Here are some photos of our new apartment:

In the last picture, you can see in that little entryway the bathroom door to the left, the bedroom straight ahead, the coat closet door to the right, and the front door is to the right but you can't see it. The bedroom is a little bit bigger than our old one and the bathroom is about the same size. I tried taking photos of those, but they turned out strange and didn't really capture how they look, so I guess you will have to come see them for yourself :).

Since I last wrote, there has been a big change! On Monday, August 10th, we were checking apartment prices in our complex because our lease is ending soon and we wanted to try to figure out if they would be raising our rent. A place was available for $240 less a month with 50 more square feet, a more open floor plan, wood floors and other renovations, and on the second floor! It's also closer to the pool/hot tub :). The only tricky aspect was that we had to sign for it right away and move in that weekend.

My sister was her usual helpful self and when she visited us from Tuesday to Sunday helped us pack and move during what was supposed to be a vacation for her. Luckily, she still got plenty of pool, hot tub, sunbathing, reading, and relaxing in. We took her to our favorite restaurants, and a cream puff shop and an amazing Turkish Coffee shop. We also skipped work Friday and took her body boarding at Half Moon Bay. I think this was her fifth time visiting, we love having her stay with us! And Shinobi adores her.

We are almost all settled and set up in our new place. It has so much more natural light and feels more cheery. I will post photos soon.

This past Friday we went to a really great burger place with the Bells. It's called The Counter and the great part about it is that you design your own burger. Bun, patty, cheese, toppings, sauce, and more and they have the best sweet potato fries, onion rings, and regular fries. We have been there a couple times, but each time is like the first time all over again because it is so fantastic. There, a shout-out for The Counter...

The Bells are expecting their baby to be due in only a month! I can't believe how fast time has flown by! We hung out poolside with them after church and chatted about the big change coming in their future. I think it will be fun to see how they parent, they are both just so right on about everything.

I spent a lot of Saturday getting decorations and recipes together for the Bells' baby shower Charissa and I are throwing for them this coming Sunday. Jonathan spent the day finishing up his final paper for his advertising class, which he did very well in. We rewarded ourselves for our hard work by vegging out Saturday night while watching the show "Avatar: The Last Airbender". It is supposed to be a show for kids, but we are hooked! It is a delightful combination of humor, action, and randomness. We die laughing each episode, but are glued to the screen at the same time. You've just got to watch it for yourself.

And on a garden note: I made some calzone and put fresh basil from our garden in it! Talk about a rewarding feeling!

This week is moving along quickly and we expect another fun weekend ahead!

I had a very pleasant birthday week. On Tuesday my Bible study ladies surprised me and took me out for dessert at a really great place. On Wednesday (my birthday) Jonathan took me to a Filipino restaurant I have wanted to go to for a while that was delicious and we got some ice cream and took the dog for a nice long walk. Thursday night we went to the Bells' house to hang out. Friday night we went to the Shulls' house to hang out. And Saturday we got up early for a day of bodyboarding with our new wetsuits and boards. The waves were huge and we even saw a seal that kept launching its body fully out of the water. On Sunday we went to the Littaus' house for a dog playdate and dinner.

We're still plugging away at work, our "G100X" workout, church, Bible study groups, and daytripping. Life is quite good in this season.

Time for a "garden" update: The basil is looking almost ready to eat, the strawberries are healthy-looking but no fruit yet, and I gave up on the chives and oregano and planted more strawberries and basil and the second basil already has little sprouts!

And an exercise update: Beginning tomorrow morning, we will be doing our own exercise routine creation based mostly on P90X. We liked the foundation P90X gave us, but we got tired of some of the exercises and the host's commentary, and we want to work more muscle groups at a time each day. But we have loved feeling more healthy and energetic.

This weekend we went to ComedySportz with two other couples for some improv. We laughed so hard we almost threw up (seriously). It was a lot of fun. We also saw Harry Potter which was a pretty good movie and hung out with our church buddies after church. It was a pretty laid back weekend to try to recuperate from our trip North.