California Dreamin'

Wow, we pounded the pavement in LA for three days - in business meetings, hunting areas and attending wards.  Everyone in PHX asks - why would you ever want to live in LA?  Well, meet our dream neighhborhood - Via la Selva in Rancho Palos Verdes Estates.  No words can describe what we saw in this area.  Beach to the west, hillside rustic retail and libraries and all within a throw of LA, but without LA prices.  We are smitten.  Think Father of the Bride neighborhood.  

Our good friends from Keller Williams have this listing.  It is PENDING and sold in days.  They call it the "Leave it to Beaver Home."  When we drove by Taani was thrilled this stuff existed.  They all look like this.  A bit beyond what we are looking for now, but our next house for sure!

We collapsed on the plane.  What a weekend and now we know there are places like this around LA.  Between this and Manhattan Beach we're in.  

This house is now on our vision board. 

We also loved the beach urban area and ward of Manhattan Beach, CA.  Just south of LAX beyond El Sagundo.  I am told the home from the movie Jerry Macguire is in the  area we loved - The Tree Section.

Supposedly this is the home from the movie.  Yup Tom Cruise was here.

The Tree Section offers little homes at big prices, but we love it.  Blocks from the beach and all the offerings of the vibrant city of Manhattan Beach with access to all things city (no need to get on the interstates).  The schools are some of the best in the state and we felt at home in the ward yesterday.

What to do, what to do.  

We are up for the adventure!

It Was A BYU Kinda Christmas

It takes a village they say...well, thanks Grandpa Tom for helping us get BYU in their heads early.  He learned West got a BYU jersey and in true Secrist fashion got the helmet, pants and another jersey with pads to go with.  Go BIG or go HOME. Go Cougars...no devil pitch forks in this family (and yes that's a big wad of gum in his mouth).

Secrist Christmas 2011!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011!

Go Cougars!

Tap shoes and Sushi

Did you know that Ryan knows how to tap?  Quite well, actually.  Neeley begged him to dust them off and show her a few moves.  She is still chanting...shuffle, step, shuffle, step, heel, ball change.....

Hattie and I went to a fun mother daughter "Minute to Win It" activity and had to dress as a pair.  I found the cutest little pattern and voila! Sushi complete with ginger, wasabi, and sushi grass and soy sauce! Fun activity and even more fun to watch her laugh at herself even with much older girls around.  May I just brag and say that we even tied for second place!  I know, that's just how we "roll."  Get it? 

Escaping the heat!

Labor day is way too hot in Phoenix so we escaped to beautiful, cool LaJolla! 

We even wore sweaters...okay, sweaters with swimsuits underneath, but still.  

How many photos can your phone take?

Mine can take 391. Wanna know how I know this?

I have about 3 pictures of this.

380-something pictures of something like this.

And about 7 pictures of this.

All this was a result of being shut in a super tiny piano studio for an hour for the girls weekly lessons and desperately needing Westy to stay quiet. Was it worth using all my phone's camera space for an hours worth of quiet? You better believe it. (The tire sticker on his forehead is how we spent the first few minutes before he found the phone.)

Channeling our inner Corban

My little nephew, Corban is such an animal lover. I have never seen a little boy quite like him. He constantly carries around frogs, lizards, snakes, anything creepy and crawly. He loves them and has absolutely NO fear. When we were camping together a few weeks ago he said to his mom, "mom, I just want to kiss a feeog" (I love the way he says Frog) Not long ago, we were outside talking to some neighbors and Hattie came with this little guy. The pictures are less than great but you get the idea. A lizard!

Good thing he was a slow baby because we would otherwise need Corbie to get it for us.