Sunny Days in AZ

Look For Me Here!

2010-08-11T09:46:00.001-07:00

Hello All! It's been a long while since I have posted on this blog - so let me point you to the new place to find us! A lot has changed in our lives - so check it out here:

www.anothermariniscoming.blogspot.com

Hope to see you there!

Refiner's Fire

2009-10-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

I got this from a church group I am in this week...and LOVED it and wanted to share....I've always heard of refiner's fire in reference to God...but have never heard it explained like this. Enjoy.

The Refiner's Fire
"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." Malachi 3:3

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group the next week. That week the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flame was hottest, as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left only a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment, then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. Be reminded of this each time this week you see or use something silver - jewelry, eating utensils, pocket change, etc.

Epiphany - Relived!

2009-08-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

Whew! Has it been a while for me to post, or what?! I guess it's called summer...and Facebook...that's where I put most of the effort with pictures, etc. Anyway, my wonderful husband and I were just talking this morning after we read the Bible...and it reminded me of a post that I wrote about year ago, almost exactly a year, crazy enough! I thought I would look it back up and repost it.

Bobby and I were talking about how before we really read the Bible through front to back...we thought that these characters were going to be "perfect" for some reason - God's chosen ones...perfect, right? And as we have read the Bible through, you realize and it's almost surprising (and maybe at first disappointing)...that the characters, whether it is King David, Moses, or Israel as God's chosen nation...that they are soooo far from perfect! They have so many weaknesses and those weaknesses are proof to us - thousands of years later - that we need God to make us perfect (duh!). It is also proof to others that there is hope. For example, I look at Israel time and time (and time!) again turn their backs on God. It is crazy to me that these people have God telling them that they are His chosen people and all they have to do is follow His commands and He will make great things out of them. Pretty simple, right? Crazy enough...they don't obey! It baffles me as I read through the Old Testament....then I realize...uh oh..."Israel" and "Dani" and can be interchanged! How dare I judge the people of Israel, when I realize this is God's communication to me to show that I am God's chosen one too...and all I have to do is obey His commands, and yet I fail as well. In fact, I know now that the whole story in the Old Testament, especially the big picture of the entire story, is for me to see that Israel is there to show me how I interact with God. And that is bad and good. Bad, because that means I am a screw up! Good, though, because that means God has hope for me if I just believe in Him. So, as much as God is so angry at Israel time and again throughout the OT (whew...and especially in Jeremiah, dang, He is MAD...just reading that now!), He never fails to offer hope for the nation. Which includes huge amounts of forgiveness, when they don't deserve that at all. So, because I have weaknesses (I sin!), God still offers hope to me after being REALLY mad at me, and I don't deserve it at all. And if Israel is a powerful story to me and the hope I still have in the Lord no matter how "bad" I have been, imagine our story to non-believers (or even other believers!)....I guess, my challenge, is to rise up in your weaknesses, your sins...and use those as perfect examples of how God has still promised His HOPE to you...and always will! I wonder how many people think that all believers (in the Bible and beyond) are perfect and it was easy for them...and how encouraged they could be by Israel, David's....and your story!

Here's my old blog from about a year ago....a little different twist to the "being made perfect in our weakness" thought...but still the same theme throughout.

Epiphany

August 20, 2008

If you know me, you know that every so often I have little thoughts/sayings that make a ton of sense to me and seem to piece together, slowly or quickly, and then I probably use these epiphanies every so often...especially if you have a issue or problem that you are talking to me about. Bobby's probably sick of my epiphanies by now. =)

Anyway...here's something that I just thought through and thought I would share.I stumbled on this verse and thought of myself, then thought of others in this world as well that deal with this same thought. Many times with humans, it is difficult for us to admit our weaknesses...or that we have them in general even. But, as this verse explains, we have them to bring glory to God, believe it or not. And I love that. God gave me weaknesses and pain for many reasons, 1) to show/make me admit that I need God - why would I come to God if he didn't prove my lowliness every so often? and 2) so that His Glory can be "advertised" through me. I LOVE that last one! I HAVE to have imperfections and pain in order to show the rest of the world that there is a God.

2 Corinthians 12:7-107 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

For example...say that you have people that you hang around with that aren't Christ followers, but you hang out with and interact with them on a consistent basis. They get to know you, obviously, and get to know your character and really admire and respect you. Then one day you happen to be talking about a touchy subject. Defenses raise, you and others are all trying to prove your points, and it gets ugly. You yell, maybe even name call, and act completely out of character. In fact...you - the Christ follower - are the nastiest one of the bunch. Nobody likes to admit this, but even with the most Godly individuals, this happens. So..your friends think, where did this come from? I thought he/she was "perfect" in a sense...if I respect them so much other times, where'd this ugliness come from? How can they be just like me, yet the majority of times they seem so great and put together?

This right here, this is a testimony to bring glory to God. God makes us the "great" and the "put together", we don't have anything to do with it....and God is truly the one they are respecting when they respect us and our actions, not us. Without God...we'd be nasty all of the time...and what a blessing it is for God to choose us for this! He made us great, we did nothing to deserve that...but He did anyway.Many times people ask why there is pain, suffering, weakness...and I think I just had an epiphany why it's with us....believe it or not...it's to exalt GOD! All of this said, I wanted to send this along and post this, because at times I know we are all ashamed of your weakness. And as we should try to grow and learn from weaknesses and mistakes...I still think this is a lesson for us. We will never fully get rid of our nastiness....we must try to "better" what we can...and then leave the rest for the God to use for His glory. It's a great advertisement for what God can do, who He truly is, and this brings glory to God! Over the last year, I've realized that my purpose in this life is to affect others for God's glory. What's your purpose?

Trip to Illinois

2009-06-19T20:18:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I know that I have been back to AZ for almost two weeks now...so this post is a bit late...but better late than never, right? Right.

Bobby and I flew to IL a couple weeks ago and had about five days with family and friends and it was wonderful. It was a huge treat to walk off the plane and be greeted by Mom, Nikki, Kiara and Vera. There is almost nothing better than seeing them all waiting there and having Kiara run at top speed into my arms. It was awesome. The only thing better that I have ever had like that is when Bobby and I used to fly back and forth...and seeing his face after a long flying day. Now, he never ran up and jumped into my arms like Kiara did...but still sweet just the same. =)

We had lots of time with Kiara and Vera and my sister, and Mom and Dad of course too. It's so nice to just "be around" and have time with everyone. We had several afternoons that Nikki had the girls over at Mom and Dad's and just hung out in the living room. That was so nice to have and appreciate her carting around the girls back and forth from Morton to make it easier for us. Bobby and Dad got to try out Dad's new guns (yes guns). Bobby and him went shooting a couple times and really enjoyed all that boy stuff together. We also timed the trip just right, as my cousins little girls were having a birthday party one night that we were home. Lexi and Brooke turned 3 and 1 respectively. That day was filled with lots of family on both my Mom and Dad's side. My Grandpa Bud, who is an amazing duck carver, blessed Bobby and I with our own set of ducks to take back with us...and we even got them back to AZ alive, so to speak (no damage!). Kiara also had a performance for her singing/dancing group...so not only did I get to go to that and watch the performance, but we even got a dress rehearsal the day before at Mom's house (video below). We also got to see Vera's somersault in person too (video below)! The weather was a bit chilly to swim, but we did get to swim a little with Kiara in the new salt water pool at my parent's house.

Also, I was FINALLY able to meet little Alex...my best friend Jen's baby. Since moving across the country, the things like this - having a baby and being there - aren't as easy anymore. These are the things I truly miss living so far away...but the wait was well worth it. He is the most adorable little guy in the whole world! He is a great mix of Brad (her hubby) and her side of the family...I see both sides in his little face. Also, Jen has been raising a strong little boy (he's only three months!) as he is already rolling over - both ways! And...as you hold him up, he is using his legs to walk too! Probably not so much fun for Jen in a few more months when Alex is getting everywhere on his own! I went over one afternoon and got to meet him for the first time, go on a walk with them, and just catch up with Jen...and then Bobby and I hung out one night too so he could meet the little guy. He was putting on a pretty good show for us being a great baby...all smiles and contentment. I think he is a weeeee bit naughtier on a regular basis. =)

Again, Bobby and I had so much fun on this trip. My parents, as usual, are just amazing to be around and talk with. Bobby and I love them so much and appreciate everything they've done for us...as well as the wonderful example they continue to set for us.

These pictures are in opposite order...so our final day in IL is first and first day is last...Blogspot is not easy to manipulate and will have to remember next time to upload them in the opposite order! Also, a bunch more pictures at the link below too from my Facebook page.

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=85110&id=511058149&l=60406b5586

They were so cute playing together at my parents' pool our last day in IL

Sweet thing!

Wet girl!

Vera loved this!

Kiara the cutie

Liking the pool a little more all the time

Birthday girls and sisters, Lexi and Brooke - cake time!

Mom and I at the party

Erica (cousin) and Lexi and Brooke - present time!

Kiara - thoroughly enjoying the yummy chocoloate covered strawberries!

Bobby getting a little Vera lovin!

Vera and I - I think I just fed her chocoloate and whipped cream!

Baby Alex - how cute is he?

Sister love

Kiara performing and singing her heart out

Vera needed another hug from big sis in between songs

So cute - watching her sister perform

Kiara singing a solo

She's just so darn cute

Alex and me - he's so sweet

Jen and her little guy

Kiara acting a little crazy

I love this picture!

Vera wanted in on the action

There she is - little miss performer!

Playing at the park, or posing at the park...not sure which one!

Love her!

Tough guys - his little side kick throughout our time in IL

So precious!

Kiara's dress rehearsal and such a good big sister! She is so loving and kind to her little sister. It can't be easy sharing the spotlight now when she is used to not sharing the spotlight!

Somersault time!

Headed back to Illinois!

2009-06-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

Bobby and I are headed to Illinois tomorrow...we are excited to have about five days back with family and friends. Phoenix temps are always about 100 degrees nowadays, so the IL forecast says highs of 75-ish...so we are excited about that! We are hoping to catch as many family and friends as we can while we are home and am SUPER excited to see my best friend, Jen's baby Alex. So excited! He's three months old and haven't been able to meet him yet! And, of course, our two nieces will hopefully be around us for the majority of our time too. Can't ever get enough of them! I guess my sister trusts me to cut Kiara's bangs, so say a little prayer for me and I will try to have pictures of my masterpiece up after we are back to AZ. It's only a trim, so let's pray it's as easy as it sounds!

Hopefully we will see you all when we are in IL!

Promotion, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon

2009-05-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

First of all, Kyndall was promoted from 8th grade to high school a week and a half ago. I know, promoted sounds weird, but it's not "graduated" here in Phoenix...it's promoted. Anyway, we are so proud of her and had such a good time celebrating with her. She has a good friend whose mother rented a NICE limo after the graduation, I mean promotion ceremony. All the kids and parents ate dinner together and then off they went for a couple hours. We were happy to know that a couple mom's hung around for the ride too! That's right...I am officially a mom to a high schooler now....crrrrazy!

Daddy and his little girl before the ceremony

Kyndall and her principal, getting her certfiicate

All of us, after the ceremony

Bobby's brother and family all came for the event too - left to right - Brenda, Ray, Keely, Kyndall, Jenni, Nate, Stefan, Tyler

The limo - pretty sweet ride- they had a blast

Just this past weekend we had three of Ray and Brenda's kids for the weekend. Unfortunately, Brenda's grandpa passed away and Ray and her went to Pennsylvania for the memorial service. We took care of Stefan, Nate and Keely. A while back, once we knew that they would be staying with us, Bobby and I decided that we should head north for a night to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. We found a house to rent in Flagstaff and headed up mid-day last Friday. We got there in the early afternoon and enjoyed the COOL temperatures. The house was perfect for a us...had a trampoline, outside deck, basketball hoop, and even a Wii. We all hung around and enjoyed the house and nice weather and then had a little cook out too. After that, we found out that in downtown Flagstaff they have a movie every Friday night in the square. It was fun to go down there and just walk around, grabbed a coffee at a cute shop and waited for the movie to start in the square. We actually didn't stay long at all once the movie started - too cold for us Phoenicians! Regardless, it was fun to spend a little time out and about in Flagstaff.

