Here We Are in Zona

Now we live in "Zona," as Zachie calls it. We are still recovering from the shock of going from 60s and 70s to 110s. Instead of wearing a sweater and spending tons of time outside, we just stay indoors as much as possible. When we do venture out, it is to the pool. We like our house a lot, but it seems very much like a nice condo and soon we'll be going home to our real house. Brian keeps assuring me that it really is OURS. It is the nicest house I've had and by far the easiest move we've ever had (since the movers did all the work) but I still don't really feel like it is home. This is us on the first day.
We happened to move here at a time when most people in the area are on vacation. There was a severe shortage of families at church on Sunday, but at least we got to sit in soft seats. We could have all fit in the first five rows! For some reason, no one wants to be here! Good thing we didn't need to call the elders to help us move in. None of our neighbors have come over to introduce themselves, probably because they are not home! Even if they were, no one wants to venture outside. I don't blame them! I don't even really want to go outside to take a picture of the house to put on the blog. Maybe later--like maybe November!

This is what we have been up to this week. Unpacking boxes and playing in the pool. The kids seem to be handling it okay. I mean, there are worse places to be stranded. This desert seems to be somewhat inhabitable. I'll let you know if we survive until November (when they say it finally becomes bearable.)

Here is Zachie helping me unpack the mountain of boxes in the kitchen. He's a big help.

Josh and Amanda--loving the pool. Luckily it has a large shallow area. They are learning how to swim fast, though. Give them a few more days.

Brandon and Josh having water wars.

Zachie feeding and petting the "dolphins" from the hot tub.

Zachie the water boy.

Brian getting thrown off the giant clown fish. The pool is definitely bringing out the inner child in him. I've also heard that he is fitting in really well among all the scouts at scout camp. Hmmm...imagine that.Katelyn loves the pool. She would spend the day in it if she could. It is long enough that she and I can even do some lap swimming if we can take a break from life guard duty once in a while.
My friend Toni, who also recently moved, posted on her blog the saying, "Come what may, and love it." I am trying to adopt this same attitude. I did come here crying all the way, but I am going to love it here I am sure. It will just take some time. Until then, we will swim.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

As corny as that sounds, it is really how we feel. I have tried to write this blog post many times and keep deleting it. I decided I am just going to let the pictures tell the story. This is what we left behind. I will try to narrate, but it's kind of hard to do with my heart missing.

This is Katelyn's birthday. Can you believe she turned ten last month?

Great friends all gathered in a great backyard. What will we do without them?

Our trip to the SF Giant's game. Brandon and Katelyn got to perform in a pre-game carnival just outside the stadium with their Showbiz group.

Brandon's group. It's like they are all my kids. It was magic to see them all perform together. They sang a variety of songs from "You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog" to "Footloose." Brandon's solo was Moon River. It was amazing. (I know mother's shouldn't brag, but I really was amazed!)

Katelyn's group. Such sweet girls. Some of them were in my Primary class. They sang a medley of Miley Cyrus songs. Katelyn also had a solo. It was darling.

Our family at LDS night at the Giant's game. Dozens of families from our ward were also there. It was so much fun, even if it was freezing. Mark Twain said the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. He was right on! It seems like it is always cold there!

Brandon's last day of school. He was kind of glad to be done, but I know he loved singing with his 37 classmates every day in this very cool church made into a school. They are all in China right now touring. (He is at scout camp in California with all of his church friends, so I think he is past not getting to go to China. :))

Our trip to Temple Hill with Mom, Diane, Jacquie, Brook, and Dallin. We had to have one last trip to "our" temple. Thank goodness they came when they did. We were able to do a little bit of sight seeing before we left, including a trip to the mountains above Berkeley and a bay cruise between Sausalito and San Francisco. These are the Temple Hill photos.

Saying goodbye to our house. We are all smiling in the picture, but you should know we sat looking at the house a long time before we drove away. Tears came. So many memories in such a short time. So many dear friends we hated to leave. It was just as hard as leaving Utah! We have an understanding with the Bishopric in our California ward. They are giving us two years in Arizona and then they are going to pray us back. After all, they said they prayed us there in the first place. Knowing this ward, it just might work.