GPS, Academy of Science, Fair, Lawn Bowling, and Oakland Temple

So, driving for a couple of weeks out in California after a life in Utah will make you crazy in no time! I don't know why they can't design streets to run straight, but apparently the more windy, the better (and we're not even in San Francisco!). Needless to say, we decided to head to the store to get a GPS. Did you know they don't have monthly subscription fees?!? I (Mitch) sure didn't or I would have been all over that my first days out here!
We decided to go to RadioShack and check out GPS pricing. The irony is that after driving around for a half hour, we found the RadioShack located 5 minutes from our house! There was no question at that point. We were getting a GPS! It's a nice little "Garmin nuvi" and we like it so far. It would be our recommended GPS for anyone looking (of course, we have nothing to compare it to!).


A week ago we went into San Francisco on BART (their "subway" here) to the Academy of Sciences.

The Academy is a really cool place with an indoor planetarium, huge aquariums on the bottom flood, and indoor rainforest, an extreme (preserved) mammals exhibit, and lots of other neat things to see.

Jellyfish are always a favorite, along with the penguin feeding time.


They also let you ride a bronzed tortoise and hug the largest mammal ever!



After a day at the Academy, we walked by the old Czirr home (where Mitch's mom's family lived while they were here in Livermore). It's been refurbished since then, but the people who live there now were happy to let us take a few pictures.


I'm "picking" one of the oranges on the orange tree growing in the front yard!



This last Friday night we went to the Alameda County Fair, which was actually a pretty big fair, with tons of exhibits, rides, food, and entertainment! There were baby ducks to be held, rides to be taken, food to eat, and an amazing hypnotist show that kept us laughing until our stomachs were sore!



The next day (Saturday) we went into Berkeley (well, first Oakland because our GPS isn't forgiving if you enter in the wrong city!) to go lawn bowling and also to the Oakland Temple. The temple is situated on the side of a big hill/mountain and it is beautiful there! Pictures will come later.

The lawn bowling was a blast, too! If you haven't tried it, you've got to give it a shot! It's a fairly relaxing game, still competitive, and a little out of the ordinary. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowls

New Jobs and Adventures!

I started 2 new jobs this week! I'm already really excited about both. On Mondays & Wednesdays I'll be a nanny for an 8 yr old girl and 4 yr old boy. I'll be running them around to golf camp, swimming lessons, karate, cooking camp and summer school plus lots of fun activities. Today I also started working at VineCinema. It's this really neat theater in Livermore that specializes in Independent Films, Documentaries and Sporting events (they also show a few summer blockbusters). The theater has tables and couches in it so the patrons can order delicious food and a variety of drinks for their movie experience. I didn't realize how little I knew about alcoholic drinks until I was trained today :) Both jobs will be fun with great perks such as free movies and field trips to the zoo.
Last weekend Mitch and I went to Dell Valle Park and rented a pedal boat and took it out on the beautiful lake. We also watched wild cow milking at the Livermore Rodeo (which they make a huge deal of out here, but it is nothing compared to most Utah rodeos). We've loved going to the Farmer's Market every Thursday and getting fresh produce and tasty dinner. Other fun activities around town 7 at home include playing dominoes and pool with the Oates, making fancy dinners, eating at the Alehouse, bowling and going to the gym.

The Alehouse is a really popular place to hang out and the food is amazing. I had this HUMONGOUS mushroom burger last weekend...I'm still full ;)

Pedal Boating at Dell Valle a State Park about 15 min. away.


We made strawberry-banana crepes with some fantastic strawberries from the farmer's market.
We thought this was HILARIOUS! The man on the right is clearly giving a pervy thumbs up about the mostly naked model in the store window next to him, is he not? The set up could not be more perfect...he's standing in front of an Italian Restaurant and she's in the lingerie shop next door.

Our House in Livermore

Our New Neighborhood

Here we are in CALIFORNIA!

I've always wanted to live in California and this summer I'm getting my wish. We are in Livermore (East Bay area) for the summer. Mitch is doing an internship at LLNL in the Weapons and Complex Integrations department. We are renting a room in a really beautiful house. We have our own room and bathroom, plus shared kitchen, laundry room, living room (including pool table) and backyard. It's a pretty sweet setup and our roommates are rarely here so it almost feels like we're renting the whole house. There is a grocery store right around the corner called Lucky we like to walk to. We have a whole list of fun summer activities to do in the Bay Area in the evenings and on weekends. Mitch and I haven't had this much free time to spend together our whole marriage, it's delightful. I've been hired as a substitute camp councilor at Galileo Summer Camp and training is tomorrow. I'm still trying to find a more consistent job to keep me busy and earn some money for our big adventures.

Livermore is a lovely little family town. I wouldn't mind living in an area like this long term at all. Last night we went to the Farmer's Market and bought some delicious fruit and shave ice. We also played our Wii together for the first time since we got it a few months ago. It's so wonderful spending time together...YAY summer!

May 6th - 17th we went back to visit my mission in the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo West mission). We got to stay in the patron housing, below the CCM (MTC) there, which was on the temple grounds. It was a beautiful place to stay, always offering a refreshing view after walking through the city streets all day.






Since I am no longer a missionary, I was finally able to swim in the ocean, wear shorts, and kiss a girl (Megan). We got to go to the beach a couple of different days. This is at Boca Chica beach, a pretty white-sand beach. However, very much a tourist trap and not enjoyable for just lazing by the ocean.






Palenque beach, however, was a dream. No one there was trying to sell us stuff and we had the beach all to ourselves. When we were out in the water, there was an entire school of fish swimming around us with their heads up and eyes poking out of the water. They just kept circling us, reminiscent of some scenes from Jaws. Too bad they were only 6 inch fish.





We got to visit the Frias Jimenez family, a family I got to teach and baptize. They were extremely energetic, very hospitable, and a lot of fun. All of the kids age 13 and under were consistently talking to Megan with the little English they knew, trying to teach her Spanish, showing her how to play games ....






... showing off their strength....

























... and teaching us their "dance moves."


We had a wonderful time and hope to plan a return trip sometime in the future!

Now blogging!

Well, we have now created our first blog! I figure with living out of state, we'll be trying to keep lots of people updated via e-mail and phone, so hopefully this can help keep others up-to-date with our lives. If you follow or plan to follow our blog, please let me know so that I'm motivated to keep this thing updated. Just click the little "Follow" button for me! Hope you enjoy the blog!