The next day, we went got up, I went on a walk with a wonderful view and awesome temperature outside...then we packed up and headed further north another hour and a half to the Grand Canyon. It looked stormy on the drive up, and once we got to the park entrance, it looked a little better. But...it figured, once we drove all the way to the rim, it was raining big time. We had packed a lunch, so we had a closterphobic lunch in the car with seven people...not exactly the picnic at the Grand Canyon we envisioned, but we tried to kill a little time and hoped that it would clear up by the time we were done. After it didn't...we decided to brave it and just go in the rain. It was freezing - I think the temp was in low 40's and rainy, of course. The view wasn't the best with all the foggy/cloudiness, but it is still the Grand Canyon and pretty amazing! I still can't believe I have one of the seven wonders of world practically in my backyard! At one point, Stefan was making fun of Megan's hair because it was frizzy from the rain and some pieces were standing straight up...and that made something click in Bobby's head (yeah, not mine...I still can't believe it didn't click with me!)..if Megan's hair is standing up...there is definitely some electricity in the air...and we need to get away from the rim and openess and get back to the car PRONTO. So we did...nothing hurt...and didn't really think about it again until we were leaving the park and I started reading this newsletter that the Grand Canyon people put out and give to you when you enter the park. In the middle of the paper was a warning to visitors that with stormy seasons in May and June, watch for anyone's hair that is standing up due to lightning around. And it said, if that happens it means that a lightning strike is highly possible and everyone should quickly get away from the rim and get into a house or car! Yikes!

We took a few pictures and admired the canyon a bit more and then we were too chilly and it just kept raining and raining....so we decided to head home. We made the 3.5 hour trek back to Phoenix, travelling through horrible torrential rains the first 2 hours. Finally, as we headed back down into the valley, the skies miraculously cleared and we were back to the sunshine and warmth that we know and love in the valley. The temperature outside literally went from 41 degrees up at the Grand Canyon to 95 degrees once we were back home.

Today we got up and Stefan and I went on a walk...then we all went to church, swam in our pool a bit, and then Kyndall and Stefan went to youth group. All in all, this weekend has been wonderful. Our nephews and niece are kids that you love to have around. I can't believe there have been five kids with us since Thursday, because it doesn't feel like that at all! Seriously, Ray and Brenda's kids have been such a treat to have....Stefan has even willingly been my exercise partner a couple of the days, which is cool because it's a great chance to talk and hear about what a sophomore/junior in high school is doing and thinking. All three of them are the kind of kids that just make everything more fun - and they thoroughly enjoy themselves with everything we have done...and appreciate it all too. I can't tell you how many times they have said thank you or that they have had so much fun with us this weekend and/or the best weekend of their lives (wow!) - and without Bobby or I prompting them to say anything at all! We will miss them when they leave tomorrow, but luckily they only live 20-30 minutes from us!

Here are a few pictures of the weekend, and then a link to my Facebook page with more pictures and even a video.

Bobby and the house we stayed in in Flagstaff. He's so cute. =)

Nate and Keely on the trampoline - Keely loved that thing!

The neighborhood view at the house we were at

How cute are they? Stefan, Nate, Keely, Kyndall and Megan at the coffee shop in downtown Flagstaff

The clan again on our walk back to the car - acting a little crazy
One good shot of the Grand Canyon - many of the pics were foggy - this was the best one!

All of us freezing our butts off! =)

Click on the links below to see more pictures and also a video of the kids.

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81252&id=511058149&l=5cc2aaaf2b

Family Trip Post - LONG Overdue!!!!

2009-05-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this post is soooo long overdue...but better late than never, right?! Right. The entire family came the last week of April. I met them at the airport and got to see them all get off the plane...I hadn't seen my sister and family in a long time! Kiara gave me a big hug and I picked her up and twirled her around a bit. She's so cute. Vera did good on the plane...so, it all started off pretty well! We drove to their house that they rented for the week and then Bobby met us there and we ate dinner together. The next day was filled with pool time at our house. My friend Jen and her hubby and kids came over too. Lots of swimming and fun. Overall a great day. The next day, since it wasn't a weekend we had Kyndall and Megan, we asked to have them for the day, so they got to go to church with us and then hang out for the day. Another day of swimming and fun!

The next few days were filled with Cubs games (yes, my family schedules trips to see us when the Cubbies are playing the D-backs!), horse riding (Kiara got to ride her white horse - by herself!), mini-golf, hiking, shopping and more swimming. Lots of great restaurants too...since Central Illinois doesn't have the widest selection of restaurants, it's always an opportunity to catch some good meals here. Pei Wei was a new one - the more casual version of PF Changs. And it's pronounced Pay Way, not Pee Wee, by the way Ryan! =)

My sister and family left the next Friday and my parents stuck around for another weekend. It was great to have them here for a little extra time - plus the girls were with us for the weekend, so it was great for them too....especially since Kyndall and Megan scored a little shopping time with Mom! =)

This is a extremely shortened version of everything that happened, but I think I waited way too long to write I guess! There are several pictures below...the entire set is on my Facebook page...the link is below. Even if you don't have a Facebook account, you will still be able to view them, by the way.

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76879&id=511058149&l=40675557a6

I love this picture...the next one is from a year and a half ago...my other favorite picture of them!

How they've changed since 2007!

Vera eating her noodles at Pei Wei...she even ate some edamame!

This was exactly what Kiara looked like for most of the trip!

What a great picture - Bobby and I's little buddy!

Family Pic!

My awesome parents at dinner one night

Cutie! Can't handle how amazing her eyes are!

The night of the Cubbies game - she's my little twin!

Kiara and Addie - my friend Jens little girl. So cute!

I love this picture...she was definitely Bobby's little sidekick on this trip!

Kitchen is Finished...Check It Out!

2009-05-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

I have A LOT to blog about...the whole family was just here for a week. When they were here, my dad and Bobby finished the mosaic tile backsplash in the kitchen and we finally got our countertops too! We couldn't wait to post a before and after picture side by side to see the huge difference with all we've done to the kitchen! Below is the before and after pictures side by side...and then I added a few more with different angles. Enjoy! I will be adding another blog either today or tomorrow with ALL the pics from the family vacation here...I've got some good ones!

Before and After

Before and After

Another view of the kitchen - dine-in area

The gorgeous mosaic tile and countertops!

There are many more pictures at the link below. I tried to take pictures of the whole process to really see the slow progress along the way!

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76124&id=511058149&l=4cd58d0c45

My Family is a Comin'!

2009-04-23T16:47:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post to say how esctatic I am that my family is coming tomorrow! We are getting the new house as put away, clean and ready as possible! The pool is up to 83 degrees...yee haw!!!I will have a ton of pictures to post and blog about in a week. My sister, Ryan, Kiara and Vera will be here as well as my parents. They are staying in a rental house for the week...but hopefully up at our new place at the pool for a lot of the time! My parents stay for a few more days at the end of the week, which is awesome. We have the girls that weekend, so they will get some 1-on-1 time. We also have them on Sunday (special request) since all the family is here...and a few days during the week...so there should be plenty of time with them anyway...it's the first time that Kyndall and Megan will meet Vera! I'm excited for that, and also to see her again - and see her walk! And then of course, Kiara...she's just a cutie period...and is very excited to come. She will be going to ride a horse during the week here...somehow that was promised for this trip by her dad, I think. She can't stop talking about that! And the Cubs game we are going to on Monday night (my family plans trips to see us based on when the Cubbies are playing the D-Backs in AZ!).

Everyone pray for a safe flight tomorrow for them all...and a great week! I'll leave you with a few pictures of the cuties I get to play with all week! =)

New House Pictures!

2009-04-08T00:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know it's been FOREVER since my last blog...but I promise I had a good reason! My mom came about two weeks ago and stayed for about five days to help us get a jump start on all the cleaning, painting, and remodeling that we planned doing to the new house. We are now well on our way to being in the house permanently - finally! We plan on being all the way in by this weekend...so we have been sooooo super busy split between two houses for the last 2-3 weeks...and now have another few crazy days ahead, but with a definite light at the end of the tunnel! Whew! I guess all the work and busyness got to us because the girls came down with a nasty bug on Sunday and started puking their guts out (literally...it wasn't pretty...Kyndall slept on the bathroom floor with a comforter and a pillow!). Bobby got a version of the bug by Monday morning, and so the three of them were down and out the whole day yesterday. I felt a little funky...but no where near the puking (and other stuff!) that they were all doing. Luckily, it was a quick recovery...they all feel almost 100% normal...girls back to school and Bobby and I back to packing and working on the new house.

My Dad has been asking for pictures of all the updates for a while now (sorry Dad!) since he didn't get to make the trip out with Mom. She, by the way, was a rock star and helped us out soooo much with cleaning and painting! We couldn't be where we are without her help! Thanks Mom! Anyway...thought it would be fun to post a few before and after pictures...mostly of the kitchen and few rooms that now have paint. The kitchen is our big project. Bobby and I decided to paint the cabinets black and add silver/nickel hardware...change out the countertop (not done yet) and then also add a mosaic tile backsplash above the countertops (not done yet either). The cabinets have been a HUGE project...all done by Bobby. He worked his butt off on these and all his worked paid off big time...they look AMAZING! I was the painting foreman...and took care of all the painting projects (with a lot of help from the girls and Mom!). It's amazing how different the kitchen and family area look already with a change of cabinets and paint color! We are so happy with it so far. I can't wait for the countertops to come in and then lastly the mosaic tile! These last two things should be done by the end of April.

The theme of the kitchen, by the way, is a classic black with an accent of kiwi/lime green. No idea where the idea came from, I just started running with it at some point and bought green slip chair covers for the eat-in kitchen area, which will just make the kitchen so amazing (on top of the hot cabinets, countertops, and mosaic tile!). We are so pleased with everything so far...and also so impatient for it all to finally come together like we have been imagining in our heads for months now!

Here are some before and after pics...then also follow the link to all the house pictures that are on my Facebook page.

Kitchen - Before

Kitchen - After - AMAZING!

Close up of the corner cabinets - love it!

Our inspiration - green and black

Finished paint and lighting in the kitchen. Imagine the picture below with a round glass table and four of the green covered chairs!

Finished colors in the family room (and cleaned carpets!) - open from the kitchen

Bobby and I's room - Posh Red (love this color). Also, this is Bobby's new desk for work that we got off of Craigslist...cute eh?

Lots more pictures here -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=70309&id=511058149&l=19a16c5d91

We also just went to a fiesta birthday party for my good friend, Jen's kids - Addie and Abe. Addie turned 3 and Abe will be 1 soon! It was so much fun packed with everything a fiesta should have - sombreros, Mexican food, pinata...and even mustaches! It was so fun...we each got a fun mustache and sombrero to fully embody the fiesta spirit! There are a few pics below and then several more linked below them too.

The Marins living up to their Spanish name!

Birthday girl Addie - loving the icing on her sombrero hat birthday cake!

Jen and her birthday boy Abe - he's so stinkin' cute!

Birthday girl looking stylish

Jen and I and our sombreros

The HOT Mexican Man - the girls and I LOVE this picture and Bobby hates that I am posting this...I think there will be payback for this at some point!

Could these two be any cuter?

A few more party pics here -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=70308&id=511058149&l=72eaa17bf9

Quicker than I thought!

2009-03-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

I got to this post a lot sooner than I thought! I posted all my San Diego pics to Facebook, and then linked them below. It is soooo much easier to post pictures to Facebook than on Blogspot, so I just did it this way...I did upload a few pictures right here for a little preview!

