I'm back!

Hey everyone! I am so sorry it has been so long since you have heard from me! I'm going to try to give a brief catch up on what I've been up to for the past 2 weeks.

As Scott has told you, my parents came last week for a long 4th of July weekend. We had such a great time! We did as much as we could possibly do in the brief time they were here. My mom got here on Tuesday and we pretty much just ran errands around town. We started the changing my name process, but I'll talk more about that ordeal later. My dad got here on Wednesday and we just rode around Mountain View and came home and ate the dinner and cake I had prepared to celebrate his birthday! We spent Thursday showing my parents around Mountain View and the surrounding towns and walking around the cute little downtown Mountain View.

Friday was the beginning of our day trips. We woke up early and started the drive to Napa Valley! Scott had planned us out an adventure to 4 different wineries and a tour at one. It was an amazing day of wonderful wine and very yummy food!

On Saturday, we set out to go down to Monterey and Carmel. They are such cute little towns on the beach with really cute downtown and wharf areas! Once again, had a wonderful lunch of clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl (I don't think I'm EVER going to get sick of that meal!). When we got back to Mountain View we headed down to the Amphitheater which is down the street from Google and Microsoft. There is a really pretty park next to the Amphitheater where you could watch the fireworks from if you didn't buy tickets to sit in the Amphitheater, so that is what we did. It was an amazing show! They had the symphony playing and the fireworks went along with the symphony! They were by far some of the best fireworks I have ever seen!

On Sunday it was off to San Fransisco! We started out going to the train station and riding CalTrain to San Fransisco. This is super convienient when you are going to see the Giants since it lets you off right at the Giants stadium! We got to see a great game (for Scott and me) with the Astros blowing out the Giants!! Scott and I sported out Astros t-shirts and must have brought them some luck :) After the Astros game, we headed down to the wharf area where we got some wonderful seafood and, of course, a sunday from Ghiradelli!

On Monday we took my dad to the airport :( It was back to the real world and Scott went off for his first day of work. My mom and I made it our mission to go and find the perfect patio furniture for our little front porch. We went all over the Bay Area, but finally found the perfect one at target! It's a cute little black wrough iron table that is the perfect size and has two little chairs that go with it! Here is a picture...

The shadow is kind of weird, but hopefully you can get the idea! I LOVE them! Scott and I sat outside last night and drank some wine at our new table :)

Yesterday (Tuesday), we took my mom to the airport EARLY in the morning. After Scott went to work, I started the wonderful task of getting my name sorted out. Here's the deal with that...First I went to the social security office and took my birth certificate, marriage license, all that jazz, and asked them to change my name to Paige Prestage Blackburn. They did this no problem. The next day when I went to get my California drivers license, I took them all of the same info, and they said absolutely not. They aren't supposed to change a first name unless there is a court order to do so. So then I had my social security card with "Paige Prestage Blackburn" on it and my CA drivers license with "Kimberley Paige Prestage Blackburn" on it. Well the California board of pharmacy won't let you sign up for the board exam unless the name you sign up with and have in their system matches your ID. My old name is the name in their system so I need to change my name in their system. In order to change my name, I have to have an "EXACTLY" matching social security card and drivers license that I can make copies of to send to them. ughh!!! Haha, so yesterday, I went back up to the social securitiy office (which by the way is very similar to waiting at the DMV) and waited in the LONG line to go BACK and change my name AGAIN. The little man who helped me was not at all friendly, and was extrememly angry that they person who had helped me before actually allowed me to change my name to Paige Prestage Blackburn in the first place. Oh well, I am officially "Kimberley Paige Prestage Blackburn" now...quite a mouthful, but I guess its the best I can do. I'm thinking of going to get my name changed but apparently its a lot of money and takes a long time, so I just don't know if it is worth the effort. We'll see...

So after I finally left the social security office yesterday, I went off the the DMV to change the title on my car so I could get California tags. That took about 2.5 hours, but FINALLY I have a California license plate!! Woohoo!! Haha, funny note, I had to get a smog check in order for all of this to be able to go through...not something you have to really do in Mississippi...

Here is my new car tag!


Scott and I also took a trip to Lowe's to get some wiring for him to set up his new sound system for the TV and for me to get some plants to put at the front of the house. It took forever, but we finally settled on some pots and flowers to place on either side of our front door! When we got home, I got to do something I've never done before...pot plants! Haha, I'm sure it was quite a funny sight to see, but I think I did an okay job! They make me really happy :) Here is our new and improved front porch!


And the close up...


I think it gives it a nice homey touch! Well I'm off to start studying for the NAPLEX :( I promise to blog more frequently now that I've slowed down a bit! Sorry this was so long, but there was a lot of catching up to do! Miss everyone!!