AYUDA Terra Bella (a month late)

Pehrson and some of his peeps from school went to a city called Terra Bella, Ca last month. He had quite the experience. USC goes there every year and they have a really good reputation in this city. They dedicate about 3-4 days of free dental work at the local elementary school. It is pretty amazing and to say thanks the city showered them with gifts. Movie tickets, an entertainment pass where they got to ride the wave rider, lots of good food, and a pass to the skate park. Needless to say Pehrson had a good time.

The first of many Ayuda trips!

Chesebro Half-Marathon

It's true...we did it! And it was awesome. This was my first race and it definitely won't be my last. Last saturday us 5 girls left South Pasadena at 5 am. Not really knowing what we were about to get ourselves into. The race started at 7 am in Augora Hills. We started running with about 1300 other people. I was feeling good. We ran about 2 miles on road up to a trail and for the next 8 miles we ran on a rocky, dirt trail up the side of a mountain. Sometimes the trails were very narrow and there were tons of people in front and back of you, so you couldn't stop cause you would slow everyone else down. (Which was good cause it made you keep going) I had an ipod and just ran to some music. Every two or so miles people were passing out water and cheering you on! it was a blast. The last 3 miles were on road again and that was the longest part of the race, cause you are SO close...but still so far. I made it though! and my time was 2:14. Better than i thought it would be and for my first race (uphill) not to shabby. I averaged a 10 minute mile. So now that i got my feel i want more! And I couldn't have done it without these awesome girls. (who all did amazing!)

(Running pictures really aren't the most flattering, but just wanted to give you an idea.)

What's next you ask...well on april 10th i'm doing a sprint triathlon and then in june the plan is to do another half-marathon (but it's all downhill and pretty cheap) so hopefully that all works out.

This was so much fun! I think everyone should do one in their lifetime. It is very rewarding.

Good ol' Utah

Ryan Hawkley, got his mission call a couple weeks ago, He is going to Brazil (i can't remember which one) but he is very excited and SO ARE WE! I love knowing people on their missions, I love getting there inspiring letters every week. I think missionary work has got to be one of the most fulfilling things you can do in life. I haven't been on a mission..YET! But i know my day will come and i won't have any problems with my companion. =] Since we don't get to see Pehrson's family as much as we wished we decided to make the journey up to utah. And it was so much fun seeing them and taking a little break together. We drove up wednesday night and made it to Cedar City, we slept in our car in a hotel parking lot. Woke up to deer all around us and then drove to provo. I got a facial from my wonderful sister (sorry no pic). Pehrson relived some old memories and stopped at the provo skate park.

Love these pictures...i married a stud!

then meet up with the fam. Ryan decided to go through the draper temple. Man, what a choice, there are like a million temples in utah, and i am so glad he did. It was beautiful and everyone was so happy.

Then on friday we all went snowboarding/skiing at Brighton. It was fun! I had never been there and the weather was crazy. It would snow super hard while we were on the lifts and then be sunny on the way down the mountain. Couldn't ask for anything more...right?

Saturday part of the family took off and started their drive home. While the boys and I went to provo. We saw the happy engaged couple Annie and Jason (LOVE THEM), hung out with some of Pehrson's old friends, went to Ryan and Tysons soccer game, meet up with another on of my favorite couples Jessie and Dane Holmes at the V-ball game BYU vs. USC. We tried to represent with some USC colors, but unfortunately we lost. Next time boys, next time. (but to be honest i couldn't even tell you the score cause j and i were talking so much) I love having a friend that i've known for so long and have been through way too much with! Then we hung out with some more awesome people i've known forever. We drove down to St. George and stayed at Pehrson Aunt's house. We love them too. they are always so welcoming. Then drove the rest of the way home the next morning.

It was a quick trip. But, we loved seeing family and old faces. And luckily the weather was nice to us warm-blooded california folks. Congrats again Ryan. Can't wait to start getting those letters every week. (emails are fine to)

Baby Brooklyn

Took pictures of this cute girl. (please notice the painted toenails...LOVE)

So i'm working on a photography blog...more pictures to come. But, let me know if you are interested in getting some pictures taken. I LOVE taking pictures! And would LOVE to take yours. I'm still learning, but need subjects to work on...SO tell me and we will set up a time. Practice makes perfect...right!

Leo Carrillo Campgrounds

Last weekend we drove up to Malibu and did a little camping. The weather man was thankfully wrong, and it didn't rain on us till we were leaving. Most of the boys just finished mid terms, so they were ready for a break. It was fun just sitting around a fire, eating and talking...two of the things i do best! =]

And my favorite part is that we got to sleep in our car! It was amazing. We laid the seats flat and then put an air mattress on top of it. I think we need to get a twin mattress instead of a queen cause it kind of made a U-shape and we were forced to be touching all night...(picture below...morning hair!)

