Things are looking up!!

Hey guys!!!
Things are going great here! We are having alot of fun! Things are going so much better now than they were at the beginning. We have met some really great people which has made everything so much easier. The church we have started going to is really great and has several young couples which is nice. We have become really good friends with the pastor and his wife (Rusty and Karen) and also with their daughter and son-in-law(Theresa and Kyle). Theresa and Kyle are our age and have a little boy that is 14 months old and super cute. They live really close to each other and we go over there often to just hang out. Rusty and Karen have a pool so I have gone over there several times to hang out at the pool with Theresa. Its really nice. They are all super great people and are good Christians which always helps. We have been really blessed in both places we've been to meet great Christian people which has been amazing!
On Tuesday, we went to Yosemite National Park which was absolutely incredible. It is one of, if not the, most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is truely a majestic place. You are surrounded by massive mountains of granite and fantastic waterfalls which are unbelievable. There are meadows and rivers that make the whole place seem serene. It really is a place out of a picture book. The sheer beauty of it is unbelievable. It is a very awe-inspiring and breathtaking place. I coult not believe the beauty that this place has.
We went to several places there, but there is still so much for us to see. We definitely plan to go back soon. Another amazing thing is that the animals there are not afraid of people. The squirrels would literally come right up to you (of course, they could have been looking for food!). We were crossing a meadow and noticed that there were 4 deer grazing really close to us. They would raise their heads and look at us, but would not get spooked or run away. The pictures below show how close I was able to get. It was really incredible!
Below are the animal pictures and some other pictures from that day. There is also a picture from the outside of our house that we are staying in, since many of you have asked! Also, many of you have asked about the gas prices here. Yes, they are ALOT higher than they are at home. The picture below is from a gas station about 10 miles outside of Yosemite National Park. Yes, it is for real and yes, people were paying that! Enjoy!! We miss you and cant wait to see you all!!!!

Not much to report. . . . .

Im trying to do better with this blog thing so I thought I would give you guys an update even though I have no pictures to put up. All is well out here in California. We are trying to adjust to the time change and the warmer weather. I never realized the effect the time change has on a body. Its hard to shake it and to get adjusted. Apparently we both caught a bug during our hotel hopping on the road so we've been a little crummy. Other than that, we are doing good. The weather here is fabulous. It is always sunny and warm, which is nice. It is a little hard to get used to the warm weather since we were so used to the cold in Philadelphia, but its a nice change. We are actually even getting a little sun. We have a really big fenced in backyard that we spend alot of time in so its nice. We've even gotten sunburned a few times. The sun seems to be alot stronger here than back home in NC. I would be out for hours there and not seem to get any sun, but Im out for an hour or so here and get ALOT.
I do have to say that the produce here is AWESOME!!! We are living in the middle of all kinds of fruit fields and farms. It is great and we love it!
We havent been able to so much exploring yet. We are hoping to go to San Francisco and Yosemite soon which will be lots of fun. This trip has been a little different because we havent met as many people as we had by this point in Philadelphia so that is a little tough to get used to. We really miss our friends in Philly and all the things to do nearby there. But this is a new adventure and Im sure it will be great. Its jsut off to a slow start. We did find a church that we really like and that has a young couples ministry so hopefully, we will meet some great people that way.
Several people have asked about the dogs and they are doing great. They are loving all of the space they have and the big backyard that they can play in. we are loving the space to. Its a nice change.
So thats the news from California! Hope everybody is doing well. Keep in touch. We love to hear from you!!