We"re ALIVE!!!

Well I think we have finally settled in our rather quaint home! I can't believe it has almost been 2 months since we took the plunge and moved to Santa Barbara California! It has been an adjustment with a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, tincy kitchen, no backyard, and a laundary closet out in the garage. It has been so much change for the kids they have been at each others throats since we got here. I hope things cool down in a couple of months and they can get to their comfortable selves. Sometimes I wonder if aliens have taken over my childrens bodies! They are adjusting and getting a little more used to school and making some friends.

We have been learning to surf! Shelby is a fish and can spend hours trying every couple of minutes to catch a wave! Her first time she made it standing on the board she had her feet together and was waving both arms like she was a dairy queen on a float. I wasn't there but Kris came home and told me about it and I wished I could have seen it or we had a picture. I was laughing so hard picturing her! Paydon enjoys giving it a few tries when Shelby actually gives up the board and gives him a turn.

Mylee spends most of the time running back and forth in and out of the waves and playing in the sand.

They have free movies on the pier. They set up a big screen and projector and you bring your chairs and enjoy a movie surrounded by the awesome backdrop of the ocean and sunset. This night we watched Never Ending Story and we also went to Shrek.

You know you live in an awsome place when you see a cruise ship parked in the ocean just a few miles away from your house!

We are getting adjusted and can't wait for friends and family to come see us! We miss everyone back in Utah and would just love it if they would all pack up their stuff and move here with us! We have met amazing people here and feel this is an experience that will stregnthen our family and draw us closer to one another.

AND THEN THERE WERE 4

How time flies. So much has happened in the last 6 months. Kris had been looking for a new job for about 2 years and he finally got one in Feb. So the end of Feb him and Jaxon headed out to sunny Santa Barbara, California. They have been there for 2 months now and I miss them terribly! Well maybe the husband more than the teenager! All of you who live with one could totally agree with me! Me and the other 3 kids drove the 13 and a half hours to spend a week with them in their 300 square foot apartment over spring break. We had a blast in the warm sun just hanging out as a family. We spent everyday hanging out at the beach. We spent time with some friends that live there. I was a little worried, i mean it is California, but i felt really safe and comfortable there. I can see myself living there for a couple years, but then coming back to where my family is. We are giving this a trial run to see if Kris can sell enough windows and doors to move the rest of us up there. I was worried about the schools there so that is why Jaxon went with Kris, and also to keep him company. He goes to Santa Barbara High School since 9th grade is in high school there. I was nervous but he is doing good and liking school as much as a 15 year old boy can. (There is not a metal detector at the doors of the school, i asked the first day he went.) It has not been harder with everyday chores and stuff because there are two less people to cook and clean up after, but it is really hard being apart! I have been surprised at how lonely it gets. I still have tons of family and friends here but they r not Kris. The one person that I have spent the last 15 years married to. I started thinking about people whose spouses have died! I can't imagine how lonely they feel! I get to talk to Kris everyday and even see him through pictures and skype. The loneliness is still hard to deal with. Just not havin him here to give me a big hug and kiss when he gets home from work, or just knowing he is laying beside me in bed at night. It has made me realize how much i love and need him. The good thing is that this isn't permanent. We are working hard to get our family back together whether it be in Utah or California. Until then I will just keep pluggin along and try to keep our other 3 children alive and happy.