Some Like it Hot!

Yesterday, instead of dealing with this:

Sam and I decided to do this!

We LOVE living so close to the beach. We spent the whole day on the beautiful Coronado beach (which is only ten minutes away--heaven).

The highlight for me was standing on the same beach where Some Like it Hot was filmed. I mean, come on, Marilyn Monroe once lounged on that same sand (and most of you know that I am somewhat of a closet fanatic). I just HAD to get a photo in front of the Hotel Del Coronado where the movie was filmed.

Aren't my white legs glamorous? :)

Friday Beach Day!

One fun thing about moving to San Diego has been spending so much time with my cousin Amber, her husband Josh, and their ADORABLE kids. We hadn't seen each other in years, so it has been great to catch up. She is great about inviting me along to things, and I am all too happy to tag along!

Amber and the boys go to the beach every Friday with some friends, and I have tagged along twice. I LOVE being so close to the beach. Especially when I get to go with these cuties.

Um seriously . . . could little Dallin be any cuter? I don't know if you can tell, but he has sand ALL over his face (even in his hair).

Nathan and Jack--snoogs.

The proud mama.

Cookin' with the Oldies

I seem to have a knack for hunting down activities that attract the older generation. I have been desperately trying to find something to fill my days here since I am jobless and friendless, and I happened to discover that community college classes in California are free! On a whim, I signed up for "time saving cooking" thinking that I need all the help I can get and maybe it would be a good place to make friends. So I spent four hours in class today, chopping veggies for the most delicious black bean and corn salsa in the world and listening to conversations about grandchildren and hip replacements. I was the youngest person in there by (at least) 40 years. I suppose the only people with four hours to spare on a Thursday morning are retirees. Oh well. It was actually still really fun and I am not opposed to hanging out with senior citizens. :)

Our new place!

When we saw a listing for a two bedroom apartment less than a mile from Sam's work and right on Balboa Park that was within in our price range, we braced ourselves for something truly ghetto. Seeing this posted in the (surprisingly nice looking) lobby, it didn't do much to raise our hopes:
But we were shocked when we walked into the apartment and found this:

We lucked out big time!!! We happened to be in the right place at the right time when the landlord dropped the rent and we nabbed it.

Now the funny thing about this apartment is that the landlady is an extremely quirky old lady who wanted to do some renovations to make it more "luxury." This sounds all good and well, but she really should have gotten some decorating advice from someone a little more hip. For example, she took out the tub shower and put in a nice glass one. The problem? She thought it would be nice to choose the glass with white, leaping dolphins printed on it. TACKY! So if you ever make it over to our place, don't blame me for the pervasive old woman influence. :)

But look at our cute street! We are really excited about living here.

ZUMBA anyone?

Don't ask me what I was expecting when I went to a group exercise class at my local rec center in the middle of the day. I mean, who besides college graduates spending a few weeks with nothing to do at their parents' house can workout at 10 am on a Wednesday? Oh yeah--senior citizens.

Needless to say, I was a little surprised when I walked into the ZUMBA class to find lots of well beyond middle aged women ready to work it! (For those of you who may not be familiar with ZUMBA--it is a workout that combines latin dances with hip hop and aerobics. Not exactly what you would imagine the "silver sneakers" 70+ club being into.) My skepticism was quickly erased once the class started. Maybe the lady sporting the shiny, skin tight, stretch shorts with blue push down ruffle socks couldn't do all the moves the instructor was demonstrating, but she sure tried. And maybe the woman wearing the teal 80s jumpsuit with green swiggly stipes pulled up to her chest had to rest between each song, but she sure knew how to shimmy!!! Needless to say, it was probably the most fun I have ever had working out.

So the class inspired me. Seeing as I can't teach next year, I did some research - There is a ZUMBA instructor certification class near San Diego in July. I can see myself workin' it with some oldsters next year . . . Who thinks I should do it?

Officer Sam

After three LONG months apart, Sam and I were finally reunited in Rhode Island for his Officer Candidate School Graduation a couple weeks ago. It is so fun to be reunited!!! That explains why it took me so long to post about this.

The night before graduation, there was a "Hi Mom" party (although truth be told, it was more of a hi wife/girlfriend party). We had to listen to a bunch of rather boring speeches, but during the drill instructor's talk, he surprised the graduates by screaming at them and giving their families a taste of life at OCS. They had to run in place and do tons of pushups while screaming back commands in perfect unision--very fun to watch. I was too slow with the video camera though, so you will have to take my word for it.

My hot navy hunk

With Sam's parents

The ceremony the next day was really cool. Not coming from a military family, I haven't experienced old fashioned ceremonies like that very often. Sam was fifth in his class, so he got to lead the "first platoon" and call out commands all through the graduation ceremony. He even got to wield a sword. :)

Sam is right up front with the sword at his side.

The proud wife who can't resist that Top Gun uniform. :)

I know this video is a bit long, but you can here Sam yelling commands at the end. He is the one on the end of the third row. All of the yelling after the first 30 seconds is Sammy. Funnest.

This is Sam's ceremonial first salute. After treating him like dirt for three months, the class drill instructor and chief now have to salute Sam.

The big move

Sam got his final orders and we are heading to . . . San Diego!!! We are extremely excited. He has to report to Naval Medical Center San Diego on June 1st where he will be on the engineering team in charge of maintaining the gigantic hospital complex there. And hey, no complaints from me! That is in one of the best parts of San Diego, right next to the zoo and Balboa Park. Let's just say I will NOT miss scraping snow off my car on the way to school at 6 AM. Woo hoo!

Hip Hip Hooray . . . It's Graduation Day!

Last week I graduated from BYU and it feels fantastic! Granted, I still don't have a job for next year, but one thing at a time, right?

(I somehow talked my sister-in-law Christine into walking with the dorky Physical and Mathematical Science majors. What a good sport!)


The building I spent WAY too much time in over the past four years.

Dad and Grammy came out for the festivities.

My friend, Michelle. She was the only other Chemistry Education major. Needless to say, we spent lots of time together.

I went to the big commencement with one of my best and oldest friends, Kristie. I definitely had deja vu of high school graduation!

My latest obsession . . .

Last week I got to visit my ADORABLE new nephew, Callum. I married into a bunch of cute nieces and nephews, but this was the first one on my side. Let's just say that I am a little obsessed. Here are some highlights from the week . . .

Look at the little guy lounging. I discovered that he loved sitting in my lap when my legs were crossed. Sarah was very grateful to find a "hands free" holding position.

Goin' out on the town! Cal certainly looks excited.

Look at that grin and the hand on his forehead. Maybe my drama queen-ness rubbed off on him. (Let's hope not for Sarah's sake)

Glamor shots with Cal at the Botanical Gardens--doesn't he look thrilled :)

Snuggling with Cal in the mornings