Livin' it up in San Diego

Yes, we left Illinois at the beginning of this month. But no, we haven't yet arrived in Indianapolis.

Before doing our "real move" to Indy, we're spending all of April in San Diego where Adam has a work opportunity (he's consulting for a company that collaborates with his UIUC lab). Kind of like a graduation vacation, only paid for. :) So far our trip has been great! We rented a Condo in Pacific Beach--a half mile from Mission Bay and not too far from Adam's work. Adam works during the day and the kids and I play--at parks, the beach, and the zoo--and he joins in the fun on evenings and weekends. 

                                      

                                                                  Our Pacific Beach condo

                                             

                                                           Tommy loves the sand!

            

                                           

                                 

                                                         Watching the waves at La Jolla

                                 

Our first time on the beach! The kids were mesmerized by the waves and got wet up to their thighs (we went home, changed into swim suits, then came back for more beach)

                                         

San Diego is a beautiful city!! Palm trees and tropical flowering plants abound, and just driving around Pacific Beach is a feast for the eyes. Even the downtown freeway system is gorgeous (a far cry from Chicago's tollways). One of my favorite activities is driving through La Jolla (west coast). The homes are so beautiful-- from Spanish-style mansions to quaint cottages, each with an ocean view and perfectly manicured landscaping.

On Easter Sunday, we visited the San Diego temple. It is one of the most majestic temples I've seen--rivaling Nauvoo. I love how it is situated right next to Freeway 5. Everyone knows about the LDS Church because of the temple, including a USD professor whom I sat next to on the plane ride in. He said he attended the open house, and he ended up asking me some questions about the Church. So it's a great missionary tool. Adam and I have done some temple work there and are planning to attend several more times before we go home (Indy is getting a temple, but it will take several years to build. So we're enjoying a close temple while we can).

Last week, my parents and siblings came out to visit us and spend a week in San Diego! Who would have thought we'd get to see them twice so far this year? We toured the Zoo together, watched the sea lions at La Jolla Cove, explored tide pools and an old lighthouse, and took a ferry to Coronado Island. We also enjoyed celebrating my dad's birthday at their hotel and spending time at our condo (and they even let me and Adam sneak away for a date Saturday night!)  

                                       

Allison is three! 

We celebrated by inviting three little princesses into our home for a Rapunzel party...

The cake

(Can you guess what the tower is made of?)

(Rice Krispy treats covered in fondant)

Disney sells an expensive Rapunzel hair tiara for little girls to wear. But when I saw a yarn braid online (used as a party decoration), I thought that might be the way to go. I just added a dollar store hat and elastic under the chin, and helped the girls glue in their choice of artificial flowers. It worked pretty well (and hopefully it's more durable than the Disney alternative).

                                                                     Four little Rapunzels!

We read the Tangled story...

played "Don't Eat Pete" with cereal...

... and played "find Pascal."

The girls made necklaces and let their hair over the edge of the "tower" (our bannister), 

then played with floating lanterns (yellow balloons).

After the party, Allison wore her Rapunzel outfit all afternoon. Happy 3rd birthday, Allison!

   

We're Moving!

Today Adam officially accepted a job offer...
with...
(are you ready?)
... Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company
in...
(are you really ready?)
... Indianapolis, Indiana!

It's a great job and we've heard lots of good things about living in Indy. We're really excited to move. Luckily for us, we won't have to wait long to move forward with our plans; we're going to move at the beginning of April.


Some reasons we're excited about this job:

-Adam likes the job & benefits
-The neighborhoods north of the city have good schools
-We'll be next to a major airport (hooray!)
-It's in the Midwest, which we've come to enjoy after 4 years in Champaign, Illinois.
-And we'll be close to a temple! That is, after they build it. A temple has been announced and ground purchased in Carmel (the city just north of Indy, where we're hoping to live). Wouldn't it be cool to watch a temple get built right in your own town, and then live just a couple minutes away from it? After having to drive 3+ hours to visit the temple, we're excited for a closer commute.

The only negatives we can foresee are that Adam's commute will likely be 20-25 minutes (which really isn't so bad), and, mostly, that we won't be any closer to family in the West. But I feel like good things will come of living in Indianapolis... and at least we'll be close to an airport so we can more easily visit family and friends.

Now it's time to make some moving plans!

Surprise Visit to Utah

It was 3:50pm in Provo, Utah. All seven of my siblings siblings, my dad, and my family crouched quietly in my parents' front room, awaiting my mom's return. "Here she comes!" The doorknob turned, my mom stepped in, the bucket of confetti dumped, and we all shouted, "SURPRISE!"

Last month my mom turned 50, and my dad decided to celebrate by flying me and Lori and our families out to Utah to surprise my mom. She sure was surprised! We spent the week visiting, playing games, driving up the canyon, seeing the Bean Museum, and just enjoying being together. On the weekend we had a surprise party for her at the church with her mom and siblings and my dad's parents and siblings. And at the end of the week we got to help Paul and Melissa move into their first home! It was a great visit.

Just minutes after the surprise!

We took a family drive up the canyon. Jared and Allison were in awe of the mountains.

Adam learning to ride Matthew's unicycle (Matthew can ride and juggle simultaneously!)

The kids did LOTS of fun activities with Grandma, one of which was cracking open glittering geodes that the Dicksons had unearthed on a recent excursion through Southern Utah.

Extended family party! Everyone from both my mom's and my dad's families were there, save one person! Quite the miracle! We took photos, had dinner and a program, and enjoyed talking with everyone (and the kids enjoyed running wild in the church gym).

The Dickson family--now 18 strong!

Playing games on a Sunday afternoon

Matt & Lori looking cute together (In case you didn't know, Lori is expecting and due in June--just a day before Jared's birthday!)

Mom, Nathan (12), and Amy (9)

My mom made a construction cake for Jared

                                              

...and played dress-up with Allison

Allison and Amy were quite a pair

I finally got to hold my niece Rachel! She's such a cutie.

Paul and Melissa in their brand-new house in Salem! We got to help move them in.

Steven and Kristel gave us a tour of the construction site near their home (new BYU housing complexes)

Happy Birthday, Thomas!

Today Tommy turned one! It's hard to believe it's been a year since our little guy surprised us by arriving two weeks early. Tommy must have been very anxious to make his earthly debut: He was born just five days after we arrived home from our Christmas vacation in Chicago and just one night after Adam had a violent flu. Not only that, but he made his appearance a slim thirty minutes after we made it to the hospital. That's a lot of corners to cut, but it was worth it to have him here that much earlier.

Some things we have come to love about Tommy:

5. His new tricks: waving bye-bye, clapping, signing "more" at mealtimes, and saying "cracker."

4. His love of water. He goes wild in the bath, thumping his arms and legs like there's no tomorrow. The last time we took him to a pool he was in heaven. I think we'll take him swimming for a birthday activity.

3. His love of soft things. He attacks stuffed animals and pillows with glee, shrieking and burying his face in them.

2. His long-standing method of transportation, tummy scooting. My favorite was at Halloween when he scooted (or "swam") across the Church gym floor in his crocodile costume.

1. His sweet Tommy smile! From day one he has been charming family and strangers alike with his ready grin and adorable dimples.

*Thanks to Adam's sister, Jenny Stevens, for the first three photos!