just a quickie.

i know that i am very behind on the blogging.  reason being that i finally decided that i would make a jared/beckie blog. but i cannot do this without a title. and i have yet to think of one worthy of our wonderful life. i mean being a walker has it's perks, but the fact that there are millions of "walkers" is not one of them.  

but today i just wanted to say that my husband is the best. for me at least. but maybe of all the land. 

scenario: 

beckie has really bad pms and is craving all junk food.  so after i got off of work, i went to the bakery and got a doughnut. i then drove to jared's work to pick him up, but it usually takes him 5-10 mins to actually come down to the car.  so i sat in the car and ate my wonderfully stale (leftover morning pastries. yum?) ooey gooey frosted doughnut.  but then jared texted me and said that he was on his way down.  i didn't want him to know that i had just eaten an enormous doughnut so i shoved it in my mouth as fast as i could.  well, he made it to the car and gave me a kiss, when he pulled away, he had chocolate frosting all over his lips. because apparently i had chocolate frosting all over my lips. and then i shamefully admitted that i ate the whole thing in record timing and he said

"because you didn't want me to know or because you didn't want to share?"

he just knows me so well.

the other day when we were bored he said 

"hey did you see this game on pinterest??" 

(no i hadn't.. he had been perusing the pinterest behind my back).  next thing, he went to work making a ski ball game in our hallway with golf balls and masking tape. but he made it smaller because he said that he didn't want to use my expensive tape. (it was really craft tape).

when i need some time to myself, he graciously leaves me alone and leaves to play zelda. 

he always wins longest train in ticket to ride.

he sneaks snacks with me at church. and everywhere else.

he makes me laugh every single day.  

he lets me eat 2 in n' out burgers at a time. he has awesome dance moves.

he is super smart and works really hard.

for some reason when we go do a session at the temple and i see him sitting across the room, i just think that he is the cutest guy in the whole world and it reminds of how happy i am to be eternally married to my silly and wonderful guy. 

even though he smells like a boy sometimes, loves the red sox, always leaves the bathroom light on, and checks fantasy football at church. i just really like him anyway for so many many reasons.

life in reverse...

last christmas i posted about the anomaly of traditions that i have grown up with during the christmas season. i have always loved them.  i like being germasian. but this year, i get to experience some of the traditions that i have always heard about.

1. a real christmas tree. i was so excited. nervous because i heard it was messy and i hate messes.  excited because i like the smell. 

story time:

we scheduled tree time for wednesday. i was SO excited, all day. i was totally restless the entire workday because i knew that i would be going to my first tree lot and getting a real christmas tree.  we got home from work and changed and i kept sneaking into the bathroom because i wanted to get cute for all the pictures of me with my new tree, new husband, new traditions, etc.  good tree lots are limited here in los angeles, but a friend in the ward told me that she had gone to the home depot.  as we all know, home depot is one of my favorite places on the planet, so i was fine with that.  we got there and i was like a little kid. bouncing around, wide eyed and excited. and i saw one that i really liked and my voice got high pitched and i was totally annoying. but then we actually went into the tree lot...and lets just say, i was WAY too excited about nothing. i was so sad. the trees were wrapped! you are just supposed to guess which one will be good?! no thanks. so we left. and then i remembered that i had seen the cutest little tree lot in santa monica, but i couldn't quite remember where it was. so we drove down there but we didn't find it.  at that point my chin started to tremble and the alligator tears spilled out (those are the kind that make husbands feel really really bad. but that wasn't why, i really was sad). it was getting really late so we had to get home, treeless. i walked in with our ornaments, boxes of lights, puffy eyes and continued to hate christmas. luckily, while we were at the HD, we found these awesome lamps for $10... and so we built those.  AND learned how to use our light switch with the outlets! suddenly 40% of my christmas bitterness was gone and the rest dissolved when jared did a dance for me in the wrapping...  (i get over things quickly. oh and earlier in the week we had gotten free movie tickets! christmas time brings good deals...)

so yes. there is my sad little story. no tree. no cute lot. i hate normal people's normal traditions.

