Happiness Multiplied

LA zoo

Ty and Jaden

Trampoline fun with the Ty, Jaden, and Macoy

Jaden helping dad

Jarom, Caleb, and Roxie

Roxie wouldn't stay out of the dirt

Jaden spraying the weeds (with water of course)

Part 1 of the deck

Jaden's pool

Ryan's lab puppies

Jaden and Macoy on the 4th of July

More cousins

This kid loves corn

Dunk it daddy!

Jaden hates firework sounds

Future Mr. and Mrs. Partridge :)

4th of July at our house

Notice the ears

Jarom working on the deck

It was a HOT day!

Bella and Kristine making funny faces

One of my favorites. Macoy, Jaden, and Kabella eating popsicles at Justin and Melanies. So cute!!!

Wow! It has been awhile. Time flies! Lots of things have happened during the past month and a half.

First of all we have moved. We moved to a great house in California. We are pretty close to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and most importantly, Jarom's school.

We got here on the 28th of July. All that I can say is that July was a CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY month. Jarom finished classes at BYU, he built a covered deck on the house, we packed, cleaned, and drove our huge old truck to Cali.

It was really hard to say goodbye to our house. I am grateful that we found such awesome renters. From what we have heard, they are taking good care of our home. It was a really blessing to find them. I was sad to hug our friends goodbye and even now, I am a little teary because I do miss home. Our plan is to come back when Jarom is finished with Optometry school so that does make it a little easier.

I have also been slow about getting things uploaded because my poor Iphone is struggling. When we were finishing the deck I dropped it in a gallon of paint which is not exactly healthy for a phone (I now have to use an ear piece to hear or speak on the phone) and then Jaden dropped my phone when we were unloading the truck so it has an awesome crack in the screen too.

We were also really fortunate to have 2 of Jarom's brother help us move. They made the lovely drive from Utah to Cali to help us get our car here as well as to help us unload the truck. I honestly don't know how we would have done it without them.

The drive here was fine other than when the AC died in the truck going through Baker. It was around 114 degrees and Jarom and Jaden we toasty to say the least. Fortunately it sort of worked a little later into the voyage which was also a blessing as riding in a toasty truck is no bueno.

Our neighborhood here is pretty friendly. We have a nice little park behind the house which is private and there neighbors use it quite a bit. There are always kids playing on the play-set at night which is fun. Our house literally backs to the park so we are in a really good location. The neighbors do a movie night every other Friday in the common area. One of them brings a huge blow up screen and speakers. We haven't made it yet but I am hoping to be able to go next time.

When we got here we had soooo much cleaning to do. There was lots of dust everywhere. We have scrubbed, dusted, carpet cleaned, and more to make this house a home. On top of that, Jarom has been working hard on fixing the landscaping. The landlord has hired a bunch of people to work on this poor house who don't seem to know what they are doing. Half of the back yard was dead but Jarom is working his usual magic on things. I am really lucky to have such a talented hubby.

The students that we have met at the school seem super nice. There are actually a fair amount of married students (several of which have kids). Even though we are older than pretty much everyone else, it is nice to have some common ground with the other students. The school does a great job with getting student comfortable with one another through various bbq's. We also went to an activity on the beach which was lots of fun.

Speaking of the beach, we went to Huntington Beach for the first time with Devan and Justin when there were here to help us. It was crazy busy and we did not realize that we decided to go on the start date of the US Surf Open. We didn't get to see any pros but it was a neat experience to see the people there and to feel the surfer "vibe". I would like to go again next year if possible.

We have gone to the beach a few other times with Jaden since we have been here. He has gone from being terrified of the water to loving it. He is becoming quite the little fish. He loves to jump in the waves, stand on Jarom's body board to "surf", and to run away when the waves are coming. I love the beach and I love taking kiddo there. It is the best and I am so happy we are only 20 minutes or so away from such an awesome activity. It is a great family night activity.

Tomorrow night I am going to play bunko with some of the other wives. It is fun getting to know new people. I love to jump into things head first so here I go.

Today Jaden and I went to the library for the first time. He actually did pretty well. We only experienced mild "jumping" and mild loud voices. It went better than I anticipated so hurray! I think we will try to make this a weekly outing.

Other than that, we are pretty settled and I feel like our new lives are staring. We are having another couple over for dinner on Sunday and I feel like we are starting to make some new friends.

Jaden is now totally obsessed with the movie Cars. That kid would watch that movie 24/7 if we let him.

I am really grateful for the opportunity to be here, to meet new people. to have new experiences, and to learn to grow. I know there is a reason that we were supposed to pick this place and I am excited to find out the reason why.

This was right before I left Utah. These are our friends that live across the street from us in Utah. We love them so much! I miss you guys and our game nights :(