Exploring Anyone?

We have been making the most of our new surroundings. Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen came up a couple of weeks ago and we set out on an adventure. We decided to go check out Monterrey and Carmel. After renting a van so we could try them out and all fit in one car we set out. The weather was beautiful and company was great. The boys like looking into the ocean at the pier in Monterrey.

They liked it almost as much as riding in the new stroller. Ryan got me the stroller I have been drooling over for a couple of years. I absolutely LOVE it. As you can tell!

Monterrey was different than we expected but pretty cool. After checking out the pier we headed down to the Aquarium. Luke was excited about that as you can see...

The boys like the aquarium almost as much as having Grandma and Grandpa around.

After we saw lots of cool fish and ate lunch we went to 17 mile road around the pebble beach area. It was so beautiful.

I can see why people like to golf here. So can Ryan! (Spanish Links at Pebble Beach)

Noah didn't understand what all the fuss was about: driving, stopping, taking pictures, getting the car, getting out of the car... but as usual he was a good sport.

Luke's favorite spot was where the seals go to sun bathe. there are hundreds of them and you can hear them barking from the rock right off the shore. Ryan taught him the magic of binoculars to see things far away. He hasn't stopped talking about binoculars since.


We are enjoying our surroundings and loving the California "winter" weather!

Our New Digs

We are really happy with our new home. There are definitely things we miss from our old house but also things we enjoy about this house. I will take you on a photo tour of the most important spaces...

This is the front room. You can see the front door and the stairs with two rugrats on their way down. My legs were so sore for a couple of days from going up and down the stairs! Never thought that I was such a wimp! Let's just say I will leave this house in better shape than I came.

Here is the kitchen. I really like this kitchen. I loved my kitchen in Rexburg so I was nervous about moving to a different one but I really like this one and am getting used to new appliances. I have never cooked on a gas range before and I will admit it took me a second to get a burner lit the first time!


This is the family room. It is right off the kitchen. During the day all these windows open up into a sunny heaven. I don't really like cats but totally agree with them on one thing... napping in the sun. LOVE IT! I soak in all the sun I can here.
All these pictures look white and stark. Probably due to the white carpet and walls as well as the lack of wall hangings. We don't know how long we will be here and so I didn't unpack most of our pictures. I hung two to be specific. So yes, the walls are a little bare.


This is the loft upstairs. I have my desk here that the owners were so kind to leave behind. I think this will be a nice space for us to have. The boys can play in my vicinity yet I can (hopefully) get caught up on life?


Here is the boys room. You can't see it but there is a bathroom off to the left. For this room only. I love it. I can change and bath them there without having to move room to room. I am sure I won't love it when it come to cleaning time.

I didn't think you needed pictures of the guest rooms with their respective beds and the master room. Or the bathrooms for that matter. Let's just say they will suffice. :)


I have never lived in a warm climate like this and so this orange tree from our neighbors yard makes me happy every time I look at it. I haven't tasted one of the oranges yet. Whenever I miss Idaho I look at this and remind myself everywhere has its ups and downs and to look for the ups!

We made it!

Well we made it to San Jose. Here are some of the highlights and low-lights of our journey...

Highlight: All the help packing us. Thank you Mom, Tamy, Matt and Pete.
Lowlight: Seeing our house empty and realizing that this was for reals. We are really going to miss Idaho.

Highlight: Making it from Rexburg to Winnemuca on our first day of travel
Lowlight: Losing Noah's blanket in the hotel parking lot (I assume, I know I had it when I walked out of the hotel but realized a couple of hours down the road that it wasn't anywhere!

Highlight: Seeing the beauty of a snow covered Donner Pass. We didn't expect the drive to be so mountainous but it was really pretty and covered in snow.
Lowlight: Realizing after his 4th time puking that Noah just might be one that gets car sick. Apparently the mountain passes and being in the middle of the back seat wasn't doing it for him. We had to roll down the window so the rest of us didn't add the lingering odors. I think the fresh air put his stomach at ease.

Highlight: Arriving in San Jose a day earlier than we expected.
Lowlight: Car window being smashed open in the hotel parking lot our first night there. We were the last in a string of cars the vandals got. I heard they caught them with our car door open and so they didn't take much and took off running. They were caught and were staying in the hotel next door. We have an appointment to take the truck in on Tuesday.

Highlight: Finding a pet friendly hotel room that was large enough for the 5 of us. It had basically two rooms and best of all two tvs for the kids to turn on and off over and over and over!
Lowlight: Luke pulling the fire alarm in the hallway. Yep, opened up and pulled the handle. He also almost removed the fire extinguisher and pulled off the inspection stickers on the emergency lighting on two other trips to take the dog out.

Highlight: Finding an all you can eat buffet after what seemed like weeks of fast food. It was like Ryan and I were in "real" food heaven
Lowlight: Ryan getting sick for 2 days following the "real" food.

Highlight: Having the movers drop off all our stuff and being able to shut the doors and have our own space for the kids and dog to run.
Lowlight: UNPACKING! It has taken me a week but I feel like this is our home now. (I did leave a lot packed in the garage, seeing as we are only here for 6 months.)

Highlight: Beautiful weather, sunny and 60 degrees. This is a summer vacation for us.
Lowlight: People everywhere! No more wide open spaces of the Idaho countryside.

As you can see it is all a matter of perspective. We are here, healthy, and happy to be together. I feel like I can breathe after a month of the stress of moving hanging over my head. We think that we will really like it here but miss Idaho already.

I will try to post pictures of our new house but Noah is waking up from his nap and that means my time gets eaten up pretty quick.