Country Roads Take me Home to Los Angeles

So, here we are. I've written about our fun trips to see family, birthday parties, LA museums and now I find myself on a couch in the middle of Lehi, UT.

Let me start off by saying, haters gonna hate. And I'm kinda a hater in some respects to Utah--well mostly in the restaurant and food aspect. If you haven't heard me say this yet I'll say it now: I've grown accustomed to a certain style of living, and that style includes the words organic, grass-fed, free range, antibiotic free and local farmers. Haters gonna hate! So far, I haven't encountered too many places to eat in UT with those words. I have heard the restaurant Blue Lemon thrown around a lot--but my LA foodie girlfriend Stacey just kinda gave me a wince and a "its pretty good!" after going. So where can Cam and I go to eat? If you say Texas Roadhouse or Tucanos I will punch you in the mouth.

Besides the food aspect, our move has gone pretty well. My darling saint of a mother flew with Joshy and I and then stayed with us for a week to unpack our entire townhouse! Joshua loved having his grandma around (it usually means he gets whatever he wants.) Cam and I loved having my mom around as well so because she ended up taking care of all three of us when cam and I contracted some kind of nasty flu (on the fourth of July...suck!). Needless to say it was a sad day in the Jones household when we had to drop grandma off at the airport. Joshua literally moped around for an entire week and would just cry and demand that all he needed were snuggles. I thought he could've used a baby Zoloft more than constant attention but hey, thats just me and my cold heart.

My heart did start to warm up after spending copious amounts of money our first two weeks. We bought a brand spankin' new washer and dryer (booya! No more finding old tenant's cat hair in the door of the washer!) and then bought a 2010 Toyota Rav4. Now this is a bit of a story: we last left the epic tale of my car situation with my CRV returning from the brink of death and ready to keep on keepin on. Well, after that episode she really never was the same. 3 different mechanic visits all with a different expensive prognosis left us really frustrated. My dad suggested just taking it into the Honda dealership in Yorba Linda because they have a good relationship with them there. Well, the good doctors of Honda said we were basically one sparkplug away from being consumed in a fiery furnance while driving down the 405. I was heartbroken, but kinda knew it was coming. So! I sucked it up and drove the two-door stick-shift Scion Tc for a few weeks and am now a stick-shift pro. (Driving in utah is so much easier than LA, people are nice, patient and there's just not as many people on the road.)

But lets get real: two door cars are meant for college kids and rich guys trying to get a piece. I am neither and couldn't stand to spend 5 minutes getting my kid in and out of the car while running errands. So we took a visit to our good friend Karl Malone Toyota, traded in the Scion and got a super bangin Rav4. I'm so in love with this car its not even funny. It has a lot of space, 4 wheel drive, and most importantly V6. I love the V6. I think I'm probably more of a jackass on the road because of it, but oh man it is so worth it. (But I mean, if you're going 15 mph in a 30, then yeah, I'm going to drive around you because you are an idiot. Can I get an amen?)

So here we are, living in Utah. It's crazy how easily domesticized I have become in the suburbs. The other day Joshy and I went to the grocery store, then the post office, then the library. How odd!!! I even got a library card! I'm also getting a season pass to everything under the sun here because it is so ridiculously cheap.

I was a little nervous to see how the Utah wards would be like, but ours is totally awesome. Our bishop looks like he's 19 and is probably the nicest person I have ever encountered. Cam and I just got called to be co teachers of the CTR 6 class which we're pretty stoked about. Everyone is really apologetic about the ward being "so transient." But cello, transient is our middle name. All of the wards I've been in since being married are transient and they have all been the best.

People are also really impressed and surprised that we moved here from LA. Almost everyone in Lehi was born and raised in Utah County and couldn't imagine why we would want to move here. They also have no idea what Cameron does. even when we attempt to explain it, which is pretty rad. Most of the people in our neighborhood are teachers, or ranchers and basically the opposite of all the careers in our LA ward. Its not better or worse, just different.

And here's the last thing I'm going to say about my culture adjustment to UT (for this blog post anyway;) my awesome new friend took me, joshy and her little son Luke to a "splash pad" in town. Its like a little area where kids can play in water thats shooting up from rocks and stuff. It was pretty cool but I was shocked to see how many people were there and how they all treated it like the beach. Like they had beach umbrellas, and tents, and coolers and were sitting on lounge chairs! It was bizarre, but I guess thats all there is! I do desperately miss the ocean, the sand and the waves. I think Joshy does too but c'est la vie. I can't complain when my husband comes home at a reasonable hour most nights.*

Dang it! you're still reading? And no pictures?! What is wrong with me! If you don't already hate me, give me some suggestions of places to eat and where to get good produce and grass-fed beef! Haters gonna hate

* Speaking of reasonable hours, I honestly didn't think 9-5 jobs existed...and then we moved here. EVERYONE has a 9-5 job and cannot fathom working until...gasp...7! Heaven forbid he has to work until 8. Not to be a total yatch about it, but I got so used to everyone in LA working like a minimum of 12 hour days that when people complain about working 8 hour days I want to biotch-slap them right then and there.