Rancho Cucamonga or bust

I know I know. All I can say is that I've been busy. The problem too is that each blogless week makes it harder to blog again because there's so much I've missed. Suffice it to say that I passed the Bar and we moved to Rancho Cucamonga. We also spent a great weekend with the Hawkins' in St. George. At the time, I was planning to describe it all, but not, it will take too long and I've got to formulate a rant about TCU playing Boise St. in the Fiesta Bowl (heaven forbid we let the BCS look stupid by having two non-BCS teams beat BCS teams!). So, here's a video we took today of Carter, and hopefully I'll do better going forward (of course, Lorein can always post too.)

Halloween

Carter got his first taste of Halloween at our church's "Trunk or Treat" party. He went as a leopard (got the costume for $10 at Costco -- I love Costco!). I took him around to all the cars, but I couldn't get him to actually say "Trick or Treat". That would've been a good story to have if those were his first words. He did get the hang of it pretty quickly, though. He has a real nose for candy.

So, what do I do?

I just let people give me candy? Even Bob Ford?

And then I eat it? I can get used to this!

I got a job!

It's with a firm called Wood Smith Henning & Berman. They're headquartered in Westwood in the Helio building right on Westwood and Wilshire, but I'll be in their Rancho Cucamonga office. The entire firm has about 80 attorneys in offices throughout California, Phoenix, Vegas, and Denver. The Rancho Cucamonga office does mostly construction litigation, which I have no background whatsoever in, but it's always fun to learn new aspects of the law (and by "always", I mean "sometimes, depending on what it is"; and I think construction litigation will be one those things, unlike, for instance, the tax implications for the sale of securities under Sarbanes-Oxley). I start November 9 and Bar results come out two weeks later. My offer is contingent on my passing the Bar, so let's hope I did so.
I got an interview with WSHB through one of their attorneys who is in my parents' ward at church. He works in their Riverside office, but he knew an attorney had just left the RC office, so he sent my resume in. I interviewed on Monday and they offered me the job on Wednesday. Of course, I then had to fill out an 8 page application, including my job history for the past 10 years (which at this point in my life is basically full of three month summer jobs, which makes for a lot of writing) even though I already had an offer and had already accepted. During my interview, I was impressed that the people I interviewed with really did seem to like the firm. In response to my question about what they liked best about the firm, all four immediately answered "the people". So, that's positive. Obviously, I won't be able to form my own opinion until I begin, but it's an encouraging initial sign.
When I got the offer on Wednesday, I was excited, but Lorein was jumping up and down the hallway. Apparently she's tired of living with my parents.:) Carter's reaction, however, was priceless -- Also, when Carter heard the news, he immediately turned on his favorite song, threw off his shirt, and started dancing.





Unfortunately, I can't get him to dance longer because when he sees I'm taping him, he just wants to sit on my lap and watch. He doesn't yet understand there's nothing to watch if he won't let me tape him! Wow, that's a real modern day chicken and egg problem for you.

Summer Recap

We spent the past three weeks housesitting for my aunt and uncle in Utah, which is why we haven't posted in over a month. When we got to Utah, it was 90 degrees; when we left, it was in the 40s, which got me thinking it's about time for a summer recap. So here's some pics from a fun summer (except for the first part of the summer when I was studying for the Bar. That part of the summer stunk):

To begin, and probably most importantly, Carter spent some time learning the intricacies of baseball from his uncle Skip and cousin Abby.




He also furthered his very complicated relationship with his cousin Moriah (we were lucky to get this picture amidst the pushing and biting).

He experienced the bliss of an ice cream cone.

Lest you think it was all fun and games, Carter also helped clean out the fridge.

Lorein taught him the importance of properly accessorizing . . .

and the importance of knowing how to flaunt what you got.

Finally, he realized how fun it is to ham it up for the camera.

Wow. I mean, wow.

Holy Freakin' Crap!!! I was just hoping BYU wouldn't get blown out. Basically, I would've considered it a moral victory if they had only lost by two touchdowns. BUT THEN THEY FREAKIN' BEAT OKLAHOMA!!! THEY FREAKIN' BEAT OKLAHOMA!!! I'm so excited (and so is Carter).

