Quicker than I thought!

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!

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!

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

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

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

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!

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!