until saturday when we went out and actually got a tree.

we just went back to the home depot and picked one out. i named him piney and he is just what we needed. we shoved him in the back of ace and drove back to the apartment and i was just as excited again. 

as you can see from the pictures, we don't have a star yet and we ran out of lights... jared has a very particular (awesome) way of stringing lights, but the method requires a bagillion of them. and you can also see that i did not get cute for my "first tree" pictures. but that's ok, i was still happy. earlier in the year my parents had sent all of ornaments from my childhood to me. so we have a little bit of a start. i wanted to string popcorn and cranberries but apparently that is too archaic of an idea around here because no one sells whole cranberries. i went with pine cones instead. 

jared was recently called to be the ward scout master (he slept with bears this weekend) and so it is only right that we get a real tree. if it wasn't illegal, i am sure he would have chopped one down himself. 

2. christmas morning. since we will be in vegas for christmas day, i get to wake up, wear my christmas pajamas downstairs, give and get presents, and eat a christmasy breakfast.  i don't care how old i am, i have never done this... and i am really excited. 

last month and a half.

personally, i feel that blog posts are the best when they have pictures (i tend to think that almost everything in life is better with pictures). it seems repetitive to put my pictures on instagram and then the same ol photos here on the blog.  but for the sake of those 2 people that do not have smart phones and who do read this, i will update you a little.

in november, i had a birthday.

we ordered thai food and i got a WHOLE cheesecake from the cheesecake factory.  seeing as how i love cheesecake but my body does not love lactose, it was a dangerous situation.  the other half of my birthday treat was that i was allowed to eat as much cheesecake as i wanted and that i could whine when my tummy hurt later and jared couldn't say "i told you this would happen..." (like every other time).  

i picked out all of my own presents, which was totally fine with me.  the oxblood skinny jeans= FAVORITE. it is embarrassing how often i find the need to wear them. the kiddos sent handmade cards, they called to chat and my in laws called to sing to me.  jared's family gave some fantastic kitchen stuff from pampered chef to me as well. overall, it was a low key, well dressed, well fed birthday.

the past two months have been especially busy, as i have been immersed in my new job.  jared and i are now working about 2 blocks away from each other. i work in the fox plaza (left) and he works in the century towers (right). luckily my job pays for my monthly parking ($300+ a month!) and it has provided more growing and learning experiences than i ever imagined. it is for a very successful, family owned holding company, and they have already incorporated me into some really big and exciting projects.  

the longer we are here in la, the more i like it.  it still is a bit trendy and crowded for me but there are some pretty great aspects too. we see our buildings in movies all the time.  below is a picture of our little big city at night.  it really does look pretty cool at night.  

by the end of the week, we are pretty tired.  this is our life monday thru friday:

5:15 AM: wake up

6 AM: take jared to work

8 AM: beckie to work

5:30 PM: leave work

6 PM: get home
and by then, we are mentally exhausted. i really need to get back on a regular grocery shopping schedule and start cooking again...we had cheetos for dinner the other night. it's embarrassing (but cute when we have a contest to see who can go longer without licking their fingers...or gross, whatever.). but not all of my domestic skills have fallen by the wayside.  want to see some of my crafts?

i have always really liked embroidery and i always see decor that is rather plain, but then they embroider something little on it and suddenly it's worth $150 at anthropologie (by the way, jared LOVES anthropologie... how lucky am i?!).  however, since i don't have an extra $150 sitting around, i opted to spend $15 at joanns for supplies and have been teaching myself. yes, i look like an old lady, but it is much more fun and relaxing than i expected. i haven't sworn once. and i have cute throw pillows. win.win.

i don't know if  i am just lazy, have been too spoiled in the past or just clueless, but i am having a hard time getting everything ready for christmas.  and the fact that it is 75 degrees outside and there were palm trees in the parking lot where we got our christmas tree, is not helping. but this year is especially noteworthy because it is the first time that i have ever had a real tree. another post on that to come..

what do you think of our bubble lights? totally old school and completely mismatching of anything else that we have up, but they are cool. they bubble. they light up. what's not to love. they are jared's favorite, so on the fireplace they go.

ps...we've been married for over 6 months. that's cool.

i don't even like the color orange.

