A New Yorker Visits The Golden State

Pretty much, Chelsea Sue is the coolest person ever.  I've been lucky to have known her 3 of my 4 years at BYU, and we are still close enough that she flew all the way across the country to see me and Luke (well, to use us for an excuse for sunshine, Disneyland and fish tacos, but we will use her when we go to New York).  She's now gone, and Luke's in Indiana for the week and it's pretty lonely all alone in the sun, so I've been reminiscing on one of the funnest weeks.

Santa Monica

We did not waste a single day when Chelsea was here.  Seriously, I'm exhausted! On day one we packed in Huntington, Santa Monica and Venice Beach. I've been to Huntington countless times now, but had never been to Santa Monica or Venice Beach.  Santa Monica Pier was neat to see the end of Route 66 which is now I-10. The pier is cool with its little rides, but considering it was the middle of a Tuesday in February, it was pretty dead.

Venice Beach and the BEST Fish Tacos Ever (Seriously)

Next was Venice Beach.  It was nothing like I expected.  At first I didn't live how dirty it was with graffiti everywhere, but then I realized that's what Venice Beach is all about.  It's full of young people (a lot like young people in Downtown Portland) where they all lift weights or play basketball at Muscle Beach or skateboard at the skate park.  The most important thing that needs to been known though about Venice Beach is that it is home to THE BEST FISH TACOS IN THE WORLD. I kid you not.  I am salivating right now as I right about them.  Just at a little stand right there on the beach, for $2 you get the best fish taco EVER. It's all in the sauce.  Literally every day that Chelsea was here we tried to get fish tacos that were better, but nothing compared.

The Happiest Place on Earth

The next day was DISNEYLAND!!! Seriously, I'm so not sick of Disneyland yet.  How can anyone get sick of it? Luke and I are still averaging one night a week there. This was Chelsea's first time at Disneyland.  She went to Disney World in January, and she was excited to compare.  Her conclusion: Disneyland won, hands down.  She loved how it felt so local, and it wasn't overwhelmingly big, unlike Disney World. We had a great day enjoying the short lines of a weekday visit. Luke joined us later that day when got done with work for the day.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

And then for the highlight of the week: Jimmy Kimmel Live!! This was a big deal for me because I had never been to a live taping of a show. I was so excited! Since our car broke down and our "new" car won't be here until the end of March, and we were feeling adventurous.  However, the train went through Compton on the way, and we definitely underestimated our adventure levels. Luckily, we made it home alive.  All I could do the whole time was laugh to cope with my nervousness.  Multiple times I whispered, I can't believe we did this as we chuckled quietly to ourselves. Jimmy Kimmel was awesome to be at! The studio was a lot smaller than I expected.  Chelsea and I had perfect seats towards the front and center. At the end, when I yelled Jimmy's name, he came up and said hi to me (melt). And Chelsea's trip to Hollywood couldn't be complete without a trip to her Goddess Celine Dion's star. I've never seen her so happy as the moment she saw the star (but then I guess I wasn't with her when she saw her in concert.

San Diego

One of our days the three of us went to San Diego. It's a gorgeous two hour drive from our house.  On the way down we did a session at the San Diego Temple.  I am extremely bias to the Portland Temple, but SD comes to a very close 2nd.  Everything about it was breathtaking, and it truly felt like being in a princess castle! After the temple we headed to La Jolla Cove for some incredible views of the ocean with the cliffs in the background and after that to downtown SD to enjoy good food and shopping along the water at Seaport Village before we headed back up north.

Los Angeles

On Chelsea's last day, we squeezed in a couple of more things since she was taking a red-eye back home.  Luke left that same day for a business trip to Indiana, so after we dropped him off, we continued up to LA.  We ate at the well-known "Farmer's Market" to enjoy some good food in the sun.  Seriously every ethnic food you can imagine in one place, and it was authentic!  Then a few blocks down we went to the Los Angeles County Art Museum.  Even though Chelsea has access to all the amazing art museums in New York, she was quite impressed with this one.  We saw Picassos, Degas, Renoirs, and saw a whole exhibit on 1920's German Film that we both would have had no idea about if it weren't for our beloved Dr. McFarland from BYU.

The day in LA was topped off with a trip to the LA Temple and Visitor Center.  Such a beautiful and majestic building nestled in the high-rises of LA.  On our way to LAX we couldn't resist and drove all the way to Venice Beach to get those fish tacos one last time.  Sadly, for whatever stupid reason, they were closed by 6pm.  But we didn't let that put a damper on our week.

If anyone wants to travel and explore, Chelsea Sue is the perfect buddy. COME BACK CHELSEA.

A Visit From The Parents

This past week, we had a wonderful visit from my parents! We had so much fun showing off beautiful Southern California to them, and they loved soaking in the sun and escaping the rain.

