Zero wait time, ha!

2.5 hours at the DMV! I looked online at where to go, and it said the El Cerrito station had no wait time for appointments or walk-ns. Woo-hoo! So off Benny and I went.
Two and a half hours later I almost had one of the cars registered. I have to get a signature and then I also have to go back to do the drivers license part! If I had done the written test and gotten licensed today it would have easily been over 3 hours.
Benny was a trooper through it all. He didn't have any screaming fits but he did lie down in the middle of the cold hard floor for a bit.

I had decided the reason I don't get anything done is I usually decide to take a nap when Benny does :) So today I was going to be super productive during naptime instead. But after a morning like that, I think I need a nap too!

Do they all look the same?

Or we. Asians, that is.
I ask because Benny sure seems to think they do.
We weren't sure if he knew who his Grandparents Christensen were, but after yesterday we are pretty sure he does.
Before leaving for California, my parents came to Utah for my niece's wedding. My mom was able to stay and help me clean the house before we left and sold it. We were able to do some fun things, like going to Willard Bay and feeding the birds:

So we have been in California for about 2 weeks now. We had to get rid of a lot of stuff before we moved, so after we got here we've been getting a few small things again. We found a TV stand on Craigsist and as we arrived at the house where it was located, Benny said "Grandma." We had no idea if he was recognizing something from the neighborhood that reminded him of his Grandma Sue's house, or if he thought the Asian man in the driveway reminded him of Grandma Christensen.
We purchased the TV stand from the Asian man, and his wife also joined him outside. As we drove away Benny excitedly kept chanting "Grandma, Grandma, Grandma" from the backseat.
We thought it was pretty funny the Asian couple reminded Benny of his Grandma Christensen. Well at least he does know who his grandparents are!

Good times

My previous post was a bit of a downer, so I thought I better also share some of the positive things going on this summer.
-We've had a lot of things fall into place. We were approved for adoption and are just on the waiting list now for a birth parent to select us.
-We were looking for a home for our dog since we were selling the house and didn't know what the new situation would be, and one of our neighbors just happened to be looking for a housetrained family dog. Couldn't have asked for a better home.
-We've been able to enjoy family and had several birthdays and other get togethers
-We've had TONS of help with babysitting this last semester from Ben's mom and my sis Kimiko, and a few others who have stepped in. We really appreciate their help
-My boss did a ton of dental work for me, even after he knew I'd be quitting. That was really, really nice of him. You'll all have to check out my new pearly whites
-And my hair is starting to grow. Yay!
While Ben and I have had to go to Cali a couple times, we used one of those times to also celebrate our 6th anniversary. We spent the day in San Francisco at Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf and went to the aquarium. If we are in a city with an aquarium, Ben will pretty much make us go (I like aquariums too, but Ben LOVES them).


When we got back, we bribed Benny by taking him to the zoo. When I say "bribe," it's actually just to make him like us again. He never wants to leave Grandma's house after we leave him for a bit, and we missed him, so we wanted him to be happy to see us. Here he is trying to take off--very normal, energetic boy.

Sorry to Ben that this is not the world's greatest pic, but I think it's so funny how Benny has an ear obsession. He sucks his thumb and either holds his ear or someone else's. It's his little comfort object. Kids do weird things.

I love/hate how independent this little bugger is. Now after bathtime I am not allowed to put lotion on him, HE must do it HIMSELF. I do help, though ;)

Ride 'em cowboy

I have had Colleen, this hobby horse, since I was a little girl. I was going to trash it in the upcoming move, but one day came home from work and found out what Ben and Benny do while I am gone.

I was amazed at the riding skills of this 18 month old boy. I kept waiting for him to fly off forward into his bookshelf, but he sure held on. So I guess we are keeping Colleen.

I

Bored

Ben will not stop talking about how bored he is. It's too late to do anything fun like watch a movie, but too early to go to bed. I decided I was bored too, and now would be a good time to write down a few things.

So, update on us:
We (ok, really more me) are stressed. We hate moving!

