Family of Three

After A LOT of research and discussion... we took the plunge! We are now a family of three and Steve is out numbered. Still struggling to chose a name, but I'll give you an update when we finally decide.....

.................. and the results are in. Her name is PENNY MELIZA!

Welcome to the family Penny, Pig Pen, Pen...


Bravely wandering out of her kennel for the first time in her new home.

Getting acquainted



Starting to discover her surroundings.


Not quite used to wearing a real collar. She only wore a green ribbon around her neck for the first 8 weeks.
Look at that sweet face.


Her favorite. We CANNOT get her to keep her feet out of the dishes while she is eating or drinking. Perhaps they are just too big for her at this point. Not for long, she's a fast growing girl!

Thanksgiving in April

Way back in February for my Dad's birthday, I gave him more of an invite than a gift. I told him I would make him whatever dinner he wanted, for whomever he wanted and whenever he wanted. So April just happened to be the day we were all available, and Dad decided he wanted Thanksgiving. Partly, because it's delicious, and partly to give me a challenge. See the results below! It was my first Thanksgiving and I think it went marvelously well.




Though it was Thanksgiving dinner, I wanted a Springtime table. Bright and colorful and fun! I love decorating for parties and setting pretty tables.


The table centerpiece

Little details. Oh it was the first time we got to use our fancy China we got for our wedding thanks to Steve's parents. I LOVE the china and was so excited to get to use it.

Here we are busy cooking away. I sported my cute "party" apron. Keeps me lookin' cute even though I have an apron on. Another wedding gift actually, and I simply adore it.

Here's the spread. It's enough for an army! Everyone was sent home with leftovers.

Brayden was excited to get up in his chair but then found himself sitting at the head of the table all alone while the rest of us loaded up our plates.

The BEAUTIFUL and DELICIOUS pie that Steve made for dessert. It's just so pretty and tasted wonderful.

And since it was technically a birthday party/present... we sang.

Eat up!

Typical after-Thanksgiving-pass-out session happening. Except Brayden was actually just buzzing from one person to another busy as a bee.

It was a fun time had by all! A nice no pressure way to try making my first Thanksgiving too! And we were only 30 min later than my original goal. Not to bad I'd say.

Shamrock Run!

So here's the deal. I run. Some. Probably should really call it jogging. But running sounds more much more impressive. But truthfully, I jog. Why do I do it? In an attempt to stay in shape, hopefully shed some pounds, and justify the occasional indulgence of Mint Oreo Blizzards at DQ.

Jogging is not something I love while I'm doing it, but I always feel better after and have a sense of accomplishment. So recently, I was peer pressured into signing up for the Shamrock Run. In reality I knew I could cover the distance (5k which equals 3.1 miles I believe) yet feared I'd be the one on the news crossing the finish line by myself, last. But I got over my sillyness, and signed up.

Glad I did it. It was my first real "race" of any kind and it was surprisingly FUN!

I went down to the Convention Center Saturday morning at 8:45 to pick up my bib and shirt. It was a ZOO already down there with the 32,000 racers there to pick up their stuff and also some kind of cheerleading event happening for what looked like a bunch of 13 year old girls who needed about 6 more inches on the length of their skirts. But I survive and stared planning my race day attire.

It was a tough decision because I wanted to stay dry before the race, not overheat during the race and keep warm after. Turns out I picked JUST the right stuff to wear.

Here is me at home in my running gear. Excited and nervous for the events to start!

My carpool buddies getting their bibs on. Allie on the left and Jessica on the right, the one who peer pressured us into racing today, and our resident motivational speaker.

Me getting my ankle timer thing on. Thanks for the flattering angle Allie ;)


And a close up of the ankle timer. Ha ha, it makes me laugh that Allie took these pictures.


