4th Of July

I love the 4th of July so much. It really may be my most favorite holiday and this year was pretty much perfect. I had Friday off since the 4th landed on  a Saturday this year so that was great. On Friday I went to the beach with Jessie, Kristy and some of our guy friends. It was a great day and getting busy with all of the people driving in for the holiday. I have never seen traffic so bad so we were on bikes all day to avoid getting stuck in traffic for anything. After the beach us girls rode our bikes to our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Matador. That place kind of reminds me of Matta's back in AZ. It is amazing! 

On Saturday morning Luke and I woke up fairly early and went running by the beach. It was so fun to see everyone getting an early start to the 4th. After the run we went back to the  beach and just relaxed all day. Of course it was very entertaining, as it always is in Newport on the 4th. At night we went to Kristy's BBQ where she made maybe the best meal I've had in a long time. At night we walked out to the water and watched the fireworks. It was a perfect weekend and I was thankful for it!

Memorial Weekend and Other Times

I know it has been a very long time since I updated my blog so here it is!!!

For Memorial Weekend Luke and I went to Santa Barbara for the weekend. It was his birthday weekend too and he loves that place. We stayed with his friend Josh and him and his girlfriend, Marissa, showed us around. This town is so cool! It reminded me a little of Hawaii since it has a small town feel and the most beautiful scenery. We went to the beach and a couple mueseums. The whole town is strongly influenced by the Spanish (obviously, Santa Barbara duh) so the architecture is so pretty.

We also moved into a new house within the same community. It was actually the easiset move I've ever done so that was really very exciting. It is a beautiful house! Hopefully people will come visit me this summer :)

Spring Time

I love Easter! I'm excited for Sunday even though I have no plans since my family isn't here. I'm going back and forth whether or not I will try and cook an Easter lunch/dinner for Luke, Jessie and other friends that will be here with no family.

Besides that the weather has been amazing. It was warm enough to lay out at the beach last weekend. We busted out Paddle Ball and played on the sand. We also went to Laguna Beach 2 Saturdays ago to "A Thousand Steps" beach. You seriously go down the steepest set of concrete stairs to this beautiful beach. Coming back up I thought I was going to die and I do the stair stepper at the gym!!!! It was quite the work out. Here are some pics from that day......

I get to go home next week for Calli Mechem's wedding. I am so looking forward to that!

Good Old Arizona

2 weekends ago, Luke and I drove to Arizona. We went for a couple of reasons. I was really missing my family and wanted to see my mom after having surgery. She is so much skinnier and was still pretty weak. It was weird to see my strong mom like that but I know she is getting back to her normal strength every day. We are extremely thankful that she is doing ok.
We also went to Rachael Lee's wedding on Saturday and had a blast. We got to hang out with Daina and Lynnette and had so much fun. It was good to hang out with them and see Rachael on her big day. Her wedding/dinner/reception was perfect. She did a great job.
The last reason we went home was to meet the newest addition to our family, Mattilynn. She is Matt and Lindsey's new baby girl and she is precious. We aren't sure yet who she looks like but she does have amazing hair. I didn't want to let her go but we had to drive back.
It is crazy how fast the kids are growing up when I'm gone. It had only been 3 months since I'd seen them but they are so much bigger. I get to go home in a few more weeks for another wedding so I can't wait!
Thank you to my family for such a good weekend. See you soon!

What a Week It Was.....

This week was very emotionally draining and as I sit here on Sunday evening I can't help but think how thankful I am. 

First off, Wednesday our company did an unexpected lay off. It was a terrible day watching friends and coworkers leave the building. You can't help but think of how it changes their lives and their family's lives. It broke my heart and I will truly miss those relationships that we built. 

Secondly, my mom has been sick and recently found out that on one of her ovaries she has a very large tumor. But on Wednesday she met with the Specialist and they don't think it is cancerous and will be getting it removed this coming Wednesday. So, as I reflect on the week I had I'm so extremely grateful for the life I have and all of the blessings that are in it. 

Almost Christmas!!!!

I'm currently laying on our couch with long socks, sweat pants, slippers, a long sleeve tee, a hoodie sweatshirt on with the hood tied tight around my head with a blanket over all while lying on a heating pad to keep warm. And my hands are freezing while I type this! It has been raining and way colder than normal all week long. Is it April yet??????

I head home next Tuesday night for Christmas and am very excited. It just doesn't seem like Christmas without little kids being around so it'll be good to be around the nieces and nephews. I did manage to put lights up out front of our house and a small tree up so it makes our cute house so much cuter.

We had our work Christmas party last weekend and it was so fun. It was at the Hyatt inside a huge white tent and it was decorative! The food was amazing and there was a DJ. I got to see some amazing dance moves from some of my coworkers so it was definately a treat. No one got to see the cute dress I wore though because I kept my coat on the whole time because I was so cold. Yep, I live in Southern California and can't even handle this winter.... how did I handle flying to the East last winter when I was flying?????

Hope all is well with everyone and that everyone is taking the time to remember what this time of year is all about! Merry Christmas!

Best Birthday Yet

Last weekend was my 27th birthday and it was so fun. Friday when I got home from work both sisters were hiding in my bathroom to surprise me. Then 7 of us all dressed up in cute dresses and went and ate at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, Javier's. After that we attempted to go dancing but the place we went to was horrible. If you live in the Orange County area do not go to ILounge. It is awful. Saturday was so hot outside that we all went to the beach and layed out then met up with some guy friends at their house and had so much fun.

Aleisha put together a book of comments that some of my closest loved ones wrote about me. It was the best present ever. Some memories made me laugh so hard and some made me cry but they were good tears. It was such a huge reminder of how blessed I am to have such good family and friends that love me. I am so appreciative of everyone that pitched in to make this the best birthday yet.