After stalling for 4 years Dana finally got the balls to ask, and she said YES!!!

After dining at one of the best rated restaurants in San Diego (George's on the Cove), we walked down to the ocean to watch the sunset.  The timing and location couldn't have been more perfect.  We were sitting on a bench, overlooking the ocean, watching the sun set.  (See the pic below) We were the only two people there watching as the sun went down.  We kissed, said "I love you" to each other, and then after some nerve-racking moments to follow, Dana got on his knee and said "Brooke, will you be my wife?".  He literally threw the ring in my hand and looked up at me with tears in his eyes (which verified that he was serious!).  I opened my hand and there really was a ring!!!!  Immediately I said "Yes!".  The whole moment couldn't have been any better.

After thinking long and hard about where we would get married, we decided on Ashland, Wi, which is my (Brooke's) hometown. The most important part of our wedding was to have those closest to us attending. Our family is so important to us that we knew the closer we were to them, the easier it would be for everyone. Being that Dana is from Michigan (which is the next state over), we thought it would be a little less stressful trying to plan a trip to Ashland than fly to San Diego. Both Dana and I are really happy with our decision. We have chosen the most beautiful location, it will be at my Aunt Nancy's house, which is right on Lake Superior. For those of you who don't know about Lake Superior, it is the biggest of the 5 Great Lakes. And, if you don't know about the Great Lakes, then you need to freshen up on your U.S. Geography. :) Check out this site to get an idea of what my hometown is all about. www.visitashland.com

Our Wedding Party

My good friend, Miranda and her husband Mike just welcomed their first baby into the world. Her name is Brenna Linn. She's as cute as a button and fits right in with the Foy family.

Yes, it sure does seem to be baby season.  Today, my cousin, Josh and his wife Hallie welcomed their first baby into the world.  Her name is Quinn Rose.  Congratulations to the new parents!!

With the help of my mom, I have pictures of the location of our ceremony.  I am so excited because it is so beautiful here and I keep so many memories of this place.  This is my Aunt Nancy's house, which is just right across the bay from my house.  The first pic is the view of where everyone will be seated during our ceremony, and Dana and I will be close to the lake.  The second pic is a view a little to the left of the ceremony site.  The 3rd pic is standing at the lake and looking back at the house, which is where people will be walking from.  And the last pic is directly to the left of the house.  What do you think?  Isn't it so beautiful?  Ah, I just can't wait.  I can picture it already!

As most of you know, I am a fashion designer, here in San Diego.  So, now that I am getting married, everyone asks if I am going to design my wedding dress.  The answer to that is "yes".  I have not begun yet, but I do have time.  Anyway, now that we are planning our wedding, I talk to my mom on the phone all the time (I sometimes call her more than 3 times a day--haha, no joke).  So, one time she calls me and tells me that her and my Aunt Mary Kay have come across my grandma's dress.  She wanted to know if I would like to use peices of it when I am designing my own wedding dress.  I was so honored and excited to see the dress, I wanted to try it on so bad.  It has arrived, and now I am sharing the pics of me in the dress.  It fit me perfectly.  It was an emotional moment for me and I cherish this dress more than anything else.  I miss my grandma and think about her everyday.  I know she will be with me in spirit, on my wedding day, and having a peice of her in the peices of my dress couldn't be a more meaningful gift.  I hope you enjoy the pics!

Now that I shared pics of me in my grandma's wedding dress, I've decided to also post a picture of my grandpa and grandma's wedding. In this picture, from left to right is: Bill K., Carl G., Tom K., Grandpa John G., Grandma Kay G., Irene G., Sue S., and Betty S. Now you can see where I get my beauty from!