Busy Boy

Well, I'm done with the Bar and vacation's over, so there's just not much going on right now. We're pretty much in a holding pattern. At least Carter stays busy . . .

Vacuuming


Entertaining


Spinning


Still Spinning


Relaxing with some cake batter
















So, yeah, Carter's life is hopping, even if his dad is a bum*.

*"Bum" in the sense of a Dodgers' fan (as in "Dem Bums!"), not in the sense of a hobo -- not that there's anything wrong with being a hobo.

Maui

Alright Alright! Driel's already called me asking why I haven't posted pictures even though we've been home for two days. Apparently her life is so dull with only two young girls to take care of that she needs to live vicariously through us. The answer, Driel, is that I haven't blogged because we've basically spent the last two days sleeping. We had a red eye flight out of Maui into LAX, so we didn't sleep at all Friday night. That meant we slept all day Saturday, which totally screwed up our sleeping schedules, so we slept a ton Sunday. And then Lorein and Carter didn't wake up until 11:30 today! (to be fair, I didn't get up until 10:15). Anyway, here you go Driel.

The room at the resort was super nice. So nice in fact that Westin called them "Villas". I always imagined villas as being larger, but whatever. Lorein just kept saying over and over again "This place is so nice." Here's the view from our balcony:

We were a little worried about Carter because he hasn't been a big fan of the pool or beach in CA, and that's pretty much all we do in HI. Well, we needn't have felt perturbed because Carter absolutely loved it. From the moment we entered the hotel and he saw the koi pond, he was happy. Here's a quick slide show of Carter's favorite activities from Maui:

Oh my goodness . . . the hotel room had two kleenex boxes! Woo Hoo!!


The pool is always better when you can hang out with a hot babe.

He really enjoyed the aquarium. It's too bad Lorein's allergic to everything because Carter really loves animals. He spent a lot of time just pointing at the fish in the koi pond.


He really got into the beach. He loved playing in the sand and would even run straight into the water. He would laugh and laugh when we would pick him up over a wave.

All that playing wore him out though. Fortunately, he was able to repose on Westin's "Heavenly Bed". (Westin extensively advertises its heavenly bed, and, let me tell you, it was niiiiiiice.)

If only I could've slept on the plane like that.

Diether Family Reunion 2009

As noted earlier, the Greater North American Diether Family Reunion (GNADFR for short) officially kicked off on Thursday but, due to a lame thing called the Bar Exam, I didn't make it until Friday afternoon. For details of any happenings pre-my arrival, check out Driel's blog.

I pulled up Friday around 1 and quickly realized that my family was totally different. First of all, my baby was suddenly a boy,

and second, my wife was suddenly a brunette.

Friday's highlight was the backyard carnival complete with cotton candy and snow cones.

As you can tell from Evan's expression, the fun was never ending.

Saturday, we hit up the lake. Carter wasn't a huge fan of the boat (although he did manage a couple of weak smiles and waves when Lorein was being pulled along behind). Fortunately, though, there was a pump around, which never fails to provide a good time.

Saturday evening ended with Diether Family Entertainment Night. In the words of General Conference . . .

pyramids were built,
songs were sung,
good times were had by all.

Sunday, we had family pictures. Here's ours:

Well, we're off to Maui tomorrow, so I can't say for sure when I'll post again. Let me remind you that Monk and Psych start tomorrow (it's Monk's final season). We'll be back Friday the 14th. Until then . . . Aloha.

She fell in love in the first place

I know it's been almost two months since our last post, but, in the immortal words of The Verve Pipe, "I can't be held responsible". I mean, I've been studying for the Bar Exam. It's not my fault there have been no posts about Carter's three birthday parties (one in Vegas, one on the 4th of July w/ the great grandmas, and one on his real birthday), our trip to Vegas, or any of the other goings on. No sir. Not my fault.
But now that I'm back, I'll do a quick update on the Greater North American Diether Family Reunion (GNADFR for short) that was held in Utah July 30-August 3. Read the next post for details. I would also appreciate a few comments about how you all missed me so much and how you feel happier now that I'm back in your lives.

Carter Crall?...no Carter Walks!

Cheesy title, I know. But it's still funny, come on you know you laughed.