Pehrson has a little crush on this girl...I think she might have one on him too. And the best part is that she calls him "person" instead of pehrson. SO CUTE! ha i love it.

Here was our campsite. I had to work on friday so I arrived to the campsite at night and didn't get to see what our place 'really' looked like until the morning.

And what's better than starting your day off with a healthy breakfast full of roasted starbursts and marshmallows and a mini smore. Yummy!

Then a couple of people stayed behind and went down to the beach to do a little surfing. It was a fun little longboard day. And we saw lots of dolphins.

Once everyone was on there way home Pehrson and I stayed behind and explored this beautiful city of malibu. We fell in love with it! There was a little pocket of sun just on this city and if you turned around you could see the dark clouds approaching.

We found this cliff overlooking (i think point doom) i can't remember. But it was gorgeous, we kind of felt like we were back in hawaii for a second. Nothing makes us happier than sun, sand and waves.

We will definitely be making some more trips to malibu! We loved it...

(thank you Lindsay for some of these pictures)

Our Projects

Okay so as some of you may know Pehrson and I moved to Los Angeles from Hawaii and brought everything we owned in the back of one truck. It mostly just consisted of clothes and wedding gifts. No furniture, no bed, no table...basically Nothing! So slowly, but surely, we have some things that we can now call our own. Almost everything we bought was from craigslist or garage sales, or thrift stores that we would try and fix them up or paint them. Basically our living room and little balcony have been project rooms since we moved here in september. Nights and nights of sanding, and painting and finishing. It's been fun and i think that this will be something Pehrson and I will always love to do. We just have to do it in spurts so we don't get burnt out to quickly.

We worked on this table the longest! We were so happy when this one was done. The paint has stayed on great so far, so we are glad we took our time. (but it took FOREVER!)

We bought a filing cabinet (you can kind of see it below) from goodwill. It is a metal cabinet with wallpaper on it. Sounds weird, but we love it. And then Pehrson found an old metal school desk in the basement at USC and bought it for like 20 bucks. He was the mastermind behind the desk, painted a pin-stripe on it and everything. (i think its the dentist in him).

My mom is a teacher and she moved classrooms this summer and had an extra shelf that we painted. We thought we got a more grey color, but when we painted it turned out more blue. We like it though. (notice the cardboard and tarp on the floor thats how our apartment was for months! I never took a picture of the shelf with all its stuff on it, but you get the idea)

When Pehrson was gone this last summer for 5 weeks i had to stay busy so the time went by faster. I decided to try and sew a duvet cover. It wasn't as bad as I thought and if i can do, everyone can!

I also attempted to paint...i am not an artist...it kind of looks like a 5 year old painted it. But, it's still a work in progress, I think.

We also got these white couches from craigslist. People a.k.a "our moms" think we are crazy for buying white couches but they have covers and you can just take them off and clean them. Plus we done have kids...yet!

So that's what we have been doing since september whenever we get a chance. I don't think the projects will ever end. But i kind of like it that way.

Next on our list:

-a bed frame (or just a headboard)

-paint our bikes

-P is in the process of shaping a surfboard

-I am looking for a new surfboard

-bedside tables

-tv stand

...it can go on and on. We are learning a lot and every time we start a new project we remember what works and what doesn't. So hopefully someday we will master it and while we are in school and trying to save a penny or two, it makes it fun to think of cheap ways to decorate.

Ayuda (it means help in Spanish)

Once a month Pehrson and his fellow USC dental students volunteer a saturday and have a free clinic offered to low income families around Los Angeles. He LOVES this because he actually gets to work on real teeth and help assist the upper class man. Here is a picture of him working on this little girl, who has never had her teeth looked at before and she was very scared. But once they were done she was happy and realized that her teeth didn't hurt anymore she was so excited that gave Pehrson a big hug! He came home and told me all about it and how excited he was that someday he will be helping a lot of people and how fun and accomplishing that will feel.

He applied to be the ayuda class representative and got chosen along with another girl and he was pumped about it. They do these clinics every month and then once a year they get to travel somewhere awesome and do service over there. This april they are going to a little island in Panama...I know lucky dog! Unfortunately wives don't get to go, but Pehrson said that he will scope out the area and if its safe enough he will bring me back there in a couple years. (HA we will see) But anyways, I'm so proud of him and glad that he is in a field that he enjoys.

on a side note: I went to the dentist on monday to get a little cavity filled...lets just say that it will be great to not have pay for that service in a couple years! =]