Happy Halloween!

(best part of this holiday means that thanksgiving is only a month away. i love thanksgiving.)

last saturday j and i went to our ward trunk or treat party.  us, being new to the area, thought "it's LA. people are going to go all out for this holiday".  oh how wrong we were.  we (and one other couple, also just moved here) arrived to see all of the kids in costume and 90% of the adults just in their regular street clothes.  cool guys. those jokesters. deskpop. what can i say? just because we are married doesn't mean we are boring... but then again, we don't have 3+ kids to worry about dressing up and overdosing on sugar. so instead, we will hold on to our own youth.

 it was fun to spend time with ward members, see all the kids in their costumes and be done by 7:30!

earlier that afternoon, we had gone with some friends to the pumpkin patch.  and by pumpkin patch, i mean a parking lot with some hay and a few already cleaned pumpkins with couple stations for kids, oh and two goats.  i was sad.  i was expecting rombach's farms kind of pumpkin patch.  acres upon acres of pumpkins and fun things to do.  when you go pick out your pumpkin, it is supposed to be chilly and so you drink hot cider or hot cocoa.  in LA it was 92 degrees and people had snow cones.  i just don't understand this state.  but we did leave with some cute little pumpkins and gourds to decorate our baby house for the season.

(lovely midwest pumpkin farm, vs celeb filled parking lot with tiny pumpkins. fail, california.)

on monday we did a craft for fhe.  i had seen on pinterest that if you buy ceramic dishes, you can write on them with sharpies and bake them, and it will stay.  so i figured we would give it a go.  i went to the dollar store and got a couple plates and then to staples and bought several sharpies.  

(we have so few pictures of ourselves and i don't like our wedding pictures, so we are making a conscious effort to take more together.)

it turned into a fun evening for the two of us and we came up with some good christmas present ideas.  we listened to some tunes, i drew, jared dotted, we ate treats, we read scriptures, we kissed, we laughed.  we're pretty much a golden couple... which explains why we have made soooo many friends here...

while i have been interviewing for a job, work has been interesting for j.  with the horrible storms back east, the stock market closed and it's a little hard to do his job without the markets. i guess that Sandy is a good reason to have food storage and 72 hour kits.  it is so sad to see what they are all going through. and it will be interesting to see how this all effects the election next week. 

last night i made butternut squash lasagna and grilled chicken- it tasted like fall.  today i may just have to get those pillsbury pumpkin cookies.

(oh you know the ones. disgusting but fantastic.)

.

to whom it may concern,

i am not that good at making "wish lists".  i tend to ask for things that i need but would rather not spend my own money on (toothbrush replacement heads are like $30... i don't want to pay for that if i don't have to...).  but this is my official, "really, for me???" wish list. now you know....

official girly stuff holiday wish list. by beckies1185 featuring lip makeup

J Crew slim fit shirt
jcrew.com

Steve madden shoes
zappos.com

Steve madden shoes
zappos.com

Tory burch
bloomingdales.com

Kate Spade stacking bangle
bloomingdales.com

Buxom lip makeup
bareescentuals.com

Chambers Street Small Debra
katespade.com

told you i was getting fat...

the cardinals are finished for the season.

if you want to know how seriously cardinals fans take their baseball, feel free to watch this.

i didn't even make it through the entire tragedy of a game. it is especially difficult to watch them get spanked so badly when there is a dramedy of a debate going on. it reminded me that i need to renew my subscription to foreign affairs because i found myself alarmingly uninterested in the content of the debate and much more distracted by tone, body language and how well the moderator was doing.

thanksgiving is less than a month away and i only have about 15% of my christmas shopping completed.  in years past, i have always been practically finished by this point. but i am not very good at surprises... so even if i buy something earlier in the year to save for a christmas gift, i can never wait. and now that i jared and i live together, i know that there is no way i will be able to contain my excitement if i have his presents hidden right here in our house.  

