playing catch up.

dearest friends and family,

i know i have started 1, 2, and maybe even 3 (?) blogs in the past. and they were all failures. i like the idea of blogging but i just havent been able to stick with it. but now, i am starting this, my fourth (or is it my third?) blog. it will mostly be a place for me to keep a record of what ricks and i are doing in our lives. accept the fact that i may not keep it up and that maybe, a few months down the road, in an effort at a fresh start, i may even start a fifth blog. if everyone is okay with that. then here we go.

Ricks and I moved to Davis, CA on August 11, 2011. we woke up bright and early and said teary goodbyes to our families. Ricks drove the uhaul and i drove the toyota. on our way here, Ricks listened to video game podcasts and i listened to the help. we drove straight through the sad state of nevada, stopping only for gas and were greeted in california with beautiful lake tahoe and the entry produce check. the few grapes left over from the trip, ricks, and i all were allowed to enter California and we drove the rest of the way to davis. the first two weeks we took up residence at the local motel 6 where i became very familiar with TLC's What Not to Wear, made it through 2 books, and applied for about a trillion jobs. Ricks learned that law school is a lot of fun.

we took our second weekend to go into San Francisco. Ricks last visited when he was five and i had never been. we first explored the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market where i had some very yummy okonmiyaki (the Davis farmer's market, although smaller, is just as good, if not better than San Francisco's, and definitely more fun!). We walked down to pier 39, which we had decided was a total tourist-trap-bust until we came upon the view of the rock and golden gate bridge. it was made even better when we found the sea lions! afterward, we wandered up to ghiradelli square where we shared a very chocolatey sundae. after a 6 minute wait which turned out to be 40 minutes (either the iphone lied about the bus schedule or the bus schedule was WAY off) we made our way to golden gate park and the de young museum. as any true american would, we skipped the picasso exhibit and headed straight for the american art. we loved the museum and were especially excited to find henri and bellows! to cap off Ricks' and my first trip to SF, we watched a crazy lady get arrested and ate at a great mexican restaurant at the mission. it was a good day.

my mom flew out to help us move when it was finally time to move into student housing. my mom and i worked hard to turn our little 600 foot, linoleum covered apartment into a cute, comfortable place to live. Ricks and I also got to talk in church while she was here- about parenting. haha. it was a lot of fun to spend time with my mom and im learning that i dont like goodbyes very much.

ricks is loving law school and i am enjoying a break from work and school although i really wish i could find a job. ive had one interview which i will hear back from this week. i also have 3 more interviews lined up this week as well. im already dreading having to take more classes but im comforted by the fact that its only one class a semester but also really annoyed that i can only take one class a semester. i wish i could get it finished more quickly.

davis has already been a lot of fun. everyone at church is so kind and welcoming. weve made quite a few friends already. ricks found the american river which has a few good runs for kayaking, i found out that there is an h&m about 40 minutes away, and, most importantly, weve found good burgers, really good potstickers, and we are loving having a kitchen to cook in again! the only downside to davis so far is that our bikes were both stolen. but, we have really good insurance, that, pending a police report, should reimburse us for our loss.

we miss all of our sweet family and friends at home but are excited about our new adventures here. we love you all.

goodnight.

ps. here are some pictures. i dont know how they got squished but if you click on them, they are normal.