23 Years and Counting

Well I am officially 23. Not sure if this is good or bad news. I'm still young. I have nothing to worry about, but sometimes I get scared of being the mother of teenagers. It freaks me out!

Anyway... to start the celebrating Tyler threw me a surprise party at his parents house on Friday June 4Th. The night started out by going to eat at The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach with Spencer and Ashley. They live in Texas and Ashley had never been to So Cal so we had to share our love of good food with her. Then we headed to the in laws house to "help Judd with some heavy lifting" and much to my surprise there was a party there instead! There was cake made by my mom (she makes the BEST cakes), brownies made by my sister (best brownies), Lauren cookies (chocolate chip cookies made by my friend Lauren, also, the BEST cookies) and home made milky way ice cream (made by my sister in law Jessica- it tasted like a frosty- enough said). So pretty much had all the best treats with some of the best people I know. Tyler did a great job at inviting so many wonderful people. What a sweet hubby. I am a lucky girl.







Then yesterday, on my actual birthday, the day started off kind of rough, but ended up being just outstanding. To start off... I overslept (I swear I need to disable my snooze button), my monthly bill arrived, then when I finally got to work my car door bumped my sisters car door (luckily it made a small mark that can just be buffed off). Then around 9:30 am the cramps from hell started and lasted for about an hour and a half. Luckily the cramps subsided and since I took a half day I was able to get out of the office. My mom took me shopping! She knew I wanted some Tom's so she decided to take me shopping at Nordstrom to get them and a few other little treasures. I had a lot of fun with her. She is so fun to shop with and so generous. I am lucky to have such a giving mom!
We went to the BP shoe section and of course when I asked for a pair of red and a pair of black tom's in a size 10 the salesman said they didn't have any. I had kind of prepared myself for such an event so I wasn't too disappointed. But then he came out and had found the only size 10s in the colors that I wanted! I call him my lucky charm. Then we went to brass plum and I found a sweet shirt, a cardigan, some earrings, a ring and a necklace. I totally scored... and my mom got it all for me! We went back to the shoes to find some neutral brown flats or low wedges and asked our lucky charm to help us out. He didn't have any on display, but he came out with the perfect light brown peep toe wedges, but of course, they only came in an 8. He went to the cash register to order them to be shipped to my house in a size 10 and he noticed that in the system it showed that there was one size 10 in the style/color that I wanted. He went back to check, but made no promises. To my surprise, again, he came out with the exact style/color that I wanted! That man seriously made my day! I had also tried on some cute black flats that my mom snuck into the bag... what a little stinker! She is too good to me!

After shopping my mom took me back to my office where my car was parked. Tyler and I headed to downtown Disney to eat here...




And as a gift he got me tickets to see...


Our friends Rhett and Katie also have tickets to this show so we are going to party!

I am soooo excited! What a great husband I have. I can't wait to use those tickets! It is going to be great to do something extra special and fun with Tyler! I am so lucky to have him in my life. He is my best friend and I talk to him about anything and everything. He is good to me and sometimes I really don't deserve it. He is the cheese to my macaroni. I love him.

Celebrations I am still looking forward to:

*Friday night dinner with my family at Hibachi Steak House in Anaheim Hills!

*Spa Day with SIL Jessica at Glen Ivy in Brea!

Thanks again to everyone who came to my party, wished me a happy birthday or got me sweet gifts. I am lucky to have so many kind, loving, beautiful people in my life. I cherish you all! Thanks for making all my years what they have been. My life would not be the same without you. I would not be the same without you.

You've Got Mail

Watched this movie all the way through for the first time in my life the other night. The movie came out in 1998 when I was concerned with things like sleepovers and the Disney channel. I seriously LOVE this movie. It's on TV every once in a while and I decided to record it and I am so glad I did. It is such a great movie. Meg Ryan is so amazing. Her emails to her mystery man, played by Tom Hanks, are so eloquent and a lot of the things she writes about are things I think about all the time. Great movie. I highly recommend it!