it is looking like we will be spending all of our holidays here in LA.  it's a bummer. being the new guy, means that jared gets to work the holiday weeks. we still have to conquer halloween and thanksgiving before christmas, of course.  our halloween costumes are coming together famously. we are both pretty excited about it.  and we have the good candy to hand out to the trick or treaters.  we don't want to be those people that give out the single tootsie roll or those old, sticky grandma candies. gross.  if you're gonna rot your teeth out, do it with the good stuff. now we just have to convince the inlaws to come to LA for thanksgiving (that includes christy).

 i am still excited to decorate for fall and for christmas.  and this year, we are getting a REAL tree. i have never had a real tree in my whole life.  on saturday i get to go pick out my own pumpkin and then a month later i get to pick out my own real tree!!!!  at first i told jared that i didn't want it because i didn't want to deal with the mess, but in reality, i felt like i just found out santa was actually real. 

saturday night, jared returned home from his hunting trip. and i was so happy. luckily bath and body works brought back my favorite fall scent, leaves (soooo perfect.), to combat the lovely smell of the pile of laundry from man week. he came home with a bunch of his pheasant victims. it tastes like chicken. and he loves the whole hunting, gun, man, no shaving, testosterone, truck driving, killing stuff, week. at least it's good to know that if the zombies do come, my husband has stellar aim.

my last post i said that i was exercising more because i was pretty sure that i was getting fat. well....here's a last minute funny:

today i went to the doctor for a physical and flu shot. as per usual, the nurse called me back to take my weight, vitals, etc. gaylord fauker (ok, the male nurse) read aloud,

"ok, so you are 5 foot 3 inches and 107lbs (same size i have been since i was 18).  how many pounds would you like for me to take off?"

confused, i asked what he meant by this question.  he proceeded to tell me that 

1. i was wearing boots and 

2. "this is beverly hills, so i can take off up to 4 pounds, how many would you like?" 

he was completely serious.  i really didn't think that 107 lbs while wearing boots and just after lunch was all that bad.  so instead i asked if he could add 2 inches to my height instead but was denied. 

who are these people?!

my birthday is in less than a month. i wish for a puppy.

**brief summary: i am no longer employed. it felt great to work, earn money, interact with people and be busy, but in the end it was NOT worth the pay, the time, the demands of the position, etc (lots of other cons, but like i said, brief summary...)

 since leaving that job, our home has returned to its lovely state of cleanliness and yummy smells. there is fresh produce in the refrigerator, dinner is being cooked and we have clean clothes.  in the month that i was working, things took a bit of a tumble around here.  jared has been fairly vocal about how much better life has been since i quit (aka- less tired, less grumpy, less high strung beckie).  

and it's not like we need the extra money. 

we only live in one of the countries most expensive zip codes, with a 9.5% sales tax, $5 a gallon gas, two older cars, and a billion other bills we kinda didn't realize we'd have...and...i like nice things... but who needs money. ok. we do. so yes, i am eagerly seeking a better fit for my employment and excited to help contribute more.

no job means i am back to an aimless and boring existence.  and worse- jared is out of town for an entire week on his annual "gentleman's pheasant hunt".  in his absence, i have reconnected with my former love/hate relationship with jillian.

i love this yoga dvd.  i have loved yoga for years and my dedication to the lifestyle has been spotty but i love how quickly my body gets back in the mode. this video is traditional yoga/pilates with cardio.  so yes, it is definitely a more westernized version of the practice, but it gets the job done and my spine is already feeling fluid again.

it is also a good idea that i incorporate a bit more exercise into my daily routine.  because i think that i am getting fat. this past weekend was one of the best since we have lived here and we ate a lot.  two of jared's old roommates and best friends, zac and shane, came to LA for a few days and it was everything we hoped it would be.  when i was dating jared, i was also somewhat dating his whole apartment. when those boys get together there is more joy amongst them than a pack of unicorns.  jared had been working SO hard to get everything in order at work, church and home before leaving on his hunting trip.  having the boys stay with us was another reward for his diligence.  friends in town is also a good time for us to explore more things in the city.  but we do have our favorites...where we take EVERYONE.  

