Pine, Lights and Stockings!

Christmas is so close...less than a week. My family has been preparing for the last few weeks as we put Christmas lights up, decorated inside, baked cookies and toffee and shopped...cut, taped and wrapped all the presents! I have officially finished my first Term in hygiene school which is really awesome. Tadd and I also have booked our flights for a long vacation in Arizona with his family which will be a great time. The weather has been beautiful (despite the need for rain) and I have been able to enjoy some down time previous to our vacation.



I am looking forward to a big break and will post pictures of our fun trip in Arizona as soon as I can. Have a Merry Christmas!!!

Family Photos

I know we dont technically have any children yet, but we are still considered a family!!! We got photos done so that we could send out our very first Christmas card. Here are a few photos from our very fun session!




Maybe next time we will have a new addition or at least one on the way.

November B-day!

My mom celebrated her birthday on the 15th of November this year. We all headed out to cheesecake factory to celebrate and enjoy a nice dinner together. We all got something delicious and then of course, cheesecake to share. Vanilla bean, red velvet and the tuxedo were the flavors we enjoyed. Since we did not get my mom an actual gift, we decided to take her to see Breaking Dawn since it came out the same week as her birthday. We saw it on Saturday around 1:00pm and it turned out to be perfect because it was not too packed and there were not a lot of kids screaming every few seconds. I really liked the movie and I think my mom did too. Katie also came and so did our boys, Tadd and Dennis. My dad lucked out and was busy on Saturday so he didn't make it. It was a great day and we love my MOM so much and are so happy and extremely lucky to have her as our mother!!!

Sandpoint Idaho

This past weekend Tadd and I headed up to Idaho to see his Grandma as well as his aunt and cousins. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and had a lovely dinner with all of them. We watched some magic tricks by the kids and then headed to bed. On Sunday, we woke up and went to church with Cleo and then came home and Lisa and Cole headed out to go hunting while we stayed and played Just Dance with Quinn and some other fun games. Cole shot his first deer and they gutted it and then skinned it and he got to keep the heart and one of the hooves, it was pretty intense. Monday morning, we woke up and we ate some breakfast and then got ready to head around town. We went to their ski resort called Schweitzer and on the way up the mountain it was pretty and sunny and then we were taking pictures and it started to snow...lots. We drove down the hill in a blizzard. It was crazy. We then walked around the town of Sandpoint and shopped around. The snow stopped and we all went to lunch on the beach (with snow on it...) and enjoyed each other's company. We walked around a bit and then the trip was already over! It went fast but we had a great time with them and they were great hosts. We are hoping to make it up there again soon.

Up to Date...

I never really take pictures anymore it seems...but we have been pretty busy lately. A few weeks ago, we went to Berkeley to hang out with my college roommate and her husband who went to Cal. We had a nice weekend spending time with them and just enjoying each others company and getting away briefly.


After that weekend, we did some housesitting...then we had a fun weekend with some friends to celebrate his birthday! Then of course Halloween. We never have any big plans for Halloween because we don't have any kids. But this year, similar to the past few years we went trick or treating with some friends who have kids. We ate lots of yummy food and played some games. However, since it was a Monday night, we had to get back to the house and get ready for the workday following.
Other things are...still planning Jills wedding...and it is moving right along. Also, Tadd's family has all had kids officially. Two new babies were born in the last two months. We are so excited for Christmas this year as we are visiting Arizona and will get to meet the new additions. We both are currently super busy with school for me and Tadd is teaching institute which keeps him studying as well. Hopefully I will have more pictures to share as we move into the Holidays.

16+ years

Yesterday was a sad day for our family. I know it sounds dramatic, and it pretty much was. We had to put out perfect little cat, Lilly, to sleep after 16+ wonderful years of her in our family! She was seriously the best cat ever. If you are not a cat person, you would have been if you met Lilly. She listened, and she loved and she ate human food. She was so snuggly and so adorable and we are so sad that she will not be meowing in our house anymore. She was getting very old and pretty sick. She had lost a few pounds and was always cold. She had such a great life and we loved her so so much. I don't think that we will ever get another cat because there can never be a cat that can compare to our Lillykins. We got her when we lived in San Diego and we were all in elementary school or younger. She was the best kitty and as she grew up with us, she continued to be the best cat ever!!! She would snuggle on your chest and rub her paw against your face. She would hiss at our dog because she ran the house not the dog. She would lick our creamsicles and eat our salty crackers. She would meow and meow and meow until we gave her deli turkey and then let her out into our garage so she could stay warm on the carpeted stairs. She was seriously the best cat ever, hands down! We will miss her so much. I will post some adorable photos of her as soon as I get a chance. We love our Lillykins and will miss her so much. She is happy now in kitty heaven.

