Folsom Fast Forward

Here we are! And soon we go! We could have never predicted that our move to

California would be so short. We acknowledge Heavenly Father has a plan for our life, and we

must go forward with faith. But for now, enjoy this fast forward catch-up of

our lives so far in Folsom, CA.

Our 4/2 spacious one-level home. Thank you craigslist.com for letting me find you!

This orange tree is one of the five different varieties of fruits growing in our backyard.
And yes, the oranges make great orange juice!


We have visited the cute Folsom Zoo.

The lady at the pay desk made sure I knew

"we're more of a sanctuary than a zoo." Take note!


Folsom Lake is a great weekend activity. Above 5 minutes from our house.

Lots of water, sand and even life-guards to make you feel

like it's almost the ocean. Izzy enjoyed her mad life-jacket-assisted skills

swimming in the lake.


Livi preferred the sand, and actually didn't eat it!

Izzy and Livi have made lifelong friends with our cousins here!

Brotherly love. James, RN and Aaron, RN. Say Cheese!!

Iz & Logan, taking a break from slides, swings, and chasing butterflies at the park.

Aunt Lynette enjoying precious baby Chandler. And look, they even color coordinated!

Our A M A Z I N G neighbors (2 kids/parents missing from photo)

the Achee (Aah-SHAY) Fam.

Here's mama Achee with that precious baby again.

They have both been angels in my life!!

And Chandler is already being scoped out by Kami as a potential mate.

This girl can't get enough of Chandler. She's locked eyes on him every

week at church or any other time they are within ten feet of each other.

Can't blame her!

Iz with her ward park day buddies. A fun Folsom park with

a waterfall & stream to play in!

Liv and all the tweens in our ward that

loved chasing her around (making my job easier!)

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Six Flags-Discovery Kingdom with Lynette & kids

June 29, 2011 Photos

Lynette braved the kiddie-land with 5 kids under 7 so

Aaron and I could ride a coaster together.

We rode a big coaster and I realized I'm not 15 anymore. Ouch.

Just about to get on the mildest coaster Izzy was tall enough to ride.

Think Lagoon's Wild Mouse ride.

Ya...she got a little freaked to say the least!

Penguins & cousins, yay!

Family photo when we arrived. Notice we're all wearing jackets.

It was raining when we got there...talk about a downer!

But it ended up to be short-lived and it kept the temp very comfortable all day!

Gotta love a whale ride with Dad! The ride operator would

make obnoxious, yet hilarious whale sounds every

time she operated the ride. Think Dori on Finding Nemo.

A Shamu wanna-be, Shouka the Whale!

A beautiful day, all around. No one cried once, for real!

Livi had white knuckles keeping this large, refreshing,

overpriced drink from the rest of us.

Notice Chandler's glaring eye.

This photo was taken before that large, refreshing,

overpriced drink was revealed to Livi-who then had

to have it. (Notice the stroller facing the opposite direction)

This ride was thrilling, can't you tell?

Next Stop-Independence Day, Izzy's 5th Birthday on the 7th, the Thomas's/Nortons

come to visit, Chandler's blessing, pack up the house and another UHAUL back to Utah.

This is all before July 16th.

Wish us luck!

We moved to California!!

Hello Blog followers (if there are still any of you)!! Aaron and I are now residents of California! We made our big move on Chandler's 1 month-birthday! Wow!!! It has now been almost 1 month since we moved here, amazing how time is flying by.

Here are a few photos to catch up. I have photos of our house (rental) on my camera but it's having problems getting onto my computer at the moment so I'll post them later.

We are excited to be here, and definitely can't complain about the beautiful weather!

Easter Sunday morning, Chandler is absolutely adorable, and a real dream baby!

This is in front of our home we sold on Ramona Avenue. I still get choked up looking at it-a home we really loved, and are so grateful it sold in only 6 weeks! What a blessing!

Our attempt at an impromptu-family-photo when Chandler was only days old...not so successful!

The lizard that guarded my back door here in california last week and scared me to death!

One of our new favorites in the morning! Picking oranges from the 2 orange trees in our back yard and making fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast! Yum!!!!!

