Top 10 Reasons We will Miss California

There was a time in my life when I felt strongly about NEVER living in southern California. As fate would have it though- I ended up living here thanks to my wonderful husband. I don't say that sarcastically either. I truly am grateful for him and the opportunity we've been blessed with to spend the last two and a half years living in such an amazing area that I have fallen completely in love with. So here are the reasons I will always be grateful for living here.


#1 Family
My brother, Michael, and his wife, Autumn, live two exits away from us and we have become so close to them and their darling kids- Alexandra, Gavin and Blake. I cry every time I think about not being able to see them whenever I want! It has been amazing to watch them grow over the past 2 and a half years. We've also been able to spend these past few years with my brother Matt who we love so much! My brothers are amazing and we love them!

#2 Our Ward-
JC and I feel as though our family has quadrupled in size because of our ward. We have felt right at home ever since our first Sunday at church in the San Clemente 4th ward! We have been completely taken care of and have never had to worry about a thing because we always knew that if we needed anything- our ward family would always be there. We've also made some amazing friends in this ward. Two of them are on my blog- Rachelle Williams and Lindsay Lundquist. We love you and will miss you- and we will be back to bless the baby in this ward as soon as JC gets home! Here are some pictures from the baby shower the ladies gave me!

#3 Friends-
I don't think I need to explain how hard it is to leave friends. It has been so nice and fun having my friends from college- Becky, Kay and Mikelle- around to hang out with! I will miss you girls so much.
















#4 Weather-
I have LOVED being able to run outside all year round. Yes- I almost let a perfectly good gym membership go to waste but there is nothing better than being outside!


#5 Scenery-
We live in a paradise! It is gorgeous here!

#6 Shopping -
You can seriously find anything you want around here! The little boutiques are great places to shop. On the cheaper side- I love H&M!


#7 Camp Pendleton-
I didn't spend too much time on base, but I did do the Mud Run at Camp Pendleton while JC was deployed last year (I can't find the pictures). It was so much fun! Most of the time I actually spent on base was when we first moved here, before we bought the Volvo- I used to drive JC to work everyday on base because we shared the Jeep.
I don't know how much JC will miss Camp Pendleton, but I will miss being able to go somewhere that most people aren't able to go- for some reason I think it's really cool. Another reason we'll miss the base- Gas is cheaper! This is a picture of us at Camp Pendleton when JC came home from Iraq the first time.












#8 Food-
They have wonderful restaurants in Southern California. I recommend Ti Amo, The White House and Las Brisas in Laguna Beach. I also recommend Beach Fire Grill in San Clemente and you can pretty much go anywhere to eat in Newport and it will be good- I really like Five Crowns though.

#9 Our Apartment -
We seriously live 2 or 3 minutes away from the beach!

#10- This has been Our first and only home as a married couple! We've had so many amazing memories of this place and even though it will be so hard to move on- we are ready for our next adventure.

PS- if I don't blog for a while it is because this week we are moving out of our apartment and we have tons of family coming in to help out and say goodbye to my incredible husband before he leaves for Iraq on Saturday!