Lately

It has been a little bit longer than I anticipated since I last posted. I thought I would be getting lots of posts in about my schooling, but I don't have as much time as I thought I might. Also, how boring would my blog be if I kept posting about school...o wait, I have been posting about school for the last 3 years. Sorry!

Instead of a post about school, I will post about all the other things I have been up to. Recently, I made a blanket for my niece for Christmas. The picture below is not the actual blanket but brighter and prettier fabric.

Also, I have been assisting my sister in planning her wedding that is next July. I am making a few things to contribute to her wedding. I am making her garter, her hair decoration, a "here comes the bride" sign and then of course as the Maiden of Honor I am planning and throwing her bridal shower. The shower wont be until May I think but we are doing beach and "gelato" theme. (Her name is Jill Oddo, pronounced the same way). A sample flower...but it will have some organza and toule and bling.
I have also been getting ready and excited and prepared for the fall/winter. I have been looking up adorable fall outfits on pinterest. There are so many...and of course that costs money, but I am going to see if I can work some fun outfits with the clothes I already have. Some samples below...




I see if I can get some good pics of outfits that I get to wear this weekend on a fun trip to Berkeley to meet up with my college roommate and her husband! Until next time...

Month 1

I have been in Hygiene school for officially 4 weeks. 1 month down. 17 more to go. I have six classes and I go to school Tuesday through Friday from 8-5pm. And then I get home...and study! It is hard. But this is the beginning of the end of school. Finally! After all these years. The classes I am taking are...Intro to Hygiene Clinic...this is the lab! Radiology (x-rays). Morphology (shape of teeth). Anatomy...self explanatory. Biology. Preventive Dentistry (toothbrushes, floss, etc.)



I really like it...I am so excited to get to work with all the instruments and become a Dental Hygienist.

Sunshine Award 2011

Thanks Jen for presenting me with the Sunshine Award 2011. If you don't know Jen, you should, your life will be better by knowing her, even if it is only in the blogging world. Get to know her here...http://jenkatherines.blogspot.com/

In following the Sunshine Award Rules...here are my answers.

1. Favorite color: Depends... Purple usually but coral and gray for clothing
2. Favorite animal: Lion
3. Favorite number: 2
4. Favorite drink {alcohol free}: Orange Dream Machine from Jamba Juice
5. Twitter or Facebook: Neither? I know, way out of the loop!
6. My passion: Life...any other passion would be limiting!
7. Giving or receiving presents: I recently have enjoyed giving handmade gifts, they always mean so much!
8. Favorite pattern: I've been into floral lately
9. Favorite day: Saturday
10. Favorite flower: Hibiscus

I would like to pass along the award to my girlfriend...

1. Devon at http://jessedevonaida.blogspot.com/

The rules:
1. Thank the person who gave you this award.
2. Write a post about it, including the award photo.
3. Answer the questions.
4. Pass on the award to 10 {or however many you want} bloggers who you think really deserve it and send them a message to let them know!

San Francisco Surprise

For the last few weeks I have been planning a surprise weekend for Tadd's birthday. I emailed his parents a few months ago because they were trying to figure out a weekend to come hang out with us. I decided to take advantage of their plans to visit us and come up with a surprise plan for Tadd's birthday because we are busy the actual weekend of his birthday. It turns out that the weekend that we planned it for turned out to be Kirk's birthday also. So, I have kept this weekend a secret for a long time now and his parents as well. It went like this...Friday when Tadd got off work, he came home and I had told him that we were babysitting which is actually not happening until next weekend, and I told him that there was a change of plans and so we got in the car and away we went. He had no idea and he didn't even ask questions or make any guesses, he just went with it. We drove down to San Francisco and made really good time, there was hardly any traffic which is what I was counting on. We arrived around 7:00pm to the city and as we exited and he starting seeing signs for AT&T park, he knew that we were heading the the Giants game. We went to will call and I told them that the tickets were dropped off for us. He then began to wonder who had dropped off the tickets for us. We made our way to the seats and as we got closer he said, "There's my parents!" He was totally excited and surprised. After sitting down momentarily we grabbed some hot dogs and garlic fries and enjoyed the game. It was perfect! The Giants played the Diamondbacks and it was a really fun game. The Giants won and we all piled in the car and headed to the hotel on the wharf. Tadd opened his present from his parents which was a nice pair of shorts and shirt for golfing. We then all hit the sack to get some rest for our plans on Saturday.