All in all the five days were awesome...we kept it cheap and didn't do the typical Disneyland or Sea World...but I will tell you this...there is PLENTY to do in San Diego for free...and I know there was so much more that we didn't even get to! We did a lot of beach time, obviously. Also went to Balboa Park, which is a neat park that has 14 museums around it - and on Tuesdays several are free to the public. So we hit several of the museums while walking around the park. Also, La Jolla beach - gorgeous beach and area and then the sea lion at La Jolla Cove is a must too. They just sunbathe on this cove, and you can watch them. It was actually very interesting if you stayed around and watched for a while - we even saw a fight break out because a mommy sea lion was protecting her little one! It was really neat - but didn't smell too nice! =) Oh, and downtown San Diego is cool too - we found a little area called the Gaslamp Quarter, which had tons of shopping and cool restaurants - the girls loved that area and just walking around. Coronado Island is so pretty too with the big ol' bridge over to the island! And if you like to hike and are in the San Diego area ever - make the short trip to Torrey Pines Park. We had really foggy weather, so we couldn't see the gorgeous views, but it was still soooo neat to hike up these mountains, right off the ocean. It is said that you can sometimes see whales and dolphins at certain spots on clear days....not so much for us...we couldn't even see the ocean that day with the fog and it was right in front of us! All in all, great times with the girls...had a ton of fun, especially since it was a cheap trip! It just shows that great times with the family making memories doesn't have to cost a bunch of money!

The drive there

Gorgeous Drive!

One of my favorite pics - right when we got to San Diego

Ocean Beach - Our hotel was located directly on the beach, which was perfect!

La Jolla Beach - gorgeous!

La Jolla Cove - Sea Lions!

After a day at La Jolla Beach!

Cuties!

On our hike at Torrey Pines

More pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67263&id=511058149&l=859e8c24db

I had to post a video of the sea lions...especially how they get around! I mean...I guess it makes sense that they look goofy, since they don't have legs to walk on, but the flopping around is funny and cool to watch!

San Diego Post Coming Soon!

2009-03-22T10:56:00.001-07:00

Hey there! I meant to have pictures up by now since getting back from San Diego...but haven't. Just wanted to let you know that I will post about the trip soon! We are going to get busy this week as the new house closes, painting, moving, etc....so I will do my best to get them out here soon!

Talk soon!

We are moving!

2009-03-13T20:41:00.001-07:00

As if moving twice in one year isn't enough...I am going to make it a third time soon as we bought a house and are moving within the next month! We are very excited about this next phase for the family...the house is great - several hundred more square feet than the current house, an additional bedroom and bath, a great location just north about 10 mins from where we are now....AND....drum roll please.....an incredible backyard with a POOL! =) Oh...and we have orange and lemon trees too! We have already sampled the oranges and they are YUMMY! We can't believe how great of a deal we got, it almost still doesn't seem real to us. The housing market definitely worked in our favor to be able to afford this house...and even though we are going to be taking a hit on the current house, we will be definitely gaining an amazing house at an awesome price. This is a smart move for us, the family and our future. My parents were a HUGE help in this process with all their expertise - they have made this process soooo much easier!

We couldn't be happier...the girls already have their room colors picked out and Bobby and I are going to take on some projects, starting in the kitchen. The house overall is in great shape, but we wanted to do some things to make it "ours." I will hopefully be posting some of our progress along the way!

We head to San Diego for the girls' spring break next week and the week after that we should close and have the keys to finally get started on some of the painting and kitchen stuff. We can't wait to get in there and get settled! My family comes out at the end of April, so we are shooting to be officially in the house before that - mid-April.

Enjoy the video and pictures below!

It's so cute!

Oh my goodness...this is our pool! What?! How cool is this pool????

That's right...there is a waterfall in our pool!

An aerator to cool off the water in the pool in the HOT summer

The orange and lemon trees are in the background

Still can't believe this will be our backyard!

Here's a video walkthrough of the house. I apologize if this is a little bumpy and quick - I didn't have enough space left on my memory card, so I had to hurry, but you'll get the idea!

Palm Springs

2009-03-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

My great friend Charity from college called a couple weeks ago and said that they would be in Palm Springs, CA soon....and who knew! Palm Springs is less than 4 hours from Phoenix! I haven't seen her in about 3 years...she's had two little girls since then! She lives in Michigan with her family, and with all of my changes over the past year and before with traveling to AZ so much...and not to mention that she's had two babies in three years...we haven't been able to see each other. So, this was awesome how this worked out. Bobby and I drove there Monday morning this week to see them. It was my first trip to Cali! Woohoo! I've always wanted to go, and actually our family will be going to San Diego next week for Spring Break....so I will be there twice in a couple weeks!

We hung out at the resort they were at...which was super nice, by the way...and just had a nice time catching up and then also getting to know their cuties! Ella is the oldest and is gorgeous! She is a girly girl that loves her mommy and daddy. So cute...she's at the age when she says and does some completely cute stuff! And then Johanna is about 10 months, and is just as content and wonderful as a baby can be. Whenever she smiles (which is A LOT), she is infectious. She seemed to like Bobby a lot and you could always catch her smiling at him. =)

Charity is a friend that you can be away from for a while, and then pick right back up like there was no time apart. I value Charity so much...she is an amazing mother and wife and friend! Her and Derek (her hubby) do life right - put God first, family and then their work (which is a lot with church, as Derek is a youth pastor now). I know that Charity literally feels like she has zero time in her life, as she works 30 hours a week too...but she is a super mom and wife...and all the work and effort that Derek and Charity put into their lives is paying off and will continue to.

Yes, we pulled over on I-10 to take these pictures!

My first steps into Cali!

Gorgeous views driving into the Palm Springs area

That's Jo Jo! Could her eyes get any cuter?

And that's Ella...too cute for words!

This is literally how she looks at all times - and it makes you smile back! (Charity is holding her)

Derek and Ella - watching a movie before bedtime

Resort picture at sunset - the place was gorgeous!

The drive home - stupid poles in the way!

A dust devil on the way home!

Also, I have some exciting news to share in a day or two...so keep your eyes peeled for another post soon!

Parent's Visit

2009-03-08T11:46:00.001-07:00

Bobby, the girls and I were lucky to have my parents come for several days last weekend. All in all, it was a great weekend together...the time spent was awesome. We got to catch a Cubs spring training game at the facility near where we live (against the Padres). It was fun to go there, see some of the big names (although not as many as I thought there would be playing!) and see the facility. The downside was Mr. Ineverstoptalking sitting behind us. It actually was interesting after you got over the annoyance factor, listening to what he talked about - CONSTANTLY. From pregnancy to his girlfriends hair color to tattoos....wow! We heard it all! =) Anyway, the Cubbies lost...figures! But it was a good day with my parents.

Also, I finallly got up to a mountain to hike...my Dad had been a couple times before, and we all went with him this time to Thunderbird Mountains. There are tons of trails, ranging from flat trails to steep climbs. It was a blast. Dad, Mom, and I went on another day to a harder segment of the mountains and trails...and those were difficult! It was some steep climbing over rocks! And then on the way down it was pretty rocky with gravel...going on a significant downhill slope with loose gravel was a bit scary sometimes...I slipped a few times, but luckily caught myself in time! Sure got my heartbeat going though!

I am so excited to go more! In fact, Bobby and I took the girls with us yesterday to do one of the milder trails. We all had a great time then too! The entire family (sister, bro-in-law, two girls and Dad and Mom) comes at the end of April, so can't wait to try some trails with them as well. Here are a couple shots from the the first day's climb!

It looks a lot higher in person!
Dad, me, and Mom midpoint

Me, Bobby, and Mom midpoint

Another good shot from the top

Our Weekend

2009-02-23T13:13:00.001-08:00

Kyndall had her first dance this weekend...she's in 8th grade, so it's not a HUGE deal, but she was "going" to the dance with a boy...even though"going" to the dance in Jr. High means meeting him there. =) Bobby did ask to meet the young man, Will. When we dropped her off he wasn't there yet, but when Bobby picked her up he got to meet him and embarass Kyndall a bit. =) Here are a few pics of her and I doing her hair and then before she left in her cute little outfit.

Kyndall's Rockin' Do - Having a little fun with her hair before the final product

Watch out Will - Daddy's got some guns! =)

Cute!

On Saturday, Bobby and I got baptized. I have never been baptized, although I don't know why it took this long. It was one of those things that I always thought I should be doing, but for some reason, it never happened. Last year, I read the Bible, front to back, for the first time and something really struck me that gave me the final push to get baptized. It's in Matthew 3:13-17 where Jesus is getting baptized by John the Baptist. Up until this point in His life in the Bible, there hasn't been a lot told about Jesus - obviously, His birth, and then one other minor story about Him when He was a young boy. Before He gets baptized, Jesus said, "It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires." Then, Jesus gets baptized and it is said that once He was baptized that the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. After the baptism, Jesus performs miracle after miracle until His death. Now, I may be drawing conclusions where I shouldn't, but I have a feeling that there is a direct link between Jesus' baptism and that being the point that we then read about all the miracles He performs and the life of love that He has. Once this hit me, I realized it was a tool that God uses in people still on earth. It is my job to position myself for God to use me, and baptism is a huge area that I can do that. I am here on earth for God to use, and it would be sad if I didn't put myself in the position for Him to do His work. And if I could do 1/1000000 of what Jesus did on earth, I'd be a success...so, just like all else in life, we must follow His lead!

Anyway, Bobby and I made the decision together a while ago to do this once we were married. Like I said above, I know this is something I probably wished I would've done a long time ago, but on the other hand, God's timing is perfect. In this way, Bobby and I were able to get baptized together for the first time...and that was so special for us. Also, Bobby was able to get baptized first, and then he baptized me....definitely something we will always treasure, and a day we will always remember. We were able to have the girls there, Bobby's brother, wife and their three kids and then our friends and mentors, Greg and LuAnn there for the baptism.

That's one of the pastors at CCV - Dennis Bloodworth - he also married us! He is explaining the significance of baptism and also prayed with us before we went in the water.

Bobby confirming his faith and belief in God and Jesus as being the Lord of his life. The water was pretty darn cold, by the way, one of the heaters blew out the day before!

Dunked!

My turn!

Praise God! But it's still really cold! =)

Post-baptism pic

Just the two of us!

Now we're REALLY cold and soggy wet!

We were so happy that it happened and were were able to get baptized together, and with Dennis baptizing us. Originally, we signed up to get baptized with another pastor we didn't really know since he is the pastor over our neighborhood for the church in the Phoenix-area. Once it got closer to the day of the baptism, we hadn't heard for the church anymore about the details for the day and we thought that was weird. I called CCV, and didn't hear back...finally I emailed Dennis on Friday night before and he quickly stepped up to the plate and said he would defnitely do it for us the next day. It would have been easy to get frustrated at the church for dropping the ball on this thing that we know they feel is a huge deal...and it was tempting to (especially when we realized the pastor that we signed up with was out of town that weekend, and there was no record that we were getting baptized at all). But, the way God works is great, because we ended up getting Dennis to baptize us, which has such a personal meaning to us since we had him as the pastor at our wedding too. There's always a meaning for everything...even if it feels like someone has done something deliberately against you! This is just another example of how God knows all and sees more than we will ever see!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T19:13:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! Bobby woke me up with a dozen roses, chocolates, a sweet card and my morning coffee! It was perfect...we went for the sweet and simple Valentine's Day this year...so he definitely hit the mark! I got him a new wallet, which he wanted and some goooood candy called Goo Goo Cluster.....mmmmm mmmmm! Yes, I stole one (or two)! We had gotten a gift certificate to Ah-So (a Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant) for our wedding, so it was a perfect time and place to go for Valentine's Day. It was GREAT food...we were stuffed! It was a bunch of fun too with the chef cooking our meal right in front of us! I had never been to a restaurant like this and it was definintely a good one to go to!...completely entertaining!

I also have to make note that I have the best husband ever. I appreciate and respect that man so much...he is an amazing best friend, husband, and father. I cannot wait to experience the rest of my life with him!

Also, we just went to parent/teacher conferences last Thursday for the girls and they are amazing kids too. Both of them were praised beyond belief by their teachers. We are truly blessed with great girls. Words like responsible, angels, focused, leader, amazing, and sweet were all words used in the conferences for both girls. Their report cards are just the same - awesome. Both had all A's and one B! Woohoo! =) I am a blessed wife and mother! The picture at the bottom of this post is just for them...the two cuties!

And this has nothing to do with Valentine's Day...I just saw the pic on my camera and thought I would post it. Dusk in Arizona is always quite picturesque!