Carter has recently been venturing off of furniture and is starting to take a few steps on his own. I've been trying all week to catch it on video and I finally succeeded.

Betsey, Richard, and Nora visit - YIPEE!

We were lucky enough to have our fabulous friends the Hawkins come and visit us from Cleveland. We have REALLY missed having them around and it was so much fun to catch up. We miss you guys already and can't wait for our next visit!

Betsey and Nora even came and visited us at the Crall house. Carter and Nora are already fast friends.

We also got to see some of our other good friends from law school at a beach day hosted by the Hawkins. All in all it was really great to have them come. Come back soon!

Teething

While Christopher studies for the bar, it looks like you'll be stuck with me keeping up the blog. My life is pretty riveting so hold onto your hats.

Carter has been teething for the past few weeks. He now has 3 teeth with at least one more on the way. I don't think it's a coincidence that Carter started teething just after I finished working. I'm considering it a tender mercy. We've had some pretty rough nights sleeping and I don't think I would have been able to handle it while working. I think things are starting to smooth out though.

You can see the top two teeth in this picture, but I promise there is a bottom tooth and another one coming.


Carter was helping clean out David's room, and this is what he came out with - a cool hat and a 'Vote for Pedro' wrist band.

More pictures please

I told Christopher that I was tired of his wordy posts with no pictures. Instead of remedying the situation what does he tell me?? "You're welcome to post pictures anytime you want, Lorein." I couldn't really argue with that. So here are some pictures and videos for people like me...visual blog readers:-)

Carter loves his new kitchen sink. It's the perfect size for him.

This is his new funny face that he makes all the time now.



Here's a video of the new funny face in action:

And here he is trying to walk -

He's great at walking along stuff, but he still hasn't caught the vision of venturing away from walls and furniture. Although there was a little girl in church today that was walking circles around him and stealing his toys. He was getting a little upset so I thought it might be good motivation. So far no go though.

Souplantation

Went to Souplantation for dinner tonight. I love that place. It has every food I love but rarely eat and all in one place. Beets, sunflower seeds, cornbread, honey wheat bread, sourdough bread, whipped butter, honey butter, baked potatoes, chili, clam chowder, jello, and frozen yogurt. The place is amazing. If it had Dr. Pepper instead of Mr. Pibb, it would be heaven (except for the whole salad thing, of course).

A moving story 2

In preparation for moving, we wanted to get rid of a lot of furniture, both to make moving easier and because we had limited storage space. After a half-hearted attempt to sell it on Craigslist with no takers, I called DI to set up a pick-up. We decided to get rid of our huge entertainment center, massive big screen tv, overstuffed chair, kitchen chairs, nightstand, and computer desk. Over the phone, the DI lady told me the movers could not come up to the apartment, so I would have to take it down to the sidewalk. I informed her that I lived on a street that was all apartments and I didn't really want to take a bunch of furniture down to the sidewalk and leave it all day. She understood my concern and told me I could call the day of and get a three-hour window for when the DI truck would arrive.
So, Thursday morning rolled around and I called up DI to get my three-hour window. The lady said I was third on the list, which meant the truck would arrive around 10. With this information in hand, I started hauling everything down -- first the computer desk, then the chair, then the nightstand, then the kitchen chairs, and then the tv. That's when the fun began. Within three minutes of my putting the tv on the sidewalk, a truck pulled up and the driver hauled it away. He also took all of the chairs. I have no idea how he knew there was stuff on the sidewalk, but I'm not kidding when I say he was there within three minutes. Then, as I stuffed the first part of the entertainment center into the elevator, I noticed a family from the neighboring building carting the nightstand away. As I rolled the entertainment center out to the sidewalk, our building's maintenance man said he was moving into a new apartment and would love to take the entertainment center off our hands. Since he's really nice and I like him, I said sure and helped him load it into his maintenance truck. The meter maid who was writing a parking ticket for a car parked in front of the fire hydrant lamented, "Man, I should've gotten here earlier!" The only thing left was the computer desk, and just then the DI truck turned the corner onto our street. I told the driver the story and he laughed. He said, "I just like to think the people who got it needed it." With which sentiment I heartily agree.

Signs of the apocalypse?

