Happy Birthday Jeffy/Daddy!

October 9th was Jeff's birthday and he decided he wanted to spend his day hiking around Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is about a 1.5 hour drive from Fresno so it can definitely be done as a day trip. We could not have picked a more beautiful day to sight see! The leaves were changing, it was still warm out, but not too hot - just an all around gorgeous fall day! We had a great time being together and being in nature.

Family pic in front of bridal veil falls

Lookout point of Half Dome. Jeff climbed half dome when he was 16 with his brother and sister-in-law. He pointed out the route they took and I was shocked! I have always heard it is such a hard hike but I think that's an understatement! Needless to say, I don't think I will be hiking half dome anytime soon.....or come to think of it....ever!

I think this picture of Jeff and Jamisen sitting together is so sweet. Jeff just dotes on his little boy and it is really cute to see how much he adores his little guy.

Happy Birthday hun! We hope you had a fun day. We love you soooo much and are so grateful you are in our lives! xoxo :)

New Zealand & Australia!

So we finally got around to writing about our trip to New Zealand and Austrailia...I'm warning you now, it is a long one. We had such an AMAZING time...definitely a trip of a lifetime. We had a break from when Jeff started his job in California, and Jeff's sister Julie and her family live in Sydney, Australia...so we knew this was probably going to be the only time to visit them while they are down there so we decided to buy tickets from LA to Sydney (especially before we have to pay for Jamisen's ticket when he turns 2). They had amazing deals since it was off-season, and we were able to get a free stop over in New Zealand for two days on the way over. The only problem was the 13 hour flight. You see...our little guy Jamisen is a sweet little boy, but when it comes to plane rides he kind of turns into a demon, and up until that point the longest plane ride he had been on was 3 hours (which felt like 40 hours). You have no idea the amount of anxiety we had leading up to the flight knowing that we would be stuck on a flight with a baby for 13 hours. As we got on the plane...we got the typical "are you serious, I got stuck on a 13 hour flight with a baby" looks from the passengers sitting beside us...but we were able to get bassinet seats and Jamisen (by the power of prayer) actually did pretty well on the flight over. We took a red-eye from LA and that helped as he was able to sleep on the way and was able to keep his nap schedule. Actually the 13 hour flight from LA to Auckland, NZ, was better than the 3 hour flight from Auckland to Sydney...in which Jamisen screamed at the top of his lungs and we kept taking turns hiding in the bathroom trying to entertain him with the soap dispenser. But...we made it and it was SO worth it. We had an great time, both countries were beautiful, and we had the most amazing hosts in Jared and Julie and the kids! Thanks guys! Here are some pictures from the trip:

After the long flight to New Zealand we rented a car and drove out into the New Zealand countryside. I can't even to begin to describe how beautiful this country is. We kept saying that the easiest way to describe NZ is if England and Hawaii had a baby, New Zealand would be that baby.

Beautiful View of Piha Beach

Jamo loved Piha Beach

We climbed up the cliffs and had an amazing view

This is the view of Auckland from Mount Eden. So beautiful and green!

Our hotel was right next to the "Skytower". People bungy jump off the top of it

Jeff was a pro at driving on the other side of the road/other side of the car. He did really well, I was impressed. He did turn on the window wipers from time to time when he meant to turn on his turn signal...since those are opposite as well, but we will forgive him. He made it through two and a half weeks without crashing so I have to give him credit.

The famous "One Tree Hill"

We just have to write about this amazing place we ate at in the Parnell neighborhood in Auckland. Corn chowder and a chicken penne pasta dish were to die for!

We then flew to Sydney and one of the first things that Julie, Jared and the kids took us to see were wild kangaroos at a park not far away from their house. While we were watching them by a barn, Julie snapped this family photo which turned out awesome. Julie is such a great photographer.

Wild kangas! This one was huge.

Julie took us down to Sydney and we got to see the famous Oprea house!

Julie and I had to stop for a gelato break in Darling Harbor

Jeff and his sis

Aunt Julie and Jamo

I got to spend my 25th birthday in Sydney...not a bad way to spend it. We spent the day at Manly Beach in Sydney, went out to dinner with Jeff, and then had cake and ice cream with everybody at night. At Manly beach (above) we decided to get some lunch and saw a burger place not far away. Julie and Jared had warned us about the meat quality of burgers in Australia, but Julie and us thought this place looked reputable. Big mistake. We didn't get a picture of it, but the meat was rubbery and had a hard round edge around the burger. It would pop everytime you bit into it. We were all laughing at how nobody wanted to admit how nasty it was until Julie's daughter Lucy said that the burger looked yucky and would not eat it. Long story short...if you are ever in Manly Beach in Sydney...avoid "Burger Me". Jeff is pretty convinced we ate kangaroo meat.

My Australia flag cake.

Jared and Jeff got to take an Australian outback hike in the blue mountains with this cliche Australian adventure guy in their ward. They had a blast.

Jamisen loved playing with his new baby cousin Jack. It is so great they are so close in age, they are going to be best buds!

Jared and Julie took us to this wildlife park called Featherdale's where you can feed and see native Austrailian animals like kangaroos, koalas, tasmanian devils, wombats, crocodiles, and dingos. This koala was huge! It was so neat to see it so up close and Jamisen couldn't take his eyes off it.