Chandler Aaron Norton

He's Here!!!

Our precious Baby Boy!

Chandler Aaron Norton

Born March 16th 2011

6:55pm (after a 10 hour labor)

7 pounds 2 ounces

20 1/2 inches long

Welcome!!!!!!!!!

Healthy as can be, crying on my tummy after birth!

They always look a little swollen and slimy after birth, but still so precious!

Aaron with his new bundle of joy!

Can you tell Izzy was a little excited & nervous to hold baby brother?

She LOOOVED watching him take his first bath at the hospital.

She REALLY LOVED it, can't you tell?

Our precious addition to the family. He came and is absolutely perfect!

Proud papa-his shirt says "Handsome like Daddy"

(compliments of Grandma Norton of course!)

Never thought blue looked so good on a baby until now,

what a good looking boy!



We are so thrilled that "baby brother" (as we've called him until now) made it here safely. My labor was as the previous two. Elective Induction and sat and sat on a petosin drip for 9+ hours and then he decided to quickly make his move into this world with only a few pushes. Aaron was right there for all the action and my tears immediately gushed when I heard his first little cry. There's that motherly instinct that kicked right in and I knew this little guy was here safe and sound and he was ours! We are so excited to look forward to the next chapter, 3 kids!

Izzy's First Violin Recital

Isabelle Norton began violin lessons in September 2010. She has been taken 30 minute lessons every week since then. Her teacher is Doralee Madsen. Doralee is special in our family because she was MY teacher 25 years ago when I was only 5 years old. Now she has taken on my daughter as a student, and has done nothing short of exceptional with her. Congratulations to Isabelle, enjoy these 2 minutes, it took about 5500 hours of practicing to get this far, whew!

2010 to 2011

2010 End-of-Year-Highlights...

Said good-bye to our puppy Mimi on December 1st. Izzy has coped with this just fine and still laughs about the things Mimi would do. We are happy we gave her to a friend who had another dog to be a play-mate for Mimi.

Izzy's adorable School Christmas Program. She was a "baker" with the rest of the girls in her class. She stole the show!

Christmas Eve with the family-the girls in their Santa-jammies, Aaron in his scrubs from his holiday shift, and me with a 27-week belly!

Santa brought Livi this adorable-singing-rocking pony

Santa brought Izzy Disney princesses galore!

-New Years Eve sleepover with Burleson cousins!


2011 Start of the Year Highlights...
-Installed soft & wonderful carpet in January in our upstairs 2 bedrooms and hallway. Way overdue. Note to self-never opt for hardwood in bedrooms ever again!
-Dad installed a wonderful shelving unit in the 2nd bedroom upstairs, prepping for baby boy.
-Painted the 2nd bedroom upstairs a cozy "banana cream pie" color on the walls
-Successfully entered my 3rd trimester of my pregnancy-the real countdown begins!
-January 11, Aaron finds a job opportunity with the VA Hospital in Sacramento, CA, decides to apply "just for fun."
-January 14, VA Job contacts him to set up an interview (via phone)
-January 18, Interview over the phone goes extremely well (Amy starts to panic a little thinking about a move)
-January 26, VA Job is offered to him (they selected him out of 45 candidates!)
-January 26, 2 Plane tickets booked to Sacramento for that weekend to see the area, make a decision (serious panic sets in, and a little excitement too)
-January 28-30 We fly to Sacramento, stay with James/Lynette and visit the area. Kids are taken care of by Grandma and Christensen family, thank heavens!
-January 31-officially decide we are MAKING THE MOVE TO SACRAMENTO!

-February-I turned the big 3-0! All month long, we've prepped our house to be listed FOR SALE. The sign will be in our yard by the end of this week. MSL listing by the weekend.
-March-Pray for a home-buyer, Host my last Studio Violin Recital & Retire my studio (tear), Deliver Baby Boy, recover, and Aaron will start his job by March 28th, whether or not I go then is still undecided (again, pray for a home buyer!!!).

-Here's an aerial view of Folsom, CA. This is the Sacramento suburb we fell in love with during our visit in January. We are so excited!!!!!!!!!!!