Sisters Day

Yesterday was a sisters day out in Huntington Beach. Kristina works at Nordstrom in the fragrance department and so Alla and I met her at work to sample perfume, have lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe and just hang out together. It was so fun and it was neat to see Kristina in her element- she really knows designer perfumes and how to match your personality with a fragrance. I love my sisters so much and I'm so thankful to have them as my best friends!
Alla and I made a stop into Bath & Body works...great sale going on right now by the way in case you're starting to think about Christmas shopping.

At lunch...we probably were way too loud in the cafe, but we can't help laughing and having fun together...it's what we do. :)

Date Night

We had our first date night in dental school on Saturday. Jared took a break from studying for the afternoon and we headed out to Pasadena to hang out, enjoy a nice dinner (courtesy of Jared's mentor, Dr. Grummons- thank you!!!) and then stay over night. Date nights like this won't happen as often, simply because it takes too much time away from studying, but we sure enjoyed our time together to relax and get out of Loma Linda for a night. We met Kim, Jared's sister for breakfast the next morning and then all went to church together in L.A. The quality time with her today was priceless...she's such a blessing in our life!
Downtown Old Pasadena- a great place to shop and walk around!

If you ever have a sweet tooth in Pasadena we highly recommend Dots Cupcakes- this place was awesome! The cupcakes are like none we've ever had- here we tried chocolate/coconut, vanilla with chocolate, carrot cake and then chocolate with chocolate. We will be back for sure!

I had to add this picture because it's so hilarious- Jared's 10 day mustache he and a bunch of his dental school buddies decided to grow until it was time to shave it off for a community clinic service event. I've never seen Jared with facial hair like this in my life and let's just say, I was happy when it came time to shave it! :)

Life in Dental School

I know this picture is as bad as when you're mom made you stand out side the house the first day of kindergarten, but one day we'll definitely want to share the "first day of dental school" picture to our kids :)

Life changes the minute dental school starts...this is what we have been waiting for for a long time and it feels really good to finally have things moving. :) There is no transition into school-it all hits at once and it's been said the 1st quarter of dental school is "like trying to drink from a fire hydrant." Jared has classes/lab from 8-5 everyday except Friday, breaks for dinner with me, and then spends the evenings studying. The key to this journey is balance and after week one we are doing our best to keep balance and make this adventure an...adventure. We have made some necessary adjustments that simplify our life and I'm really starting to realize just how different we live our lives right now. It's sometimes a little comical actually so I thought I'd share a little with you...

We both ride our bikes everyday to the school for work/school, so because the car sits Monday-Friday now, we got a car cover. There's no time anymore for it's weekly washing that Jared used to give it, but it's great to still have a clean car to drive on the weekends.

Jared's study set up-elevated computer to keep the neck aches away from staring at the computer for hours viewing PowerPoint slides, and the dry erase board positioned so that I can still watch TV when I want and not distract Jared.

Breakfast on the go is a must...the fridge door is now always fully stocked with Odwalla bars and banana & zucchini bread that I've made and individually wrapped so Jared can just grab and go in the morning. Oh...and Snickers are a great boost of energy.

This is what Jared looks at all day right now- Bio Chem, Anatomy & Phisiology, and Histology. It's a whole different language to me.

Let the journey begin...

Our camera is in Best Buy's hands right now (and has been for 3 weeks) getting it's yearly servicing (it pays to get the warrantly package on your camera...). So that is why there have been no recent photos of what we've been up to. We should have it back next weekend so we can start blogging again, but in the meantime here is a brief update on what we've been up to:

-Went out to Las Vegas Labor Day weekend to spend time with Jared's parents and sister. Had so much fun with them and loved being able to catch up after quite awhile.
-I'm back into the swing of things at work after our long vacation and thankful for my "family" at the dental school that make life so enjoyable in Loma Linda.
-Jared and his brother Nate went hiking for a day up at Mt. Baldy for the first time, and then Nate came over for dinner and an evening walk with us.
-We went out to Santa Barbara yesterday for the day and had a great time! It is wine month in Cali and so we visited a wine tasting room and got to sample 19 wines for $8! Yeah...what a deal and the wine was incredible! Walked all around State Street in and out of shops, had a delicious dinner at Opal (Julia Child ate there for her 90th birthday- we felt pretty cool that we picked a place where she would eat), and finished the evening with a walk along the beach and out to the Santa Barbara pier. We are in love with Santa Barbara and plan to go back around the Christmas season. The locals say S.B. is the closest thing to being in a city on the coast of Italy- wish we could have taken pictures, but for now will have the mental pictures in our heads until next time we go and then share it all with you!

Jared begins school tomorrow, so we are excited to fully begin the dental school adventure and get into our new "schedule of life." Please keep him in your prayers, especially as he adjusts to the rigor of the schedule and balances life with schoool. Dental school is 8-5 everyday, with 8 classes his first quarter and that doesn't count in the numerous hours he will spend studying and in the labs. He will be very, very busy! :)

Fall begins on Tuesday- our favorite season of the year. Happy Autumn everyone!