The night they arrived with started off quickly by showing them the pier.  The next day we went down to the beach again for a warm and sunny afternoon. For Valentine's Day they headed off to Santa Barbara and Luke and I enjoyed a great night at Huntington Beach.

The next day my parents returned and just as they came, Luke had to go out of town for a business trip.  We found out a week before they came that Luke had to go to Northern California for the week.  So we made the best of the time we had with him.

Right after Luke headed off, we went to Anaheim to see our dear friends, the Bruncks.  They've been our friends for over 17 years, and Michelle and I did ballet, soccer, softball and practically everything together when we were younger.  They moved away quite a few years ago but we've all stayed friends and it was so great to be reunited with them all again!

My parents and I headed out to Palm Springs for four days. We had a wonderful time with my mom's aunt and uncle.  They spoiled us with amazing food and fun as always.  Hours and hours were spent lounging in the pool.  One morning my parents and I went hiking along the San Andreas fault.  It felt a lot like hiking in Southern Utah.  A trip to Palm Springs wouldn't be complete without a trip to the golf clubs.  We spent the majority of one of the days at PGA West and also toured 6 magnificent model homes. If only...

Delicious dinner at The Cliffhouse with our Aunt Linda and Uncle Don

Nothing is boring with them

PGA West

We returned back to the LA Basin and the next day I took my parents up to Hollywood to give them the full turn that I am getting quite good at now. I took them to Burbank where we say Warner Brother Studios with the iconic water tower, and pointed out the church from Gilmore Girls to my mom, a show we always watched together when we lived in Switzerland. 

From there we drove all around Beverly Hills to see the big houses on the hill, something I hadn't done myself yet.  Grifith Park was also a first for me with some of the most beautiful views of the Hollywood Sign, and LA. There are so many hiking trails through those hills that I would definitely like to do.

The highlight of the trip to Hollywood however was Hollywood Boulevard. I forgot that the Oscars were coming up, so just one day before the first ceremonies, we got to see everything all set up, some of the red carpet still rolled up, and even got to walk on some of the red carpet! I also may have put a thread of the red carpet in my pocket for funsies. We followed the red carpet all the way up to the Dolby Theater as we watched camera crews set up, reporters do their thing and watched the oscar statues get their final gold pain touch ups.  It was a unique experience that we didn't plan, which made a great memory.

My debut on the Red Carpet

Walking into the Dolby Theater

Ready to Roll Out

Luke came back late that Friday night, and that last day all together was spent nice and relaxed on the beach.  We spent quite a bit of time at Huntington Beach and enjoyed delicious ice cream on the pier.  We completed the day by driving south on the Pacific Coast Highway to check out Newport Beach.  If was a full week to share all the goodness this area has to offer with my parents.  I miss them already, but am so glad I'll be in Washington with them in just under a month.

We Found Heaven

We're in love. Well yes, with each other, that's old news.  But we have recently fallen in love with Southern California. We seriously feel as though we have died and gone to heaven.  Moving around every 6 months for two years my be rough, but there are so many treasure and blessings that we have found along the way. And living here has definitely been a treasure.

Luke and I arrived on January 1st and Luke had until the 12th to "settle" in his new location before he started working again at his next location.  Well that week had as much fun as we could pack in, and definitely no moving in.  That wasn't our fault though. It wasn't our fault that the movers decided to come a week later than planned. So we took advantage of it and just did all we could that week.

First off, we live half a mile from the ocean. HALF A MILE. We are spoiled.  We love going down to the beach. Even in January, you can go to the beach in flip flops and a T-Shirt and splash your feet in the water.  Seal Beach (where we live) is this cute little tucked away town in Orange County. It's just north of Huntington Beach, and it still has a small town feel.  We are close to everything, but as soon as you get west of Pacific Coast Highway (Or PCH as we've learned all the locals call it) where we live, it's a quaint and quiet beach town.  We are so blessed that it's a safe area.  The company almost put us in an apartment that's in Downtown Long Beach which would have been very nice, but not in a safe area. So we are grateful for a quiet beach town with cute shops, restaurants, and a beautiful pier.

On one of our first days we headed up to Hollywood, which both of us had never been to.  We got to see the WB Studios and the water tower, Disney Studios, Universal Studios, the famous Hollywood sign of course, and then ended it by walking down Hollywood Boulevard.  The highlight was getting to see Robin Williams' star, and getting to put my hand in Matt Damon's hand print (anyone who knows me knows how much a love Matt Damon).

