My soul is smiling

Things lately have been...well...crazy. No complaints as things have been good, but busy nonetheless. Aaron started his new gig full time here in LA, and we couldn't feel more blessed. It just so happens that his new job is right around the corner from where we live and has made us feel more at home here in Los Angeles. While we could live a few different places and be super happy we have really felt such a connection to LA and feel that this is where we need to be at this time in our life. Of course that means continuing to trade in our home in SLC for our apartment in the city. But what a wonderful city it is. I know for some LA may seem like the complete opposite of where they would want to live. Afterall it is busy and crowded. However, the neighborhoods in West LA where we live are as charming as could be. Tree lined streets, park, community rec centers, museums and of course amazing lil eateries. Needless to say we are pretty smitten with LA and are so thankful to be able to call this our home for now.

So here we are living our lives in LA. Aaron is working his 10+ hour days, me my 10 hour days, Aaron is doing scouts, me Young Women's, and trying to fit in as much time to enjoy the great city we live in with friends, family and our dogs.

In the midst of all this business I have had some great moments lately that have rejuvenated my soul:

• I have been working with this 6 year old little boy and well the time has come for us to part. He has made so much progress in therapy and he is ready to move on and spread his wings and fly. I had to break this news to him a couple of weeks ago and even though I tried with my cheer and attitude to help him understand what a good thing this was for him, he was not having it. He started to cry and got pretty upset. When I asked him why he thought he was so sad and angry he replied "you are not supposed to split up buddies." True my little one, you are NOT supposed to split up buddies. How do you reply to that one. He is right. You may be wondering why this is on the list of great moments, well it was just a sweet tender moment and made me feel so lucky to be considered this little guys buddy.
• I have been spending lots of time with the young women of LA at our church and I must say this is one of my most favorite things. Last week I had two great moments with them. One was at our weekly activity on Tuesday night where one of the girls talked about her receiving her Young Womanhood Recognition (Personal Progress awared, the Eagle Scout to girls) and she talked about one of her favorite activities was when she imagined that Christ was with her at all times for 1 week. I love that she said "I am a good girl and it was still hard." Could you imagine if we lived more like this, imagining the Savior by our side all day. I just loved that she did this as one of her projects and it made me really think about how different we would all treat eachother, act, and do if we did this.
  
• Last week I went and supported our ladies doing baptisms at the temple. It was such a treat. I got to help the ladies when they were done and just look after them. I loved sharing such an intimate experience with them and being there to great them after they did work for the Lord. It was so great to see the ladies who work so hard to keep themselves clean to entire the Lord's house and to be there with them as they sacrificed their time to serve the Lord.
• I booked a flight to visit my lil nephews and that alone has filled me with so much joy I can barely contain myself. I have missed them and Matt and KT so much lately. They are coming out here in April, but I just could not wait that long. It is lil Georgie's 1st Birthday this week, and although I can't be there for his Birthday celebration, I will be there the week after, similar to last year when I had the privilege to spend time with them after he was born. I can't wait to see them and squeeze them.
• The beauty of LA has been amazing lately. It has rained off and on and it has been just stunning. We visited Griffith Park and the Observatory the other day and took in the breathtaking view of LA. The coolest part is that this is a canyon that makes you forget you are in LA, it looks like a canyon in Utah, all lush and green. I love being able to explore trails in the hills at one point of the day and the beach at another. It really seemed like we were somewhere else. We even got to see a coyote run by our car. We stopped and ate this to die for apple pie at this little cabin on our way down the canyon, it was simply divine.
• Homemade bread!!! Aaron's parent got him this book How to Make Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and it really and truly is incredible. He makes the most beautiful loaves of bread every week. We deliver them to friends and neighbors and enjoy some fabulous grilled cheese too! I love that my Aar Bear loves to cook so much. He finds so much joy in it and he is pretty fab at it. We have so much fun in the kitchen and exploring all the eateries around town.
• My Dream is getting married in May and I can't wait. Aims is so great and I am so happy that she has found such a darling man to marry. I almost feel as happy as I did when I was getting married. It will be the ultimate celebration.

What is making your soul smile these days?

Olympians

What am I going to do when I have kids to make sure they go to the olympics. I mean of course I would want them to get a medal, but I would be cool even if they just made it there. Does this seem like too much to ask and hope for? Are kids will be short though so I got to think about the sports they would be good at. Gymnastics, ice skating (I am flexible and let's be honest much better when they are super flexible), snowboarding, surfing (maybe by then this will be in the olympics), soccer.

Our kids have a lot of expectations, dreams, and hopes already so they best be ready.

Modern Family

I just want to put it out there that I LOVE Modern Family. It is so brilliant. Anyone else find as much joy in it as I do?

Some favorite holiday pics

I finally got around to going through the abundant amount of pics from the holidays. I came across some adorable ones of my nephews. I have to say I love them. It is true, I love them like crazy. It was so much fun spending time with them at my parents house. A few things about Liam: He loves his Peppermint Ice Cream, is in love with his trains, likes to fix things, and is the sweetest brother in the world. A things about Georgie: he moves fast, is super smiley, and a big cuddle bug.

Liam enjoying his Peppermint Ice Cream. I think it is too funny that this kid loves peppermint ice cream, york patties, and candy canes.

See the smile on this kiddos face. How adorable is lil Georgie.

Me and my buddy Liam. We would go on mini adventures in the backyard. So cute he would say "Krissy you want to go on an adventure with me?" How could I say no. He loves to explore and is so interested in the world and how things work.

