Ode to the dogs...

Today was a great day! As part of my Christmas present, Jeff took me to the Eukanuba/AKC national dog show at the Long Beach Convention Center. It was so much fun! I love wandering all the booths and seeing all the different breeds of dogs. Jeff did almost get us kicked out when he took a picture at the agility course and the flash came on. WOW. You would have thought we just tried to kill someone. These dog people take these shows pretty dang seriously. I toyed with the idea briefly of getting into showing dogs, but I don't think I could ever be that uptight :) I have to say, I think our dogs are just as good looking as most of those show dogs. Maybe I am biased, but we did have another lady a couple of weeks ago try to get us to sign up with her agency to have Soto be in commercials and magazines. Too bad he is such a pistol. Enjoy the random pictures above. Us in the car on the way to the show, the dogs with their new toys we got them today, etc. (You have no idea how much cheese I had to feed those two just to get them to sort of stand by each other...always an adventure!)

Hali'a

My niece is soooo stinking cute! She is such a trooper and we love her so much already! I got to spend a couple of hours at the hospital with her and just cuddle and love on her. Being able to see new babies brought into this world is always an awe-inspiring and tender moment. It truly is one of the greatest blessings Heavenly Father has given us. I was so touched to watch Jon as he interacted with Hali'a. He is so gentle and sweet; I saw new side of my brother that almost brought tears to my eyes. He is such an amazing daddy already. We are grateful for her quick recovery from her heart surgery and so "thankful" that she will be home for her first Thanksgiving!

Friday nite date :)

Poor Jeff, I just torture the heck out of him sometimes! (He really doesn't like getting his picture taken:) His hair was getting pretty long, and even though I love his curls, we buzzed his hair Friday nite. We have fun even doing the routine stuff! I just hope our kids get his curls.

We have a new niece!

We are so excited to announce the arrival of Jon and Aubrey's sweet baby girl! I won't get into details because I think that is Jon and Aubs right, but they were gracious enough to let me see her and hang out with her for awhile this afternoon. We are so extremely grateful that she is here, doing well, and that Aubs is doing good too. We are so happy to have this new baby in our family! She is a tough cookie and we are looking forward to watching her grow. Being an aunt and uncle is the greatest thing ever!!

My heart breaks...

As I sit here, there is a huge protest going on outside of the Los Angeles Temple. Needless to say, I am not surprised, but it angers, saddens, and makes me sick to my stomach. To hear people scream such derogatory, hurtful, and slanderous statements aimed at my church and in front of my temple is almost too much to bear. I find it so ironic that these protesters are screaming "No more hate" and then in the next breath screaming how much they hate us! They want a more "tolerant" and "accepting" society, yet they are trying to infringe upon our rights and tell us we are in the wrong for believing as we do. I know it will only get worse as time goes by; sometimes I wonder just what my children will have to one day endure. It brings new and empathetic feelings for our pioneer ancestors who were so persecuted and forced to sacrifice so much. The days ahead will be filled with turmoil and the world calling good, evil and evil things good. Now more than ever, it is important to pick your side and stand with the Lord and our Heavenly Father. I am comforted in knowing that I am not alone in this battle against Satan. We have our families, our wards, our friends, and most of all the Holy Ghost to comfort and guide us through these turbulent times. May Heavenly Father pour out His spirit upon us all and give us the courage to fight the good fight and be a standard of truth and righteousness. At the end of the day, we know which side will prevail and we can take comfort in knowing that the Lord and those who follow him will always come off conquerors.

Cherish the Ladies!!!

OH MY GOSH! Last night was the greatest! I got to see my favorite group in the whole entire wide world at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center, Cherish the Ladies. They are a traditional Irish folk group that I have loved for more than a decade. I used to torture my family by blaring their cd's. They all loved it, even if they deny it to your face :) My proof? Justin even came with us last night! We had so much fun. I think Lynette and Justin were surprised at my enthusiasm in the car, at dinner, throughout the whole show, hehe. Jeff, well he knows how much I adore them. He took me to my first concert of theirs 11 years ago. It has become a tradition to see them when they are within driving distance. Last night was the first time however, that I actually got to meet Joannie, the leader of the group and a world renowned whistle and flute player. She is incredible to listen to and she is really hilarious with all of her commentary between songs. They are doing an Irish Celebration cruise the first week of February to the Caribbean. She told me to email her and she would get us the family discount. She said we looked like cousins! She was too cool! I only wish I could afford to go :( Anywho, it was a super fun and amazing night. Hopefully the others got something out of it as well. If nothing else they got a good laugh at the crazy woman with red scarfs wrapped around her head, red converse shoes, gray formal dress, and crocheted sweater. She was a trip. She was a guest singer and was pretty hilarious. Too bad I couldn't get a picture of her :) Until next time Ladies, I will continue to listen to your cd's at obnoxious levels!