(sorry, most of you are on my fbook or instagram too, so these pictures are repeats...)

there was 800 degrees pizza, diddy riese, hollywood, the temple, rodeo drive, celeb houses, croquet, the beach, and late nights of sharing giggles and feelings.

(i thought that was a cute outfit, until i saw this picture and realized i look like a 7 year old. and zac stole jared's glasses...his eyes aren't naturally more squinty than mine.  shane and zac matched on purpose.)

and when we go to the pier, we must get our bacon cheese dogs. grilled, buttery bun, fake cheddar cheese, a giant hotdog wrapped in bacon. AMAZING. how did i ever do that vegetarian life?  thanks to spud and katie for actually being the ones to introduce us to the glorious caloric monstrosity. 

we also had a little history lesson when we went and saw Argo.

ben affleck has yet to let me down as a movie director.  it was outstanding and from what i read, pretty accurate.  we had seen Looper a couple of weeks ago and i assumed that it would be my favorite film until the holidays (when les mis and great gatsby premiere!) but Argo is now on my list. i happen to love alan arkin and john goodman, especially together.  that duo combined with gritty historical controversy, a strong sense of patriotism and mr. affleck make for a completely enjoyable and justifiable reason to sit for 2 hours.

one of our last adventures was going to lunch at a russian restaurant in hollywood.  it was AUTHENTIC russian food.  luckily, jared was able to speak with impressive fluency. one reason that i liked him when we first met was that he wasn't one of those guys who was constantly referring to his mission.  he was so humble about the whole experience. he loved his mission, he served faithfully, and would love to go back, but he has never felt the need to broadcast it.  the food at this restaurant was amazing, jared was able to enjoy his some of his favorites, speak russian with ease, and teach all of us more about the culture and share some his experiences.

but all good things must come to an end.  within 36 hours, all three boys were gone.  and now i am home, watching way too many episodes of vampire diaries and laughing/crying my eyes out to this book:

which reminds me that i really need a dog. these "mr. husband outta town" days wouldn't be so bad if i had a puppy to run around and cuddle with. 

part dos (2 en espanol- this IS los angeles, get with it).

i apologize if anyone has felt mislead.  my most recent post was about the first half of all this summer's/fall's ongoings.  and i made it seem as though i would be returning soon with the last half.  meh, 2 months later is still a return.

LA.

two weeks after we got married, we relocated to West Los Angeles.  when asked where i am from, i have always replied with a simple "st. louis".  i do love that city and am happy to claim it.  and while we are not in downtown Los Angeles, it is our official home. it is also the closest that i have ever come to city living (and it's not just thugs and homeless people!).  1. utah county completely diluted my reality and 2. white collar suburbs/borderline countryside in st. louis county was nothing like this.

1. DRIVING.

we've all heard about the 405 or the 10 and seen the pictures. terrifying. and let's be honest- i can barely reach the pedals, i have no sense of direction and i have been in accidents (believe it or not, none were my fault!) and so i am timid when i am driving with other people in my car. all of this added to my racial and gender stigmas going against me- no bueno (that means "no good" in spanish. i have learned a lot in LA).  but i actually do not mind the driving here.  i have simply come to accept the fact that there will always be traffic.  which means:

a. we rarely venture out beyond the 3 mile radius of our apartment.

b. even in that small vicinity, driving time can be an hour or more.

c. life revolves around parking availability.

d. ALWAYS have snacks. you could be sitting a while.

for the most part, people here are efficient drivers.  meaning that they will let you merge in, but good gracious, once they give you those 4 inches of go ahead, you best go.  and i mean go.  because those 4 inches, mean that you have about 3 seconds to take them.  and traffic laws? i am sure that they are enforced somewhere, sometime, but i have never seen it. but i have witnessed the most creative, hazardous, and obscure driving.  the lack of adherence to traffic laws makes the gridlock game extra fun.  living amongst the rich and famous means that we pretty much get a car show everywhere we go.  there are literally millions of dollars in automobiles in the parking lot of jared's workplace.  i feel really awesome pulling up to jared's building in sally the civic to hand my husband his homemade lunch in a recycled grocery sack.  no really i do.  i have amazing gas mileage (major bonus because even unleaded will cost you your first born), i zip in and around cars like a boss, and i am a pretty good wife to make and bring lunch to him.