Liam checking on his train that Punka puts out for him. When the train would not start or would get stuck you would hear Liam say "I think it's out of gas," "I think the engine is broken," "I think we should call Punka and have him fix it." Too cute. He loves to work on his train.

This lil guy was moving around the entire time. Crawling super fast all around the house. He even started to walk while in AZ over Christmas. You can tell he wants to be right there with his brother.

Me and the kiddos on the morning of my birthday.

Some of my most favorite ladies. I used to work with this crew in Salt Lake. I had some of the best memories, learning experiences and crazy days with them.

Great friends is what makes life even better!!!

Mr. Murray with his buddy Bear.

Our family on Christmas Eve.

Stir Crazy

I don't know where the saying comes from, but I have been going stir crazy the last couple of days. On Wednesday I got a minor surgery done on a mole I had removed a month ago due it coming back precancerous...YUCK. So since it was on my tummy I haven't been able to do much for the last couple of days. On top of this I got a cold...super rad I know. So I have been in bed pretty much for 2 days. Today I started to feel a little better in terms of my tummy soreness, so I took some cold medicine and Aaron took me to Malibu for a few hours. We finally ate at the dive on PCH Neptune's Net. I had been wanting to go for awhile now. It was pretty yummy. The shrimp basket was delicious and I am for sure going to head back there. Such a short drive from where we live so why not. After we ate we headed to watch surfers and the ocean for a bit. We stopped at El Matador State Beach and walked around a bit and enjoyed the scenery. Of course the natural beauty was amazing, but the homes honestly were NUTSO!!! There were starfish everywhere and I was like a little kid running around, pointing to them and being super stoked. It was a great lil getaway and helped me not feel so cooped up. Now that I am home I am ready to head back to bed. But thought I would get back to being a bit more regular on our posts. So check out a few of our pics from the day. Speaking of pictures I finally started clearing off my pictures off my computer onto my external hard drive. I moved 4, 000 over today and still have 5, 000 to go. Needless to say it cleared up some extra memory space on my computer.








Thanks to my Aar Bear for getting me out so I do not loose my mind.

Holiday Time

No lie it has been tough to get back to life the last few weeks after the holidays.

It was a great time away. Aaron and I started our break in Utah and then ended it in Arizona. We were able to fit in time with family and friends and it really was the perfect holiday. It was cold in Utah, but I feel like we timed it perfectly and had pretty skies and no driving in snow. I loved it, I really did. Nothing beats AZ in the winter it was so green and beautiful and we got lots of time with my buddies Liam and George...really if I love them this much I can't imagine how much I will love our own lil ones someday.

While we took lots of pics, most are on Aaron's computer which has recently run out of battery and his charger no longer works...well it sparks, so it is a hazard. So not a big photo post, but I will post a few. Of course the best pics, with the lil guys, are on Aaron's computer

It really was a great trip. It was nice to have 10 days off work where I did not have to worry or look at my computer once. I turned 27 and started to feel pretty old I must say. One thing is for sure, we are ready for 2010.

Aaron and I on my birthday, Christmas Eve. We did a birthday breakfast in the morning and then spent the evening at his parent's house. I love being able to be with those I love on my birthday every year.

Since we stayed at Matt and KT's while in UT we were able to take Bear to the park everyday to play some fetch. He was in heaven and it was so cute to watch him go crazy in the snow.

Events from 2009

January afternoon. Aaron and I at one of our most favorite places in the world, The Montage

A January evening at Salt Creek Beach

February getaway to St. George thanks to the Beck's.

Ash, myself and Rach with their two boys in St. George before a stroll.

February afternoon up at the Getty. Right after a rain storm so the views of LA were amazing.

In March I took a trip to SLC to spend time with KT, Matt, Liam and George. Learned a bit about motherhood while I was there.

Aaron and I went on a whale watching trip together in March.

April was a fun month, due to knowing I was going to start working full time again I wanted to get in a trip to the happiest place on earth.

Mom and dad came and visited us in April.

The whole purpose of our move to California ended with Aaron's graduation in May. We have since found other purposes for being out here and love it. After graduation we moved up to LA.

Lil Georgie was blessed in May in Arizona.

We also had a killer dinner group at Aliso Creek beach.

June had lots of fun times outside with the kiddos at the parks.

We even took Bear to a lake to try some water trials.

July we headed to SLC for the 4th of July. We did some fishing while we were there.

The best part of the trip was hearing Liam go "up up up up up up up BOOM BOOM."

A nice hot August day at Salt Creek with the Waites. These boys love to surf.

August included the most epic trip ever, Vinhagen with the Beck's and a few other couples.
It was perfection.

September we had a few getaways with my family. We did a weekend trip to Santa Barbara with everyone and it was fabulous.

Stroll in Santa Barbara

Family pic in AZ.

In October we headed back to AZ for a lil getaway. It was awesome because it went from a trip where it was just going to be Aaron and I with Liam and turned into a full on family reunion with everyone there.

While in AZ in October Aaron did some shaka brah session with Liam in the pool.

The Beck's paid us a visit in October and we hit up the U2 concert.
This was a first for Aaron and I. Ash and Clay are big timers.

While Clay and Ash were here we made lots of trips to the beach of course.

Aaron and I celebrated our 6 Year Anniversary in San Fran in November.

Ash, Aims and I did our 6th annual ornament exchange and had a fab girls weekend.


The end of 2009 is almost here. I really am shocked. I must say we had a blast this last year but I am also looking forward to all that 2010 will have in store for us.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.