Our Haven

Although Jason and I really miss the mountains and the open spaces found in Utah (and pretty much anywhere else), we are really enjoying the beauty of the beach. We have been to several beaches and are figuring out which ones we like the most! There is something different at each beach. Some have very little people, others are great for people watching, and some will be great to take Maya to. This beach is actually up north close to Ventura. It's called Mandalay Beach. We really liked this one. There were hardly any people there and the ones that were there were playing with their dogs in the ocean. Our kind of beach! ;) There was a big black lab that acted just like Maya. Never wanting to quit playing fetch and just full of energy! It was great.
Jason and Daniel doing a little studying for their first anatomy midterm. (and Kylie enjoying the sun!)
This pictures isn't the clearest, but it was so pretty that day. This was at Santa Monica and there were so many sailboats out that day. We counted 21 from where we were sitting. The pelicans were also diving for fish. It was really pretty! So pick your beach and we'll take you there!! ;)

Fall is here...right?

So, like I've said before, California is different. That's the best way to put it. We are still enjoying the beautiful beaches that are so close and the warm weather is a definite plus. However, Jason and I are both missing that fall feel. The cool crisp air, the leaves vibrant with color, and the excitement of college football- especially BYU football. So, to make it feel more like fall, I have been making some of my favorite fall foods. The other night I made some yummy potato soup and homemade rolls. I think I will make some pumpkin cookies this weekend too. Mmm mmmmm.
It made a huge pot, so we have been eating lots of left overs!! I should've fed the other poor dental students. ;)

I love adding pictures of my hubby. Poor guy is always starving when he gets home from school. I guess he needs a lot of energy to feed that big brain of his while he studies!! :)

For Our Mothers...

As many of you may know, this past month has kinda been a whirlwind for us. We moved out here to LA and were in one place for 2 weeks, then moved again! We ended up moving into the University Village (student housing) at UCLA. It's cheap, closer to campus, and we are around lots of other dental students here. As sad as it was having to take Maya back to Utah (temporarily) it is best. We are mostly settled in here and really enjoying it. So, as I said in the title, this post is mostly for our moms, who want to see our new place. :) It's the smallest place we've been in since we've been married, but it is good. This is obviously the kitchen. Man do I miss my pantry!!
This is the view when you walk in. Our dining area, then our living room.
This is our "office". Jason studies here when he's home and I like it because it's right by the kitchen. I guess it's all "by the kitchen" though! Anyway, it's nice when he studies at home, even if we aren't talking. It's just nice to have him around!
This is Jason enjoying a nice Sunday nap after a long week of studying- He definitely deserved it!! Overall, we are adjusting to this new jungle we live in. We have gone to the beach a few times and love walking the shoreline. It is also starting to feel more like fall, so that is nice. We do miss Utah and all of our friends and family there. Hopefully we can see you all sometime soon! Don't forget, we love to have visitors!!

Official UCLA Dental Student!!

Tuesday was Jason's White Coat Ceremony for dental school. It was a great day. After each student received their white coat, they introduced themselves and stated what school they attended for undergrad. Here's Jason introducing himself. Way to go babe, officially a UCLA dental student. As Dean Park said, "the first day of your dental career!" I am so proud of you!!

We had a lot of support this week. Both of our parents were able to come for the ceremony, as well as Grandma and Grandpa Grattan. Thanks for everything, we had a great time!
Jason with his fellow BYU undergrad students. Smart lookin' guys huh?!
My future dentist and I!!

Sea World

Last week Jason and I went to California for a little vacation as well as to scout out the area for housing and jobs. The first part of the week was definitely the more fun half. We stayed in Oceanside, Ca with Jason's sister Jannae and her familyat a condo where we were right next to the beach and only 30 minutes from San Diego. Along with playing at the beach, we decided to visit Sea World for our first time, and man did we fall in love with that place!! If you have never been to Sea World, you will have to come visit us and we'll take you. It was amazing! The animals are so intelligent and do such awesome tricks! It was GREAT!!

Dolly the dolphin actually touched that flag with his nose! So high!

Watching these trainers made me rethink my career choice! :)

It was awesome being so close to these huge animals. this guy was about 9,000 lbs!

victor, Kyler, Alyssa, Kara and Jannae at one of the nights shows. We had so much fun together.

This was a cool show. These guys climbed the poles and did amazing stunts and then flipped off into the ocean for more crazy acrobatics! It was really cool!

Ahhh....Green

Although it may look a little patchy, we are SO excited to finally get a sprinkler system and new grass!! We are still trying to help it green up and grow, but it looks so much better than before!! You can't see it very well, but there is a cute tire swing on our big shade tree that Jannae's kids love!
The first fruitling in our garden. :) We eat a lot of green peppers, so this will be great!!
Our new garden spot! When we redid the yard, we made a garden spot and put a little fence up so the dogs stay out. They are doing great so far.
Our soon to be flourishing garden!! I'm glad we can at least have one season to enjoy the fresh veggies before we move to Cali!!

Dreaming and Drooling

For the past few years Jason and I thought it would be fun to go to the Utah Valley Parade of Homes. So we decided to have some fun and dream a little this year. Jason thought it was good motivation to start another 4 years of school! ;) We had such a fun time. There were some really neat homes. They varied in size from 1,500 square feet to 13,000. There were lots of fun ideas. If you've never been, it's a fun thing to do! Here's a few samples.
I though this little boys room was really cute!


We saw lots of beautiful kitchens...someday huh?!
This was the backyard of the home that was 13,000 square feet. It was amazing. Built on the river. This home had an indoor pool, racketball court, and a home theater. It was really cool, however, I can't even imagine living there. It was crazy!!