Krispy Kreme

Bad news:  there is a Krispy Kreme within walking distance of us - literally.  Pepper was craving these very doughnuts on Monday night, so we walked there.  That's right.  My husband makes me walk for doughnuts.  Normal doughnut-eating people would hop in their cars and drive on down to be sure they don't expend too much energy.  Then, they'd prop the doughnut box on their bellies and watch Food Network.  Not us.  I couldn't help singing "Pioneer Children" as we trudged down the nicely paved sidewalk the exhausting three blocks to our destination.  Remember that song?  "Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked AND walked." 

One thing I learned from this trial:  Rancho Cucamonga Krispy Kreme has a wildly different assortment of doughnuts than Layton Krispy Kreme.  We ordered flavors such as Strawberry Shortcake, New York Cheesecake, Buffalo Bill Critters, Banana Creme, and Lemon Cake.  (Okay, one flavor in there I made up, but I'll never tell which one it is.)

A Warm Day at the Beach

Okay, so it doesn't look like a very warm day, but looks can be deceiving.  It felt really nice.  Before we headed off for the beach, we stopped by Costco and bought a beach umbrella so we wouldn't fry!  While there, my hubby coaxed me into also purchasing a body board aka boogie board.  He thinks I'm so kind in letting him buy one, but the truth is...I really wanted one too, but don't tell him that.

So, here's Lu posing with our boogie board.  He was so excited to try it out.  He was so fun to watch.

Then, Lu got me to try it out.  This picture's great.  I didn't purposely try to hide behind the boogie board, but am glad I did.  No one needs to see my thunder thighs.

It was wild and I had a lot of fun...right up until I lost control and went barreling towards a group of girls.  They had to run to dodge me.  You can see one teen fearfully running away from me in this picture.  It was embarassing but kind of great.  They were just standing there.

They call it the Quaking of the Earth.

I felt my 1st tremor here in California last week.  I was sitting on the couch and Luis was sitting close by.  I felt a little shake, and I turned to Luis because I thought he had shaken the couch.  He wasn't even paying attention to me and THAT is when I realized...that was no silly couch shaking by my husband...that was an EARTHQUAKE!!!  or at least a faint tremor caused by one probably a few hundreds miles away.  I suddenly had butterflies in my stomache as I texted my mom to tell her.  She got really worried and asked if we were okay.  Just so all 3 of you know (you 3 who read my blog), other than a few broken ribs, I think we'll be fine.  Spread the word though - California is hoppin!

Etiwanda Falls

One thing I love about Rancho is that there are mountains across the Northern horizon. That makes me feel like I'm in Utah still. However, they're not like my mountains. We went on a hike to the Etiwanda Falls and, unlike most trails I've been through, there was no shade along the way. Even at 8:30 in the morning, we were dripping!

El Hogar de los Moreno's

I have put together this tour so that you can see what mi casa is like. Now, you can picture me here when you're feeling lonely for me...and Luis. (Also, the tour is bilingual for those of you who are bilingual.)

This is the view of our complex from our stairs (los escalones). The sky looks blue, which is nice. It is often not blue.

This is our patio 3 stories up. We had to search a long time to find just the right patio furniture (los muebles) to fit in with our sheek style.

Okay, come to our door (la puerta), open it up, and this is what you'll see. WELCOME!

Living room (la sala).

Do you remember that adorable nook I was gaga over? This is it (esto es). Jealous?

This would be our kitchen (la cocina).

Our large and spacious dining room (el comedor). We fed the sister missionaries last night and had plenty of room to pull out the table (la mesa).

At the end of the hall (el corredor), you have 2 choices. Turn right...

...and you'll find our bedroom (la recamara).

Turn left....

...and you'll reach the bathroom (el bano) and closet. At first I thought having so much unused space in the bathroom was wasteful. But now, well, loving it!

This door is at the end (el final) of the kitchen. Open it up and we have...

...our washer (la lavadora)

...and dryer (la secadora). Horray!
Of course, no home is complete without a dumpster (el basurero). And this one's ours.

And finally, we also spend many days down at our pool (la pisina) since we are bums.

So there you have it. Our new home. We are loving it here and look forward to many fun days (muchos dias divertidos).

Redlands Temple

We found out that the Redlands Temple is our assigned temple, so we took the easy 30 minute drive and went down last Friday afternoon. It's a smaller temple and is absolutely beautiful inside and out. There are roses and fountains like all the temples I've been too, but also are the wonderful palm trees, which I love. There are 3 or 4 other temples only a few hours away from us, which surprised me. Hopefully we'll get a chance to visit them all.

Waves

Our first day at the beach proved to be not so crowded. Maybe that's because it was freezing and no sun was shining. We'll learn. It was still the beach!

Moving Day!

This less than flattering picture is us saying "Goodbye Utah!"

(Keep in mind, it was 3:59AM)

Our new apartment office...wait, there's more. Keep scrolling!


Ta da!
I am sitting on the nook in the wall of our apartment.
It is basically what sold the apartment for me.

Here's mom proudly learning how to send picture messages with Jason coaching.

We had very luxurious sleeping accommodations for our movers.

More sleeping arrangements. Keep in mind, you can stay with us anytime!

Chaos.

Poor Lu, so tired. He did drive the whole way.

And this is our family saying, "Goodbye California." Poor Luis.

I cried for a long time after they left...and since.

By now though, he knows exactly what to do in those situations. He's getting really good at playing with my hair. It's almost like having my mom do it!

Yoyo

The password for Luis's computer has the word yoyito in it. So I asked him the other day, what does yoyito mean? He told me it meant little yoyo in Spanish. I asked him, "Oh? What significance does a yoyo have in your life?" He said, "Well, I just thought it would be something I could remember." Naturally. That's my husband!

Goodbye Party - Tamal Style

We were so desperate, we threw our own going away party. We made tamales and invited the whole clan to come try them. The family tries to be Mexican, but they'll never be like Luis and I.

This is serious business.

The little ones were definately ready and willing to assist grandma in getting some ice cream.

Enjoying some ice cream with a little Salt & Pepper.

Adios! Tan tan.