Baby Shower #2

This past Saturday I was able to help out at the baby shower of yet another preggo friend! I'm enjoying the time I get to spend planning parties for these great girls and utilizing years of hostess training from my mom, the Queen of parties. I'm so grateful for her serving heart and all of the years she spent hosting events for friends and family at our house. Thanks mom! :)

Here we are! Lacey, Mom-to-be Jasmine, Meredith and Me!

Here is Jasmine opening some of her great gifts.

Baby girl clothes are so much fun and got lots of ooohs and aaahs!

The dessert buffet was amazing! Meredith proved to be quite the cupcake aficionado with three types of homemade cupcakes. They were delicious!

I made the semi-homemade cookies with homemade frosting and sprinkles.

I'm getting good at making party favors! It was filled with four types of yummy chocolates.

And here is the spread! Let's just say that we ate really well.

Thanks to Lacey for opening your home for another great party. I think it was another SUCCESS! :) Can't wait to meet baby Cadence...

Baby shower #1

I spent this last weekend in Modesto to celebrate my very best friend in the whole world! Crista and Mike are expecting a baby boy next month and we got to celebrate her before little Jackson came into the world. Crista's sister and mom helped me throw a baby shower in my mom's backyard and it was a success, if I do say so myself!

We spent the weeks leading up to the shower praying for cooler weather and we were blessed/cursed with a windy morning. As everything continued to fall of tables and blow over we reminded ourselves that wind was better than 100 degree heat!

Here is Crista's sister and mom (Carrie & Carrol), Crista, Me and my mom. We used to live two houses apart, and now Carrie is married with two little girls of her own, Carrol and Jerry have moved to another house, Crista is ready to start her own little family, and I'm living in Redondo Beach! It's nice to know that even though life can change so drastically we will always have good friends.

Here is the mommy and daddy to be: Crista & Mike.

She got lots of fun stuff!

Two of Crista's good friends made this cake for her. It was fantastic!

It was such a fun day of celebrating the new little life they're bringing into this world. We can't wait to meet you baby Jackson! And this post is labeled "Baby Shower #1" because we know quite a few pregnant women and will have the chance to celebrate each of them in the next few months. Yay!

A Homecoming & A Farewell

I haven't had much luck gathering more vacation pictures, so I figured I would just move on and show some other things that have been happening around here recently...

Adam and Angela were two of the first people we met at our church when we first arrived in town. We've had a lot of fun with them over the years and learned a lot too! Adam was recently shipped to Iraq for his third tour of duty and we all took it upon ourselves to entertain his lovely wife while he was away. We had lots of fun nights at Taco Tuesdays, a breakfast party to send Adam some video greetings and we even got a glimpse of Adam's dancing skills at the Outlet's comedy night via video. Thankfully, his six months have come to an end and he's home now! Here are some of the pictures from the night we picked him up from the airport.

Here I am with Angela and Lacey, eagerly awaiting Adam's arrival.

Here is Adam and Angela. A bit overwhelmed, I'm sure,

with all of the commotion and excitement!

We sure did miss you and are so glad you're home safe! What a special night to be apart of.

I have never been apart of an airport greeting like this and it was truly touching.

We had flags to wave and signs to hold and lots of smiles and hugs and relief when we

got to see Adam again. Thanks for your service Capt B!

Adam and Angela were home for about two weeks before they left for their next home: Denver! We got to have a going away party for them and even had a couple of dinners before they left. We're so sad to see them leave, but are excited for a new place to visit. We'll be coming soon!

Vacation Teaser

Dave and I took some time off in the end of July for a little "vacation" to Northern California to visit our families and some great friends. We usually do a marathon weekend trip where we try to cram as many things into a 48 hour period, so it was nice to spread it out and spend some quality time with more people! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera, so I'm a little short on pictures at the moment. As my friends and family post them elsewhere I will borrow them and tell some stories.

In the meantime, here's a little teaser of what Dave accomplished on his time off:

That's Half Dome in Yosemite! My sister Sarah convinced Dave to chaperone a trip to the mountain with her best friends with only four hours notice. Good thing he's in great shape! They had a few hiccups along the way but made it to the top with a total round trip time of about 11 hours. Here is a picture of Sarah, our cousin Bradley, Dave, and Sarah's best friend Natalie preparing to climb up the cables to the top of Half Dome. Way to go you guys!!!

The was the most thrilling part of the the Norcal vacation. The rest of it was filled with great food, hot days by the swimming pool, the Stanislaus County Fair, a quick trip to Redwood Christian Park, Santa Cruz beach day, three year old wedding cake tasting, catching up with great friends and lots and lots of laughs.

I promise more pictures from our adventures soon... just waiting on Sarah's return from Australia with her handy little camera.

A 26th Birthday & A 3rd Anniversary Celebration

Yesterday was the best! Dave took the day off of work and we celebrated my 26th birthday and our 3rd anniversary at the Happiest Place on Earth. We started off our day with a coffee and free pastry from Starbucks (they must've known it was my birthday) and then headed over to Disneyland. The weather was HOT but it wasn't too crowded and we had a blast!

We only brought my phone to take pictures on so they're not great, but here we are in front of the park before the heat set in.

Here is my cute button so that everyone would know it was my birthday. Hearing strangers wish you a happy birthday by name really is a great way to spend your day!

Jonathon & Lacey came out with their season passes and celebrated the rest of the day with us. We went to the House of Blues for dinner, rode some fun rides and watched the fireworks.

Here's our bootleg picture from Space Mountain!

And my lame attempt to take a picture of the fireworks as we were walking/pushed by the castle. Still, it's pretty awesome to have a fireworks show just for your birthday! :)

What a great day of celebrating with my husband who loves me and placated my desire to spend my birthday at Disneyland. Oh, and did I mention that we are now season pass holders too?! We were able to upgrade our tickets (even my free one!) to a Southern California pass. It has a few blackout dates, but we are ready and willing to visit the park with everyone in the near future!

Dave's New Do

With the summer officially here, Dave decided to update his look. It's low maintenance and he can do it himself. Here he is placating me with a picture on our patio. Looking good!

Concert in the Park

Concert in the Park has officially begun! Dave and I love packing up our picnic backpack, riding our bikes and meeting up with some good friends at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach. Lots of good music, fun times with friends and, did I mention, we get to ride our bikes!

Dave & I enjoying our crackers and cheese and the warm weather!