us...Utah!

Real Blog to Come

Pack, clean, repeat. Sorry there's not much to blog about! Will blog soon...for real. Graduation is this weekend, so that will be fun! We're looking forward to seeing Ryan's parents and sisters!

Baby Shower Bliss

My South Bend girls threw me the nicest baby shower on Friday! It is so touching to have people come and support you at a shower. I was remembering my bridal showers and thinking about all the excitement of getting married to Ryan. A baby shower is a slightly different story because the excitement (and we are definitely excited!) comes with a fair share of anxiety. I didn't have too much to be nervous about in getting married, but becoming a mommy......I have a lot to learn! So thanks, girls, for showing your support Friday!

I am elated about our new baby things. I usually keep one of the little onesies within sight, just because they are so cute to look at!

We found a new home!

We’re back from beautiful California feeling refreshed and ready to tackle our last month in Indiana. (Last month?!?) We flew to San Jose on Thursday to interview for a position as resident managers of a complex in San Mateo. We tried not to have our hopes up since we knew several others were interviewing and that the home owners’ association originally had a retired person in mind for the job. But we decided we’d make a fun trip out of it and also look at other apartments while we were there.

This is us at our favorite beach...which unfortunately has a little history of having at least one fat old naked man roaming around. This time was no exception. Wonder what I’m pointing at in the next picture... (Don’t worry, we stayed as far away from him as possible. This time Ryan managed NOT to get in a conversation with him.)





Thanks, E&Y, for financing our stay in a Hilton Gardens Hotel, via Hotwire.com. I could have stayed all day in that hotel!



And best of all, about 30 minutes after we left our interview, we got a call offering us the job. We interviewed with two men and two women on the HOA board, and it turns out that the women in particular “liked our energy.” Guess that’s what did it!

Here’s a shot of our new home! All of the 52 units are privately owned, so we’ll be working for the HOA board, not individual owners. As far as we understand, we’ll be coordinating with the pool guy and grounds crew, ensuring that the common areas are tidy and the trash is taken out, letting people in if they’re locked out, etc. Most of the residents are older, so we’re doubtful that we’ll have to tell too many people to turn their thumping music down! We know it will be work, but we’re excited for the opportunity. In exchange, we get a free two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, which in the Bay area is a pretty darn good deal.



The nicest thing about the trip was leaving knowing where we’ll be living. Neither of us expected that. We drove around looking at what will be “our Costco” and “our Target.” We even walked inside our church building. It is crazy how quickly life can change.