The last few weeks...

Seeing that I haven't posted in awhile, I thought I would take a second to update on the comings and goings of the last few weeks. Since my last post I have turned 30. Now that it has happened, I must say it wasn't tragic as I thought it would be. The security guards at the high school I work at still ask me for my hall pass every now again, and I must admit that although annoying in the beginning years, I quite enjoy it now :) Tomorrow night Jeff is taking me and my little brother Justin to see my all time most favorite group in the entire world, Cherish the Ladies. Too bad I am completely inept at figuring out how to post links because I would post the link to their website if I could. If you feel so inclined, you can google their name and you will find them pretty easily. Check back later for a lengthy post on the show ;)

It is almost time to vote, and I know all us Californians are anxiously awaiting to see what will happen. We too are yes on 8. If for no other reason then because our wise church leaders have asked us to support the values of traditional marriage, I would vote yes on 8 (there are other reasons of course, but I don't think I need to convince any of you of those reasons), no matter the cost. In these turbulent times, and the ones that will surely come, the Lord will ask us more and more frequently to take a stand and follow Him. At times, doing so will cause us heartache and be hard. But is it worth it? Absolutely. Does it make easier? Not really. One of my dearest and bestest friends for many years and I are at a crossroads. She is not happy with me because of my decision to support prop 8. Does it break my heart to think I might lose her friendship over this? Completely. But it does not sway my decision. I love my Savior and I have a testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel. I hope and pray everyday that we can all stand strong and have the conviction and strength to do what is right, what our Heavenly Father has asked of us no matter the cost at times.

Jumping to another completely different subject...It would seem that more and more frequently people are asking Jeff and I when we are having a baby, do we want kids, etc. Yes more than anything, we want a family, a huge family if possible. Do I desperately wish it happened already? YES! I am learning patience whether I like it or not. In the Lord's time, I know that blessing will be ours. Until then, thanks for keeping us in your prayers and we will let you know when it happens :)

Out to the country

Today was a great day! Me, my sweetheart, one of my best friends Lynette, and my mother-in-law went out to Glen Oaks to hang out among the apple orchards. My favorite spot was Snow Line orchard. Not only did they sell these little mini donuts that were delicious, but we got to meet three of the coolest dogs(how do I always get around to talking about dogs?)! The dogs belonged to the owners of the orchard and were tick hounds. Jeff went to pet one and the lady at the cash register said, "He doesn't want your empty hand!" He wanted one of Jeff's donuts! Jeff , being the great guy that he is, ended up sharing all but one of his mini donuts with the three dogs. I think he would say that was money well spent. ;) One of the dogs was trying so hard to get to Lynette's donuts that she stuck her tongue in Lynette's ear. Talk about the ultimate wet willy! We also picked out our own pumpkins right off the vine and bought too much apple stuff - candy, cider, and even apples. We have gone up to do this before and always have so much fun. If you decide to go, go early and soon! Apple season ends in just a week or two. Happy picking :)

Holy Moly Sadie Mae!

Today we took our darling Sadie Mae to the vet for a booster shot. She was fantastic, better than I would have thought. I just love our vet and all of the people who work there. They are so fantastic! There was a darling miniature australian shepard puppy in the waiting room when we came out. Dangerous! Jeff and I seriously considered buying one until we found Sadie. He was too cute for words! Someday... Anywho, does anyone dare guess how much our girl weighs? 42 pounds and growing!!! She will be 6 months old next week, and I can only imagine how much bigger she is going to get. Holy cow. She is a big, slobbery ooff, but we love her!

October already!