2. SHOPPING/RESTAURANTS

within our little area of life, there are stores and restaurants that easily cater to over 30 different countries' cultures. 

a. that's admirable and impressive.

b. we can try new things.

c. for the love of grease, why can't we have taco bell or wendy's!??!

d. small businesses have a chance!

there are practically no chain restaurants here. lots of coffee, yoga studios, dry cleaners and costume shops, but no jr. bacon cheeseburgers. it's awful. fortunately, we have managed to find and settle for decent replacements.  grocery shopping is adventure.  they don't have 24 hour stores or super targets, super walmarts, etc.  luckily the renters before us were subscribed to the sunday paper and we still get it. hello red plum coupon books. and somehow i still spend way too much time and money at target. boo.

3. SOCIAL LIFE.

we don't have one. we are dating each other exclusively.

 between 12 hour workdays for both of us, jared studying for his series 7 (and passing!) test, being new to the ward and having no other contacts, there isn't much time left (or energy). but thankfully yelp and netflix are always at our ready.

luckily, we also get visitors! we've already had several house guests and it's been a blast. and we have become more outgoing over the past few weeks and have had a lot of fun with families in the ward and are grateful for the opportunities we have had to get to know more people. plus- they all have adorable kids. 

la has had it's conglomerate of pros and cons thus far.  taco trucks are always good. and there are a ton of jews- they take their holidays very seriously, it's highly commendable (on yom kippur there was NO traffic!).  amazing retail shopping available, primarily perfect weather, sidewalks everywhere, recycling, the temple, our jobs, the beach...and stuff.

being here has caused me to realize a few things: 

1. i had no idea i actually used the mountains to know my NESW directions (i get so turned around here, all i know is ocean is west).

2. apparently, i used to eat a lot of fast food.

3. there are a bagillion asians (and they still dress weird here too).

4. a lot of houses/buildings look old and small from the outside, but the inside will blow your mind. 

5. people still don't know much about mormons (awesome missionary opportunities).

6. i hoard quarters (ick coin laundry and meter parking).

7. people still smoke and it's gross (and WHY would you smoke inside your brand new aston martin???)

8. that i used to talk on the phone a lot while driving (but NEVER texted, i swear, so stupid).

9. i am a neurotic cleaner. but i love our apartment.

well there is my blurb about LA.  i feel like now i can start posting regularly about our life together in california.  but as you can see, tiny social life, newlywed bank account, and no time means that it may not be anything all that cool.

first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...bills.

the funniest thing is happening. i am sitting at our (new!) kitchen table to write this post but my palms are sweating and i have this anxious feeling in my stomach. we all have some of those friends- the ones that we call our best friends and in all reality, they are.  but for whatever reason, sometimes you go shamefully extended periods of time without communicating? and then you finally make plans to see each other and before you get there you feel yourself battling apprehension and the temptation to cancel.

but then, as with all best friends, you see each other, you hug, you notice hair, new babies, weight, new boyfriends, make some sort of comment and then you sit down and start talking and within minutes it is as if you were never apart.

seeing as how this is my blog and the only people that read it are generally using it as the sole purpose of seeing what's going on in my life (not that it is that interesting or that i am that bad at calling people...), you wouldn't think that i would find myself in this state of typing trepidation. but what can i say...this is me we're talking about. 

well with all of that being said...hi. 

it's been about 3 months since i last posted anything.  ironically, i was too busy doing things that would  actually be post worthy. instead of being overwhelmed with going over all the details, i will just say a little about what happened.

1. parents fueled my paypal account for more expenses than i ever knew possible, moved in with my best friend, spent time with baby, little squister came to ut, best friend hosted the bridal shower, got some sweet gifts, made awesome treats.

i also went to vegas where my mother and sister in laws threw a bridal shower for me.  that was a bit intimidating but it ended up being very fun. plus it was the first time i saw jared in over 3 weeks.