Us is all of our pre-race beauty (and apparently supporting Nike very well in this picture)


WE FINISHED!!!!!!!!! HOORAY! This is me and Suzanne. She was my running buddy, we stuck together til the end (until she got a boost of wild energy and sprinted across the finish line). Ha ha, my legs would not cooperate to sprint but I made it none-the-less.

And lastly, all of our team the Frolicking Leprechauns after a successful race! Nicely done ladies. Can't wait for next year!

Revolve Tour

I got to attend a little part of The Revolve Tour this weekend. It's intended for teen girls but I LOVED it! Awesome event and very fun to see my cousin up on stage. What a blessing to see how God is working in her life.

Miss Sophia, doing her thing as a part of the worship team.

Tiffany Thurston and Soph up on stage. Beautiful ladies, beautiful voices.


The whole worship team.


This one has to be my favorite. Soph and Grandma Faye backstage while there is a Rap/Hip-Hop band up on stage (Group 1 Crew). Leave it to Gram to make backstage at 93 years old during a Hip-Hop concert.

Fun with Brayden

Got to have a fun play day with with sister and Brayden this week.

Oh I see you have a camera in your hand. Did you know I LOVE to play with those? And I think it's a kick in the pants to look at myself on them too!

Sure I'll ham it up for ya! I just love to play and be busy :)

Oh my Auntie Christine. These are awfully fun sunglasses you have.


OOOOO-weeee, I can't hardly stand it. This is a fun game!


I am one cool cat.

Ohhhh, acting a little shaky here. Not so sure about the cool factor....



...ooohhhhh, and it's back. Yep, you only wish you could be as cute as me. These sunglasses ROCK!

Thanks for a fun play date dude.

Aloha!

We finally got to go to Hawaii for our delayed honeymoon! Here are a few pics showing some of the rain, fun and sun we enjoyed during the trip!


I was excited that my chain link countdown that started out with 120 links, was down to only 4!



The View from our hotel room in Waikiki


The view out to the USS Missouri (left) and the memorial for the USS Arizona

Steve taking a moment to pose for the camera during our self guided tour of the Missouri

Me climbing from done deck to another on the Missouri

We visited the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island. Steve really enjoyed the planes but the most interesting part of the tour to me was seeing these bullet holes that occurred during the attack on Pearl Harbor. They made the whole day at Pearl Harbor, learning the history of the event, MUCH more real.

Taking a moment to take in the views of a beach outside Waikiki on our driving tour of Oahu


Good thing we stopped for a picture earlier, the weather definitely took a turn for the worse and cut our driving tour short. It was raining to hard to be able to see any of the sights :(


Back in Waikiki later that afternoon, the rain had slowed a bit, but it was still cloudy. What can you do?


I know, LEAVE Waikiki and head to Maui! Of course when we leave the sun comes out again.


We made it to Kahana Sunset on Maui and took advantage of the sunny weather for a walk on the beach.



Steve decided to play in the ocean when we got there

The next day we shopped in Kaanapali and Lahaina. Went from sunny....

....to rainy very quickly that day. These two picks were taken about 10 min apart. No question we were there during the rainy season.

Luau night!

Finally the SUN CAME OUT TO STAY!!!! The rain kept us from playing in the ocean for the first part of our time on Maui because all the rain caused roads to close, flash flooding and sewer drains were overflowing resulting in coastal water advisory. Meaning stay out of the ocean or risk getting sick. But the rains cleared, the ocean went from brown to blue and invited us to go play!


There were 4 of these HUGE turtles swimming around in the cove of our hotel. SO AWESOME! We watched them for a long time and they were only 20 feet away from us. This was the BEST afternoon!

Me swimming in the ocean

The view I had from my suntanning location. Not to shabby.


Sunset from our condo on Maui

Enjoying the sunset in Lahaina waiting for dinner at...


...Cheeseburger in Paradise! YUM

One last picture saying good bye to the hotel.

The last shot before we had to leave and go home :( Love this place

Aloha Hawaii! Until we meet again :)