So, October is here already! Crazy! Last week was the birthday party and I would be a slacker if I didn't send a big thank you out to everyone that came and made it a success. After a bumpy start(we got pushed out of our original spot) and a few lost drivers, we were able to have a ton of fun with lots of our family and friends. It was so awesome to see so many people we love and appreciate. I committed to myself that I would be better this year and take pictures, but I was too busy gabbing. Dang! I think a couple of people took a few pix and I will have to track them down and see if I can get a copy. Sorry I don't have any for this post, hopefully later :) Monday we got to hang out with Judy and Kevin, Mike and Eva, Valli, and some other really nice folks. We watched Heroes and ate tons of yummy "good for you" treats! Thanks so much guys for the invite- we had a blast! Work was uneventful, but the week went quick which was nice. I loved watching conference this weekend. I have to say that Pres. Holland's talk yesterday afternoon was one of my favorites. He spoke about the angels that are round about us all the time, both the heavenly and earthly ones. It really buoyed my spirits and touched my heart. If anybody missed it, make sure you read it in next month's Ensign. I posted some more pictures of us and the pooches, sorry if everyone is getting sick of them! They are part of our little family and are like our kids. Someday we will have children and then I can be normal and post all kinds of their pictures :) Hope this is a great week for everybody. Fall is my favorite time of year and I can't wait for cooler weather! This past week was over 100 degrees and it just about killed me!

Off to the beach

Last Saturday Jeff and I spent the day down in Huntington Beach on dog beach. When Soto was a puppy we took him down there too, but he turned out to pretty much hate any and all types of water. To this day he walks around puddles, seriously. I have contemplated trying to video tape us giving him a bath - WOW. Anywho, poor Soto stayed at home while we took Sadie. She, unlike her brother, did really well. She even got far enough in the water a couple of times that she actually had to swim. As long as Jeff was in the water with her, she was game. It was pretty cute to watch her. She is also a much more social dog than Soto and after a few encounters with big dogs that made her hide between our legs, she warmed up pretty well to the other people and dogs. I love blogging about my dogs because they never fail to bring a smile to my face! I would have a million more I am sure if I had the time and space for all of them. I was never allowed to have a dog as a kid and so perhaps I am making up for lost time. Anywho, here are some cute pictures. Have a great day!

RSVP???

This year Jeff and I are both taking the plunge and turning 30, see previous post :) To celebrate and try to help me in particular not freak out too bad about this, we are having a shin-dig at Liberty Park in Cerritos Saturday, Sept. 27th. We have sent out invitations and can't wait to have fun and see as many of our friends and family that can make it. HOWEVER, no one is RSVP'ing so at the moment I am not sure what to plan for. I am hoping that people are still planning on calling, and just waiting til the last minute, but just in case, I am going to invite people to leave a comment here if that is easier. I would totally appreciate a response whether it is yes or no. If for some reason you did not get an invitation, I am sure the mailman or mailwoman ate it and I apologize. Leave me an email address and I can get more specifics about the party to anyone that needs them. Thanks again and we totally hope to see everyone next Saturday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL SWEETHEART!

So, being as this is a wonderful online journal type of situation, I must take advantage of the fact that I get to post whatever I want. Today is Jeff's 30th birthday! Wow! I can hardly believe how time flies. Jeff and I have known each other since we were about 14 years old. I clearly remember him being the first boy to ever call me. Looking back, I had no idea at the time where my life was going to lead. I had no clue that that first phone call would lead to a best friend, a confidant, my source of unconditional love and support. I am the absolute luckiest woman alive to have the blessing of being his wife. Jeff is hilarious, few people probably know what a great sense of humor he has. He is generally quiet and reserved, but I know the truth :) No one on earth can lift my spirits or make me laugh like he does. Whenever he is by my side the world is right. After all these years of friendship, dating, marriage, he still makes me weak in the knees. He is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. His testimony and faith are completely unwavering. He is so fun to be around. He is a great listener and a true friend to those he loves. Words are so inadequate, and I am such a poor author. But I couldn't let this day pass without letting him know just how wonderful he is and how grateful I am for him. My life is better because he is a part of it. I love you my favorite boy, happy birthday!

Who are you mm?

Ok. So I really hope I am not being rude, but "mm" left a comment under my last post but I can't tell who it is! "mm" please let me know who you are and how I can comment on your blog. Right now, if you have a blog, it is set to private or blocked so I have no way of figuring this out. Thanks, hopefully this mystery is solved soon, or I just might go crazy! :)

