Home, Sweet Home!!!

We are back in America! WOO WOO WOO!!! :D We are finished with the island for good! WOO WOO WOO!!! :D The island was definitely an experience with some highs and lows...but we're happy to be back in the U.S. So many wonderful things here! Haha! :) A few things that are going to take getting used to again:

1. Driving with a speed limit
2. Driving above 30mph
3. Wearing a seatbelt (haha :))
4. Having a reliable cell phone!
5. No pot holes or speed bumps!
6. Not sweating the moment you go outside
7. Pumping your own gas (one of my favorite things about the island was having gas pumpers!)
8. Not needing cash for anything, you can charge $1.00 on a credit card!
9. Going to the grocery store and finding EVERYTHING you need
10. Target....looooove Target.
11. Friendly customer service!!
12. Living in my parents HUGE house! I think our entire apartment could fit in their kitchen! haha! :) We need to attach some bells to Ella so we know where she is! haha!

Yep, those are just a few things that are super great since coming back! Tom and I have new cell phones, which is exciting. And we're going to be doing a lot of traveling this month. We flew in to LAX on Friday (the entire traveling was VERY uneventful, which was AWESOME, and Ella did really well on the 4 hour and 5.5 hour flights!), then Tom left for Utah on Monday to spend some time with his brother and to go to the BYU basketball game. Ella and I fly up to Utah this upcoming Monday and we'll be there for a week. Then on the 21st we fly to Chicago for two weeks to celebrate Christmas/New Years with his family (it's going to be interesting because I'm not sure how all the sleeping arrangements are going to be. I hope Ella still gets a nap at least every other day!!!) While in Chicago, we are going to drive to Detroit to see our good friends Derick and Megan, which we are REALLY excited about! We'll spend a couple days there, head back to Chicago for a few more days, then fly back to California for good! At least for a while...

I am SO excited to be living with my parents! I know that is kind of weird, but I don't care. My parents are super fun and LOVE being with Ella, which makes me happy too! Plus, since we're expecting another one, it will be really nice having them to kind of help with the transition of one kid....to two! Wow...kiiiind of scary! haha! :) We are excited to be in my home ward again, too. Everyone is so nice and friendly and excited to have us back! It's nice to feel so welcome and to be around so many nice members!!

Anyway, that's the update for now. We will be living with my parents till around September, or whenever Tom starts his clinicals. He will be taking the step in June and then we'll take it from there!

Ella is loving being around her grandparents and great-grandparents! She likes to play with Uncle Andrew, too, even if she messes up some of his room! Oops...She also likes to go look at Leo and the birds. It's pretty cute. She says "Puppy!!"

I also got Ella completely decked out for the winter! I think I went a little crazy, but I don't care! She is going to be the CUTEST little snowbunny in Utah and Chicago! I'll be sure to post pictures.

My computer is still broken and is being shipped back to HP today, which is why this post doesn't have pictures either! Sorry!

Anyway, Ella is pulling on me and wants me to go watch a movie with her, so that's all for now! But I'll keep you updated! If you would like my new phone number, email me! :)

p.s. I deactivated my facebook account for a while, fyi.