Our Illinois Trip

2009-02-09T07:36:00.000-08:00

The trip to Illinois was awesome! Bobby and I left on January 30th (Friday). He stayed through the weekend and I stayed until the next Friday to catch up on all my family. The main purpose of going was to finally meet Vera...our new niece, adopted from Russia. And we definitely got some Vera time in, which made me so happy. Right after we got off the plane in Peoria we met my sister, mom, dad and Ryan (and Vera!) for lunch...so the first few pics are from that lunch. After that we went to Nikki's house that night for dinner, etc....and I finally got to see Kiara as well. Since they couldn't come to the wedding because of the adoption, it was so neat to see Kiara and give her her flower girls gifts. She put on her dress for me that she would've worn (and can wear for Easter now hopefully instead!) and I brought her flower girl basket with some rose petals she would've thrown. She practiced what she would've done for us and it was so cute...she was so serious about it...I can only imagine if she was there that day how seriously she would've taken it! Vera was such a cutie...her hair is much more blonde than red from the pictures. She seemed to go to me and take to me (and Bobby too) right away, which was completely endearing for us. Both Bobby and I completely melted each time she held out her arms to go to us and then put her head on our shoulders! Ugh...too cute!

Yah! Vera and I's first visit...and she lets me hold her and play with her!

So big!

Kiara's flower girl dress

She's so cute...I'm glad she got to have a little flower girl time!

Cutie! Excuse the orange nose...she was fighting a cold and in pictures it showed up orange!

Um...excuse me Aunt Dani...but what the heck are you doing? =)

Pa and Vera

Bobby doesn't like me for posting this one...but it's so cute!

I know this may look like child abuse...but she was having a great time, I promise!

It's always dress up time with Kiara!

I LOVE this picture...not sure why...just think it's precious!

Saturday, Bobby and I got to sleep in a bit and then we hit one of our favorite Illinois eats - Flattop Grill. Yum! After that we went and spent some time at Nikki's again and ate dinner at a pizza place with the family. Stayed and visited for a while, and then Bobby and I even got a little karaoke time in with my friend Sheri in East Peoria. We had a great time.

Pizza time!

Vera loved Bobby

Sunday was a day at mom and dad's...watching the Superbowl, especially since our Arizona Cardinals were in it. Great game, even though they lost. Nikki, Ryan and the girls came over for the whole day, so we got another day of cuteness from Vera and Kiara.

The new family

Vera couldn't grasp that we were taking our own picture =)

Sisters!

This was so funny...again, I promise she loved it. We thought she looked like a little baby Joe Dirt!

Monday, I took Bobby to the airport. After that I stopped by Nikki's for my Vera fix for the day. More cuteness and warming up to me...which especially makes me happy since I am so far away from them and worry that she won't really know who I am. After that I got to go to my cousin Leah's house to see her two twin boys, Ethan and Lucas. Abby, Leah's sister/my cousin, was also there...so I am so happy I got that opportunity to spend time with them all...it had been waaaaay too long! The boys love TRACTORS...they are almost two and can say a lot of words...but TRACTORS and BOM-BINE (combine) are definitely their favorites! It was adorable. Alissa (another cousin) had wanted to come to mom and dad's that night for dinner, so we ate dinner with Lis and Travis (her bro, my cousin). I was happy she suggested coming over...she was at the wedding with her boyfriend, Jim, and they had the best time exploring the Phoenix-area/Arizona. They went everywhere. It's neat to see Alissa so happy! =)

Cutie Ethan!

Twin Cutie Lucas!

Aunt Abby with the boys!

The next day my mom and I went over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house (literally...no lie!). We stopped at Grandma Betty's first and visited and showed her the wedding pictures. Her knee is still hurting her, which is not fun for her...but she seemed to be in good spirits and it was great to have some time with her, especially since she wasn't able to come to the wedding. Next to go to was my Aunt Marjie's house...my cousin Bryce's kids were there - Brookelyn (7 months) and Lexi (2 1/2 years). My cousin Travis was there, along with Uncle Dan and Aunt Marjie (they flew out for the wedding too)...it's always too short of a visit...but I am so happy to have had at least an hour or so with all of my family. Mom and I went to see my other set of grandparents (on my Dad's side) after that too. Luckily everyone is very close together! Again, great to see them and show pictures and talk with them some that day. After that, mom and I went to Morton to pick up Kiara to spend the night at mom's that night. She was excited to come and we headed back to Chillicothe for a night with Kiara! She wanted to sleep with me, which I wouldn't have minded at all...I had started to get a sore throat...so mom got her normal duty of a sleeping partner with Kiara! She's so cute...we had a great time together.

Brookelyn and Katie - sisters!

Does she have some blue eyes or what????

Sisters...love this pic!

Let's see...the next day we woke up and spent some more time with Kiara...then mom and her were on their way to Morton so that Kiara could make it in time for the bus for school. I headed out to see my best friend Jen, who is at about 37 weeks in her pregnancy. She's been ordered to take it easy, so I just went over and spent a few hours with her...looking at sonograms, she looked at wedding and honeymoon pics...and the baby's nursery (which was freaking adorable, by the way!). It was soooo good to see her...I am so sad that I won't be there for when the baby is born though. I know Jen feels very pregnant and large at this point, but she looked so cute fully prego! =) Later that night, mom, dad, and I went to Metamora to see my Aunt Sandy and Lori (cousin)...she just gave birth to Kamryn Grace about 5 weeks ago...so it was great to see them and the new little girl! Also, great to spend time with Jack and Payton (her two other kids). Scott (another cousin, Lori's brother) and Travis ate with us too...and then we went back to Lori's and talked for a while. Another great visit that I am so happy we fit in to the week.

Jack, Kamryn and Payton

Thursday was the last day before I left, so I went over to Nikki's early afternoon to get some more Vera time in. I got to officially be her first babysitter so that Nikki could to the grocery store and get caught up. I tell you what...that child is the easiest baby to watch. Give her a drawer to open and close, with a few toys to put in and out (and in and out)...and she is good for at least an hour! She moved on to the cabinets in the kitchen and rearranged a few things there for Nikki =) but she still just concentrates and is so into moving stuff from one place to another and then back again. Works for me! =) Kiara came home from school....and then dad and mom came over too...and we headed to Cracker Barrel to eat...after that, it was goodbye to Kiara and Vera. This was the hardest time ever to say goodbye! Kiara is just at an age where she will break your heart with the cute stuff she says about seeing/missing each other. And Vera is just at the beginning of me knowing her...and everything was so great with her and I over the week that it was painful to think I couldn't do that whenever I wanted. In the end...I peeled myself away somehow! It's amazing how quickly you can love a little person...the whole adoption thing is different obviously than what we know with Kiara...but instantly there is love there that makes it like she is just like a blood relative. Don't get me wrong, I was hoping that this is how it would be and thought we'd get there down the road...but you just never know since you have never experienced it...and let me tell you...Vera may not be genetically the same as our family...but she is our family now 110%...it is soooo easy to love her.

Sorry about my voice on the video the whole time. I wanted her to show her little belly...sometimes if you ask, she'll raise up her shirt and show her little outty belly button...but not this time! Vera was still as cute as ever though...so I had to post it.

I love these pictures!

Even with all the fun that I had and the family I saw that week...I was still pretty darn excited to fly back on Friday and see Bobby and the girls! I missed them a bunch. I was actually the first person off the flight, so the first to walk through the door and see Bobby waiting there...my bag came really quickly and we were headed home already. I had been sick...not awful, but not feeling great for a few days...so the air pressure in the plane stuffed my head up pretty good...I was pretty much useless that night...and I am still fighting this darn thing. My sister and I both have it now...on the same schedule. Both Vera and Kiara (and my parents and Ryan I think too) have had this...so it makes sense that we would get it...Nikki held out for a while though!

The family is planning on coming at the end of April for a week...so we are definitely looking forward to that! The girls and Bobby and I are headed for their Spring Break to San Diego in March for four nights. SUPER excited about that....I have never been to California and have wanted to go to San Diego for a while now...and I found a great deal at a hotel right across the street from the beach at Ocean Beach. So...we have lots to keep us busy in the upcoming weeks and months!

The Honeymoon - Riviera Maya

2009-01-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

Hello! Sorry I haven't posted yet about our honeymoon. Just when I thought things would settle down for us after the wedding, they seem to have sped up instead! I am just getting around to posting pics for our honeymoon. I will post a couple here directly and then include a public link to my Facebook photo album too.

Bobby and I had a blast on the trip...the flights to Cancun were great, so we were definitely grateful for that! Our resort was 30 mins south of Cancun along the Mayan Riviera. We stayed at The Grand Mayan, a gift from my parents - thanks Dad and Mom! =) The pools were INCREDIBLE there...I can't say that enough. We spent the first day at the pool and met a couple from New York that were fun to hang out with and it was a great day at the pool. The next day, Bobby and I found our way down to Tulum (Mayan Ruins about an hour south of our resort) by taking a bus from Playa Del Carmen (about 15 minutes south of our resort). Luckily, my man speaks fluent Spanish, so it was an easy and cheap trip! Tulum is a great site in terms of Mayan Ruins because one side of them is the coast/beach/ocean. You will see that in some of the posted pictures....it just makes it gorgeous! Plus, since the site isn't enormous and they are fairly compact, it's a great spot just to spend 1-2 hours looking around. After Tulum, we took the bus back north into Playa. It started raining right when we got to Playa...so we actually were complete dorky tourists (laughing at ourselves the entire time) and bough rain ponchos and walked up and down 5th Avenue (the popular street in Playa with tons of shopping and eating) with them on. I think there is a picture of us with them on too in the bunch...we had to capture how dorky we looked! Luckily, the rain let up some and we could walk without them on...we found a great restaurant called La Parilla where we experienced some amazing food! The best tacos I have ever had there....and the guacamole was awesome too! Yes mom, I kind of like quacamole now, believe it or not! We just spent the day walking and looking around, buying the girls some souvenirs and then headed back to the resort.

The next day was going to be a pool day....except it was cloudy and rainy. =( So...we ordered room services, waited for the sun to shine, and read as we waited. If we kept waiting in the room for the sun to shine...or even a little blue sky to show, we would've been waiting until that Friday afternoon (it was Tuesday at this point). Yep...that's right, it rained about 70% of our trip...the first and last days were the only ones that were truly not raining and sunny. We got over it after the first day and decided we would just make the best of it and still go to the beach, pool, etc. like it was sunny. So we did...wasn't QUITE as enjoyable...but we really did have a great time regardless of the cloudy, rainy weather. I even had to wear a sweatshirt at the beach during the day when we were reading and spending time there...but it was still nice to have the ocean waves, wind, sand in your toes, etc. We were going to go to Xel-Ha mid-week (an eco-water park with snorkling, cliff diving, dolphins, swimming, etc.), but we just felt it would be a waste of money, so we nixed that from our "to do's." By Friday, it was rumored to get a little sunny, so we were set we were set to get out to the pool. It was nice to just (finally) have a day at the pool and just relax and enjoy a nice(r) day. It was still cloudy and really windy...but it was 100% improvement on our last 3-4 days, so we were loving it! It was our last full day there, so it was a perfect ending. We did get a little more sun the next morning, since our flight didn't leave until 4pm.

All in all, we had such an amazing time. We went to relax and do nothing and mission was accomplished! The resort, The Grand Mayan/Mayan Palace, was absolutely incredible. I have never been to a nicer place. Our room was amazing and HUGE. We had about 1400 sq. ft. of space! We felt almost guilty since we ended up not using one side of it altogether. But...oh well...it was our honeymoon! Oh...and another thing...we have never seen so many different creatures - birds, crocodiles, many, many iguanas - it was like we were at a zoo some of the time! Also, the restaurants at the resort were amazing as well...so many to choose from and just the best food all around - I will miss their steak tacos and real, fried chips and salsa! Bobby also had the most incredible prime rib ever too at one of their nicer restaurants. I can't say enough about the food there....it was wonderful.

I think that's about all to share for now. Bobby and I will be back in IL for this weekend...Bobby stays until Monday and then I am staying through until next Friday, Feb. 6th. Let me know if you have some time to catch up when I am back!

Just a small piece of the gorgeous pools at the resort

An everyday area that we walked by

Our room - living room

Our bedroom and yes, that's our own private pool out on our patio!

Our pool friends Lenny and Cheryl - they were a bunch of fun!

Bobby and I at a resort restaurant that had the best chips and salsa!