Wow, it looks like we left L.A. in the nick of time. In the two days since we've been gone, there's been an earthquake with the epicenter just south of our old apartment and a rapper was shot at the mall we used to go to! Holy mackerel!

A moving story 1

Our move from Provo to L.A. three years ago was a disaster. We loaded our stuff into a U-Haul trailer we pulled behind my Blazer. By the time we'd gone an hour and a half, the Blazer's engine was not sounding good. We barely made it off the freeway into a truck stop in Parowan and a tow truck took us to a mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the problem as "complete engine failure". The repairs -- which basically meant getting a new engine -- were going to be more than the Blazer was worth, so we sold it to him for $300. Lorein's dad brought their station wagon up to tow us to Vegas where we would get a moving van. The station wagon overheated outside of St. George, though. We somehow made it to Lorein's aunt's house in St. George where we stayed the night and got a U-Haul truck in the morning. But the U-Haul place didn't have the size we wanted, so they "upgraded" us to the 27' truck. It was HUGE! Although I will say it at least held all our stuff quite easily.
Well, as we made this move, we were determined that things would go better. I mean, we were only going from L.A. to Temecula, which is like 75 miles away. We also put into practice all the lessons I have learned from helping people move, the biggest one being HAVE EVERYTHING PACKED UP. I have been to a lot of moves where you show up and the people are still packing. It makes you want to say "I'll come back tomorrow when you're ready." Anyway, we had everything packed and were hoping to get out of L.A. by 11 so we'd miss any semblance of traffic. Some of my friends arrived at 9 to help out and we had the truck loaded by 10:15. After some light refreshments and a final look-around, we headed down to the truck at 10:45. Perfect timing.
Except I got into the truck and the key wouldn't turn. Not that the engine wouldn't start, but the key itself would not budge. I tried everything. I turned the key over. I pushed the brake as hard as I could. I put on my seatbelt. I locked all the doors. I turned the lights on. Nothing worked. I sat there with my head in my hands thinking this could not be happening. Not again. Finally, I had to call the Penske emergency hotline and they sent out a mechanic. The mechanic got there after about an hour and was stumped. He said he'd never seen anything like it. He took nearly the entire dashboard apart. He asked for one of Lorein's bobby pins. He made a lot of exasperated sighs. I realized we were probably going to have to get a new truck and re-load it. I couldn't believe it. But then -- miracle of miracles -- he got the key to turn and the engine started! The mechanic said he had no idea what he did, but I jumped in the truck and never turned the engine off until I dropped the truck off that night. We unloaded our stuff at my parents', a storage facility, and at my grandma's, and got gas all with the engine running (the whole time we were getting gas, I was praying the truck wouldn't explode). When I dropped the truck off, I turned the ignition off and then turned it back on just to see what would happen. It started right up. But at least we made it, and yes, we did spend the rest of the evening in the hot tub.

Grandpa Carter at UCLA

My Grandpa Carter (who died when my dad was a teenager and who I, obviously, never met) attended UCLA in the 1930's. We have some old pictures of him around campus, and I met with a person in UCLA's alumni department my first year to try and figure out where they were taken because we wanted to take pictures of me in the same spots. Of course, we never did it until today, after I graduated. So, without further ado, here they are . . .

I really liked taking this picture. It was pretty neat to realize I was sitting exactly where my grandpa had sat 70 years ago.

We even got people on both sides of him (although my intruders are dressed much more casually than his)! Interesting to note that UCLA got rid of the steps at the base of the pillar and changed the brick steps. I wonder why.

This was the hardest location to pinpoint. The building behind us has an addition (I think it's an elevator) that is obviously much newer than the rest of the building. I think that addition is blocking the arched double window in Carter's picture. The windows on the long side all look the same, though.
My favorite thing about this picture of Carter is that it, like the one with him on the library steps, came from some magazine called "Undergrad" (that seems to have just done stories on the goings-on at a bunch of different colleges around the country), and so includes captions. I love how the caption calls his girlfriend "comely", which I think the writer meant as a compliment but which is pretty much an insult today. I mean, nowadays, you kind of have to go with "smokin' hot". It's also funny that the mag calls her a "professor", which she most certainly isn't.