2. we had a nice intimate dinner the night before the wedding.  it turned out really well.  it was one of the most stressful days of my life and i was pretty much hating everyone and everything but in the end, it really did turn out quite well.  we had a lot of wonderful friends come to wish us luck and i got to experience the true "working walkers" in action, as i saw them all come together and pull this whole night together in a matter of hours.  the weather was perfect, dallan and susie are rockstars for (a lot of reasons) letting us use their beautiful yard for the dinner.

3. then on saturday, june 2, we got married.  in the draper, ut temple.  people always ask if either jared or myself hail from draper but the truth is we picked it because it was less busy, pretty, (no ex's had been married there...jk jk.) and it was a good central location for our family and friends to meet up.

the sealing was beautiful. i was sweating and nauseous the whole time, but oh so happy.  seeing family and friends in the temple and holding hands with jared as we were made husband and wife, was one of the best moments of my life.

the temple was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, all of the kids looked swell in their outfits and our photographer was amazing.  we are so glad that we worked with val and are excited to get the real pictures back.

4. right after the sealing, the family and a couple of our closest friends went to a nice dinner at cucina toscana.  thank you to my parents for hosting that and providing some last hours of family time before the end of the big day (shane, scott, zac, spud and katie, we miss you so much we can hardly move on with life).

5. then we went on a honeymoon. we stayed in the grand america hotel and then the next day we spent 8 hours in airports (no joke...it was awful).  the next 4 days were in san francisco.  we stayed in this amazing  hotel right off the bay. we went sightseeing, ate cool food, went to a baseball game and kissed and stuff. we drove to carmel and walked on the beach (it was super busy and cold. boo.). overall it was a great few days together before getting back to the chaos. 

and somehow we managed to only take one picture of us together.

6. post honeymoon we went back to vegas to hang out for a couple days and for the open house at jared's parents' home.  it's fun going there now- they (i guess it's "we" now) have a huge family and they get together a lot.  so we got some pool time, play time with the kiddos, and our first family photos.   christy cropper took all of the family pictures and pictures from the open house, she is pretty much amazing.  it is fun talking to the other women in the family about the lovely quirkiness of the walker men and married life in general. 

oh and while i was there, i was also introduced to harry potter. i had never heard of it before! ok just kidding, i had just misjudged it as being far too boring and fictional for my taste. wrong. 

um how can you not love these kids?

7. and then the working walkers packed up all of our things and moved us to los angeles. driving from LV to LA in sally with no ac est no bueno.  but it was a great...experience...

with dave, peggy, kimber with boys in tow and sally stuffed to the gills, we all made it.  we were able to get moved in with no problems and very quickly.  

8. and now we are in california. 

next post, the californian life.

jared and i are so lucky to be married to each other and to have such supportive friends and family.  and thanks to the generosity of others, we have been able to be very comfortable in our new apartment.the lord truly has a hand in all things because with a wedding, honeymoon, moving and new job all happening in two weeks, there is no way it could have all worked out so perfectly without his help.

so far i still really like him, he seems to really like me.  i have never felt so happy... i get really lonely being out here by ourselves and with him at work all day, but having a built in best friend that understand me, makes me laugh, is a worthy priesthood holder, spider killer, top shelf reacher, and someone that i can do everything with totally makes up for that.

some of our thank you cards have yet to be sent out...i know, i am embarrassed...i promise, that we are working on that. and that we are truly grateful for everything that has been given to us and for all of the overlooking of my craziness and the time that everyone offered and sacrificed to help us start our lives together.

ah and the post is complete (the degeneration of my sentence structure and vocabulary was getting out of hand, time to take a break).