Tulum - Mayan Ruins

Tulum - Mayan Ruins - the perfect picture spot

Looks like a postcard, doesn't it?

At the top of the ruins

And the rain begins - the dorky poncho'd tourists on the streets of Playa del Carmen!

The best restaurant in Playa - La Parilla

This was a picture of Playa before we left for Tulum - hence, the sun!

Streets of Playa - at dusk

Yes, there was a fence he was behind! His mouth was open everyday though when we walked by the crocodiles!

The pier on the beach

A shot of the beach at the resort

One of the many pools at night...the pic doesn't do it justice!

One piece of the main pool - the biggest pool I have ever seen!

Click on the link for the full set of photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56939&l=34a6f&id=511058149

We are officially honeymooners!

2009-01-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

Adios! Bobby and I are just hitting the hay before we wake up bright and early to fly to Cancun tomorrow (I think the alarm is set for 4:30am...yikes!). Just wanted to say goodbye...we'll have plenty of pics to share when we are back! In the meantime...here's the aerial picture of our resort, The Grand Mayan...and a shot of the pool. We can't wait! We'll be thinking of you all as we lounge on the beach and at our PRIVATE pool on our balcony...that's right...we have our own little pool! We're outta here! =)

The Full Set of Wedding Pics Are Here!!!!

2009-01-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

Bobby and I received our wedding pics yesterday....and we have been doing our best to sort through them and figure out which ones we like the best. There are so many! Three CD's full! So, we've done a little organizing and even did some Photoshop work on a few of them already. I have them all out on Facebook and realized that since it is soooo much quicker and easier to get them out there, I will just include a link to the pictures there. You can see these pictures even if you aren't a member of facebook, so everyone should be able to click the links below to view all the best pics we've chosen out so far. In total, I think I have around 90 pictures out there and had to split them between two photo albums, thus, the two links below to each album. Hope you enjoy!

***Once you click on the links below, there are several pages of pictures for each link - you will have to click on the '1', '2', or '3' links at the top (right above the pictures) to navigate to the next page of pictures. Also, you can click on each thumbnail/smaller picture and view it in a bigger format. Once you are viewing the pictures in the bigger format, you can just click on the "Next" at the top right of the picture to go through the entire album.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51488&l=23554&id=511058149

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52901&l=ed76f&id=511058149

Wedding Pics

2009-01-06T15:38:00.001-08:00

I am attaching the pictures that I have so far starting a couple days before the wedding...they aren't the photographers pictures...those we should have in a day or two and hopefully I can post some before we leave for Mexico on Saturday. Out of a special request from my Dad...here's what I have so far! =)

My mom and me a couple days before the wedding...after we ate at Mimi's Cafe...very appropriate! =)

Bobby and me at the Rehearsal at Ashley Manor

One table at Abuelo's for the Rehearsal Dinner - mostly Bobby's family

The other table at the Rehearsal Dinner - Bobby's mom is next to him...the rest is my family, except the guy by me whose head is cut off (sorry Corey!). Andrea (good friend) is his girlfriend and is taking the picture.

Megan and I - before the ceremony

Kyndall and I - before the ceremony

Stiking a pose

Mom and me before the ceremony

Bobby's mom, me, and my mom before the ceremony

My mom and my Aunt Sandy - primping before the ceremony

My mom - a.k.a my Matron of Honor

Dad walking me down the aisle!

Dum dum dum dum....

You may kiss the bride!

Wiping off my lip gloss on Bobby from the kiss!

"Escaping" from Ashley Manor after the ceremony

The wedding-mobile decorated for us by neighbors and family

We didn't get too many honks (if any) on the way back from the ceremony...but we did the next day before we washed it off.

Post-ceremony pics...we will have many more of these to share once we get them from our photographer this week.

At OUR house later at night - Karaoke Begins!

Stefan and Keely singing their hearts out...awesome singers!

My cousin Allisa and my Aunt Sandy belting it out!

Our neighbor, Mike, and Bobby's brother, Ray singing a duet

Nephew Zach - son of Bobby's brother Kenny - he piled in with Bobby's sister Nora and family, even though the rest of the family couldn't make it...and we loved having him!

Andrea (friend from Illinois., worked with her at Cat) and me - NYE Party (she was the wonderful hairstylist for my wedding hair - loved it!)

Two cute couples - Bobby, me, Andrea and Corey (her boyfriend)

All the girls' cousins - Bobby and I's nieces and nephews - New Year's Day. We all went to the park near Bobby's bro's house and Bobby and I somehow got reeled into playing touch football with all the boys! Okay, okay...we really liked it...but we were SORE the next day!

New Year's Day at the Cheesecake Factory - the girls and Bobby and I ate with Dad, Mom, and Aunt Sandy before they left AZ the next day.

The New Marin Family! (doesn't Kyndall look like she's my little koala???) =)

I'm a married woman!!!!

2009-01-02T11:29:00.001-08:00

I don't have really good wedding pics yet...but thought I would at least post a couple for now...with the promise to have a lot more coming soon. Our photographer will be sending along a CD with all the raw pics on it, so we will have the ability to use all pics as we want to...so I'll post some of those after we get all of them.

The day went great....just as expected...Bobby and I are so blessed to have had such a great day. The last of the family and friends leave today and tomorrow. I will give more details later too...we are finally able to relax a bit today and enjoy some time together...so I'm going to take advantage of that!

I will post more soon with more pictures! Thanks to all that came and helped make this a wonderful memory for us!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-12-23T09:13:00.000-08:00

I know this is a little early...but I have a feeling this may be the last chance I have to write a blog this year! I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and to challenge everyone to remember the reason for the season...and to read Luke 2 before any presents are opened to help remember that reason. I will definitely miss all my family and friends that are far away this Christmas...and wish we could celebrate together...hopefully next year! Anyway, know that I miss and love you all.

Also...Happy New Year! Again, I will deeply miss everyone that I cannot celebrate with...especially since I will be celebrating as Dani Marin! I cannot wait...and so excited for all those family and friends that will be with Bobby and I. Of course, there are many that can't be with us, so we are sad for those that cannot make it. It's been a crazy time for family and friends - lots of unforseen circumstances that have changed plans for coming to our wedding unexpectedly. Please know for all of those family and friends that couldn't be here that I pray for each of you daily with all the good and bad happening in your lives....and Bobby and I will deeply miss you on our big day.

An especially big shout out to my sister, Ryan, Kiara.....and (drum roll please!) Vera!!!! I just got to see Vera via webcam this morning with her new family....she is so CUTE! She can do SO BIG (I got to see that on the webcam)...and it's SO CUTE! She is officially with her new family now and not in the orphanage...and it's so weird to see her on the webcam while they are in Russia...usually it's just videos on Nikki's blog. So weird...but so wonderful! But...they will not be here for the wedding after all. As much as I was praying for that miracle to happen, it's not what God wants....and Dani's okay with that. =) I am so happy that Nikki and Ryan have their whole family together for Christmas....and at least they have their plane tickets they were supposed to use for the wedding to use later in the year to come and see us! Oh...and I booked a flight to IL at the end of January too....so I will officially meet Vera then. Can't wait!

Also, I wanted to make note that my cousin Lori is due any day, and we will miss her at the wedding....my best friend Jen is prego as well and too prego to travel...she will be deeply missed....and Jamie, another great friend, won't be able to come in the end either...so please know that we miss you here! Please pray for all of these three for health, comfort and peace.

I'll leave you with a couple pics that Bobby, the girls and I took for Christmas.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

Merry Christmas from the Marins!

One of my favorites!

I love this picture!

Cuties!

Talk to you next year! =) I'll have PLENTY of pics to share then!

Phillipians 4:6 when you're in a fix!

2008-12-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

For whatever reason, this morning I remembered back to college and one of the church services. A girl was sharing that her dad used to remind her..."Phillipians 4:6 when you're in a fix!". Somehow, after all these years, this is one thing I have never forgotten....and it came to mind again today when I was reading the Bible. I've been reading about Paul...and he is the king of always being in fixes! Not because he deserved it...but for God's glory.

Phillipians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

This verse applies to so much happening around me right now. My sister, bro-in-law and neice are in a far off country....for weeks to pick up their little one. Travel, foreign country, long time away...all of that makes the situation nerve wrecking to begin with. Then, on top of that...they are gone for the holidays...and...most likely, my wedding. And I think one of the reasons I am okay with this situation (although majorly disappointed and sad) is the verse above. I have presented my requests to God (He definitely knows that I want a miracle to happen so they can make it!)...and I wholeheartedly trust Him with this. I know the decision to work magic in this situation and bring them back sooner so they can be here for Bobby and I's big day isn't mine...it's God's. There is some reason for this if they have to miss it. And I may never know the reason...and that's HARD for me! But...you know, I've got the peace from God right now that it will all work out. Will it work out to what I humanly want? Who knows...but it will be what God wants...and that's, in the end, truly my want as well. I have one millimeter of a perspective compared to my Lord's perspective....and one tenth of an iota of the knowledge and power...so why should it be what I want? It shouldn't. So, I keep praying EVERY DAY for the miracle to happen because God is so capable of making that happen...but I trust if it doesn't there is some wonderful reason as well.

Then, of course...just getting down to the details of the wedding...the last three weeks are inevitable with details, something that I wanted to avoid as much as possible so I don't get lost in them...but guess what...sometimes (especially now!) you just have to get engrossed in them and major stress comes with details. So...the verse above definitely applies here too...I am giving this new marriage (notice I didn't say wedding!) to God...actually, Bobby and I gave it to God a long time ago. Once that happens, you release soooo much of the pressure that you have on yourself to get it all to happen just perfectly. Perfect is God's perfect, not mine. I don't care if my dress gets lost, my hair all falls out and I trip down the aisle...if I get to say "I do " to Bobby...that's what matters. This reminds me of what Bobby always tells me...he always says that he'd marry me in a burlap sack (what the heck is that anyway?) on top of a garbage dumpster, as long as we get married. That focus is so important to me...the bigger, significant picture...although easy to get lost the closer the wedding gets. God's definitely helped me with this...the peace that passes all understanding is amazing...and the fact that it guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus is so spot on too. Since I have chosen (with God's help) to always focus on the marriage and not the wedding in all of this...my heart and mind follow.

By the way, the verses that precede Phillipians 4:6-7 are neat to look at too.

Phillipians 4:4-5
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."

Remember...these verses are BEFORE the first set. So...prior to the worry, anxiousness verses in 6-7 there is a focus on rejoicing and praising in the Lord and extending gentleness to others. That to me means that's our first priority in God. That's part of the package deal that God gives us. Even AS you have worry and axiousness consuming your mind, you still are to be rejoicing in God and being gentle to all. Now...picture yourself in a highly stressed, worrisome situation right now...how often do you or I rejoice in those times....and then are gentle to everyone around us? Probably not. So...rejoice in him...be gentle to all...and then you get to pray and petition your requests to God. The result? The peace that passes all understanding! That one of the best gifts God gives us, as His children.

This got me to thinking...how often do I praise and thank God first and foremost? Then on top of that...how often am I gentle to all (even when I don't want to be or they don't deserve it)? I got the praying thing down pretty darn good (sometimes for selfish reasons)...to ask for whatever I want...but there are two steps before the praying that I often overlook and miss. Therefore, my goal is to work on those two things from this point on....praising God and gentleness...shouldn't be too hard, right?! =)

Surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

Last night I actually pulled off a big surprise party for Bobby's 40th b-day (not til this Saturday, the 13th, but that made it an even better surprise!). I had MAJOR help from the neighbors setting up, decorating and bring food. It was great, he was completely caught off guard...it was perfect.

So here's how it went down....Bobby and I had decided to go to dinner last night with another couple, Mike and Wendy. They are a blast to hang around, by the way. So a couple weeks ago, this was set up, and I had been thinking of a surprise party for Bobby, but wasn't sure if I wanted add another thing to the month of December for us...but after a while I just decided to anyway....and I am so glad I did! Although somewhere along the way Bobby (not knowing I had just told everyone in the neighborhood, his brother, and other friends that we would be having a surprise party) decided to invite everyone over and create his own party! I couldn't believe it, but went for Plan B and told everyone to just say they had stuff going on when Bobby talked about it to them. So...everyone invited had fake plans and Bobby in the end thought we would just go back to his house after dinner with Wendy and Mike to hang out and sing some karaoke. So, the gang was waiting inside Bobby's house for us....and as Bobby opened the door to go inside, Mike (a next door neighbor) was dressed in a black robe with a black hood and was holding a candle in the dark house, and said...."IT'S TIME ROBERT......" Completely looked like the grim reaper and freaked Bobby out! It was amazing....finally the lights came on, and everyone was there...it was perfect and more so because Bobby truly had no idea at all.

