Oakland Temple in my Backyard

Another bonus to Moraga is that it is 15 minutes to the Oakland temple. My parents actually get to see the temple every Sunday as they go to church as the Stake Center, which is located right next to the temple.

Pats "sick" mustache.

(The definition of "sick" can be taken either way)

My bro, Tyler.

My beautiful momma.

Fun with the Brewsters

Our good friends, Mariah and Doug Brewster, from Provo moved to San Francisco this past summer.

Mariah has been my friend since 2003, when I just happened to move into an apartment for a summer term. Since then we have experience life's events almost simultaneously. From missions to weddings we experienced it all together within weeks.

We got to spend only 2 days with them, but it was better than nothing.

The first night we went to an amazing Thai restaurant right next to Doug and Mariah's apartment. Pat and I absolutely LOVE Thai food, but this restaurant was one of the best! I am still dreaming about it and can't wait until we can go back.




The next day we went on a hike in a canyon that is right next to my house.

This is why California is called the "Golden State."



I have been seeing this pose everywhere these days.
So we tried it out.
What do you think?

We had so much fun with hanging out with the Brewster's, even if it was for a few days. We are hoping that we can move to San Francisco so we can be neighbors again.

Moraga, California

Upon leaving NYC we flew straight to my hometown of Moraga, California; home of Saint Mary's College and my childhood. I have never loved this place more than when I visited this past month. Growing up we nicked named the town "Bore-aga" due to it lack of entertainment and excitement.



However, now I see it much differently. Tucked away behind the hills of Oakland lies a town in a valley with a little more than 16,000 people. With no freeway exit, the town has remained virtually untouched from the hubbub of the nearby cities of Oakland and San Francisco. Within minutes you can be deep in a Redwood forrest or in the heart of "The City by the Bay."



While we were there we enjoyed the small town life while visiting with family and friends.



Moraga's theme song is "The Hills of Moraga" written by Mrs. Carol St Claire:

     The hills of Moraga, are calling to me
Home in Moraga, that's where I long to be,
I traveled so far over land and the sea,
But the hills of Moraga, are calling to me.

     I've traveled by car, and I've journeyed by train
I've sailed on the ocean and I've flown in a plane
I've been the east and I've been to the west
But the hills of Moraga's the place I love the best.

Oh, I've been to Paris, and I've been to Rome,
And still I remember, the fair hills of my home,
The world's full of places that I'd like to see,
But the hills of Moraga, are calling to me.

The hills of Moraga, are calling to me.

Renter's Insurance

Well, after an unusual absence from our blog, we do have an excuse: our apartment flooded.

The second night back in Provo, Pat and I arrived home late one night to a ceiling full of waterfalls all throughout our 2 bedroom apartment.

To save you from the long, boring details (I am so sick of this story) our upstairs neighbors were out-of-town when their hose to their washing machine broke. We do not know how long the water was pouring into their apartment for, but it was long enough to have their apartment submerged in 2 inches of water. Then when the water could not longer go up, it came down; running down into our ceiling, walls, and covering half our apartment in 2 inches of water as well.

To make a VERY long story short, we have been staying in hotels and friends and families homes for a little over a week, and will continue to be nomads for another 2+ weeks. We did have renter's insurance (thank goodness) so that is covering the hotel stays. However, we only have $2,000 to cover those expenses so we have to be careful with our spending because we do not know how long the rebuilding process will take.

Being "nomads" has been very hard on me. I never realized how important it is for me to have a "home base." Yet, despite all the frustrations and inconveniences we are so thankful for our friends and family who allow us to crash at their place whenever we need it.

15 Minutes...

Pat and I are back in my hometown, Moraga, Ca, for a week before we drive to Provo. We finally got to see our debut on Wendy Williams.

Little Red Light House

Tonight I am able to cross off one of my "to dos" before we leave New York—visit the "Little Read Light House." It has been rated one of the most under-rated attractions in New York City by NFT, and that was definitely the case. We went with the Harding's and enjoyed the gorgeous view and took tons of pictures.

...nights like this.

Last night a bunch of us BYU kids went out to have a night on the town.

We met up at

Casey and Todds home in the East Village to go eat dessert.

Pat and I haven't spent much time on that area of Manhattan but the few times we have gone we just fall in love with the quaint shops and the interesting people.

We went to Momofuku- Milk Bar, and let me tell ya...IT WAS AMAZING!

It had an array of delicious deserts that made it impossible to decided which one to pick. With cakes selling for $90 we had to limit our selection.


Pat and I ended up getting a slice of Banana Cake (to DIE for), a Chocolate-Chocolate cookie (so thick and moist), and a Cornflake Marshmellow Chocolate-Chip cookie (the most amazing cookie I have ever tasted in my life...hands down).