To keep our relationship fun and exciting, Dana and I go out every Tuesday for "date night". It's fun and enjoyable and I recommend every couple to do the same. We always suggest it to our other friends in relationships and many of them listen and try it out. We look forward to it every week. Lately, we've been picking different neighborhoods in San Diego and trying out a new restaurant. This last week, we chose North Park and went to The Linkery (www.thelinkery.com) .  They were offering a special 5 course dinner.  Each course was paired with a different beer.  Since Dana and I consider ourselves Beer connaisseurs, we thought this was the perfect dinner.  It was a great night.  The dinner could have had a little more substance (I left hungry), and the service could have been better (they always add the gratuity on, so you don't decide your tip), but the beer was good, and the company was good as well.  The more beer we drank, the more I wanted to talk and Dana sat and listened to me tell the same stories I've told him before--like how I use to go visit my cousins in Minnesota every summer, how my cousin Jennifer use to babysit us and one time her boyfriend yelled at my brother, Derek, because I told on him for stealing my nail polish and putting it on himself, and how Derek and I use to spend every New Year's Eve with my cousins, Gwenda and Travis (Happy Hanukah!).  We were having a good time, so we proceeded to an Irish Bar right by our house.  Of course, we had to order Guiness.  They pour it perfectly there and they even make a clover symbol in the head of the beer.  And, we surely didn't leave without an Irish Car Bomb.  Yummy!

One of my closest friends from college (a bridesmaid in my wedding) and her husband, Wayne, will be expecting their first baby in May. I am so excited for them and can't wait until the baby arrives!! They are going to make great parents, and all of you will see her with her new born at our wedding. Yay!

We had yet another sunny Sunday this last weekend. While we hear everyone back home talk about how cold the days are getting, we were at the beach with no jackets, complaining how hot the sun was. Well, maybe just laughing about how perfect the weather is and how we are glad we arne't in Michigan or Wisconsin. We met up with our friends, Emily and Kyle in Solana Beach at a little gathering. They are friends who just moved back to the midwest (Chicago) from San Diego. They were sure to soak up as much of the sun as they could before they headed back to the frigid air. Heehee. It was nice to see them and catch up a little.  We realized that the next time we would see them is our wedding day...can't wait!  Pics below are of Rocky and I, sitting the way we always do when riding in Dana's big truck.  Rocky isn't comfortable unless he is in my arms and as close to me as possible.  The other pic is of the group of us overlooking the beach.

Dana and I spent the week in Las Vegas for the annual Sema Show (an automotive car show). Dana has clients that would be there, so he wanted to meet with them and check out all the cars and their parts (yes, every single car part you could ever imagine all in rows and rows and rows under 3 roofs---not the most exciting thing for a girl who has made a career in fashion. Ha!) But, it was Vegas. I know the policy is, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but I'm a ruler breaker. We had a great time checking out all the tourist stuff, like the water show at the Bellagio, the M&M Factory, Elvis standing on the corner of the strip, and Bobby Flay's restaurant, Mesa Grille. We met up with Dana's old boss and friend, Jeff, hung out with our san diego friends, Chris and Megan, and gambled, ate, and did a lot of walking. And, Dana's part of the trip, we went to Hofbrauhaus, which is a replica of the German Octoberfest. We ordered sausages and beer, and ended the night with a couple shots of schnapps. We didn't know how potent the schnapps was, for we were a little tipsy when we were leaving the place. In fact, they didn't let us get out of there without a spanking. The first picture below is of Dana getting spanked by the German waitress, the second pic is of decor that Bellogio had for the Fall season, the next is me getting polished in the M&M Factory, and the last pic is of Dana's new dream ride, along with the guy who designed the truck. And just in case you are curious, here is the link to the German restaurant:  http://www.hofbrauhauslasvegas.com

As we got super excited about the Chargers win today, we realized that Rocky was equally excited, so we wanted to share it with you. Man, I love our little guy. :)