So, the night was filled with darts and karaoke and just a bunch of fun times with friends. Bobby had a perma-smile on his face the entire night. It was all so worth it....glad I ended up deciding to have it!

Here's some initial pictures from the night. Unfortunately, there aren't any pics (yet...haven't seen all of people's pics) of the initial surprise...but there are still plenty of good ones to share.

Post surprise with all his "I'm 40" garb on

Nice Bobby (Brenda and me)

Bobby and Mike (1/2 of the couple we went to dinner with)

Such a poser....

Wendy (the other 1/2 of the couple), Mike, Brenda and Ray (Bobby's sister-in-law and brother)

Ray and Brenda

Murphy (friend we karaoke with), Krista (next door neighbor that helped pull off the surprise) and Rocky (friend we karaoke and play Rock Band with)

Wendy and Bobby

Wendy and me sitting by the fire outside

Happy Birthday Bobby! Wow...look at the major fire that ALL of Bobby's candle made in the background! =)

Love Bobby's finger to his mouth!

Love this picture! Mike (the grim reaper) made Bobby's favorite cake - german chocolate - and it was YUMMMM-MY!

The karaoke begins!

Typical Bobby karaoke face! =)

Great night! Thanks to all that made it happen!

Life's great in AZ, even if my blogging has sucked!

2008-11-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

Not sure how many people care whether I post anything or not...but I haven't posted in so long (except for the awesome videos from Gib Gab!). I have been meaning to post soooo much...like:

1. Trip in October back to Illinois for the week
2. Halloween
3. Arizona State Fair...rides galore!
4. Another trip back to Illinois (with Bobby this time) for my shower/bachelorette party
5. Adoption news for my sis
6. Whatever else I'm forgetting....oh, we went to the Trans-siberian Orchestra last Sunday!

Anyway...I am sure I will get to bits and pieces of all of that...especially the pictures that go along with it all too. Right now, we are just so busy it seems. Not that we are different than anyone else I'm sure. But...Bobby and I are busy getting wedding stuff done...plus, there is Christmas, and Kyndall's birthday, and Bobby's birthday...and our New Year's Eve Party after the wedding...December will be crazy for us. But a good crazy that I am looking forward to!

When I get more pictures put on my computer, I'll put a post out of pictures that I have missed along the last month or so....until then...this wonderfully unexciting post will have to do!

By the way...36 days until I am Dani Marin! =)

Merry Early Christmas!

2008-11-15T21:06:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I'm back!!!!

2008-10-17T16:44:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update...I'm back in Illinois for the week until next Friday. I'm here mainly for work next week, but got to come in a little early and sneak in some family/friends time this weekend. I'm very excited to be back home...except that Bobby isn't with me...and I have NO IDEA how we went for 16 months of our relationship this way! It's so much more difficult to leave my wonderful man now! So...I'm missing my man for sure...but ready to have a great week!!!!

New Kids on the Block...Let's Rock!

2008-10-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, that's right...I went to the New Kids concert last Monday. It was awesome. I love their new CD...as well as the old stuff (of course!). They are still great performers after all these years...it really was a fun night. Natasha Bedingfield opened for them ("Unwritten", "Pocket Full of Sunshine", and that song that goes..."I love you, I love you, I love you!"), and she was awesome as well. Poor Bobby went with me (was supposed to be a friend of ours that went...she actually was the one that asked me to go...but then accidentally booked a trip back to her home state on top of the New Kids concert date, so she had to give up her ticket...she was totally bummed too - she was a MAJOR fan like me, back in the day!)....anyway, Bobby had a fun time...he may not admit that to anyone but me, but he did...trust me! =) The fans were crazy though....screaming screaming screaming! Just like 18 years ago when I went before - no lie! It was definitely a little hard to hear after we left because of all the fans yelling and screaming for two hours. The average age was around my age - 25. Ha...I kid, I kid. Average age was 30-35 and some of them had their old school New Kids t-shirts, buttons, jean jackets, etc. on...it was great...loved it all. Bobby even bought me one of those big New Kids buttons, like I had 18 years ago (girls, you remember - they were almost the size of your head with the New Kids picture on it!). It is now proudly positioned on the entertainment center shelf! For those that couldn't make it, I am uploading some pictures and video for you...because I know...secretly inside yourself...you're jealous you didn't get to go!

Oh...and disregard the singing in the background! It was so loud in there I didn't think you would be able to hear it on the video! Sorry!!!!!

Bobby and I - pre-concert

The boys

The final bow - Danny, Donnie, Jordan, Joey, and Jon! Woohoo! =)

You got the right stuff...baby.......

"Single" - one of their newest songs

Another new song...they appeared in the middle of the audience with a spinning platform with a piano!

Step by Step - oldie but goodie!

Your Eyes

2008-10-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

I've been on a preaching kick lately....sorry, I hope it isn't interpreted as preaching, it's just thoughts that I have to get out of my head and onto "paper" so that I can think through them intentionally and fully. I've been reading through the Bible this whole year...and just finally got through the Old Testament since it is 3/4 of the entire Bible (dang...I wasn't sure if I would ever make it to the New Testament!)...and I am now into the New Testament just in the past week or so. Even though it took a good 9-10 months to get through...I learned so much from the Old Testament, and found a new love for those books that I never had before...and a new love for my Father as well. That said.....it is still refreshing to start the New Testament and read about Jesus' life and teachings. Therefore, that is where this new inspiration is coming from lately I think...change always brings new thoughts and ideas.

Anyway...today while I was reading, it is from Matthew 5-7, which are chapters of Jesus' teachings as he traveled around sharing his knowledge. This passage is great through and through....very insightful altogether. One piece of it stuck out at me - Matthew 6:22-23.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If you eyes are good, your body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness."

Okay, so what first hits me is that Jesus is light. And darkness is not it's own entity....instead, it is just the absence of light. Therefore, the absence of Jesus. Also, our eyes here represent our attitude, perspective, interpretation of events in our life....and those eyes are directly influenced by the light (God/Jesus/Holy Spirit). So, if our eyes are good, they will be full of God's perspective, attitude, and interpretation of life. In other words, we will see each event we come across in life through God's eyes. How amazing is that perspective - to not knock down each other for the small stuff or the big stuff, to love even our enemies and treat them well, to see the good in each situation instead of the negative, to catch others doing good things for us instead of always finding what they are doing wrong......and the list could go on.

I find this verse extremely powerful. It directly connects to a program that I have managed and developed at work, which deals with the power of your mind, thoughts, attitude, etc. I have found verses like this one for the past couple of years that truly supports many of those concepts in the program. This one is no different. Mentally, whatever our attitude is at the moment, we each see situations differently. It's like we are all wearing different colored glasses that tint (or affect) what we see. For example, say an important announcement gets sent out at work via email to all employees. How many different interpretations or stories come from that email? Probably about as many as there are employees! Based on our current situation, we each filter each sentence differently. Certain parts to us stick out, and we may completely pass by other parts and not even absorb that information. In general, people with positive attitudes see positive things, even if there are many negatives to see. And of course the opposite is true....people with negative glasses on pick out the negative...even at times when there is only positive to see! I'm sure we have ran into or know someone like this - leave it to them to find the negative! Or...we recognize this in ourselves sometimes as well.

So, back to the verse and how this all relates. If your eyes are good (focused on God/Jesus/Holy Spirit), you will be full of light - see the good in the situation, as God would want you to. If your eyes are bad (not focused on God/Jesus/Holy Spirit), you will be filled with darkness (absence of light - absence of God). And Jesus even points out, not only just darkness, but great darkness. You can only imagine how negative great darkness would be.

The application here for me is everyday life. What am I seeing? Do I find myself always finding the bad in the situation? Judging others, knocking people down, getting irritated at the small things? The BIG DEAL here is that it is OUR CHOICE what we see. I choose which glasses I wear each day. I choose my attitude....I choose to see the good, EVEN IF there is a lot of negative in a situation. Some people may think that means I am being too idealistic/optimistic...not living down to earth....but I strongly disagree. My choice here is affecting my happiness. I don't deny there are negatives...but I do choose to deny them from affecting my viewpoint, skewing my thoughts, and tinting my glasses - therefore darkening my eyes. I want Jesus' eyes...I want to see just as He sees. Isn't that the point in this life anyway?

So...connecting what I wrote about yesterday (showing mercy), the next time a co-worker truly ticks you off, your kids are irritating the heck out of you, or your significant other is on their last straw with you....CHOOSE mercy - SEE the good - and then WATCH what happens after that. I think (just as I have been many times) we will all be amazed at the peace that comes after.

And for those that know what that peace feels like...there is literally nothing better on this earth than that!

Beatitude

2008-10-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

I was just doing my Bible reading this morning and came across the Beatitudes...which is when Jesus is on a hill and speaking to his new appointed apostles. The one that really spoke to me was the one about mercy.

Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Seems almost too simple. You can miss a lot if you don't really think through that verse. When is the last time that you were completely justified to be upset, angry, even revengeful with someone...and instead of going there...you just blankly forgave and let down the grudges that came with it instead. No residual resentment still building in your mind...just wiped the slate clean and showed mercy. Just think how different this world would be if we all just did this once a day....much less practiced mercy all the time.

There is Ultimate Mercy in Jesus, of course. He is completely justified to shove me away from his sight forever with the way I treat Him, and He doesn't. And there are no grudges either, just open arms.

I think I'm on a mercy mission.

It's been a LOOOOOONG time!

2008-10-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

So, I know it's been FOREVER since I have posted anything...so I'll just do a review of the second half of September (can you believe it's already October?!).

First of all...Bobby and I got a note that Kyndall was getting a student of the month award at school...and we attended the assembly they had for the 7th and 8th grade awards. She ended up getting the student of the month for art, which is awesome...especially the first month of the school year! Here are a couple pics...didn't get the best shots though!

The next big deal in September was that my parents came out to Phoenix for a trip on September 19th. We, of course, had a great time together...a little pool time, a trip up north to Prescott (a cute little "midwestern" town that's just fun to explore and walk around), great food, and we celebrated both my Mom's and my birthdays that weekend. The pictures below are mostly from the Prescott trip, but we have a couple from my birthday as well.

A shot down the street of Prescott from the town square.

Courthouse in Prescott in the town square

Cuties!

Look at that hot man! =)

Megan and Mimi spending some quality time together

Mimi-lovin'

Dad and Bobby eating some AMAZING carmel corn!

Kyndall finding some interesting stuff in an antique shop

Bobby's b-day cake that he made for me....YUM!

The girls and I on my birthday

Happy Birthday Megan!

2008-09-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

Today is Megan's 11th birthday! And although Bobby and I won't see her today (she's with her mom)...we did PLENTY of celebrating on Saturday with her. She had plenty of friends and family around to help celebrate too. I think I have mentioned before that she wanted an M&M birthday theme...so that's what she got. It was really a cute idea...but bad for the waist line! We had the party at my apartment's cabana house, which is connected to one of the pools...and that worked out very nicely. The kiddos came around 4:30pm...started swimming immediately and having fun. You can see how Bobby got involved in their pool fun in a video below too! After lots of swimming, we had pizza, did a little more swimming and then dried off for games, cake and gifts. Sticking with the M&M theme...the games were 1) guess how many M&M's are in the jar - no one came close - there were 571 and the highest guess was 415! 2) pin the M on the M&M - the girls, Bobby, and I made a green M&M out of foam and poster board earlier that week...then cut out a bunch of foam M's for the sticking...it was a fun game - video and pictures below 3) hot bag of M&M's...otherwise known as "hot potato." =) After all the winners received their prizes, we sang happy birthday and had Megan blow out her candles on her M&M cake. Of course, we got waaay too much cake and ended up eating the rest of it the next day! Then, it was gifts...money, oragami, and gift cards seemed to be the trend. All in all, I think Megan had a great day...and we all did too. The party actually lasted throughout the night with five girls staying with Kyndall and Megan at Bobby's that night....thank goodness I got to go back to my apartment! =)

Bobby being a kid in the pool

Megan pinning the M on the M&M

Kyndall, Megan and Kyndall's two friends Lacee and Brooke pre-party in my apartment

Nate (cousin/nephew), Kyndall, Keely (cousin/neice), Ray (uncle/Bobby's bro), Brenda (aunt/ sister-in-law) and Stefan (cousin/nephew)

Megan's friend Ashley (or Brittany???) and Megan

Megan and her birthday button and crown

AJ, Megan, Brittany (I think), Ashley (I think or vice-versa!) and Courtney

Fun in the Pool

Post-pool fun...Megan and her daddy

Megan's birthday cake. Bobby and I couldn't find an M&M cake...so we ordered a "colorful" general birthday cake...and added our own M&M decor!

