Takeoffs and Landings

Unfortunately for Jeff, he has spent the majority of June in an airport.  This is his 3rd week traveling and I can tell he is ready to come home and stay home.  He started in Chicago for a week and the past 2 weeks he has been in Colorado. Lucky for us we got to take a weekend getaway to San Francisco in between his trips! My dad took him to the US Open (golf) there while my mom and I took it easy and explored the city!  Well....since we have been there many times (my parents lived there for many years during the life they shared together before the children came) my mom and I found the closest Nordstrom which was convenient for us, a 5 minute walk from our hotel!   Obviously mom and I didn't come out until we met the boys for dinner! 

I was super excited about my luggage!

CHEESE!!!! We are lame!!

It was a very short, but fun getaway! I am happy to say when we got back, I started my new job and I love it! It is exactly what I was looking for.  I am the Executive Assistant to the President...pretty fancy title I agree! The people are so nice too.  It's going to be a tough job, but I am up for the challenge.  After having a 2 week unemployment break, I decided being a housewife is not for me, at least not yet.  Penny and I found our ways to be entertained though.  Anyways, I am very excited about my new job...but even more excited for....

MINNESOTA!!

I was daydreaming the other day about playing with the bubbies and enjoying some time with Niki and Mike! It's going to be an awesome trip! 

Birthday Weekend and more...!

After a whirlwind of a month, May has come and gone! Jeff planned a wonderful birthday weekend for me. Unfortunately, we did not take enough pictures. But I did get a shot of my beautiful roses!

My mom and dad took me to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants and we got to celebrate my sister-in-laws birthday as well seeing the movie The Avengers and having a fun dinner at Oscars! Love those triple dates :) Why didn't anyone think to take a picture?!

Sunday, Jeff and I hiked with the Penners, it was so beautiful!

On Memorial Day, our friends Angie and Tyler and their two adorable girls Adalyn and Kora came over for a BBQ.  Again, I need to start taking more photos. This is getting ridiculous! I did get this one :)

These girls are my favorite! :)

A lot has happened in the past two weeks....for one, I quit my job! First comes cheers, then comes panic then comes the accountant husband crunching numbers in an excel sheet calculating to the exact date and time until we can't pay the bills and lose our house. It isn't very long...

And as I have come to find out, things work out for the best! I have a new job, an even better job that I will start in a couple of weeks! (The husband can relax now) 

Thanks everyone for the support! This has been a crazy month already, but we are looking forward to the future!! Plus, Minnesota is coming up so soon, and I cannot wait to play with my nieces and nephews!

Happy Summer!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you

For all the love and support from my last blog post. We truly have the best family and friends :)

Blogger Confessions

Lately I have been going through past blog posts and looking through my Facebook on things that have happened over the past few years.  The great thing about social media these days is it’s like a scrapbook of my memories. Helping me to remember events in my life I forget too soon after they happen.  The bad thing I realized is I only post the good things that happen in my life. Sure, I complain here and there about Jeff working too much or when I felt school was taking over my life, but I really never post about real issues in my life.  I guess I would like to keep my problems private because everyone has problems and the last person I would like to be is that person that gives a play by play of their days. (We all know who you are and please I do not want to hear every detail about why your day was bad…Get over it your life doesn’t suck!) 

I ran into a family friend the other day that I rarely get to see anymore these days and she told me how she has been following me on facebook and loves all the pictures I have been posting of all Jeff and I’s trips we have been taking.  She said our life looks so wonderful together and she was so happy for me that I was living a perfect life.   I was appreciative of her comments, but it made me think of how I have been portraying my life to the public.  My life is wonderful, I agree but PERFECT….we are far from it! Jeff and I have our problems! I struggle everyday to try and do the best I can to make it in this world because life is hard. Harder than my parents could even prepare me for! I certainly do not want sympathy. Jeff and I have made life decisions that have made our life difficult.  But those decisions we both made because of the future we are building for our family. It is no picnic to both work full time, own a home, take care of that home, take care of each other and then fit in time to see our family and friends, which never seems to be enough time. I especially wish I could make more time for them! Our family and friends are the support we need when times get tough.  I feel like Jeff and I had to grow up over night and there are times especially lately where I do not have any control of our lives.  The past 6 months have been incredible. Life hits you fast and Jeff and I are both trying to hold on to something just to get through. I turn to my husband because of his strength to get through it. He tells me it is because he can turn to God when things are more than he can handle. I admire this.  