-Sale of the house fell through
-No place to live yet in Cali
-Job situation has minor glitch (ask Ben if you really want to know)

So I'm being a little "woe is me" and will stop lamenting, but I just have to vent those things somewhere. Everything is going to work out, I'm just tired at the moment and would like to see it start working out now, not later. I'm at the point I'd rather just stay here where we are comfortable.
But, it's not about taking the easy road or being comfortable, right? It's about doing what will be worthwhile in the end and what is right for us. And I know the right thing to do is to do this move.

Positives:

-Ben will like this job and enjoy the kids he'll be with
-I will get to stay home more with Benny and spend time with him
-No snow in No Cal! Yay!
-Closer in proximity to some of the grandparents

I'm sure one day I'll look back and say "all that stress was nothing. Look how great it turned out in the end." We just have to get past this stuff and look at the big picture. I tend to get sidetracked on the little things along the way and lose my focus.
I know everyone has things going on right now too; we've all just got different baggage, and this is ours at the moment.
So, for the next few weeks I am going to try to pack up that baggage and store it away and support Ben as he leaves on this venture. Three more days in Utah and he is outta here!
Good luck Ben!

Here Come the Newlyweds

Not us, by any means! It's a reality show we got addicted to on Monday nights. The finale was yesterday and I decided to post a quick thought since I take so long in between posts they are all going to be really long and no one will want to read them. Oh well, this is more for my journaling purposes, right?

So the show takes a bunch of newlywed couples and they have to carry out certain tasks and relay race type things every day, and each day they vote to eliminate someone. Each day the money pot grows bigger and in the end, someone will go home with it. Like "Survivor" but for newlyweds.

Well, the Corlisses were not your sugary sweet little couple. His whole body was tatooed, and she wore very little clothing, and what was there was very tight. First impression may not have been the most positive with them and they almost got voted off pretty much every week.
Guess who won..........
Yep, the Corlisses. I COULD NOT believe it.

As the show ended, Ben made another brief but deep thought. As in life, we get kicked down many times. But the best thing to do is pick yourself up and hang in there. And if you hang in there long enough, things can really turn out well in the end.
The Corlisses were so close to losing so many times, and they never quit; they just tried harder. They ended up growing closer as a couple and winning half a million dollars.
How's that for hanging in there!

Happy Birthday Ben and USA!

What a great day to celebrate Ben's birthday, the same day as our nation. He is even named partially after one of history's great men, Benjamin Franklin.
We started the festivities by having our friends Steve and Adrienne over for dinner and a game of Rock Band. I can't find the pic of all of them rocking out, but here is second best. Steve and Ben have known each other since high school and are very similar in a lot of ways. Steve had quite the knack for the guitar, and Adrienne was an "awesome" singer.
The next day we went to Ben's mom's and sister's house for a barbecue. Costco cake is the best!

Yes, Ben got a hammer for his birthday. And of course there's a story that goes with that.

And for the 1st time in 6 years, Ben let us go to fireworks! We wanted to take Benny and let him see all the lights. This is him during the fireworks show:

We ended up just parking the car outside Thanksgiving Point and letting him sleep while we sat on the grass on the side of the road. It was actually quite nice. I even took this lovely picture of us and our license plate:

Toward the end of the show everybody got in their cars and started driving away. All the headlights didn't add to the splendor of the show, and I commented how dumb it was that they would all leave during the fireworks finale, the best part. Why go to something if you're not going to stay to the end? This led to other questions: Why go to a game and leave before the last play? Why go to a conference and leave during the speaker's final comments? Why attend something if all you can think about is leaving in time to beat the traffic? If you are so concerned with how it's going to be leaving, can you really enjoy the whole event fully?

Ben commented that that is a problem for a lot of people in life. We are so concerned with the end result that we don't live in the moment. We don't take time to enjoy what we have now because we're worried about what comes later.

I enjoy spending time with Ben because he usually has little insights like that with pretty much everything we do, whether it be a stupid movie that really has nothing to do with anything, or something he heard someone say during the day. He always has an interesting thought and I am constantly learning from him (when he is not being a total goofball).

I'm proud to be an American, and I'm proud to be married to such a good and crazy guy! Happy birthday