We live less than 30 minutes from Disneyland, yeah I know, it's like the happiest thing about this place (no pun intended).  We've literally been every week since we've been here. This week we've gone twice. It's an addiction. Locals can get very discounted passes that pay for themselves after you've been only twice.  And we definitely are getting our money's worth.  Our first week here when Luke still had work off, we went to Disneyland for the whole day.  Luke had been to Disney World but never Disneyland (considering the fact that he grew up in Atlanta) and so I was so excited to show him all of Disneyland! Our first day was the last day of the Christmas Season at Disneyland so we got to see the castle all decorated, Haunted Mansion, Jungle River Cruise, World of Color, Main Street and several other things all set up for the season! It really added a lot to the experience.  After a full day, we decided to go home, get some sleep, and turn right around and come again! We got to spend two full days just the two of us. Since then, we've gone a few times.  We usually come in the evenings for a few hours to go on a few rides, or to catch a show or two. It's nice that with these passes, when we got for the evening, we don't have to feel like we need to cram everything we can in.

My Aunt Linda and Uncle Don live in Palm Springs which is only about 2 hours away. We took a couple of days to go and see them, and they just spoiled us.  Good food, good games, greater company.  Palm Springs is beautiful and hidden away in a sun attracting valley. We will definitely be seeing a lot more of them!

Luke had a business trip in Alabama, and so my best friend/freshman roommate can to spend about 10 days with me! We started our time on a Mexico cruise! You can get them dirt cheap this time of year, and the port is only a few miles from our home (so close that we took a public bus home from the cruise).  We had a great time the two of us stuffing our faces and getting tan.  Catalina Island is one of the prettiest places I've been.  So quaint and beautiful, and we never even left LA County! Mexico was also fun with lots of shopping and bartering.  We really miss the food, especially the croissants.

My fun continued with Kellee by thrift store shopping through Orange County (local rich people + local thrift stores = amazing finds). We spent all day and it was worth everything.  Kellee purposely brought an extra suit case for this very event and she needed it.

A few days later I took Kellee to Hollywood where we did what Luke and I did, but we also got to watch an outdoor filming of a Jimmy Kimmel sketch when J.J. Watt came and got some coffee for Jimmy. It was pretty cool to see all that goes in to getting a production as short as that all ready.

And then... Disneyland with Kellee. What a day! Best day at Disneyland because... there we NO LINES. NO LINES. And it wasn't even rainy. It was perfect weather, it's just that January/February are such low seasons. We walked right onto Indiana Jones twice in a row, and walked right on to most of our rides.  It was great. Luke joined us after work and we just used up every moment we could.

Kellee actually got me to go on a roller coaster though... I hated every second of it as the picture below describes, but am honestly glad I did to check it off. I have now done every single big ride at Disneyland/California Adventure, which is saying a lot for this baby.

NorCal- 1 Down, 3 To Go

The past 6 months have seemed to have just flown by! I can't believe we have already one rotation down with three more to go.  Between both of us working full time and all the little day trips we've done, it's been a packed rotation here in Modesto, but we have been so grateful to be here! We've done it all here.  The Sierra Foothills, Yosemite, Sacramento, San Francisco , The Oakland Temple, hiking among the towering California Redwoods, the beaches (a handful of times), and Luke completed another marathon in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  Living in the valley is great because you are near everything! And for a lot of it, we had my awesome Aunt Candace to go on adventures with! Living near so much family has been especially precious to me, and it really will be hard (is hard) to leave all of them, but I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with all of them.

Luke is finishing up his first rotation this week. He's done a great job implementing lean changes to the Modesto location, along with drinking out of a fire hose regularly. He's really enjoying working for Parker Hannifin and we are so grateful for the opportunity. He especially loved getting to have his own office at this location. There will be lots of changes that he will need to make when he starts at his next location in Southern California, but he's excited for the challenge!

I finished up my 6 month position with Grupe Real Estate on the 19th.  It was a wonderful 6th months, working with some of the best people ever.  I also drank out of a fire hose, but learned so much that will help me at any future work environment, but most importantly learned a lot about real estate that will really help Luke and I out when we buy our first home in the next few years. Getting to have lunch with my grandparents everyday, who live down the street from the office, was definitely the cherry on top.

The San Francisco Ballet

You can never get enough of San Francisco.  Luke and I have now been to this beautiful city 4 times together, and it never gets boring.  We were able to go with my dear friend Kellee once when she came out to see us, and went again two weeks ago to celebrate my birthday. For my birthday we went to enjoy sushi (thank you Kellee!) and The San Francisco Ballet's The Nutcracker. It was incredible, the best Nutcracker production I've been.  Even Luke loved it (he was mostly amazed by the incredible set design and how it seemed to move so flawlessly).  The tourist spots are great, but I just love being in the heart of the city.  You can never lose interest in observing the people of San Francisco, such a fun city!