Feeding the kangaroos... Jamisen and Jeff loved it!

After some peer pressure...I was able to feed the kangaroos too, although I was freaking out because his mouth kept tickling my hand.

With all the dangerous wild animals in the park that could attack you, you wouldn't think that a chicken could be one of them. Rex Finch begs to differ. Our nephew Rex decided to chase one of the chickens at the park, and instead of running away the chicken flew on top of his head and proceeded to peck and scratch him. The obvious reaction we all should have had would be one of concern, but we were all on the floor laughing so hard at what we had just seen, since a chicken would be our last guess of an animal you would see on "When animals attack". Besides a scratch on the cheek and a bruised ego, Rex was okay.

We took a little excursion down south of Sydney to Jervis Bay. Along the way we stop at this gorgeous view of the valley to the ocean. As you can see we are pretty excited about the view.

The crystal blue water right in the beach resort we stayed.

Jervis Bay according to the Guinness Book of World Records has the whitest sand in the world. It was honestly one of the prettiest places on earth. The water was the bluest and clearest I had ever seen, and the sand was so white. Here we are on Hymas Beach.

The resort had free kayaks, so Jeff loved taking a cruise around the inlet

A wild kangaroo came to our rental house. It was crazy just to see wild kangaroos everywhere! This one even ate out of our hand.

We had a "Tim-Tam Slam" that night! Tim Tams are famous Australian cookies that you bite off the ends and suck hot chocolate up the middle for a huge chocolate rush.

Our last day we took a cruise around the Sydney Harbor on a ferry. We both agreed that the harbor has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. Great views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. A perfect end to the trip

Took a ferry to the other side of the harbor and had some famous Aussie fish and chips! So good!!

Thanks Finch family for showing us such an amazing time!

Goodbye Texas, Hello Cali

You know the saying that all good things must come to end. Well, we have loved living in Houston and we are very sad that it came to an end. Although we loved the food, family, friends, and all the amazing things to do in Houston, when an opportunity came for Jeff to work in California and be close to both of our parents we had to take it. It was a really tough decision for us. Jeff enjoyed his job and the people he worked with at his firm in Houston, so it was really hard on him to tell them that he was leaving to pursue another opportunity. Jeff got a job with the Deloitte & Touche LLP working in the central coastal California area. He will be working with clients in the Monterey area and the Fresno area, which is great because his parents live in Monterey and my parents live in Fresno, so we will be able to see them a lot more. Although we love being in California, a little piece of Texas will always be in our heart.

I'm going to miss my Girls nights out in Houston! Love you girls!

Our friends Mike and Julia Nixon were SO nice and threw us a going away party before we left at their place, and invited a lot of our ward friends to say goodbye. Thanks Mike and Julia!!!

The adorable Texas themed food table that Julia made. Julia is my inspiration for all things cute and crafty!

Julia, Kalina, Me, Courtney and Jess

Jane and I - we served together in Young Women's when we first moved into the ward. She is from Australia and such an amazing person, friend and example to me.

Heidi (with Ethan), Andrea and I. We had our babies within 6 weeks of each other and got together often for "baby play group" aka "mom needs to talk to adults" group ;)
The Groesbeck family. Karene was the YW President and I served with her as first Counselor. We had a lot of fun planning activities together and we love their family

My boss's wife Suzette where I used to work. She and I became great friends and I miss her so much. She was like a second mother to me after I had Jamisen, always coaching me and giving me advice. I don't know what I would have done without her!

Saying goodbye to the Stewart family and our neice Courtney. We are so grateful for the time we had to live by Jeff's two sisters and their families. They taught us so much, looked after us, and showed us all that Texas had to offer. We will have great memories of our time with them!

Cute Story - we went to eat BBQ one last time at Rudy's with the Stewarts and Jamisen was sitting by his cousin Abby. We took our eyes off of them and then we turned around and suddenly Jamisen had Abby's bright pink binky in his mouth. We snapped this photo and as you can tell he is pretty proud of himself. Not long after this he tried to go after her headband too! Jamo definitely liked to harrass her!

So, Jamisen absolutely HATES his car seat and screams most times we put him in it, so the thought of driving 3 days in the car to California did not sound appealing at all. Luckily Jeff's best friend Chris had never been to Texas before so he flew out here and we showed him Houston, and then he drove our car to California behind Jeff who drove the moving truck while Jamisen and I flew to Fresno. Needless to say he was a lifesaver, and we had the best time showing him around and Jeff and him had such a fun time taking a road trip half way across the country. Here is Jeff and him at the "Waterwall" in Houston. The best way to beat the humidity in Houston.

We had a fun time in Kemah riding the rollercoasters and walking the boardwalk.

Chris in front of the Alamo

Jeff and Chris with some catcus in Arizona.

Yay they made it!

Here is a picture of our house we bought in Fresno. It was a foreclosure so we got an amazing deal on it, but it is in really good condition inside for being a foreclosure, since it was built in 2006. We are excited to do home projects, landscape, and make it our own. I will post more pictures of the inside when I get a chance!