Unfortunately didn't get any pictures of her blowing out the candles...so this is as close as it gets!

Pin the M on the M&M Game - Courtney won!

Bobby's bro, Ray putting in his guess for the number of M&M's in the jar next to him. He was the winner!!!!!

Gift time!

Always have to have a musical birthday card nowadays!

More gifts!

All the birthday party friends - can you spot the twins? =)

Weekend Update

2008-09-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

I PROMISE I will update soon on our busy weekend. I have some great pics and videos of Megan's birthday party. All went well....Bobby and I are just wiped out! I'll catch up soon, I promise!

Weekend Update and Some Random Pics =)

2008-08-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a little from Bobby, the girls, and I's weekend. We actually had a busy weekend...the girls were here and there at friends and family. Yesterday, though we all went to church together and ate lunch.....Bobby and I started planning Megan's 11th birthday, with a pool party and she wanted an M&M theme too (Megan Marin...get it?!)...so we did some invitations and even started getting all the essentials - plates, silverware, napkins, etc. etc. Megan is going to have several friends come to my apartment's complex's pool and pool house to have her party. It's nice because I can rent out the place for free to have parties, etc....and then it is connected to one of the pools too. So, I will have my first experience planning a child's birthday party...we'll see how stressed out I get that day! =)

Last night, Bobby and I bought Dirty Dancing and watched it with the girls after having a yummy (and healthy!) dinner. As MANY girls reading this blog can relate (c'mon...admit it!)...after you watch Dirty Dancing, first of all....you can't help but be in an awesome mood. The best part though, is that for some reason, you then think you are the best mambo and meringue dancer in the world....and that Patrick Swayze is your partner and making you fly around like no one has ever done before. =) Needless to say, Kyndall and Megan felt the same fever after watching and we were all dancing around after the movie ended. I luckily got a little recorded....thought I would share. Reminds me of my sister and I in home videos!!!!!

Oh...yeah, and to sneak this in there too...kind of forgot to mention that Bobby got a little artwork on his arm as well...thought I would post a pic.

Here's a fun pic from karaoke last Thursday night of Bobby and I too.....

Also...here are a few pics of Megan and Kyndall with two other neighbor girls, Taylor and Brandi. You also get a look at their GANSTA poses too! =)

PEACE OUT!

Epiphany

2008-08-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

If you know me, you know that every so often I have little thoughts/sayings that make a ton of sense to me and seem to piece together, slowly or quickly, and then I probably use these epiphanies every so often...especially if you have a issue or problem that you are talking to me about. Bobby's probably sick of my epiphanies by now. =) Anyway...here's something that I just thought through and thought I would share.

I stumbled on this verse and thought of myself, then thought of others in this world as well that deal with this same thought. Many times with humans, it is difficult for us to admit our weaknesses...or that we have them in general even. But, as this verse explains, we have them to bring glory to God, believe it or not. And I love that. God gave me weaknesses and pain for many reasons, 1) to show/make me admit that I need God - why would I come to God if he didn't prove my lowliness every so often? and 2) so that His Glory can be "advertised" through me. I LOVE that last one! I HAVE to have imperfections and pain in order to show the rest of the world that there is a God.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

For example...say that you have people that you hang around with that aren't Christ followers, but you hang out with and interact with them on a consistent basis. They get to know you, obviously, and get to know your character and really admire and respect you. Then one day you happen to be talking about a touchy subject. Defenses raise, you and others are all trying to prove your points, and it gets ugly. You yell, maybe even name call, and act completely out of character. In fact...you - the Christ follower - are the nastiest one of the bunch. Nobody likes to admit this, but even with the most Godly individuals, this happens. So..your friends think, where did this come from? I thought he/she was "perfect" in a sense...if I respect them so much other times, where'd this ugliness come from? How can they be just like me, yet the majority of times they seem so great and put together? This right here, this is a testimony to bring glory to God. God makes us the "great" and the "put together", we don't have anything to do with it....and God is truly the one they are respecting when they respect us and our actions, not us. Without God...we'd be nasty all of the time...and what a blessing it is for God to choose us for this! He made us great, we did nothing to deserve that...but He did anyway.

Many times people ask why there is pain, suffering, weakness...and I think I just had an epiphany why it's with us....believe it or not...it's to exalt GOD! All of this said, I wanted to send this along and post this, because at times I know we are all ashamed of your weakness. And as we should try to grow and learn from weaknesses and mistakes...I still think this is a lesson for us. We will never fully get rid of our nastiness....we must try to "better" what we can...and then leave the rest for the God to use for His glory. It's a great advertisement for what God can do, who He truly is, and this brings glory to God! Over the last year, I've realized that my purpose in this life is to affect others for God's glory. What's your purpose?

More Vegas Pics!

2008-08-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

At the Hard Rock....Britney's "Baby...One More Time" outfit

I guess Bobby preferred Christina Aguilera instead.....

Bobby with his two cousins - BJ and Andrew

There it is...the big slot machine with the big winning!

I just had to take a picture when they finally paid the winnings to Bobby!

There she is...isn't she pretty???? =)

Can you see the giddiness on our faces???

On our way to ride the gondolas with Bobby and his mom

Bobby and his mom, Frances

Walking to the Bellagio

Great show at the Bellagio, as always!

Bobby has a few more pictures of his family and us...once I copy those to my laptop, I'll post those too!

Amazing Weekend

2008-08-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

Vegas Baby!!!!

Okay...so Bobby and I started out the journey to Vegas on Friday afternoon...after about the first two hours is was a gorgeous drive (4-4.5 hrs total drive), including the Hoover Dam too - which was totally incredible. Here are some pics!

On the road...ready for Vegas!

Can't wait to get there!

Hoover Dam

Right before you crossed into Nevada, at the base of the Hoover Dam

Right after you crossed into Nevada

So...after we got there, we got freshened up and headed to the Hard Rock Hotel for the Jonny Lang concert. We found out that the concert got postponed for some reason...and Bobby and I were pretty disappointed about that. So...we walked around the Hard Rock a bit, ate some dinner...and I think were up by $10 when we left. =)

Before we headed out for the night

After we found out the concert was cancelled, we decided to go back to our favorite casino/hotel - The Riviera. We were there last year for my 30th birthday...and even though it's more of the "old school" casino/hotel....it's one of our favs! Well...not only was it a good thing that Jonny Lang decided to cancel...but it's a good thing we went to this casino! After playing a stupid little slot machine that I loved last year, titled, "Mad Money Martian"...(yes, that IS the name)...Bobby hit it big! His machine landed on a "10 times pay" icon, then the 7, then another "10 times pay" icon....so...that technically means he got a 7-7-7...times TEN, times TEN! It ended up being 5000 credits, or $1250 since it was a quarter machine. Needless to say, we were a big boggled at first, not sure if we should believe it or not! We had to get an attendant, it wouldn't pay out any other way even! We were giddy with excitement! Of course, I had to capture the moment with some pictures!

For some reason my site is not letting me upload any more pictures, dang it! I'll post them in the next few days hopefully instead. But, the picture at the top of the blog is Bobby and I after the big winning!

So...we had a pretty fabulous Friday night in the end! = ) Saturday morning we woke up and met his brother Ray and wife Brenda (that live in Phoenix) and they had his other brother, Kenny with them. We drove to the condo that Kenny had gotten for us...and it was a great spot. It was a few miles south of the strip...but it was right on Las Vegas Blvd. still....and it worked out really well in the end. After that, the rest of his family was supposed to be flying in late-afternoon, early-even....so the five of us ate some dinner and then headed to downton Vegas , Freemont St. to meet the rest of the family waiting there (by the way, don't ever take the Deuce bus from the Vegas strip to Freemont...it may only cost you $2, but it takes a good hour!) there I met his three sisters, their husbands, nephews and his mom! There were 16 of us total. We were introduced and talked for a bit and enjoyed the whole experience on Freemont St. (which was a lot cooler than I remembered it!). After that, we went back to Harrah's, which is where many of them were staying and hung around for a bit more and that was the night!

The next day, we met Bobby's mom and Erma and Eddie (sister and brother-in-law) for lunch and took them to Cafe Babareeba's. This is the restaurant that Bobby and I love from Chicago (and where we got engaged too!). The only other city with this restaurant is in Vegas and found that out the last time we were there, so we wanted to take his mom there this time around. We had a great lunch with a little sangria and tapas, and then headed to the Venetian and took his mom on a gondola ride. We had a pretty authentic "driver" who sang his mom "happy birthday" in Italian and some other wonderful songs as he steered the boat. Even though his mom is turning 75, she really kept up well with all the walking!

That night, we went to a restaurant in Harrah's for Bobby's mom's birthday dinner and everyone ate together there. After dinner, we all walked to the Bellagio and checked out the fountain show...after that...we all split and went our separate ways...so Bobby and I headed back to our old stomping grounds at The Riviera, just in case we had a little more luck left there! Actually, those silly martian slot games are just fun and a $20 bill can last an hour or so...which is what ended up happening....I think I was up by $100 at one point, but I had won money earlier, so I just kept going...and what do you know...I eventually lost it all! But, all in all, we had a couple more hours of fun and excitement.

Bobby and I left the next morning and made the four hour trip back. Bobby and I always have such a great time in Vegas...gambling or not...we just always have a blast with each other even just walking the strip. It's so nice that it is close to us...and pricelining hotels (since we don't really care where we stay there since we aren't in our rooms that much at all!) makes the stay pretty cheap too! Plus, this time around with meeting his family (finally!) I am so happy to know them and click with them a bit even. They are a fun family...there's always something happening with them. They really did make me feel welcome in the family...and I truly appreciate that!

I'll try and get the pics up as soon as my blog lets me!

Headed to Vegas Baby!

2008-07-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

Bobby and I are off to Vegas tomorrow afternoon through Monday. Not only is this a cool trip because of the fact that...well, it's Vegas...but this will be the first time that I meet the majority of his family, including his mother. It's her 75th birthday and wanted to celebrate in Las Vegas...so all his brothers and sisters helped fund her trip...while everyone is coming as well. Very cool. I am excited to meet everyone...and maybe a weeee bit nervous. =)

The icing on the cake is that Bobby and I are going to see Jonny Lang in concert on Friday night at the Hard Rock Hotel. Way excited about that as well. For those of you that do not know Jonny Lang's music...look him up...you'll be hooked!

Catch you on the flip side, hopefully with mucho pictures! Have a great weekend!

Cubbies Game

2008-07-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

After Bobby and I got back from Illinois, we had a Cubs vs. D-Backs game lined up to go to with the girls. So, last Tuesday, we headed down to Chase Field, downtown Phoenix. Our seats were high up, but they were right behind home plate, so we had a pretty cool view of everything. And if any of you have ever been to Chase Field, it's an amazing field - retractable roof and all...although, it was waaaay too hot for it to be open. We all know that the Cubbies lost...D-Backs were on fire. Although, there were tons of Cubs fans there...almost as many as the D-Backs I think! A Cubs fan even threw back the homerun ball that a D-Backs player hit...and then later a D-Back fan had to be a copycat and do the same with the Cubs homerun ball.

