I'm ALIVE!!!

Girls, I think this is the very first time I've ever actually been on our blog. I never knew how to do it! I'm terrible with this blogging stuff...Kristen needs facebook!! So I wanted to update my lovely ladies from Apartment #23 on my life a bit since we don't get to see each other or talk very often.

Honestly, life hasn't changed very dramatically for me, at least it doesn't feel like it. Chad graduated from BYU Hawaii in August of 2011; it was really neat getting engaged there and living our first year as a married couple in such a beautiful and different place. Chad graduated in Accounting, and I worked over there at State Farm Insurance - proof that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Once Chad graduated, we moved back to California, to a city called Upland, where Chad grew up (in San Bernadino County near Chino, Ontario, etc).

From September 2011-August 2012 we lived with my in-laws. This was NOT anticipated!! Chad's career path changed suddenly when a big business opportunity opened itself up to him right after graduation. We immediately started looking for homes to buy in the Upland/surrounding areas, but it was a long and terrible process. 1 full year and 4 escrows later, we FINALLY bought our first house in Chino!!

Chad and I both work in Upland, which is only 7 miles from where we live, so that's a huge blessing. I've continued on with the insurance field because I was hired immediately and given excellent benefits - which will come in useful when we start to grow our little family! Chad's work is literally less than 1/4mile away from my office, so we often meet up for lunch or just to say hi. Our house is older - buying in California is EXPENSIVE - but it's exactly what we were looking for.

Our house is 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, and just about 1800 sq ft. For the two of us, it seems HUGE! The prior owner had put a lot of work into it and upgraded different things, so there wasn't major work that needed to be done. But we did decide to remodel the kitchen and 1 bathroom. Our kitchen has been a work in progress; I just recently installed my stove and over the range microwave, and I'm hoping Chad finishes installing my garbage disposal tonight! My dad has been super awesome and has come up a few times to help with some of the renovations - he's actually here this week putting up new door casings and nice baseboards throughout the house. It's been a fun project, and Chad and I are learning SO much!

In our other ward in Upland, I worked with the Young Women, and Chad worked with the Young Men, so we used to go to mutual together and do baptisms for the dead - it was great! Leaving that ward was really hard, but we're excited for new things!

Chad and I ran our first half marathon in June 2012, and it was really fun. We trained together and ran the entire race together, so it was a bonding experience. We're now training for a full marathon; Chad has signed up for the Chino Hills trail marathon on November 3, and Calista and I are tentatively planning to run together on Dec 26 for a full marathon in LA. Our lives are pretty busy, as all of you are, but we're happy and so blessed. I miss you girls and hope I can be better at keeping in touch with some of my very closest friends. I love you girls!!! (pictures are for Kristen)

Home again. Home again

Hello my roommates!!! It has been too long since we have updated this. I am just going to give you you a small update and tell you my new years resolutions so that you can hold me accountable for them.

We arrived to NYC on New Years Eve. We did not join in te festivities because, well we have three children and thought that would be a little silly of us. Howeverr, we did love traveling on that day because there was very little airport traffic. We are now settling into our new place in queeens. We still do not have Internet so forgive my typos. It's very Hard to update a blog from my phone.

My main reason for updating was because I was going through boxes and found all of your letters that you sent me while you were on your missions. What fun to read them.

My new years resolutions are that've meaningful scripture study daily and to have an organized daily routine for my children and myself.

I will update better later. It's horrible doing it from my phone. I love you all!!

Tara

Ciao Belle!!

Hey girls, I'm so excited you got to go to ROME!!! and slightly jealous:) But, I knew you would like it and I can't wait to go back myself someday. Randi~ your comment cracked me up about using Tara's pregnant belly to skip lines. Hahahahaha. Kristen, congrats on the baby!! Also, can you re-invite me to your blog because it says it expired?? I haven't talked to Heidi in a while because I am a horrible phone corresponder...I know, it's not a word. But, I think she moved to a different part of Arizona and is still doing her awesome job. Honestly, same with Nat...I don't talk to her as often as I should since she's been in Hawaii. But, they are coming back in September and she is coming to Utah to visit me and Tempy so I'm excited for a Glenn sister reunion. Anyway, I love you all and miss my bestest friends!!!!!

Oh, and ps I'm working in Provo for the University of Chicago now (I know, it doesn't make sense to me either. I should be in Chicago, but instead I do the work far away not in the cool city I want to be in!!!!) It's kind of ironic actually, that out of all of us I wanted to get out of Provo the most...and I'm the only one still here!!!!! But, that's okay, I have many non-Provo adventures ahead I'm sure. Oh and no, I'm not engaged nor dating anyone...because I know you were wondering:)

Roma!