Some of the gang.
(Left to Right: Casey, Carly, Robby, Kelsey, Kylie)

The most amazing cookie ever to exsit.


Carly...too cute for words.

After indulging ourselves in deserts we hung out at Union Square with the hipsters and skaters.

We leave NYC on Tuesday. We are going to miss nights like this.

Word of the Day—Kitschy

Kitschy, but always fun, Photoshop Effects where all you do is upload picture here.

Kitsch (kich): the German and Yiddish word denoting art that that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste; often of poor quality and is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value.

The Last Supper

(Real Coconut Juice in a Coconut)

This past Tuesday night our roomies, Nate and Meri, and us went to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. It was our last meal together as they were leaving the next day.

You would think that Pat and I would be excited to have the apartment all to ourselves, but that was not the case in the least. We LOVED living with Nate and Meri. They were the absolute perfect people to live with and we miss them desperately.

Book Review: Speak

I have been picking up books for a dollar at my favorite book store, Strand and Book-Off. It is a little hard because there are so many books to sift through and you never know what you are getting yourself into when you start a book you haven't heard about. I have started a few books and have stopped due to boredom and inappropriate subject matter.

I picked this one up a couple of weeks ago and was excited to find a book I had heard about. I knew it was a young adult novel and that was enough credibility for me.

Summary:
Something has happened that has traumatized Melinda and transformed her from a good student with close friends into a withdrawn selective mute- she speaks only when absolutely necessary. Melinda keeps everything inside and it eats her alive. Harassed and tormented by her classmates and mostly ignored by her busy parents, she falls deeper into a depression; cutting class, forgetting to wash her hair, spacing out, gnawing on her lips until they are cracked and bleeding. Even her one friend, a cheery transplant from another school who is desperate to fit in somewhere, finally gives up on her, saying she is always negative and calling her a freak. But no one knows the torment Melinda is going through. As her grades slip and her social status plummets, she finds solace in art class. Her year-long art project is something she can get lost in and ultimately something that helps her heal.

It was a typical teenager book that all junior high and high schoolers would just love. With that said, of course I really enjoyed it. It wasn't the best book ever but the character was quirky and the story kept me engaged. It brought me back to the uncivilized days of high school where everyone feels like an outcast regardless of who you are. Plus, it also had an art teacher that made a difference to her and who made her feel normal and accepted. This is what I used to dream of when I was studying to become an art teacher. I wanted to be that person for someone; however, we all know how that turned out...I still have nightmares of student teaching.

Anyways, it is a quick read, so if you ever see it for $1 or can borrow it from a friend...go for it!

The Oldest and Youngest Storm Sisters in NYC

My sister Jodi came and visited us this past week and it was a blast! Here are some of the things we go to do...

We saw Mary Poppins. We were a little dissapointed. It was cute and would have been great for kids, but we both prefer Wicked.



Even though it was really hot while Jodi was here, everyday there was a down pour of rain. On the first day here we got caught in a thunderstorm and didn't have an umbrella. Needless to say we got soaked.

We paid our tribute to the King of Pop.

Pat got us tickets to th Wendy Williams Show and it was a BLAST!!!! We were all V.I.P and got special treatment. I am pretty sure we were all on T.V. but since we don't have a T.V. I havent been able to watch the episode yet. But the exciting part was that Jodi almost had her own personal cameo.
Before the show they have you write down a question for Wendy. Jodi asked "I have always wanted to adopted a black baby. But I am worried it would feel different because we are a white family and live in Utah. What should I do?"
They had people coach her on how to phrase the question, but at the last minute we think that Wendy Williams didn't want to answer the question because it was a little too deep and controversial.



Eat Indian food at my absolute favorite restaurant in NYC. It was a tiny little restaurant full of lights hanging from the ceiling. The restaurant was located next two and on top of 4 identicle Inidan restaurant. When you approached the restaurants we had 4 Indian men yelling at us to pick their restaurant. I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

Jodi played in some water fountains.

It has been one of the coldest summers in NYC history. But of course when Jodi was here it got real hot and muggy. It was around 80 everyday but according to accuweather.com it felt like 95 and had 95% humidity! I don't mind the heat, but it is the humidity that kills you.

We took a ferry to Staten Island.

We took a stroll around Central Park.

(sorry...we have a lot of kissing pictures.)

We saw a car fire in Harlem.

And of course we had to go to the Apollo for Amateur Night. Jodi didn't like the booing much...she's too nice...I LOVE it!

Spent a night in Little Italy.

We saw the Blue Man Group and it was AWESOME! It was in a really small venue, with about 100 people. This made it really personal. It was so much fun. (P.S. Jodi bought me that really cute hat I am wearing! THANKS JOD!)

As you can see we were very busy and did tons. Thanks for coming Jodi! It was so much fun!