Chase Field, Phoenix

They are Cubs fans for me at least for this moment...but Rockies fans for their Dad other than that. =)

Somehow Bobby has become a mini-Cubs fan too...with a Cubs shirt and all! Although his loyalty is to the Rockies if the Cubbies are around.

You can see how far up we were....if you really thought about it, it made you queasy...but the view of the game was awesome.

The Doggies

2008-07-25T08:32:00.001-07:00

Quick post...had to share the short video of Bobby's two dogs fighting. They do this all the time, and from what I hear, it's a normal thing for two dogs. It cracks us up everytime. Usually it ends with one of them getting sick of being tackled and yelps. It ended friendly this time though! The black dog is Khai and the lighter dog is Piper (the one we found as a stray and just gave her a buzz cut!). Enjoy...it's from my camera phone, so I'm not sure it's the best quality.

More on our Illinois Trip - Part 2 (and a little extra about my nutty day)

2008-07-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

I'm back! although, I think it's a miracle I am here today! I went out this afternoon to do a few errands...first stop, get cash out...check. Next stop, CVS for some necessities, check, wait, where's my ATM/Check card???? Crap! I didn't get it out of the machine when I was through! Ugh! So...a half hour later after talking to a Chase employee, I have a card on rush order to be delivered in two days...and he did that for me for free...lucky me! But, yeah, call Chase crazy, but the same Chase ATM machine that my card got sucked back into because of my stupid mistake, they can't get into because they don't "service" the ATM that is located at their bank. HUH?! Oh well...I have one on rush order, so I will consider myself lucky.

Next up for my afternoon, time to get gas....it's been almost six weeks since I filled up my tank...yes, six weeks! Aaaahhh...the luxuries of working from home. Anyway, before I brag too much, I'll finish my story. =) I pulled up to the pump, and somehow, made it outside my car with my credit card and that's it....which normally is fine, except when you lock your door on the way out! UGH! In shock...I pumped my gas ($64...yuck!) and then realized I didn't have a cell phone to call Bobby. Went inside and called him from a normal phone and he was wonderful and came and got me. I have PLENTY of spare sets of keys...two extra...but silly me, haven't given one to Bobby yet...and as I had feared...they were both still in my purse from the move....therefore, meaningless at this point. So...I had to call a locksmith and wait around the gas station with Bobby for 40 minutes until the locksmith came. Literally 20 seconds after he started on my car, he unlocked it....crazy. So...$80 later for his 20 seconds of work (what's that come to? $4 a second!)...I had my doors opened. The best part is that I opted for the roadside assistance with my insurance here, so I stopped by my agent on the way home and I already have an $80 check...woohoo! I figure at this rate, I probably should just sit on my couch and be very simple for the rest of the night! Oh...I did find a $20 in the parking lot today...no one around, so I did take it....but kind of felt guilty. Didn't know what else to do about a lost $20 with no owner in sight....so hey...I'm actually $20 richer for this crazy day! =) Oh...and I did give Bobby one set of my keys before I left and put the other set in my apartment...so I should be all good now!

Okay...a few more updates on our trip to Illinois. Let's see....oh...Bobby and I took Friday off and went and visited family in Washburn. It was really great to see everyone...grandma and grandpa Hinck, grandma Betty, Aunt Margie, Uncle Dan, Alissa, Bryce, Erica, Travis, Lexi and Brookelyn. First time that I had seen little Brookelyn....and she was cuter than her pictures even! She was adorable...I already envy her hair color and skin color! Lexi was more adorable than I remembered too....chatting away, she was sooooo cute. Check out the pics below.

After seeing the family, Bobby and I drove to Tanner's Orchard, a local apple orchard. While there weren't many apples in season yet there...we still took advantage of the bakery and got ourselves an apple dumpling....um.....YUM. We walked out of there buying a couple pies and took a couple pics too. Enjoy.

We went to a Chief's game that Friday night with the family, which was very cool since Bobby had never been there before. It was MUG-GY...yikes. And the bugs, oh...the bugs. They liked me and were driving me crazy by the end...but in the end, had a great time...and it was actually was a great game...maybe I should pay attention more often! Here are a couple pics from the night.

Saturday, we had a lazy morning and then had a few family and friends pop by to say hi and hang at the pool. Andrea, Corey, and Landon (Corey's son) stopped by first and I got to meet Landon for the first time. Such a cute little boy...so cute. I really appreciated that they stopped by to say goodbye. Then, my cousin Lori, her daughter Payton, and my Aunt Sandy stopped by for swimming and dinner. We had a great time catching up and Kiara and Payton played together...and had a great time - even with a little falling on the concrete accident and some screaming...eventually all calmed down again. We took some pics of the girls eating a pink icing cupcake...too cute. Also, one of the two of them "hiding" in the stuffed animals. So cute...and then they wanted Nikki and I to do the same....so we tried our best! Enjoy the pics.

Bobby and I left on Sunday, Dad and Mom drove us to St. Louis to the airport...and it was a bitter sweet goodbye. I want to come back at least once again before the wedding...maybe more if I need to for work as well. I enjoyed my time so much, and I know that Bobby did too. We miss everyone soooo much....we always welcome visitors here in AZ too! Thanks especially to Dad and Mom for making the trip amazing for us. Also, my sister and Ryan...they did a lot of traveling to make sure and take advantage of me being home. I love you all!

Time in Illinois - Part 1

2008-07-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

So...I am finally getting around to writing about Bobby and I's trip to Illinois. We came home on Sunday night to both his dogs having ticks....yes, ticks. And lots of them. So, after flea and tick dips, buzz cuts for the dog, spraying the yard a million times, checking the dogs over and over for more ticks, and spraying the house down too, we've mostly recovered from that ordeal. Piper, our dog we just "acquired" six weeks or so ago (stray from the streets), got her hair buzzed off because of all of this...she looks even cuter now...and I'm sure she's soooo much cooler too!

There are a bunch of pictures and stuff to share, so I think I am going to do this in pieces...so this is Part 1.

Anyway, Illinois was awesome....couldn't have had a better week at home (except if my friend Jen was home). Bobby and I spent a ton of time with my parents, my sister and Ryan, and of course, Kiara. Both Bobby and I worked most the days were were in Illinois, so it made it a bit more hectic...but it was well worth it! Bobby got to spend some time with my dad, fishing, going to the coffee shop, going on a home inspection...so he was really happy about that. Also, Kiara also warmed up to Bobby this trip to the point that I think he should be her full-time "eat three more bites" coach. He made it look easy to get her to finish her food...and not just the dessert! You could just tell that she really feels super comfy with him now...which was endearing to see. Oh...and my family and I taught Bobby how to play Euchre (card game). If you are raised on my mom's side of the family, you pretty much come out of the womb knowing how to play the game. Bobby has wanted to learn for a while...and he did...and I hate to admit it, but he beat my Dad and I both times we played (once partnered with my mom, and once partnered with my cousin Travis). It's alright...I'll get him back soon. Now that he knows how to play, we are going to strike up some games with his neighbors.

Like I mentioned before though, I was Kiara's favorite for most of the week...and I just ate that up. One of the first nights there, we went and ate at Alexander's for a good steak, one night, and we took her home from there and she spent the night at mom and dad's that night. She normally sleeps with mom...except with me there, I got that honor instead. I'm a hot sleeper and from what I have heard about Kiara sleeping, she likes to nuzzle up to you...so I was hoping that I wouldn't burn up. All in all, it was a nice night of sleep with the little one...I had about six inches at the edge of the bed for my sleeping spot - she was like a little puppy sleeping next to it's mom...but other than that, it was a nice little night's sleep with her. And, I felt pretty fortunate that I didn't' get the jabs to the ribs from her legs that she is known for! =)

Here are some other pics of Kiara from the night at Alexanders....way too cute for her own good!

Just a slight ham!

Bobby and I also got a night out with Andrea and her man, Corey. We ate at Firehouse Pizza...which was another "must eat" place when we were there. Then, we decided to do a little karaoke too (who would've thought???). We had a cool night with Andrea and Corey...got to see them and chat and then sing a little as well. Here are a couple pics from that night too.

Well...that's it for now...I'll write more in a day or so. Chief's game and family fun at the pool are the topics! =)

Days in IL

2008-07-21T23:38:00.000-07:00

I am going to do a better post tomorrow about the trip to Illinois...with pictures and everything! Bobby and I had an awesome week back in Illinois....everything from euchre to swimming to family to friends to favorite restaurants to a broken insulin pump to baseball games to....okay...that's enough for now...I promise I will blog about it all tomorrow!

We're in Illinois

2008-07-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Hello there...Bobby and I made it safe and sound to Illinois today. It worked out perfectly that my sister was in Chicago this weekend anyway, so she picked us up from Midway and we drove to my parents house. Kiara and Ryan were there and we had a good reunion...Kiara was my best friend tonight ("I get to sit by Dani!"), which I love it when she chooses me for that role! =)

We ate dinner together and then spent some quality time with my parents outside talking (it's so nice to be under 80 degrees - even 90 actually!)...I actually got cold after it got dark...woohoo! A few bug bites to go along with it too though...but it was gorgeous out.

We have a busy week planned out already...a little wedding stuff, work (obviously), going to see grandparents, some good dinners, and even a Chief's game too. I hope it doesn't fly by too quickly!

RAINY DAYS IN AZ!!!!

2008-07-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's pretty funny that I just started my blog and named it , "Sunny Days in AZ" yesterday, and the same day it officially POURED rain. Bobby and I were at our softball game...bottom of the 1st inning...our team is up, 5-2 already....and woosh! Rain pouring down. The clouds looked NASTY on our drive there...and for those of you that know me well, know that Dani no likey tornadoes. And yes, I know they don't have tornadoes here (except for that crazy night back in '96 that they tell me about)...BUT...scary clouds are scary clouds....and scary clouds remind Dani of where tornadoes come from back in IL and the "Terrible Tuesday" video they showed us in 2nd grade...so, I was not happy to be playing softball to begin with (oh...and seeing lighting in the clouds, and the thought of me holding an aluminum bat wasn't a fun feeling either!). Even so...I got my butt out there with minimal grumbling (right Bobby???) and was actually starting to embrace the fact that the clouds weren't going to hit us like it looked like before. That didn't last long though, because the sky started falling shortly after that. So...we actually ended up winning our game AND we got to get out of the lightning and tornadoes! Double bonus. It continued to rain here in the Valley (it's officially been AZ's monsoon season for almost a month, and the weather keeps building to this point of official downpour) the whole night...and for a lot of it...it seriously poured rain....and I really loved it. Never thought this sun worshiper would say that...but it hasn't rained in the two months I have been here....so it was awesome. And, it's the talk of the town when it rains here too....people can't get over it. Since it barely rains here, it's like a novelty. I seriously think I heard people somewhere in Bobby's neighborhood last night shrieking with joy in the rain....not even kidding.

I also was just looking at my sister's blog and this picture is just awesome of my niece on a 70's dress up day at dance class (that is Nikki and I's old acrobat outfit from back in the day!), so I thought I would steal it and post it here too...just to show off her cuteness....enjoy!

I'm blog happy today!

2008-07-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Okay...I guess that I am a little blog happy on this first day of blogging...but, I did want to add that Bobby and I will be back in Illinois next week (even though both of us are still working) for those that didn't know. We don't have too much planned...family time for sure and work has to happen along the way as well...but we are hoping to catch up with as many people as possible and have a great week!

Pictures of MY MAN! =)

2008-07-10T11:18:00.001-07:00

By request...here are some pics of Bobby and I (and the girls)...I forgot that some of you may not even know what Bobby looks like!

A Few Pictures!

2008-07-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from when I first moved here in May. While my mom was still here, Kyndall, Megan, Bobby, her and I went to the Botanical Gardens here. Of course, they were having record 110 degree weather already here in AZ, so we were a little hot to say the least. Still it was very cool to see a desert garden...and some good pics too!

Finally...I'm blogging!

2008-07-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I wanted to start being a blogging person when I moved to Arizona...so after two months...here I finally am! I hope I keep up with it and I can keep everyone back "home" in the loop a little easier, since I am far away and not able to share as many life experiences with the people I really care about. I will do my best to keep this updated! Until then...I'm going to try to figure out this blogging thing a bit more. Catch up with you soon!