Ok, so as I've explained before, Dana and I go out every Tuesday for our date night. We usually try and check out a new restaurant each week. Most of the time, we will try something that has been recommended by others. This last Tuesday, though, we stumbled upon a great place by our house with really unique decor, not recommended by anyone in particular. We went to Hawthorn's Restaurant Lounge in North Park (www.hawthornssd.com). It use to be a theater and now turned into a restaurant. I included a pic of the place because I thought it was so cool to look at while we were there. Our food was great and, of course, so was our conversation. But, the key to our satisfactory experience is that they hand stuffed Bleau Cheese Olives for Dana's Gin martini. You see, this is his new thing. "Do you hand stuff your olives with bleau cheese?" 1. "Yes we do"..."Then I will take a Saphire Martini dirty with lots of bleau cheese olives" or 2. "No, I'm sorry we don't...but"...."I'll take the darkest beer you have". Ha! Dana has become so picky that he will now only have olives that are hand stuffed with bleu cheese only, none of that jarred stuff and no pimentos. If you are ever trying to impress him, present him with this special martini and watch his heart melt. Men are so easy :) I, on the other hand, like to try some special drinks on the menu. Here, I had some refreshing fruity drink topped with champagne. My favorite, though, was the basil martini....yummy. And, Natalie, yes, our old pics are still in that locket. I think of you every time I wear it.

Rocky made a new friend during our Thanksgiving festivities. Your heart will melt as soon as you see how cute this bulldog is. His name is Crash and he is 10 weeks old. Rocky was a little grouchy and timid at first, but finally loosened up and played.

For the second year in a row, we joined our friends Chris and Megan at their house for thanksgiving. Most of the people who join us are all friends I've worked with at Typhoon Saloon. Since most of us are transplants, and can't always make it home to be with our families, we all get together and have our psuedo-family dinner. Dana made the turkey, which was absolutely delicious. I made pasta salad and my infamous pumkin bars with cream cheese frosting, compliments of my mother (who sends me all the ingredients and directions every year--all I do is mix and bake). I tried taking the time to give thanks and give everyone the opportunity to say what they were thankful for, but nobody contributed to the moment. It's all good, because it was evident that we were all thankful to be together and have great food in front of us. As you can see by the pics, Chris made the gravy and Megan was in charge of dishes. The girls hung out together all night and gossiped while the guys watched some Caveman movie. We hope everyone else had a great thanksgiving!

Last night I came across a new recipe on Eating Well's website. It was seriously the best dish that I think Dana and I have ever come across. I knew right away that I had to share it with you. It is the easiest to prepare and tastes better than anything you will find in a restaurant. And, to top it off, its super healthy! For those of you who have children, I would do everything as follows except the hot sauce....Enjoy!

We couldn't get him to open it himself, but once he saw what it was he wouldn't leave it alone. Rocky got this new toy from Grandma Judy for Christmas and it is his new prize possession.

This year, Dana and I decided we would stay in San Diego for Xmas. Time flew by, and weeks before Christams turned into hours and then we realized we had no plans! Luckily, I did decorate a little, so our house did feel festive. Dana suprised me on Xmas Eve night with cookie dough to make cookies. Dana did the baking and I helped with the frosting and decorating. I think thats all I ate for dinner that night...ha! Rocky and I licked all the left over frosting, too. Then, Christmas morning, we woke up extra early, made coffee, and opened our gifts. Santa was very good to us this year even though Dana and I felt a little bit of disappointment. I really thought I was getting tickets to the John Legend/ Estelle concert and he really thought he was getting the PlayStation 3 (yeah right!)...but we are very happy with how everything turned out and we both agree that the absolute best gift of all was to have each other and spend the entire day together without any work. After gifts, we watched 4 movies (Tropic Thunder, Fred Claus, 88 Minutes, and part of The Women) and then decided last minute to make a Christmas dinner--ham and all. Not a good idea since we had none of the ingredients. It took us a few hours and a lot of driving around to find someone with a ham, and by the time it thawed and was cooked, it was 10:30pm....but who cares! It's Christmas and we can do what we want. heehee. It was a fabulous dinner (Dana cooked) and a day very well spent. As you can tell by one of the pics, Christmas isn't the same without snow--yes, we still have green grass.

