Oh Angry Birds, why are you so addictive? You were probably made for an age group much younger than the 20-somethings, so I don't understand why me and (especially) my husband like you so much. The last two times we visited my parents' house we would steal my dad's iPad and play you nonstop, and it was no big deal because we were on vacation. However, now that you have come out with Angry Birds on Chrome, we can play you whenever we want, and we don't have to steal any iPads or iPhones. While this is okay for me, my husband really needs to be focused on school and his thesis rather than you. So, while I appreciate the free entertainment, please don't come out with any new levels on Chrome for a while. Thanks.
Who doesn't love a good California vacation?? I sure love them, especially when they involve family, friends, shopping, sugar, the beach, a wedding, and SO much fun!When I first arrived in LA, it was time for Girls Weekend! My aunts and sister-in-law all joined my mom at her house for our annual weekend of pampering, good food, and good laughs. This year, the theme was PINK, which was incredibly fun. My mom definitely went above and beyond. Check out this table!
Yeah, it was amazing. And of course we did a photo shoot:
By Saturday, Michael had flown in so he was able to volunteer with us at the Revlon Run.
I'm already looking forward to many more Girls Weekends! :-)Anyway, the reason Michael came down at all was because I decided to stay an extra week since one of my best friends was getting married the next weekend and Michael deserved a vacation too. :-) So we lounged, went to the beach, and even borrowed my parents' car for a couple days to make a quick trip to Vegas to see more friends and family. We can't wait to (eventually) move back to the West!
Michael flew back to Nashville a few days earlier than me in order to make it to his all-day Saturday class that he has this summer. (yuck!) I stayed and went to the wedding, which was beautiful. Congrats Krista and Jeff!
We had a blast in CA, and I'm sad our vacation is over, but now the next big thing to look forward to is the arrival of our baby! Woohoo!
Now that we have lived in Tennessee for (pretty much) all four seasons, I have learned a lot about the good and the bad of living here. There are so many reasons that we love Nashville, but just like everywhere, (or almost everywhere) ;-) it has some downsides. This is what I have discovered so far about the good and the bad of Tennessee:GOOD:-It's SO green! Well, in the spring and summer anyway. At first it sometimes annoyed me because I couldn't get a good view of the city, but I have really learned to appreciate how pretty it is. Oh, and all that green makes for a seriously pretty Fall.-Southern hospitality is real. People are generally nice here, bless their hearts. <-- a common southern phrase-It's strange and so nice to live in a state that is red even though there aren't a lot of LDS people. I am able to voice my political opinions and have most people agree with me rather than look at me like they want to light me on fire.-Lots of good BBQ. Since meat has been my biggest pregnancy craving, this has come in handy.-The musical talent is insane! Half of our ward is trying to make it in the music business, and this makes for some really great musical numbers in sacrament meeting.-There is a student discount for everything! Yay for Michael being in grad school.-Country music everywhere! I suppose that many of you might consider this a bad thing. :-) I was never that into country music before I moved here, but I have learned to embrace it. And there's lots of free country dance lessons in the summer. We're definitely going to capitalize on that in a month or two.-The southern accent is quite charming.BAD:-Sadly, even though this definitely does not apply to every person (or even most people?) in Tennessee, racism is more prominent here than anywhere in the West. There is nothing that annoys me more than someone saying some nasty racist comment while proudly showing off their Confederate flag. Ugh. And it's even worse in some other areas of the South, or so I'm told.-Bugs! Big, nasty ones! I sort of forgot about them for a while in the winter, but sadly they have started appearing again now that it's warming up. I really need to get back into the habit of plugging the drains in the house when they're not being used.-I'm not crazy about the weather. We've already established that I'm a weather snob, but still. So much ice (and surprisingly a lot of snow) in the winter.... thunderstorms and/or tornadoes every other day in the spring. (Michael loves the rain, and sometimes I do too, but not quite so often). And summer... it it seriously SO hot and SO humid. Walking outside feels like jumping into a hot tub. Fall is great though! :)-I'm not great with directions, but this city is confusing. The freeways (or 'interstates'- I was made fun of for calling them freeways, ha) all twist around until you have no idea if you're going towards California or New York. And there are a lot of unlabeled streets. Even Michael got confused a lot when we first moved here. The drivers aren't the best either. NO ONE here uses their blinker. Ever. Oh, and the traffic reminds me of LA on a Friday evening. Yikes.Overall, Tennessee is great. We have some really fond memories here. Come visit us anytime, but I'd recommend sometime between March and November.As for other updates, our Easter was spent at home, while Michael was miserable on the couch. He got really, really, really sick for a couple weeks. So sick, in fact, that I thought a few times that we were going to have to go to the ER. Thanks for everyone who remembered him in your prayers. He is pretty much completely better and all caught up with school.I am 23 weeks along and I am definitely getting bigger! I love feeling the baby's kicks, which are getting stronger all the time. From what it feels like, he is also learning acrobatics. My current cravings include chips and salsa, chocolate and caramel, and fruit.We are looking forward to going to California soon!!
