Apartment living in LA: a chapter closes

Now that we're in our first house, we hope we will be in a house for a very long time, if not the rest of our lives. I've been reflecting on the past 6 years and how a chapter has closed and a new one has begun. There were times it was hard to be in an apartment with two kids. Especially when they were little and you had all the baby gear out (swing, bouncer etc.) It was hard to share the laundry when you finally got your kid napping and you take your laundry downstairs because you have 4 loads to do and the one washer has a load in it, the dryer has a load it in and someone else's load is waiting to be washed. That is something I won't miss.
But there are precious memories, too. The fact that we were in a smaller space meant that we were always close together. It is a sweet feeling to have your family close around you. I could hear anything going on anywhere in the apartment, so it wasn't as easy for my kids to get into trouble without me noticing what they were up to! When you live in an apartment you need to get out, so you do! We got out a lot. We saw things all over LA and enjoyed all our park and beach days. Because all my friends were in the same situation, we all hung out several times a week. As a result I had a tight knit group of wonderful ladies I could rely on and who enriched my life in many ways. I learned things from each of them I will never forget.
During the whole house buying process for awhile it didn't look like things were going to work out. It was disappointing and so to have a good attitude I tried to focus on the things about LA that I liked. Some of them are things I wrote about above: my friends, the parks all over the place, being 10 minutes from the beach, all the museums and things to do. I also loved the diversity, the opportunity to buy anything you want if you're willing to parallel park and fun places to eat (even though I didn't eat out that often). I also LOVED the Santa Monica main library and ESPECIALLY the used book store. [Today I went there one last time and scored with a whole set of Sandra Boynton board books that were in practically brand new condition. Those and a couple other books cost me a total of $4! And I didn't even have enough cash on me so the head guy said, just come back and pay next time. I love being trusted like that. I'll mail them a check. It made up for the library claiming I still have one of their books...]
Above all I love all the friends I made during the last 6 years. These have been the years where we went from being newly weds and still in school to having a family, a job, the same ward for more than a year. The friends we made there met us as a couple and accepted us as grown ups. Some of these friends were in the same chapter of life as we were and some already had grandchildren of their own. Some of them left LA before we did. But everyone meant something to us. I know as the years pass you lose contact with some people, but the sweet memories of that precious chapter in our life will remain.