I thought I would take a little break in the Europe travels to share a little about life here in California! It has been wonderful living in beautiful Cali that I still feel like I'm sharing vacation photos even though this, for us, is ordinary life. We are so happy to have the opportunity to live in this beautiful state. And even happier that we get to share it with friends who come to visit!

In September when it had just turned to fall in California, Mr. Finter's friends drove down for the weekend. On Saturday Mr. Finter took everyone out to enjoy the different beaches in the area. First they went out to Balboa and then went up to Huntington to find better waves. Although it was windy and cold on the beach (and even colder in the water) the men were excited to get thrashed in the waves! 

Here are a few shots from our adventures.

The four men making their way out to the larger set of waves.

What a windy day!

 

The ladies were all pretty bundled up as it was SO cold that day. And here is Leah's Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet and carry her back to a warm car! 

Tim and Rachel, soon to be married. Isn't this couple so sweet!

We love when our friends come to visit! The moment you left, we said "Oh, can't wait til next time!"

Four Months

Some days it is hard to believe that I haven't been married longer than just four sweet months. It's not that time passes slowly, but rather that I just feel like Mr. Finter and I have always been together. How funny love can be. It can take two people who have never even seen each other before and in a year make them belong so deeply to each other that they are one.  I love being married. I have never laughed so often, never smiled so much, never loved the ordinary moments more and never been a better version of myself than I have in being loved by Mr. Finter. Here are a few glimpses of our first four months as Mr. and Mrs. Finter.

We celebrated returning to DC, this time married, by going to back to where we got engaged -- the monuments -- for our very first Family Home Evening activity. 

The Jefferson all frozen over.

We will soon be Californians!

Isn't Mr. Finter so handsome?

Mr. Finter bought me an iPhone. I adore it!

The Washington D.C. Temple

Our first home.

And then soon after, we got locked ourselves out.

Our DC friends taught us the art of archery!

We've had the best date nights running through rain storms in Georgetown, biking along the Potomac, holding hands in Alexandria and just being lazy at home.