Now that we've been living in LA for 3 weeks...

Here is what we've been up to.

First of all, a long, grueling day of moving. We are glad that is over, and that we are settled in our new apartment. We really love it and need to take/post pictures soon. Other adventures --

We went to the Santa Monica Promenade and window-shopped. We also got Pinkberry, which is one of THE perks of living in Southern California.

Another perk of living in SoCal is The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. No, I do not actually partake of coffee beans or tea leaves, but they also have really really amazing herbal tea and blended drinks. And pumpkin is back in season. We have one within walking distance of our house, but so far I've been pretty good about not going there every day.

We went to the Santa Monica farmer's market and got some delicious fruit and veggies.

We also live only ten minutes away from the LA temple! I'm already in love with this temple. It is huge and so beautiful!

We spent a day at the beach and Scott found some sand crabs, which kept him entertained for a long time. :) I think I could definitely get used to living ten minutes away from the beach, and I am especially excited to take Baby Cal there.

Scott is SO EXCITED for his first day of orientation! (School officially starts tomorrow, but he just finished his three days of orientation).

Scott getting his white coat.

After the white coat ceremony. As you can see, I am ENORMOUS. Eight weeks still sounds so far away... I am ready for this baby to come!

Date night of Thrifty's ice cream at Rite Aid, which is quickly becoming a standard. We are addicted! And we can walk there!

Here's a sneak peek of our "library" -- I'll post more pictures of our apartment soon. This is the only picture we've taken of our apartment so far and it happens to be my "30 weeks" pregnant picture.

We're also getting the baby nursery put together and I am so excited. I'm starting to see cute baby boys everywhere and really want to hold mine, although I guess I need to be patient because he's not quite big enough to come out yet. Hopefully we'll have some pictures taken in the next couple of weeks. :)

Our August traveling.

It has been a busy few weeks for us! After moving from Provo, we spent about a week and a half in Idaho with my family. Highlights of the trip included a baby shower held by my mom, a trip out to my dad's shack and Silver City, and a trip to the cabin (and huckleberry picking, hooray!).

Dad and Scott shooting Scott's new pistol at the shack.

Scott and I at the rodeo in Cascade. 

We then made a two-day drive to Modesto. We stopped in Reno after the first half and stayed overnight. The next day we had lunch at an Italian place called La Vecchia which was the most delicious Italian food ever, so GO THERE if you are ever in Reno. Then we drove the rest of the way to Modesto.

In Modesto, we ate a lot of delicious California produce from the fruit stands. We also visited Fresno for Jenna's open house, which was on our 2-year anniversary.

My mom and I.

Not sure why I look so much worse in this picture than the one above it. But yay for two years of marriage!

We returned to Modesto after the open house but traveled up to San Francisco to celebrate our anniversary later that week. We did a lot of the things we did the day we got engaged, including eating at Chowder's for lunch, buying another seashell decoration for our seashell bathroom on Fisherman's Wharf, watching the sea lions, and visiting Ghirardelli Square. The highlight of the day was going to see Les Miserables, which was a surprise for me. To finish the night, we went to another delicious Italian restaurant called Specchio, which is now Scott's favorite of all time.

Hooray for being back in San Francisco!

Cable car.

Psych ward chocolate for the Prego.

Kind of in front of the Les Mis movie poster.

 That week, we also had a garage sale with Scott's dad, went to a talent show, and became thoroughly addicted to Thrifty's ice cream. In fact, we jokingly said we needed a Rite Aid near our new place so we could go to Thrifty's... turns out there is one within walking distance. We've already gone through almost four boxes of ice cream. Whoops. I guess at least we have to walk to get to it, right?

On August 31st, we headed to Los Angeles to move into our apartment. But... I need to clean the kitchen and spend time with Scott, so we'll continue our updates next week. :)

A few observations on pregnancy.

* You are cute for about a two-month window - 4 months to 6 months. During the first trimester, you are so tired and nauseated that you don't have the energy to make an effort. And once you hit six months, in my case at least, you just became huge. I think that's when the "You're such a cute pregnant lady!" comments stop.
* Half the people you see will tell you that you aren't sticking out very much yet. The other half will ask if you are having twins, or if you are due tomorrow, or if you have been overeating.
* You should wear your non-maternity clothes for as long as possible, because the novelty of wearing maternity clothes only lasts so long.
* Being pregnant makes you automatic friends in lines and grocery stores. Everyone wants to talk to you about your pregnancy.
* There is some instinct in women to terrify pregnant women about their impending discomforts, whether that is the third trimester or labor. It's some kind of badge of courage or something.
* Feeling the baby kick never grows old.
* For me at least, I have stopped looking for things for myself when I go shopping. (Nothing fits anyway, and I've long since exhausted all the stores I frequent of cute maternity clothes). Now I am always looking for cute little boys' clothes. Which is nice, because I feel justified in spending the money, because it isn't for me.
* People feel justified in openly staring at you.