Buon giorno! Greetings from Rome! Tara and I are having a blast here in Rome together and we wish you were all here with us... Especially Calista b/c then she could help us with our communication issues, haha.

Tara and I had quite the adventure trying to get to church this morning. We finally made it after walking close to a mile to a bus stop and then taking 2 buses because the bus we were going to take doesn't run on Sundays (who would've known?!). Thank goodness for kind, compassionate bus drivers taking pity on two American girls. One of whom is pregnant! Oh, and that's another thing--next time any of you is pregnant, you need to travel! We get to skip all the lines because of Tara's belly! :)



(That picture took forever to load with this Italian hotel internet, so, sorry, but the rest will be small...)


Colosseum - we actually paid for a guided tour here and through the Roman Forum. While we did learn a lot we both agreed that next time we would just download a podcast from Rick Steves and listen to it on our own. Amazing structures and history!



Plazza S. Pietro

Love you all and thinking of you while in Rome!

New Baby

Proud Big Brother

Emma Valene Hayes

She finally got here! :)

She came on April 4th at about 4:15pm.

I'm loving having a little girl!

New Friend

I just thought Randi and Heidi would be proud of me...a woman moved into our ward from Spain and so I have been helping her get settled here in London. I have been using my Spanish because she does not speak much English yet. It is challenging and sometimes depressing because I have forgotten so much. But, I am happy for the opportunity to practice.

I noticed neither of you commented on my last post...I hope you aren't offended...it was a joke, supposed to be funny. I love you all and miss you.

Kristen should be having her baby any day now! I find out the gender of mine in 2 weeks, just before I arrive in San Diego. Adios!

To My Single Roommates (especially those with long legs)

I have recently acquired a bit of knowledge that might tempt you to find a way to move to South Africa (besides the adorable accents). According to a mommy friend from Ethan's school, who is from South Africa, most S.A. men are well above 6ft. tall. And, I know this to be true because our landlord is from the S.A. (as it is called) and he is a very tall dude. I just thought you would like this snippet of information when planning future job employment or relocation opportunities.

hahaha! Love you all and miss you. Nothing new here. We will be in San Diego April 15-May 2 I would love to see you. We will be out of town with my Carter family for 5 days, the 18-22.

And for fun, here are my cute dudes pretending to be sharks.

Updates

Well I don't have many exciting things to say, at least compared to all the weddings and pregancies that are looming in the air. I am so excited for Tara and Kristen's new babies! Just FYI, Natalie is living the newly-married life in Hawaii. Yea, did I mention how rough that must be?:) I finally drove down to Arizona after all this time to visit Heidi. I went on a road trip with some random boys, which didn't amount to much, except a fun get-a-way from Provo. And of course seeing my long, lost BFF. She is a real working woman now, real car, real house, shopping at Costco and doing real adult things. I was slightly jealous of the no school part.

As for me, I am just trying to stick out my last semester of grad school. Yay, it's almost over!! And then I will be the proud owner of my very own master's degree. Sounds so serious and official. I don't know what my plan is after April, but I am for sure shipping out of Utah sometime in the near future. Time to go to a new city, and that is SO exciting to me. I'm not sure about jobs yet, or where I'll live. I'm hoping after summer to make the big move. If you have any ideas, let me know...I'm thinking Northwest or East coast (which as you all know, has always been my dream).

In the time being, I'm just researching terrorism and playing sports. Yes really. Oh, I decided to run another half marathon in April. I know, I said I wouldn't do it again, but it was just too hard to turn down this time. And so, if you want to cheer me on from a far, it would be much appreciated. Tara, I still can't overcome eating sugar. BUT, I am eating healthy besides that! I'm playing intramural basketball as always, and soccer for a change. I'm starting up running distance again, and hopefully swimming this week. So those are my current endeavors. I miss you all, and can't wait for our next reunion! 3/6 married now, not too shabby. Randi keep surviving law school. Heidi keep being the woman you are. Tara live it up in London!! Kristen get a facebook so we can contact you more. And Natalie, come back to the mainland.

Love, Beast

P.S. no boyfriends, husbands, prospects...I may be doomed.

Wedding Photos

Someone post some photos from Natalie's wedding, please!! :)

Just an FYI

Ladies-

I will be in California from April 9th to April 25, roughly. The dates are not set in stone yet. For the most part I think we will be in Southern California. I will get in touch with everyone to try to get together of course. I love you all and miss you!