.

see, it's like we were never apart.

because everyone loves a southern girl.

this post is dedicated to one of my very very best friends. and believe it or not, this friend is a girl. one of the very few female friends i have but definitely the best. maybe it is because we just finished watching the 2 hour season finale of desperate housewives and i am feeling panicked over the thought of saying goodbye. or...maybe because family members aside, no one deserves sincere gratitude and love than katie.

my kk has been in my life for 6 years now.  she was the first person that i met when i moved to provo. we have been through countless adventures together. from one apartment to the next. from one guy to another. marriages, babies, school, jobs- we have literally done almost everything together.  the one time that we spent apart was horrible and we both admit that we were missed each other so much. i am pretty sure that our mutual stubbornness only makes us the more likely of friends. but trust me, her hugs are not something that you ever want to be without. 

we have had several firsts together. which only adds all the more value to our friendship. including our first trip to california. and when we held hands and walked into the pacific ocean together for the first time. or my first/last energy drink. buying my first big girl bra. my first speeding ticket. my first time charming my way out of a speeding ticket. my first pedicure. my first in n' out burger. just the little things.

from long road trips to one day st. george runs, we have had several car rides together that consist of high caloried drinks, lots of awful music (but she loves it and i can now sing along to every miley cryus song out there) and long talks. 

baseball games. movies. target runs. secret telling. drive ins. best hugs from ever. she even let me yell and cheer in chilis when the cards won the series in '06 (let's just say i was the only baseball fan in the bar so i may or may not have been considered embarrassing).

she was the first (and one of the very few) friends to ever meet and hold baby. she very successfully helped jared with his proposal back in march.  and now it is 2008 all over again and here i am, living with my kk.

katie is one of the most family oriented people i know. she was sad when all of her family started migrating out to utah, afraid that she would never get to go back to the south (did i mention that she is southern!? ask her to say "foil" sometime. i love it.) but since being here, not only have they all been wonderful to me, i have been able to see her become one of the most caring, fun and selfless people i have ever known.

she will do anything for them. 

like that one time when her awesome husband tried to sign up for a half marathon but it was all sold out and he was so bummed so she surprised him by routing out a whole half marathon for him to do anyway. complete with electrolytes, signs and tshirts.

or how her sister, holly, has been battling cancer for the past 6 months (hooray for coming home and finishing her last round of chemo!!) and kk has gone to be there 50+ hours a week to help around the house, watch the kids, clean, cook and just be there for her sister. and she still comes home to listen to me cry and have anxiety attacks over the wedding, in laws, moving, and everything else that i could possibly get bent out of shape over (i am very emotional lately...so that is a lot of crap). and even though she has just cleaned up diapers, done laundry, driven all over the place and still has to make dinner- she always listens, gives me a hug and a smile and tells me it will be ok and that i am awesome. 

she doesn't get paid. she gets exhausted. sometimes she has to leave in the middle of the night to help, but she loves it and she never complains. she even tells me how grateful she is that she and spud can afford for her to not work so that she can be there with her sister. she is a hard worker. i have seen her go to school, work two jobs, coupon for hours, and just keep going. rock. star.

she has seen me date a whole slew of men. good, bad and ugly. i am pretty sure that she is happier about my upcoming marriage than anyone else. she never let me take jared out of my phone- no matter how many freak outs i had. she talks to me about marriage, about merging families, finances, sex, grocery shopping, church, and pretty much anything to help ease me into this whole marriage thing.

i have to admit, while i was going through all of our pictures i got pretty emotional. in 2 weeks i will be living with a new permanent roommate. and he won't make macaroni pie for me or sing with the hairbrush or watch pretty little liars or have every freaking cute pink thing you can think of. he probably won't tell me that i am being a cranky biotch and to shut my mouth (lets be honest, i need to hear it sometimes and a real friend like katie isn't afraid to say it). but he will be great. and cuddley. and smart and sweet and mine.

plus, he has already promised that kk and spud can come out and visit :)

i apologize for this poorly written post.  i just wanted to say thank you to katie and spud. they have been my friends for the most important years of my life. we have hugged each other through a lot of loss, pain and plain foolishness. but we have always come out laughing and closer than ever.

you will be hard pressed to find a friend or sister like katie. and to be honest, a lot of you never will. and to be even more honest, besides my new roommate, i never may again either. so i suppose that we will just have to stay best friends forever. that's cool with me.