That's all for now. More of these will probably resurface over the next few months. I feel like it is already impossible for me to get any larger, but people tell me it is only the beginning. :)

This summer.

I can't believe that it is already August, and that so much has happened this summer. It has been one of the hardest, but also most rewarding, summers of my life.

Nursing


I finished my capstone on the immunocompromised (cancer and transplant) floor at Primary Children's. Learning to be a nurse (especially on night shifts) was demanding both physically and emotionally. There have been kids that have broken my heart and kids that have tried my patience, but all in all working on ICS has reaffirmed to me that I want to work with kids who have cancer.

I also finished nursing school!! This means that I am finally, finally done with college. Six years later. I'm still getting used to the idea that I don't have homework or obligations related to school. I still have to take the NCLEX to become licensed, so for the next month or so I will be studying for that, but I'm not super worried about the test because I did well on my predictor test. I guess it will ease me out of student status gradually. I feel like so much of my identity has focused around being a student for the last 21 years of my life, but I feel really free and excited to pursue some of my own interests now that I am done.

Boot Camp

Scott spent six weeks at the Basic Officer Leadership Course for medical professionals. He watched a lot of powerpoints about how the military worked, passed his fitness test with flying colors, learned to survive on MREs, and spent two weeks in field training, learning how to navigate and shoot M16s. I went over on my cell phone minutes for the first time in my life. It was a really hard few weeks without him, but my friends, family, and ward were very supportive and helpful. And we are really grateful to be able to go through dental school with the Army. We have a goal to have as little debt as possible through dental school and the Army is making that possible. We also have a great deal of respect for those who serve our country and I am proud of Scott for being a part of that. :)

Baby Lemmons


Things are continuing to go well with Baby Lemmons. If you haven't heard, he is a boy. He is kicking hard every day, and I still get excited every time I have a book on my stomach or something and it bounces up. Scott was very excited to feel the baby kick for the first time once he returned from boot camp (and very surprised to see how much bigger I was from when he left). We had a scary moment a few weeks ago where I had to go to the hospital, but after the doctor checked me out it appears that nothing is wrong. I've concluded the baby wasn't happy with his first set of ultrasound pictures and decided he just needed a second photoshoot. Nothing has been wrong since then, and aside from fat fingers and being really, really tired, everything is going smoothly. My biggest pregnancy woe was not being able to eat sushi, and my brother-in-law introduced me to tempura shrimp, so now that issue is taken care of. Speaking of which...

Wedding

My sister and brother in law were married in the Salt Lake Temple. 

Moving


Finally, we have moved from Provo. Yesterday we packed up three U-Boxes and dropped them off, to be delivered to our apartment in Los Angeles in about a month. I still can't believe that I won't be seeing Provo for a long time. It was my home for six years, and while I am happy to be moving on to new things, I will miss the beautiful mountains and the friends and family that we are leaving behind. Right now, Scott and I are in Eagle, Idaho with my family. After that, we will travel to central California to see Scott's family in Modesto and Visalia. Then, at the beginning of September, we will be off to Los Angeles. It should be an adventure!

Plus 1.

2012 has been a crazy year for us so far. Many exciting things have happened...

Scott was accepted to UCLA dental school.

Scott was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army.

We got a new little niece.

We went to Ingrid Michaelson for my birthday.

Scott graduated.

In addition, we have some exciting things coming up this summer...

Scott will be going to Officer Basic Training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio Texas (this is mostly good news. I'm still not exactly sure how I'm going to survive six weeks without him).

I will be starting -- and finishing -- my capstone at Primary Children's on the cancer and transplant floor.

My little sister will get married on June 16 to the handsome Alan Reintjes.

I will be graduating from nursing school and taking the NCLEX to become an registered nurse.

We will be moving from Provo after six long years (minus two for Scott because of his mission to Italy) to California! Because I will be working so hard this summer, I am excited about living in a place that feels like summer as a reward when I am done.

Scott will be starting dental school.

But the most exciting thing of all is coming in the fall...