Book Recommendations, Please.

So, my dearest and well-read friends...I decided that while I am here in England I would like to read a lot of British literature. I am sure that I could do a Google search and find out on my own, but what is the fun in that? I dare say, none. So, without further ado I make my request. Could you ladies be kind enough to recommend to me your favorites from the British author libraries? I can't wait to get started.

Right now I am reading Anna Karenina, a very long book, but a classic nonetheless.

I love you all and miss you. Don't forget that you are welcome to come and stay with me here in London.

It's a...

GIRL!!

We found out today we're having a little girl!

Finally I'll get to play with dresses and bows :)

K-SWISS and Randizzle reunited...

Happy Birthday Kristen!! Even if you are married with kids, you will always be K-Swiss to me:) 26? pretty darn old. Then again, we've all hit that mark this year. crazy how time flies. Well, I hope the best for you and the fam, and all that lies ahead....life is so exciting now that we're all over the place, doing different things. We should have a reunion sometime. soon actually.

Randizzle, I miss you!! I miss your spunkiness and zest for life. And of course, your b-ball skills fo sho. P-town is not the same without the tall, mandolin-playin Randilyn. I swear you know everyone and their brother, and that's because you make people happy to be around you:) Happy Birthday!!!!

And to the rest~ sorry my blog posts are few, just know that I love and think of you all the time. Sadly I'm still stuck in the good land of Provo...where it all began our freshman year. Sometimes I think, man I wish they were still here. Every time I go to a dance, or play intramurals, drive by the creamery, or reminisce on ANYTHING that reminds me of our old Apt...I will forever think of you all!!!

And No, I am not dating anyone. ha. just to clarify.

Happy Birthday to my Ladies!!!

Kristen gets first dibs since I forgot to wish her a happy birthday. My top five favorite things about Kristen are:

5 - her sweetness, as in so kind
4 - amazing listening abilities
3 - she is so cultured...I still remember our dorm door with quotes and pictures on it
2 - Solid and loyal friend!!!
1 - her daring personality...most daring being willing to head into the unknown (BYU) with me!

Sorry that it was late! I love you and miss you!

Randilyn, ahh our Randi...my top 5 favorite things about you are:

5 - when you say you are going to do something, you do it; whether it's to learn the mandolin or go to law school.
4 - Solid and loyal friend, like Kristen, man we sure lucked out with our roommates, didn't we!
3 - mad dancing skills
2 - So much fun to be around
1 - Love and Passion for life

Love you and miss you too!!!

I'm at the library, again

Hello my lovely ladies--

Well I am sitting here at the library for my weekly 6 hour night shift (yes, in case you didn't know, I am a librarian, haha). And I reached the point where I can't study anymore tonight, so I resorted to blog-catch-up-ing. As a natural result, I shall be updating you on my life. Unfortunately, my life is rather boring. All I do is study. And law review. And then study some more. I was thinking the other day how sad it is that I don't do many of the things I love anymore. Like seriously, I can't even remember the last time I picked up my mandolin. Or played tennis. Or stayed up late girl-talking with someone. Law school has made me so boring! And tired! If I don't get at least 8 hours of sleep, I cannot function. Holy moly, I'm not THAT old...

BUT, I did go to Mexico this summer! And China! And it was fun! (Until I came back and had to write a bunch of papers... 9 to be exact). But here are some pictures of me in China:

The Great Wall!

Forbidden City

Purple-Gold Mountain in Nanjing (where the University is)

I can't wait to see you all again! Tara, I aspire to come visit London sometime in the next few years. And the rest of you at NATALIE'S WEDDING! So excited. And K-Swiss--when do you find out if you're having a girl or boy? Love and miss you all!

Henderson Update

Kristen attempted to start the ball rolling and here I am a month and a half later and finally responding.

As you all know we are here in London. We live an hour tube ride/walk outside of the main city, which is about 8 miles or something. I will take pictures of our house today and post later on my regular blog. It is a cute little townhouse called a semi-detached house out here. We just moved in last Friday. To give you an idea of how long our transition has taken, we moved out of our Michigan house on August 30 and moved into our London house on October 15. A month of that was spent in the heart of London and we had a blast being close to everything, but we are also excited to have a more family-friendly place out here in the "burbs."

We have enrolled Ethan in "Reception," but he is on a waiting list because all of the schools are so full. Reception is full day for 4-5 year olds. So, while Ethan would not be in Kindergarten yet if we lived in the states, he does start full-day school here. We are a little nervous for the big transition, but I think he will have a great time making friends and learning.

