Just a few words about my sweet grandma Rane. She passed away last night but was very ready to go. I am so grateful I got to see her just days ago when I was in Utah.

It's been a rough year for grandparents; Chris lost both his grandpas and now my last grandparent. We miss them all and love them. I have more to say but I will leave it at that.

Utah Trip

Last week I made a quick trip to Utah. The main purpose of the trip was a bridal shower for my friend and old roommate Katie since I'll be in China for the wedding. Luckily, almost all my college friends are still in Utah so I got to see most of them!

Brunch with Wendy.

Wendy I'm glad you think I am so funny but I'm pretty sure the only one.
And I'm so sad you couldn't be there Rachel! Hope you're feeling better.

Breakfast with Cheather.

You are so smiley and I love it!

Lunch with Laurie and Nick.
Thanks for hanging with me and letting me crash at your place!

And here's the lovely soon-to-be bride Katie!
I really wish I could be there for the wedding.

Breakfast with my old co-worker Amanda.
Don't forget you are going to visit me in China!

Here are just a few of the pictures from the bridal shower. I got to help plan the whole thing and I think it turned out great! Thanks to everyone that came and if you want pictures just email me.

PS - I had totally forgotten how much white trash there is in Utah! It's just a bunch of freaks here in LA.

Memorial Day Weekend

Here is a little belated post about a great Memorial Day weekend.

Saturday morning our friends Nate and Abby Locke hosted a "Goodbye" picnic for us with our ward friends. So fun! The weather was beautiful and it made me wish we had done this more often before now. Thanks to everyone that came! It really was perfect because the Rich's and the Funk's are both moving out of the ward too so it was a good last hoorah.

We'll miss you Jordan, Becca, Derek, Krista, Lindsi, Josh, Nicolle, Chris, Rachel, Rick, LaDon, Jamie, Brian, Ali, Abby, Nate, Ryan, and Courtney!

We'll miss other people too :) those are just the ones pictured.

Thanks to the party planners the Lockes!

Monday we headed to the beach for some long-awaited time in the sun. Thanks Megan for snagging this picture! Although it wasn't ideal beach weather and the water was frigid I will definitely miss my days on the LA beaches.

To Grandmother's House We Go

Last Saturday we went up to visit Grandma Winner in Santa Barbara and it was great fun! We went to Color Me Mine downtown and painted some pottery. It reminded me of dates back in college, although no one actually took me on a date there. We also had fun visiting with uncle Mike but didn't manage to snap a picture of him.

Here we are showing off our amazing pottery painting skills!

I really will miss being so close to Grandma Winner. But we will be back again next year at least for a little while.

Family Fun in LA

Last Saturday we had a family day in LA. Scott, Lacy and the girls came up just to visit us! We went to The Getty and enjoyed our own picnic on the lawn and walked around the museum for a while.


Diane, Dave and Andrew, and my parents were in LA for other family events so we met up with them for some tasty dinner at Cafe Rio. I didn't take any pictures of that but it was really fun to have you all up here!

Doggy Woes

This is Milo and Grady.

The 2 most needy dogs in the world.

I normally just walk them during the week but their owners needed a pet-sitter for a week and we obliged. These dogs had to be by one of us at all times. If you leave the room they follow. When I closed the door to the bathroom so I could do my business without four doggy eyes staring at me they would immediately start whining and pawing at the door. Let me pee in peace!

They normally sleep with their owners in bed but we would not permit that so they slept in the other room and we slept with earplugs and sometimes a pillow over our heads to drown out the whining and barking. The first morning there I woke up to find dog business all over the floor, awesome.

Before this adventure Chris and I already agreed not to have a dog unless we have a yard and these dogs are a confirmation of why dogs in an apartment is a bad idea. A VERY BAD IDEA.

We're Moving

Yes my friends, we are moving to China, specifically Shanghai (on the east coast of the map). In the past I have been fairly vocal about not wanting to move to this very country, but things happen and my heart has been softened. I'm still extremely nervous and I have no idea what I will do with myself while we're there but we will figure it out.


We are doing a "swap" meaning Chris will still be working for LEK just in their Shanghai office. We will be downtown in an area called Pushi (pictured below) and right across the river is Pudong (also pictured below), which to me looks like something straight out of the Jetsons. The swap will last at least 6 months but we are hoping to extend it to 9 months. Chris would really love to live in Asia long-term and this seems like a great way to warm me up to the idea.

I have so many things running through my brain! What to do before we leave? What will it be like when we are there? Will I love it? I hope so.

I'll update the blog when we have more details but we will be leaving sometime at the end of June.