Hands

On Saturday I had the privilege, along with many of my family members and cherished friends, to be in the San Diego Temple as my sister Danielle and her fiance Greg received their endowments. It was such a wonderful experience for me. I have always been somewhat of a mama bear when it comes to Danielle. I have always been skeptical of her boyfriends and interrogated them when they came over to the house.... probably because I never thought anyone was good enough for my baby sister. I hate to admit it, but I was skeptical of Greg at first. But because this was normal for me I wasn't worried, I knew I would eventually come around. Today I know with a surety that Greg is the man for my sister. And he is more than good enough.
Throughout the session I would occasionally glance over at Greg and see him gazing at Danielle with such love in his eyes. It was such a testimony to me of their love for each other. I am so proud of both of them. They have come so far, the road to the temple is not always easy, but they made it and they made it together. What a blessing it is to know that they made the choice to be worthy to enter the house of the Lord and to do it together on the same day. It was so special to be there with them. I know that they will remember that day forever.
During the session I also realized that my mama bear big sister days are coming to an end in a way. As I looked at my little sisters hands, those hands that used to play barbies with me, build forts with me, buy ice cream from the ice cream man with me, play cops and robbers with me and take baths with me. Those hands that cut her own bangs when she was a little girl causing her to have crooked bangs until they finally grew out. Those hands that I was a little bit jealous of when I first saw them at the young age of 2 (she was taking away my baby girl status). Sitting in that beautiful place I realized... those dainty little baby sister hands were all grown up & wrapped around one of those fingers there is now a wedding band. When the session was over I met her in the Celestial Room and embraced her and then held her hands and told her how much I loved her and we both shed a few tears. I just can't believe that my baby sister is all grown up, because to me she will always be 4 years old playing in the snow all by herself with crooked bangs and sweet little innocent baby sister hands. Danielle, I love you more than words can express. You will always be my sweet baby sister and I will always love you! I am so blessed to have you in my life!

Top Night!

This past weekend was a whirlwind of parties and celebrations. Friday night I threw my baby sister a bachelorette party! It was SO much fun! With my cousins (minus Janae who had given birth a few days before), sisters and Candice we all headed to CHOMP in downtown fullerton for some yummy food, went to JJ's Music Studio in La Habra to karaoke and then back to my apartment for dessert and presents. Let me just tell you... if you like Karaoke and you want to go to a nice place you HAVE to go to JJ's. It was amazing. Super nice private rooms with two mics, two books FULL of songs and two flat screens. Such a nice place and not bad prices. We all had SO much fun. I am posting pics only for now, but the videos are freaking hilarious. I am planning to make a video montage. So come back soon to check up on that post... you wont want to miss it!

Owen's Birthday Party

After Julia's bridal shower we had a little party for Owen over at my in laws house. Owen opened presents, we barbecued and we ate a yummy ice cream cake that Jessica made. Owen scored with presents. He got bubbles, a bunch of squirt guns and a sweet Buzz Lightyear Bike! All the boys, big and small, had fun with his presents!

Bridal Shower for Julia

On June 5th Verna (one of Julia's young women leaders) threw her an amazing beach themed bridal shower. When we found out Verna was the host we knew it would be nothing short of amazing and of course, she did not disappoint! She went with a beach theme because she said that no matter where Julia goes (Utah in particular) she will always be a California girl, which is correct. It was not only fun to see Julia enjoy her shower, but it was so fun being with the Brady ladies. Tyler's mom and her family members were there and I swear it was like we were the only ones at the party. Cindy and Lori were joking around and Steph and Lori cheated on the games... it was a blast. I had so much fun. And the best part was that Jessica and I gave Julia a honeymoon kit. Fully equipped with candles, bubble bath, bath salts, massage oil and one other treasure (Try to find it in the pics below).

A Tribute to Owen...

Owen... He is my carmel colored, afro haired, food obsessed nephew. He and I get along really well. Mostly, I think, because of our love for food. He loves me "berry much" and sometimes I get a little scared that I wont think my kids are as cute as he is. When he hugs me or gives me kisses it warms my heart. He is just one of the cutest people you will ever meet. If you meet him, you will love him. It's that simple. So... Happy 3rd Birthday Owen. I love you berry much!

Hey There Red...

Last week I got the fever. The itch. I decided to dye my hair. I wanted a change. So I went a little crazy, but not TOO crazy. For the record... I LOVE it. It's been said that my color is the color of Ariel's hair, which I do not mind at all.


Before...


After...

Ren's Birthday Celebration 5.27.10

One of my dearest friends, Lauren, turned 23 on 5.16.10. Because finals week fell on the week after her sunday birthday we had to put off the celebrations. We ended up going to Esther's for lunch, hanging by the pool, making pizza and hot tubbing. I love Lauren so much. She is one of the few friends from high school that I still spend time with. She is a wonderful lady who listens to all my venting each tuesday and thursday as we walk to class together. She and I just get each other and I am so glad she gets along with Tyler. I was always afraid that my friends wouldn't like my spouse, but with Lauren I have no worries. We can all hang out and we get along really well. Lauren is funny. kind. pretty. stylish. has great taste in music. and if she could be re-born in another era she would be a flower child. She is the ketchup to my mustard and I love her. Happy Birthday old friend!