Dylan is 20 months old and definitely has a mind of his own. He pushes Ethan around sometimes, and Ethan is so sweet that he lets it happen; they do play well most of the time though.

I do my mom thing, laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. I love to read books when I find one worth my time. I don't have any tv shows that I am following at the moment and have not been to the movies lately. I have tried lots of new restaurants though. Kevin and I even went on a date the other night without the kiddos and found a cute area in London with lots of different types of food. We were going to eat at a Spanish Tapas restaurant but the wait was an hour and we were hungry so we opted for Italian instead. For dessert we had the best cupcakes ever!

I am trying to eat less sugar. I did well for a few days, but you all know me and my obsession with sweets. I just wish I had more time to run, then I could eat sugar and not worry about it!

Kevin is having a great time at his firm. It is challenging but a great opportunity. We are still awed by the fact that we are here in London.

Our ward here barely maintains its ward status, any less Priesthood and it would be a branch. They were very excited to have us move in and have put Kevin right to work. I still don't have a calling, but hopefully soon.

I love you all and miss you!

Updates, Please Ladies...

Hi everyone,

I was sitting at my new laptop (my old one broke...ugh), and was thinking that I need some UPDATES from everyone on what they're up to! I've been trying to keep up with you all with blogs, etc, but I still don't feel like I know much (especially from Heidi and Natalie!).

So, I'll start the ball rolling:

We just got back from our big trip of the summer- driving to CA to visit my Mom. We decided to try to drive through the night, so Nathan could sleep for the 12 hours- it worked well in that aspect, but Joe and I were T-I-R-E-D! Can't decide if we'll do it again...

Joe graduated from BYUI in April-yay! We're taking a year off and then we'll (hopefully) be off to law school (so Randi and Kevin, any advice would be great for the application process :).

And, if you haven't seen our blog yet, I'm pregnant again! Hopefully the 'morning sickness' period will end here in the next couple of weeks... Due date March 24th! (A depressingly long way away, if you ask me...)

Ok, so it's YOUR turn :) I want to hear it all! Email me if it's too long to post on the blog!! :)

Love,
Kristen

Summer Fun

If you look at my blog you can see just how busy we have been the last few weeks. I wish it could have worked out to see some of you, but alas life is crazy for each of us.

Me and the boys have been hanging out with my family in Utah and California while Kevin studies for the Bar Exam. He has been studying 10-14 hours a day, going to a bar review course, and working. We can't wait to return home to him in a week. He takes the Bar July 27 and 28 and we can't wait for it to be over.


Ethan and Dylan have loved being around their family. It is rare for them to be around cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and grandparents. Wendy lives here with her family. My little brother Jacob is here with my parents and my Grandma too. They are soaking up the attention. My older brother, Conor, got home from Afghanistan yesterday and he got to visit us in Folsom. The boys were excited to see him.

We head to London on Labor Day in September. We have been looking online at neighborhoods, schools for Ethan, and other details of London that are important. Ethan will be in Kindergarten there and will wear a little uniform. I am sure the boys will get British Accents, so cute!!!

We are doing well. My boys keep me super busy and I love it. I would love to hear how you gals are and what you are up to. Sometimes I forget where you are at, what you are doing, and what your plans are. I love you each and I miss you. And, is Natalie on here yet???

Destination.......

London, England!!!

We have had a change of plans. I wasn't sure if all of you had heard yet. But, Kevin's law firm asked us if we would be willing to start in London instead of New York City, and of course we said, "Yes." We aren't sure exactly when we will be moving, but sometime in the early Fall.

Also, I will be heading out west in a few weeks. I will be in Utah the last week of June if any of you are still there this summer. I hope to see you!

summer....please come please!

real fast. updates on my life- i am going to Scotland for an internship in 2 weeks. yea, kinda random, i know. i won't have my phone, so email or facebook, or blog me...haha that sounds so high class. well, i am struggling to finish my first year of grad school. it's the hardest thing i've ever done, and i don't really like it sometimes :) but, life is good. no loves, no funny stories to tell, just a boring student life. of course, i still do eat tons of sugar in case you wondered if i'd overcome that. same old calista, don't you worry.

sorry i'm not good at keeping in better touch, but i love you all! you are my dearest bosom buddies and i'm happy we are stillllllllll friends.

ps. tara & kristen-cute kids, heidi- happy graduation soon!, randi- you are a champ, and i wanna do a triathalon now!, natalie- well i see you in person, so this is weird.