I can't believe that August is nearly over. It seriously has flown by! The first two weeks were filled with lots of photoshoots for me (and now I'm back to square one on building a clientele, so if you or anyone you know is in the southern california area, visit my site!
melindapaynephotography.com), studying for Eric, family time, friend time, weddings, doctors visits and getting the rest of our lives boxed up to move to California! I knew it would be busy and stressful, but it was INSANE. Every day, all day, we had things going on. Really, the past few weeks are kind of a blur to me. I sit here in our new house thinking "This all didn't really happen!" But indeed it did, and I even have a few pictures to prove it! The drive down flew by, and before we knew it, we were unpacking for our new life! We are all settled in our new place now. Our room is almost all ready, and once it is I'll post pictures of it! Eric started school back up last week, we got our drivers license's, and now we are waiting for him to get a job! Eric's parents have been SO amazing in welcoming us here. They love having us around and I love seeing Eric so happy to be home. Here's a few of the things that have happened this past month!
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| 19 Weeks!! Now I'm almost 23.. I'll get these going again now that we're settled! |
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| Look at our baby girl!! This shot was so clear, and we were both SO happy to see our adorable baby :) This was her 20 week ultra sound. It was so sad to say goodbye to my midwife who've I've been seeing for 3 years, but I'm excited for a new OB here! |
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| Triple Shower! Me and my sister Jess (left) are both pregnant with little girls (she's 5 weeks ahead of me, which is so fun). and my sister Angela (middle) got married! So many presents... :) |
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| My sister Angela's wedding day! This day was so special and beautiful. Her and Dan were SO happy and they are so in love. I can't think of a more perfect man for my amazing sister. She deserves everything! Hopefully I'll get to post some more pictures from this day soon! |
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| Our friends Kari and Will bought their first house and had a party! We met so many fun people, it was a blast! |
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| On our last official day in Utah, Eric took his national exam to become a certified pharmacy technician. He's been working his bum off all summer with this program and locked himself in our room for weeks studying, so I had no doubt he'd pass :) My parents and I took him out to lunch, and told him to choose. He chose Paco's Tacos, which is a cheap, slightly sketchy little mexican joint connected to a gas station in Centerville. It was delish. I'm so proud of him and all of his hard work!! He's an amazing husband and already and amazing father :) I couldn't feel more blessed. |
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Moving is scary. Especially to place where I hardly know anyone. Where we live is twice the size of Bountiful, and it's really not that big.. haha California is very different from what I'm used to, but it's beautiful. I found this on Pinterest right after we moved and it was SO perfect for how I was feeling. Right now I'm in a really uncomfortable in a new place with new people, but Eric is my family and I always have him to lean on :) I love his guts.
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| Eric's parents took us to a Dodger game the first week we were here! I couldn't wait because I LOVE baseball! They played the Mets, went into 12 innings and totally dominated. We even spotted a few celebrities! It was so much fun, I wouldn't mind going to more :) |
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No, I did not have a perfect baby extremely early. This is my new niece Kennedy Leah Payne! My sister in law had her at 36 weeks, but they are both doing so well! They are on the other side of the country, but we'll meet her in December! Baby Payne will be here by then! Crazy.. We can't wait to meet her and give her a little cousin to play with :)
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The most difficult part of this month was losing our amazing new friend, David Hinton. His beautiful wife Lexi and I have been friends for a long time. We met our dream guys last summer, were engaged within weeks of each other and were married two weeks apart. They came to our ceremony and spent our wedding day with us, and our "married couple" friendship has continued since and been such a blessing in our lives. I took this picture of them a couple of months ago when they got new puppies and we had a bon fire to celebrate :) The last week we were in Utah, Dave passed away due to a boating accident in Lake Powell. The news was so devastating and shocking. Dave is one of the greatest people I've met. He's so happy, kind, goofy, thoughtful, fun and tall (note Lexi is standing on her tippy toes and still doesn't reach his shoulders haha). I'm so grateful that I could get to know him and that he was such a great friend to us, but mostly to my sweet friend. He showed her so much love, and brought her so much happiness. Lexi and Dave were sealed together for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City temple. I believe that their relationship will continue after this life, and I'm so grateful that they made the choices they did. We stayed a couple of days after we planned to attend the funeral, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The spirit was so strong and the gratitude for this man's life was contagious. It was so difficult to leave my friend during this time, but I have no doubt that many people, her Heavenly Father, and Dave will take care of her. I can't wait to continue hanging out and having fun with the two of them again someday :) Until we meet again, Dave.
This experience has strengthened my testimony so much and has made my love and appreciation for my husband and family grow tremendously. Also, I'm so grateful that I was married to my sweetheart in the temple, so that I will be with him again once it's time for one of us to leave this earth.
I love the church I'm apart of and I believe with my whole heart that it is true. To learn more about what my husband and I believe, feel free to visit mormon.org.
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