Our little family of two will become a family of three.

Baby Lemmons is currently the size of a lemon, and should be coming along on or around November 16, 2012.

:)

Pinterest.

I feel the need to report that Scott made his first Pinterest inspired meal today. (He has a recipe board on my Pinterest -- his manhood just can't take having his own.)

He made pesto and feta covered salmon with roasted potatoes and asparagus.

It was amazing.

Now not only does Pinterest give me good ideas, I get the added benefit of having them cooked for me now. I love that my husband cooks.

Now I need to go get my white-chocolate s'mores blondies out of the oven.

Oh Pinterest. How did we ever live without you?

WOW! Have you missed me?

You know, every semester I think that I can't possibly get any busier. I have reached the limit; I have filled all of the hours in the day; I have exhausted the allowable amount of semicolons.

Every semester, I am wrong. Thus, it has been over two months since I've blogged. Here, at least. My book blog is the favorite child.

Anyway, many things have been happening. Updatesreadygo!

Christmas Break
We started out in LA and headed off on a cruise to Mexico. Other than being sick for half of the cruise (some obscene and torturous form of laryngitis), it was great fun. I am still trying to lose the weight I gained. I've decided cruises are a foodie's greatest dream and simultaneously greatest trap.

Obligatory Titanic picture.

Other than the food, the best part of the cruise was definitely the excursions. On the first day, we went to Cabo San Lucas and went snorkeling at Lover's Beach. Scott's wedding ring was swallowed by the Sea of Cortez, but we did get to see some cool fishies. Afterward we had Mexican seafood and shopped around. I bought a Mexican nativity to add to my slowly growing collection.

The next day we went to Puerta Vallarta and spent the first few hours at the beach, after which we had more Mexican food, and then on an "extreme canopy adventure." It was seriously one of the most adventurous and awesome things I have ever done. First we rode on a Zodiac for about 45 minutes across the ocean, then hopped in an old Army Jeep from WWII and rode up a crazy mountain trail. It was like Indiana Jones except REAL LIFE. Then we rode mules up the mountain further. My mule had a serious attitude and bit everyone until it was in the lead. Then we rode zip lines down an amazing jungle and went straight into a waterfall. I was a little wary of the zip lines at first because I have a friend who died on a zip line, but these were double-lined and secure and it was amazing. 

Indiana Jones Jeep

Scott had the slow mule

Awesome zipline!

Going down the waterfall

Jenna going INTO the water. Yup, we all had to do this. 

California and Christmas
After the trip, we went to Modesto/Visalia/San Francisco for a couple of weeks and hung out with Scott's family. It was my first Christmas away from my family, but Scott's family made me feel very welcome. All my presents were also from Anthropologie, so basically all of my wildest dreams came true.

Scott also had his interview for UCSF on the last day of our trip, so we went with his dad to San Francisco for a night. While Scott was being interviewed, Bill and I went to the science museum, Golden Gate Park, and Haight Street. Scott was underwhelmed by his interview, which was surprising for us because it was our first choice. While we love the city, the school didn't really do it for us.

UCLA
Scott had one more interview at UCLA, and we weren't really sure why we were going because he didn't seem that interested in the school. However, after his interview, he said he really thought this was the place, and I was excited because just driving around the campus had me excited. He was accepted a few weeks later, so this is officially where we are moving. I am already trying to plan restaurants to try and hospitals to apply to, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know. We will be in the Westwood area, and I have already located the two nearest Pinkberrys, as well as multiple Coffee Bean and Tea Leafs (Leaves?). I think I know where I'll be studying for the NCLEX! Also, Santa Monica beach. Hopefully by the end of this UCLA experience we'll have cute little baby people that we can take pictures of sticking their toes in the water.

Military
Scott also joined the Army. He is a 2nd lieutenant, and will be a 1st lieutenant when he graduates from dental school. So we don't know where we will be after dental school, but I love it. I am not ready to choose the place that we'll spend the rest of our lives yet -- I am excited to travel. There is a chance that he could be deployed for up to 12 months, but I am avoiding that in my mind for now -- no use worrying about it when it is so far away. The military will pay for all of Scott's dental school expenses and will also give us a living expenses stipend. I will still need to work to keep us out of debt, but it is definitely a huge weight off our shoulders.

As for me -- I am just trying to keep my head above water with school. I just finished my pediatric oncology clinical and now am about to start an adult oncology clinical. I will just be happy to be finished with school after 20 years of almost non-stop education.