Friday the Thirteenth

So Thursday was my lil bro's birthday and we celebrated as a family by going to eat at the Rainforest Cafe and then on friday he had his real birthday party with all of his little pre-pubescent friends. Lets just say there wasn't a moment of silence in the few hours that I spent with them and there were a couple kids that I wanted to smack around, but it was a fun party. We ate pizza, went laser tagging, then opened presents and had ice cream cake.


P.S. On Friday I took this picture after the rain while we were driving down the hill to my parents house... I love California after the rain. I cannot imagine my life without days like these. They remind me of just how lucky I am to be living in such a beautiful place. I love California!

Happy Birthday Yara and Ava!

Superbowl sunday was spent in LA with Tyler's family at Justin, Christina, Yara, Ava's house. The Daniel Rex family came and so did Tyler's parents. We celebrated Yara and Ava's birthdays and watched them enjoy their cake and presents. It was a blast being with The Rex side of the family because we don't get to see them very often. Yara loved the cute little slippers we got her and she had way too much fun with all those bubbles! Thanks justin and Christina for the hospitality and entertainment!

Train ride to Oceanside...

A couple weeks ago Tyler and I got to go whale watching down in Oceanside with my sister Kim's school so we (Tyler, me, my dad, Kim, Morgan, Jack, Justin, Tiffany, and Jessica) all decided to take the train from Orange and then walk a little ways over to the harbor where the boat would take us out to look for whales. It was my first train riding experience and definitely a fun one. The boat was late getting started and late getting back to the harbor, but luckily Kim had some friends that were kind enough to drop us off at the train station. We got there just in the nick of time and a few of us had to sprint onto the train just seconds before it took off. It was exciting to say the least. Here are some pics of us at the Harbor and on the Boat. We didn't spot any whales, but we did see a ton of dolphins... if you look closely in one of the pics you can see some coming out of the water...




and on the train...

Valentines Day!

Tyler and I exhanged gifts before we went out to dinner and a movie for valentines day. I got Tyler the complete Rocky collection and some white chocolate and he got me...


This pretty necklace, a ring and roses! We ate at Wood Ranch for dinner and then met up with his parents to see He's Just Not That Into You. The food was amazing, the movie was funny, and the company was great too! Happy Valentines Day!

Can I REALLY do this?

That was the first thought that entered my head as I walked onto the Cal State Fullerton campus on tuesday. I always knew I would get to a University and finish up my Bachelor's degree, but was I really cut out for this? I felt like a very small fish in a very very large pond. I went to my classes and it wasn't too bad, but I came home and really got to thinking how badly I really wanted this. I came to the conclusion that I am too close to the finish line to give up now. I can totally conquer this... even if that means that I finish courses without even fully grasping the reason as to why I was there, eat lunch alone and sweat like crazy as I walk to and from campus everyday. I really had to remind myself of how much I love my major. Luckily I am in a Soc of Family class, which I can already tell will help me remember why sociology is so completely amazing to me. Although I cannot say the same about my research methods class. All that comes to mind when I think of that class is ?????????
But not to fear... I will finish and I am even more motivated than ever before to get my degree. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I am going for it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER BRADY REX!!!

TODAY IS TYLER'S 24TH BIRTHDAY AND LUCKY FOR HIM THE WEATHER SOME HOW KNEW IT. IT IS COOL, RAINING, AND GLOOMY...JUST HOW TYLER LIKES IT. I AM SO HAPPY THAT HE IS HAVING A GOOD DAY SO FAR. WE ARE BOTH WORKING TODAY AND GOING TO LUNCH WITH ALL OF THE PEOPLE AT OUR OFFICE TO CELEBRATE TYLER'S AND PAT'S BIRTHDAY! THEN WE ARE GOING TO DISNEYLAND (TYLER REALLY WANTS TO BUY SOMEONE A CHURRO) AND THEN WE ARE HEADED TO TYLER'S PARENT'S HOUSE FOR PIZZA! IT WILL BE A DAY FULL OF FUN AND RAIN AND I HOPE TYLER LOVES EVERY MINUTE OF IT. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH AND I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR HIS LOVING AND CARING PERSONALITY. HE IS A GOOD MAN AND I AM LUCKY TO HAVE HIM IN MY LIFE!

The New Do

Late September was the last time that I got my hair cut and lets just say I was in NEED of a new look. My layers totally grew out and my hair has been box died for the past 2 years. I decided to splurge and go for salon color and my usual cut by Amrah. She referred me to her co-worker Nichole for my color and I am super stoked about the turnout. I went with a cute layered cut and a dark brown with red tint. I LOVE it. What do you think?

Before...


After...

A Year, Snowboarding and Saying Goodbye

Our one year anniversary was spent on a car ride to Park City Utah where we stayed for a week with the Pitts clan (minus Kim and Morgan :( ). It was an adventure to say the least. After being in the car for 14 hours we arrived at our rental home and settled in. It was fantastic! I snow boarded it up on monday and my dad busted out his skis for the first time in ages. Tyler and I didn't make a big fuss about our anniversary, (I can't decide whether that is a good thing or a bad thing) we just exchanged cards before we went to bed. It was an eventful trip... some of us went in the hot tub in freezing cold weather, the girls had a spa/shopping day, we went snow mobiling, visited Salt Lake, and drove in a snow storm. Here are a few good pics...













On Friday morning my family hit the road for home and Tyler and I rented a car. We stayed with Tyler's long time friend Regan Johnson and his family for the weekend and we got to see Regan play a show in downtown SLC!
On Saturday January 10 we said goodbye to Melvin Brady, Tyler's grandpa. He was an amazing man who will be missed and always remembered. Although I didn't have the opportunity to know grandpa very long I was blessed to see glimpses of his love and personality and hard work. I am grateful for the sweet little moments when he looked at me with those big blue eyes and spoke words of love.

Three Christmases

Christmas morning began with waking up at 6 AM and opening presents together at our apartment...


We then headed off to see Owen, Aaron, and Luke open up their presents at Tylers Parents house. Jessica and Mike came from Washington with their young boys and Julia came from Utah so it was a full house and really fun. It is always more exciting to see little boys open up presents. Owen didn't worry about the presents too much, he mostly roamed around chewing on a tangerine... which is normal due to the fact that he is happiest when he is eating. :)...




We then headed over to my parent's house and opened presents there. It was kind of weird not being there to open presents for the first time ever (this was our first married Christmas) but luckily it didn't feel weird or anything and it was good to be there with my family.