For Christmas we had to stay in the area due to our move. It's tricky having to move during the holidays and with the headache of scheduling the movers (at one point they were going to have to come on Christmas Eve) we had to pass on going out to Kansas be with with Luke's family who were getting together at Anna and Cameron's at Kansas State.  My family in the area was mostly going to be out of town for the holidays, so we decided best to escape and go to Santa Cruz for Christmas.  It was perfect! The weather was great, there were no crowds, we had a cute hotel, and really enjoyed getting to spend a quiet Christmas together. The Monterey Bay is breathtaking, and before we headed home, we made sure to drive along Highway 1 a little bit to catch a few peeks of those beautiful views of the ocean. California really is beautiful.

Santa Cruz, CA

Monterey, CA

Bixby Creek Bridge, one of the many treasures along HWY 1

Over New Years we head down to Orange County! We'll be living in Seal Beach (Between Long Beach and Huntington Beach) with an apartment half a mile from the ocean. How can it get much better than that?

Big Kids

Well, we've graduated and moved on in life.  It's been a VERY busy last couple of months.

EUROPE
The day after graduation, we moved out of our adorable college house (I still really miss it, it was so cute) and stored stuff at Luke's grandparents for the next two months.  Days later we flew to Europe, where we had an INCREDIBLE three-week trip in Switzerland, Rome and Paris. Saw the Pope in Rome, and had a romantic time in Paris. Seriously, the trip couldn't have gone better.  Perfect memories :) It was really special to have Luke meet my friends in Switzerland, and to show him the country I lived in, including the beautiful Alps.  We are so grateful to the friends and family who were so hospitable to us, especially my dearest Swiss friend, Linda.

Lake Lucern, Switzerland

THE PACIFIC NOTHWEST
When we came back to the US, we flew to Portland to spend about a month in the most beautiful corner of the country.  It was great for Luke and I to spend so much time with my parents, and to just relax and have almost no cares in the world (except for going through the process of finally changing my name and countless calls with the movers and corporate HR to get our move to California all under control).  But it was so great to spend so much time with my parents! Day trips included Mt. St. Helens, Seattle, the coast, and several hikes, and of course, Saturday's Market.  We did it all!

PARK CITY

Next we flew back to Utah for a week, this time to spend it with Luke's family that had gathered for his mom's wedding.  Luke's mom rented a house for all 18 of us to stay at in Park City, and it was tons of fun, filled with lots of little nieces and nephew time, cards, bowling, junk food, hiking and hot tub time! 

Christensen Family Hike

WEDDING!!!

That Friday was the beautiful wedding of Bob and Laura. It was so sweet and special and so wonderful to have so much family gathered around.  We had it at the Lion House on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Great food, and even better dancing.  Apparently my brother-in-law, Jonny, practices dancing to Beyonce too much. The entire day was so special, and we are SO happy for Luke's mom :)

CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP AND CORPORATE TRAINING

Days later, Luke flew to Cleveland for a week of corporate training with Parker Hannifin, and with our car and stuff already on its way to California with the movers, my mom and I took a road trip through Southern Utah and Las Vegas on our way to see my aunt and uncle in Palm Springs.  It was heaven there.  Four hours in the most perfect pool, eating and talking. Luke had an amazing week at corporate where he had lots of training and wined and dined with executives, vice presidents and the CEO of Parker Hannifin. It's such a great position to get to work so closely with corporate at such a young age! 

OUR NEW JOBS! (aka DINKS)

A few days later we arrived to our new home! Well, almost.  All of my mom's family lives really close to where we live in Modesto, so we stayed with my grandparents until we could move into our apartment on the 30th. Luke and I both work full-time, which makes us a term I've recently learned: DINKS (dual income, no kids). I started my new job working in the real estate office that my grandpa owns.  I love my job! I work the front desk, but they have me doing a lot of administrative stuff like working on the escrow closing docs and property listings.  I love my job! I am learning a lot and real estate is a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.  And I get to work with an AMAZING group of staff that's so fun!  And getting to go to my grandma and grandpa's every day for lunch is definitely a highlight :) I love the people I work with and am learning so much about real estate.  Luke also loves his job.  It's an amazing job within Parker Hannifin that has him in management training.  He is working hard and learning lots! We are both so busy, but nothing will ever be as busy as BYU. 

NEW CAR

In the mean time, Luke and I bought our first new car!!! We couldn't believe it.  We had been looking into getting a used car, since it was time to own two cars instead of one.  But we found an awesome deal on a 2014 Ford Focus that was in the end cheaper than buying used, and so couldn't be more excited! We get around 37.8 MPG and love having bluetooth in the car! 

OUR NEW HOME

We love our apartment too.  It's in a gorgeous apartment complex that's gated and in a really nice part of town.  Since we will be living in corporate housing for the next two years, we don't get to pick where we live, but luckily the company picks nice and safe areas for us to live and we are really pleased with where they put us.  Free juice bar, gorgeous pool to lay out at, amazing gym and a nice place to live :) We love it here!