At Christmas, I was able to have a long talk with my brother and sister-in-law about God.  I confess this is all new to me. Not because I have never wanted to, but because I have never knew how.  They told me to pray.  My initial thought was that’s it? I just pray? It seemed too easy to pray and then have all my problems solved.  I wanted to believe them. Their faith in God is one I always have admired. Rest assured, they knew what they were telling me to do. I explained to Jeff that since I really didn’t know God, I didn’t want to rush into anything I wasn’t ready for.  I would treat it like a first date.. I wasn’t going to take this lightly and Jeff knows I use my humor in serious situations. So I attempted to pray.  I had no idea what I was doing or if there was a proper way to pray. One day I just started talking.  I did feel better to just talk it out, but because I didn’t have any feedback I felt this one-way relationship could not go on for very long. I needed to know I was doing this right.  I started praying a lot.  After a few months, I started to get frustrated. I broke down, I was yelling this time.  God would hear me for sure if I screamed at Him. It’s worked on other people, I was convinced it would work. “Can’t you see I am doing the best I can here! I need guidance!” Of course you all probably know or realize how foolish screaming at someone is.  It didn’t work. I was left in a ball crying because I felt or heard nothing.  I felt like a child with tantrum not getting what I wanted. What I thought I deserved.  I turned to Jeff.  I knew he found it funny my ideas on how I was trying to connect to God. He was very comforting explaining how it takes time and I need to have more patience with myself. I wanted to give up. I figured because I was not raised in a church, I must not deserve to pray to God. We have not built a relationship since I was a child, therefore we will not start when I am 23. In between all my frustrations, Jeff and I got a letter from someone I will not name here.  All I will say is I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, loving and caring family. This was one of the most sincere letters I have ever received.  I don’t think they realize how much it helped.  I wish I could say it solved all our problems and we lived happily ever after without any problems, but we know that isn’t what happens.  Life is not a fairy tale and it is not supposed to be.  This letter gave me hope and the push I needed to not give up.  

I guess what this ramble was meant to say is our life is not perfect and I hope to never come off through social media as being perfect.  We have hopes and dreams that we are working hard on making come true.  This comes with struggle, but we have been fortunate enough to sometimes enjoy the ride in beautiful places.  On the worst days, it is so comforting to know Jeff and I have about 15-20 people we could call in an instant and immediately receive the support we need.  Not everyone gets this and for some reason we do.  God has answered that prayer without me even consciously thinking it.  I am starting to think God has a sense of humor and one day I will be able to connect the way that some of you have already been able to.  It might not be tomorrow, but one day it will happen. For now, I will take a deep breathe and keep trying to do the best I can. 

Catalina!

To celebrate Jeff's Birthday AND the end of another busy season, we planned a weekend getaway to Catalina! Jeff had only been on a canoe trip there and I have never visited so we thought we would see how it was.  Let me just say, this was one of the best trips Jeff and I have ever been on.  Little did we realize this little piece of paradise was only an hour away from us!!


We left early Friday morning and took the ferry from Newport Beach.  I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly because I didn't take any dramamine not realizing that in order to get an island you must cross an ocean. The second we left the bay it was over. I quickly took dramamine and a whole bunch of ginger chews and spent the whole hour and 15 mins in misery! It was awful. Poor Jeff even had sympathy nausea for me.  Once we got to dry land it was beautiful and after a short nap (dramamine knocked me out!) we started our vacation.  


We spent the weekend exploring the island, eating delicious food and enjoying a few days away from reality. Saturday we did a 8 mile hike to the top of a mountain where we could see both sides of the island.  It was gorgeous! We had lunch at the top where we could take in the scenery.  


Sunday Jeff insisted we had to play a round of miniature golf! He takes it very seriously while I just well...smack the ball as hard as I can! 


Catalina was great! I can't wait to go back...maybe take a few friends or family with us!! Who wants to join?!

So pretty!

I have a pretty hot husband!

Memorial / Botantical Garden

Views from our hike!

Views on the other side of the island

On top of the mountain!

"But when I climb up to my island peak,

Escape awhile the madding world of strife,

I envy not a earthly thing, this life,

Which sometimes calls, is sweet clean of its cares

By friendly winds, and once again I smile,

At, truly, life seems sweet - a thing worthwhile"

A little miniature golf

Lunch views

Thank you Catalina!

The view leaving Catalina :)

To all my favorite Mom's out there!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mother's out there!! I am so grateful for having my Mom who has been there for me for everything. I really don't know where I would be in life without her support. I am also fortunate enough to have an wonderful Mother in law who has welcomed me into her family from the start. I am so lucky!! 

And to (now) 3 of my beautiful sister in laws who are being celebrated today for the amazing mothers they are and will be (Emily!!) I love you all!

Spring time!

I am beyond excited to say that busy season is almost over!! Jeff is exhausted and I think it's official to say he is "over it."  


So we took a mini vacation getaway for Easter with my parents so he could relax for 2 days.  I went a day early with Mom and Dad and my brother Justin and Craig came as well! We stayed at the La Quinta Resort. This place is beautiful, we used to go every Easter as kids, but have not gone in over 10+ years.  I mean, just look at the pictures!!

The highlight of the trip for Jeff was golfing on Sunday.  He said he had been "dreaming about it for weeks."  ----I'm starting to think he is in a committed relationship with golf. :)

It was a beautiful Easter weekend! 

The weekend getaways didn't stop there.  This past weekend was my dad's 60th birthday.  My mom's 60th birthday is this Friday, the 20th.  Being 6 days apart has been extremely helpful for my brother and I over the years!  We wanted to plan something different and fun for them so a few weeks ago (while also filming Stupid.com videos) we took some nice photos of the "kids" to frame for my parents.  For some reason, the photo shoot turned into just plain ridiculous even doing the chu-chu train.  We are not a serious family obviously!

Here is one good one though!

We surprised my parents and took them up to LA and had them stay in a nice hotel.  The big surprise was taking them to the LA Galaxy game to watch David Beckham.  It was so fun! We definitely would love to go to more soccer games. Jeff and I want to join a league now.

David Beckham "bending" it!

We leave for Catalina in 2 weeks to celebrate Jeff's 26th birthday and the end of busy season!