A random sampling

So I am back to the grind. Up early, sweating my tukuss off all day outside. I pray for fall weather every morning (I abhor being sweaty, probably one of my least favorite things in life)! The last few weeks have been scattered with some pretty cool events besides work, thank goodness! My bestest friend Rebekah was down for a visit from Utah (she recently moved to Utah from Colorado, maybe she will eventually make it back to Cali :) with her husband and baby. We got to have family dinner with her for her birthday which was so stinking fun! I never get to spend enough time with her, and those times she comes down are treasured. Yesterday me, Jeff, and cousin Tyler went to the coolest reptile show at the Anaheim Convention Center. I don't know how many of you know this, but I am quite the reptile fan. I had an amazing king snake, Pedro, may he rest in peace ;) Tyler and his brother are also herp enthusiasts. They breed leopard geckos and bearded dragons, and boas of some sort. Their garage is Filled with cages and crickets! Anywho, the convention was so, so fun. I went looking for something to catch my eye, but in all honesty it has been tough to find a snake or reptile that is as mellow as Pedro was. Can you imagine my excitement when we met Robert?! Robert (see pic. below) is a breeder of eastern indigo snakes. Truly, the pictures I got did not do the snake justice. He was gorgeous! Indigos are such mellow snakes and they are one of the only species of snakes that develop relationships with their owners. They are so docile, like to be held, and they eat chicken wings instead of rats! What a bonus!! (I have kept frozen rats/mice in the freezer much to my poor mother's dismay) With such amazing beauty and personality, however, comes a price. So, we did not bring one home YET, but Jeff thinks they are awesome too so be on the look out for a future posting about the indigos... And last, but not least, Jeff's grandma inherited a motorized scooter from one of her friends at church. Needless to say, Jeff has been having a grand time riding the thing and pushing its limits. Sadie doesn't really like the thing, but Soto would sit on Jeff's lap all day long and ride around. So, I think that is it for now. Jeff's bday is next Sunday. He takes the plunge first. One of the requirements I had way back in the day was only dating someone who was older than me. He is older by 29 days. :) We are planning a joint bday party so everyone keep your eyes on the mail. Info to come soon.

Adios Jordan!

Jordan is a missionary! He entered the MTC yesterday. Sunday he spoke in church, Justin and Aubrey sang (we knew Aubrey could sing, but dang Justin, I am impressed!), and Dad spoke too. It was a great meeting with tons of family and friends showing up to support him. I know he will be a wonderful missionary and have lots of cool experiences to share with us along the way. I am sure Mom and Dad's will be a little lonely for awhile!

We are plugging along as the summer comes to a close. I can't believe how fast it has flown by! Work starts back up for me in less than two weeks, yikes! It is a good thing I like my job :) Life is good. Predictable at times, but good...

Have I got some great brothers or what?

She's huge!

My darling little puppy is not very little anymore. In fact, she is quickly becoming quite large! I keep telling myself that she is done with her growing spurts and won't really get to be 60+ pounds. Whatever. I admit I am in denial. :) So here are a few updated pictures, and yes, she is as tall as Soto now, but is more clumsy than ever. She is so ridiculous when it comes to food and her hyperactivity might just be the death of me! If anybody knows of a good dog trainer, please let me know! We have tried calling a few, but they have all flaked out on us. I might try a group puppy class but would rather have some one-on-one training with her. We shall see...the adventure continues!

Ahhh, it seems like it was just yesterday...

Per request of one of my best friends(this is for you Jules :), I have posted just a few pictures from our wedding day. I can hardly believe it has been two years! I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband. I am rendered speechless so often at his quiet strength, love, kindness, and the devotion he has towards me. Truly I know that no one else loves me as much or as completely as him. How grateful I am everyday that Heavenly Father let me have him! :) The middle picture is of us and most of my moms family. My grandparents have both recently passed and many days I find myself remembering them and wishing so much that they were still here. I am saddened that they will never meet my kids in this life, but am so comforted knowing that perhaps they are with my kids now. Grandpa teaching them all of his funny sayings and listening to hours and hours of stories with such patience. Grandma, giving them the best and most comforting hugs and telling them to give me a little bit of grief once they are here. We get to do their temple work at the end of this year and I am so looking forward to that blessed day. What a marvelous occasion it will be!

Summertime

I always feel like summer is finally here once the 4th of July arrives. We had a great day hanging out with our favorite Saunders family, enjoying food and the awesome fireworks show from Vets Stadium right behind their house. We reminisced about "back in the day" when my family and a bunch of other friends hung out at their house doing the same thing. Back then however, we were allowed to light off fireworks, and believe me, we did. I feel like I am getting old! It was so wonderful to see Jeff, Amy, and Kayla last week. It really stinks that they are so far away. I think everyone in the family is counting down the days til Christmas when they will be back, especially Grandma :) Some people have said that Kayla looks like me. I will let all of you be the judge of that... The sopping wet puppy is Sadie Mae. We went swimming at Jeff's cousins house last week. Since we think she has a good deal of lab in her, we thought we'd see how she liked the pool. It was so stinking cute to watch her "doggy paddle." I am not sure if she loved it, but she didn't freak out either. Soto of course, still detests the water. He spent the afternoon trying to make sense of the tortise in the yard. A big congrats to Jon and Aubrey on finding out that they are most likely having a baby girl, yeah!!! Babies are so wonderful and we couldn't be happier for them!!