Saturday we woke up and headed to Buena Vista for a fun experience of duking it out for a table and enjoyed a yummy BV combo breakfast. We all got eggs, bacon, potatoes and a side of french toast. It was worth the wait and the anticipation of finding and snagging a table. After breakfast we headed back to the hotel, packed up our things and put them in the car before we headed down the Pier 33 for our Alcatraz adventure. We meandered down the wharf and manuevered through the crowds. We arrived right on time for our Alcatraz boat to depart. It was a short cruise over to the island. We were able to explore Alcatraz. We saw an intro video, we walked through some museums and then we went up to the cell block and listened to an audio tour which was pretty neat. It was cool because we were basically walked through the penetentiary and we were able to learn about some of the incarcerated criminals as well as some escape attempts and other interesting facts and stories. After we completed that we walked back down and got back onto the ferry to head back to SF. When we got back to the Pier we headed towards Peir 39 to grab some yummy mini donuts that Tadd's parents enjoyed the day before. Tadd got pooped on while waiting in line for these tasty treats. As far as we know, that is good luck, or at least that is what we keep hearing. After that we headed over to Boudin for a late lunch. A few of us got soup in a bread bowl and Tadd got some pizza. After that we headed to Ghiradelli square. It was super busy. We stopped by Kara's cupcakes to enjoy a tasty treat...and then we also enjoyed a banana fudge split from Ghiradelli. After all of these adventures, we headed back to the car and hit the road. We arrive back in Sacramento around 7:00pm. We lounged around a bit, grabbed a small bite for dinner and then went to bed.








Sunday, which was Kirk's actual birthday, we woke up and all got ready for church. We headed to our 11:00 sacrament meeting and Tadd shared his testimony. We then headed home to get everything organized before taking them to the airport to head back to Arizona. We had such a fun time with Tadd's parents. The weekend went so well and we are so glad that they were able to come out and visit us and celebrate Tadd and Kirk's birthdays. We look forward to heading to Arizona for Christmas and seeing the rest of the family. Thanks for such a fun weekend Kirk and Sharon!!! We love you guys!

Dental Hygiene

I had my orientation for Dental Hygiene School yesterday. I finally made it. At least to the start of it. I am attending Carrington College in Sacramento for my Dental Hygiene school, and then when it is done, I am done with school! Can you believe it? I have been in school since the beginning of time. I am so excited. I have been gathering all my school supplies that I need. We got all of our books yesterday. There are sooooo many! I also got lots of cool colored binders and dividers. I also got a pair of scrubs and I have to get white leather shoes...fancy! haha. Anyway, I hope everyone that reads this, is celebrating for me...for reaching the beginning of the end! I have already started reading all of the assignments for next week...so that I won't be behind before I start! Wish me luck!

Family Lake Tahoe Trip

This past weekend, our family from San Diego made the long drive up to Sacramento to spend some time with us and also to enjoy some beautiful weather and scenery in Lake Tahoe. Jeff and Karyn and the kids arrived on Wednesday evening, and we all headed out to Macaroni Grill for some grub. We all then headed back to the house and got some sleep. Thursday everyone enjoyed the pool and some pickleball while waiting for me to finish my final for physiology. Thursday around 5pm we headed up the hill to Incline Village. We grabbed some food at Raleys and reached the cabin around 8pm. Friday morning we all arose and hit the trail for some hiking. It was such a beautiful day, the weather was perfect and the air was crisp.




After hiking, we headed down to the Truckee River!!! We all piled into the large river raft and cruised down. It was a fun and interesting experience. The kids were so excited to get into the lake, however, they were having a hard time determining the best timing. Either it was too shallow or too deep, too much moss or too many rocks...but either way, they had a fun time and got to swim around in the Truckee River. A hilarious experience was when we came upon our first "rapid." We were all relaxing, and we all hollered warnings that there was a rock approaching, however, we hit the rock too hard and Karyn went heels over head into the river. It was pretty entertaining. Luckily she did not get hurt and she recovered our food and sunscreen. It is definitely a memory to keep and laugh at each time we get together! After the river, we headed back to the house to freshen up and go grab dinner at Lanza's. It was perfect. We arrived just in time to get seated right away, have our order taken and delivered in flawless fashion. Overall it was a great experience at Lanza's and we will continue to bring family and friends to this restaurant every time we visit Lake Tahoe.




Saturday, we woke up, lounged around a bit, gathered our things and headed to Incline Beach. We spend most of our Saturday at the beach, grabbed some lunch at Austin's and then hit the other side of Incline Beach for their pool and slide. After this fun filled day, we grabbed a couple of movies and went back to the cabin. Sunday morning, we arose, Tadd and I went to the Tahoe ward while the kids got organized to hit the road. When we got back, everything got packed up and we said our goodbyes. We had such a fun time together. I think we are going to make this a yearly trip...yes, we had that much fun! Thanks Jeff and Karyn for making the trip from San Diego. We love you guys!!!