Do you want sauce with that. . .

So Gary and I went out to Red Robin the other night. We finally had our food dropped off and the girl asked if we needed anything else. Well, I felt like something was missing, so I asked the girl if she could bring out some fry sauce. I glanced at Gary, who had a small smile on his face, and looked back at the girl. She smiled and asked me what kind of sauce I would like for my fries . . . and then it hit me! Fry Sauce is kind of a Utah thing. She had no idea what I was talking about, and Gary had already figured it out, which is why he was smiling at me! Thanks a lot Gary!

So I asked her to bring out some mayo, I figured I would just make my own fry sauce. It is not something I usually need with my fries, but after years of eating at Red Robin when Gary worked there, to me Red Robin fries just don't taste the same without it. When she came back to drop it off she suggested that I try dipping my fries in Ranch dressing. I think that she must have thought that I was going to dip my fries in mayo, which is disgusting, so she wanted to give me a better option, Ranch dressing. Nice girl, but that wasn't going to be necessary.

Anyway, we had a good laugh about it!

Mmmm, Donut . . .

What do all of these pictures have in common?

That's right! They are all donut shops! But not only are they all donut shops, but they are all donut shops that are practically within walking distance of our apartment! There are donut shops everywhere here. In Salt Lake, if you wanted a donut, you don't have too many options; the grocery store, Krispy Kreme, Banbury Cross. But in San Diego, if you feel a donut craving coming on just look for the next strip mall or shopping complex. These little shops are all over the place! I don't know how they stay in business. I mean there are SO MANY of them, and donuts don't cost that much! (anyone have $0.60?) How many donuts do you think each of these places have to sell to pay their rent every month? And it's not like they are available to collect your change all day either, they all close around noon. Peterson's is the only place we've seen where you can get a donut after dark because they are open 24 hrs.

Sunday at the Beach . . .

We went to the dog beach in Del Mar this past Sunday. We hadn't been there for a while, and the weather was beautiful (about 80 degrees) so we had to take advantage of it. Apparently everyone felt the same way because there was practically no where to park, but Gary managed (with his super-hero-like automotive maneuvering skills) to sneak us into this very tight parking spot that no one else had the nerve to try. Of course, coupling Gary's mad skills, with our tiny tank makes squeezing into tiny spaces much more possible. We took a picture, but it really doesn't do it justice.

Jack, as always, was in puppy heaven! He did his straight-legged happy prance all over the beach, checking out all the dogs, and of course saying hello to all the people. He kept running back and forth past us with this funny, sappy grin plastered across his face. He loves it there! He stayed far away from the water and just ran up and down the beach. He loves to run along with dogs that are running, but as soon as they run into the water he stops running with them and runs along the edge instead. His being dry didn't last forever, however. Gary always tries to work with him and tries to ease his discomfort with the waves. He is a good dog-dad. Jack ends up being soaked at the end and then we have to trek back to the car through the dry sticky sand. Needless to say, our car now needs a good vacuuming! We had a great time!

The route we take to and from the beach leads us past a street called "Ave de Diablo", which means something like "Street of the Devil". Gary always says the name of the street in his best "horror-movie"-type voice. It is so funny! It always makes me laugh!

Called to Serve . . .

About two months after we moved in Gary and I were both given callings in our ward. Gary was called to be a Sunday School teacher. He teaches the 12-13 year olds every week. Think about it, he has to prepare insightful, spiritual, and interesting lessons to keep 12 and 13 year old kids tuned-in for an entire hour every week. It is a pretty intense calling! But, he is an excellent teacher and works hard to help them understand and appreciate the material every week. He also accomplishes this without bribing the kids with treats. He really is amazing!
A few weeks after Gary accepted his calling I was called to be the a Secretary in the Young Women's organization. Personally, I think this is one of the best callings in the entire church! You get to work with the young women, go to camp (this one might be if-y this year, because it is scheduled for the first few days in July, right close to "baby time"), do lots of service activities, and have tons of fun! It is the best! In the few months between my leaving the Young Women in Midvale and joining the Young Women in Escondido they added a new value to the program. The value is Virtue and it's color is gold. So every week when we stand and say the theme I have to remember to add Virtue the the list of values. Sort of like a mini pop-quiz. Some days I pass and some days I fail, but I am getting better.
In addition to our callings we are also attending monthly "Couples Family Home Evening" with a bunch of other couples and the missionaries. The missionaries for our area live in our apartment complex (we see them sometimes when we are out walking Jack in the evening, in our shorts and flip flops). There have been three different missionaries since we moved in and they have all been from Utah, which we think is awesome! For the Couples FHE the missionaries teach our of their missionary manual and help us learn how to become better member missionaries. It is fun! We will be meeting again next Monday.

February Showers bring March Flowers . . .

We dedicate this post to our ongoing campaign to convince our family and friends to move here to beautiful, sunny San Diego!

Well folks, it is officially Spring in Southern California!

Here are some pictures of the beautiful flowers that are happily blooming all around us . . .

(This last picture was taken on our way out to the beach last weekend. Not only is it a beautiful manion on a hillside overlooking the ocean, but their entire backyard is a field of purple wildflowers!)

Not only are flowers blooming, and birds singing, but we walk the dog every night in shorts and flip flops. Well, if you need a break from the freezing gray wasteland that you are currently enjoying feel free to come and visit us. You can join us while we shop around for a home. We are finding amazing home prices everywhere we look. You too could be enjoying all of these great perks with us.

Just think it over . . .

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my . . .

This last Saturday Gary and I went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. We had purchased an annual pass when we went to the San Diego Zoo for my birthday in January, but we hadn't gotten around to going to the Park until now, even though it is in Escondido, which is so much closer than the Zoo. So we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and have a little adventure.

The Wild Animal Park is very similar to the zoo, except they have a huge plot of land at the back of the park where they have a bunch of animals together, kind of like a wildlife preserve. We saw rhinos and giraffes and gazelles hanging out together. You can take a tour of the preserve part in the back of a truck, or they also offer a Segway tour, which Gary and I decided we would really like to do. They also offer you the chance to stay overnight at the Park, called the Snore n' Roar. The tents that you stay in are on the edge of the preserve and just a little ways off from the Lions. Awesome!

Here is a collage of a bunch of the highlights from our day:

(the condor that posed for his picture, bonsai tree at the bonsai gardens, right up close with a big-horn sheep, blue billed duck, "mini" elephants, monkey and baby, really tiny deer-like animals, poisonous frog, giant parrots, Gary comparing himself to the gorillas, at the bird show)

While we were there we attended the Bird Show, and also a "game show" program where you learn more about the different animals and then you get to see them up close with their trainers. Gary was chosen to be one of the contestants for the game show. The other contestant only got answers right when the host-lady gave them to him, or let him make multiple guesses. Lame! But it was really fun anyway, and Gary got a free elephant bookmark for participating! With freebies like that we will definintely be coming back!

Miles and Miles . . .

The other day my 1997 VW Golf, appropriately nicknamed "The Tank", turned over 200,000 miles! We caught it on video for everyone to enjoy along with us . . .



TA-DA!
(Disclaimer: This video was obviously filmed while driving, something that I assure you we don't usually do, and something that we don't recommend trying on your own in the interest of your personal safety)
This car just keeps going and going and going and hardly ever needs any special attention beyond the usual oil change. Yeah Volkswagen! (Needless to say we are big fans!)