Peace at last!

Well, hallelujah, I think they like each other! So about a week and a half ago, I finally got up the nerve to let Soto and Sadie play, unconfined by Jeff or I(it took a heck of a lot of coaxing by Jeff to get me to do it). And much to my surprise, Soto was amazing! He has been so sweet to Sadie that it truly is a huge sigh of relief. In fact, it is very cute because he has become quite her protector. Someone was banging on the front door a few nights ago and he actually picked her up by her nape and tried to hide her behind the love sac! I was sad I didn't have my camera :( When we got Sadie she weighed 5 pounds 2 ounces. Yesterday at her vet appointment, she weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces! She almost doubled her weight in just two weeks! Holy crud! What we thought was going to be a 30-35 pound dog, the vet says could now probably end up around 55-60! Yikes! I was very shocked to say the least. It is a good thing she is cute, even with her big, clumsy feet and little head, because I am not sure I would have brought her home had I known how big she could get. It is interesting though, and I have had time to reflect about a few things with this new addition to our family. First and foremost, life never turns out how we think it should, or how we would choose given the option. My life is nothing like I would have thought, but I think it is better because I have tried, even if it is just a tiny bit at times, to trust my Heavenly Father and do what He wants me too. I wouldn't have chosen Sadie had I known her "statistics" ahead of time. She is going to be huge, not a characteristic in a dog I would have chosen. She does not understand that we only go potty outside. I am not sure if this is deliberate, but cleaning up her messes in the house is old. She bites my face. In fact, I think she does it on purpose. But she follows me around the house, she likes to snuggle when she sleeps, and she loves being everywhere I am. Jeff and I looked and hunted and searched for a second dog for a year and a half. And you know what? Cheesy as it may sound, I think she chose us too and was meant to be our dog. We don't always get what we want in life, but I am coming to understand that we always get what we need. Sometimes that is hard to admit because things can get really hard at times. Hopefully through all the bites, accidents in the house, and big surprises, we will come ahead better people for those experiences. Thanks Sadie Mae (and Soto too!) for teaching me things I couldn't have learned another way at this time in my life. You are amazing creatures and family members :)

Oh wow...

My how time fades our memories! Life the last 7 days has certainly been eventful with Sadie Mae in the house. Let's see...we(meaning Sadie of course) have decided that night time means play time. I don't think Jeff or I have slept for more than an hour at a time the last week, and it seems as if my poor husband spends most of the nights in the living room with a very awake and very hyper puppy. Bless his heart! He tries to let me sleep as much as possible. I am so greatful he can survive and thrive actually, on such little sleep. Me on the other hand, I am a mess if I don't sleep at least 8 or 9 hours. (I know, what am I gonna do when we have kids...we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it :) She is psycho when it comes to food, she acts like every meal is her last! She has, how do I put this kindly, "discharged" a pile of worms that looked like spaghetti- I literally thought I was gonna vomit, and has learned to shriek when she is upset. Somehow, I think I forgot all of these wonderful types of experiences when I saw her. In my defense, however, Soto was and is an amazing, very low maintenence puppy and dog and has been since the get go. Doesn't really want alot of affection, came housebroken from day one, and after the first night, slept peacefully in his crate all night long(usually). But bless Sadie Mae, she is a cute little bugger in spite of herself. We are still working on getting along with Soto, I think he is more annoyed with her than anything. A shiba club member said it took him more than 3 months to get his new dog to get along with his shiba, and when he got a third dog, it took his shiba more than 6 months before the shiba wouldn't try to kill the new comer. We might be playing referee for quite awhile...But dogs are great and having never had any growing up, I wouldn't change the experiences for the world!

Sadie Mae

Alas, we have added a new member to the family, and hopefully she is here to stay! We found an abandoned puppy on Wednesday and it was pretty much love at first sight, at least for us the parents. Unfortunately, Soto is kind of ticked off right now that someone is invading his space. We have consulted our dog trainer and she said that we need to give Soto quite a bit of time to acclamate. Shibas do not like to share - ANYTHING. We are optimistic however, that given enough time and space he will be ok. Shibas thrive best in a pack, and as soon as he can let her know he is the boss, he will get along famously with her. Right now we estimate that she, Sadie Mae, is only about 5-6 weeks old. We think she is a lab/jack russell terrier/ mutt of some kind. We are pretty excited to have her and are keeping our fingers crossed:)

Congratulations Jordan!!!

Ahhhh, we would just like to take a second and congratulate Jordan on his mission call! He is going to the Houston, Texas South Mission and will be speaking Spanish. He leaves Aug. 20th and we are so proud of him. We know you have waited a long time for your turn to go on your mission Jordan, and we know how incredible you will be. Lots of love - xoxo

things about jeff

well hello all! my name is Jeff, and i have the privilege of being married to hilarie the worlds greatest wife. and since this is our blog i thought it would be fun to put in my 2 cents.

10yrs ago i was walking the cold streets of Toronto Canada tying not to get frostbite while trackting. and on my free time trying to pull a better prank on my district then they could pull on me.

a to do list what an idea.

and my three bad habits. #1 i sometimes might leave my cups and soda cans around the house

#2 i should probably change shower day from one day a week to at least 2 or 3

#3 i tend to leave the house weather i match or not

and a list of all the places i have called home goes something like this buena park.ca,anaheim.ca,riverside.ca,longbeach.ca,south jordon.ut,toronto,westminister.ca,and placentia.ca

and last but no least a few things about me you might not know. i am an only child but i have had foster brothers. i have died my hair almost every color you can think of. i love to play music my fav. instrument is the trombone.my fav. music is jazz, folk , and ragga.
and for work i play with electricity.

Tagged...

Ok, so Amy did it and told everyone to do it, and I am going to try and comply- hopefully I can remember something!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 other people and posts their names.



What were you doing 10 years ago?

--Uhh, that is forever ago! I was 19, out of high school, and going to Cypress College. I was also working for the city of Cypress in the Park and Recreation Dept. and had just started my current job as an adapted physical education instructor(I am shocked every time I think about how long I have been at this job- time flies!!!) I was either teaching nursery in my home ward or I had started going to the singles ward and was teaching gospel doctrine. Tough either way.



5 things on my "to-do" list today:

--laundry(hopefully if I am motivated)

--make dinner

--take Soto for a walk

--drop stuff off at the post office(or make Jeff do it:)

--change the sheets



3 bad habits you have:

--not folding the laundry after I have washed and dried it- it likes to stay in the basket!

--apparently leaving the cap off the toothpaste, drives my husband crazy, I am still not sure I do it, but then who else would? :)

--sleeping til the last possible second and then waiting one more minute , not always a good idea



Places you have lived:

--Orem, Utah

--Torrance, CA

--Long Beach, CA

--Buena Park, CA

--Placentia, CA



Things most people don't know about me:

--Kind of a general question. Let's see...I have webbed toes(thank you dad!), I was born on Friday the 13th, I have been diabetic for 21 years, I have no sisters but always desperately wanted some(thankfully I now have 2 great sister-in-laws, and a gorgeous niece), I am pretty much obsessed with watching the food network and HGTV-my husband is gracious enough to indulge me...most of the time, I have been to Italy, the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, and Canada, my favorite flower is a calla lilly and I don't like roses. Ohhh, and I have the most awful long term memory ever. Bummer.



I Tag: Aubrey dear, and anyone else who hasn't done this lately

This is Soto, our two year old shiba inu at his 2nd birthday party. And yes, I made him real people cupcakes. There is absolutely nothing this dog won't eat, and he definately prefers people food. He is pretty much spoiled. I admit it.

I just had to do it...

Ok, so after quite a few months of seeing lots of darling blogs, I finally had to give a whirl. Mind you, I am REALLY terrible at computer stuff so hopefully Jeff can help me with most of this! Let's see...where to start? Jeff and I just returned from an awesome weekend in San Diego where we went to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. We got away for a night and hung out at the Wild Animal Park. It was amazing! Not only were all of the animals out(except the tigers), but we had so much fun just being together. Even after two years of dating and two years of marriage, there is still no one on earth I would rather spend my time with! :) We loved seeing the lions, it was so cool that they came so close to us. I think Jeff's favorite part was feeding the lorikeets(see above pictures). I am happy to join the "world of blogging" and figure it is about time since I love reading all of my family and friends' blogs. It is a great way to keep up with everyone when you can't see them.