The way you treat your dog is reflection of what kind of parents your going to be. Thats what they say, right? Well, if this is true, then I know Dana and I are going to be great parents some day. If I take the time to write a whole blog topic on how much we love Rocky then that should explain enough. :) Today, we took Rocky to the OB Dog Beach. While he wasn't that excited about mingling with other dogs, he loved the freedom of running as far as possible without getting yelled at by mom. It was so cute to watch him run really far and then stop and look back to see if I was ok with his distance...since I didn't yell, he would run forward more and then look back again and he kept doing it until he finally reached the edge of the sand and I had to yell for him. He ran back to me as fast as he possibly could and walked with me right by my side because he likes to make his mommy happy. Oh, how I am so proud of my little boy. And, it doesn't end there. Dana is also so proud of his 5 lb. monster. On the outside it may seem that he is forced by his girlfriend to walk the little guy in public, but for those of you who know Dana well know I don't have to make him do anything when it comes to his son. He walks down the street with his head high, as the proudest owner of our little chihuahua. He even celebrates "Bring your dog to work Day". If you've never heard of it, it's something we celebrate once a week. The pick of Dana and Rocky is by his office, while Dana takes Rocky for a potty break. Ahhh, how cute! :) (You may laugh if you like--I'm not even sure I'm taking myself that seriously right now)

We still argue about when our actual anniversary date is, but I do know that 4 years ago, on Valentine's Day, Dana won over my heart and our relationship was locked in. Before V-day, we were playing the "beginning of the relationship" game, where we weren't sure what our future held as a couple, testing our limits and wondering if it was all going to be worth it in the end. Then came the big day. We planned on spending it together, but I knew nothing more. I remember waking up at my old apartment earlier than the stores were even open and still hadn't planned anything!! I ran to Target, waiting for it to open and quickly ran inside--only to find that there was nothing there, but the leftovers, which was some really cheesy stuffed things, a few cards scattered and unorganized, and some candy. I settled with a stuffed blob thingy that said "I am Wild about you" and some Swoops in every flavor they had (he always talked about them, so I thought he really liked them--only to find out that he always said "Swoops" because they called on of their friends by the name to tease him--hey! I tried..ha!) Anyway, I rushed back home and waited. My roommate, Frank, and I sat there wondering what Dana had up his sleeve. And, then he arrived--and he was excited.

We took off in his 1989 BMW and drove through San Diego. At our final destination, we were at Montgomery Field, which is a smaller airport. I remember thinking we were going on a plane ride, but immediatly Dana said "We are at the airport to throw you for a loop. It really has nothing to do with planes". So, then I was confused. We sat in the little lobby and Dana kept making some phone calls and soon we were walking onto the field. And, suprise! We were going for a Seaplane ride. I was excited, but very nervous. One, I'd never had a guy do anything so special for me and didn't know how to act. And, two, we were going to fly over the ocean!! After the nerves relaxed, we were off. When we got in the air, we put the headphones on and the microphones so we could talk to each other and hear what we were saying. The first thing I heard when I put the headpeice on was music. I was a little thrown off because it was rap (dont' remember what song), which I thought was an unusual song choice for a pilot to choose for a couple on V-day. But, when the second song came on and it was another rap song I realized that Dana had also planned the music!! He knew how much I loved hip hop. The Seaplane was awesome, we got to see parts of San Diego that I never even knew existed. And when the ride was over, I wanted more.

And that was just the beginning. We continued our adventure--it was dinner time.

We drove to Paradise Point (nice resort in SD), where we had dinner at Barefoot Bar and Grille. It was nice and intimate. We took some pictures by the scenery as the sun was setting and Dana said he didn't want it to end there.

Since we were right on the water, he suggested walking on the beach for a while. We walked a ways on the beach and then we were standing in front of some rooms. Dana said, "Look, it doesn't look like anyone is in that room, we should see if its open". I thought he was kidding, but he walked right up to the door. I started getting annoyed, thinking he was acting childish by trying to break into a room--and the door was open. I freaked out saying "What are you doing! Stop!". He then turned the lights on and right through the doorway I could see Champagne on ice and chocolate covered strawberries. I realized he walked into somebody's Valentine Day......It was ours!! It was a wonderful and unexpected Valentine's Day for me.

Now, yes, Dana did put a lot of work into making this such an adventurous day and he went above and beyond to impress me (good work, Dana!), but it was how he made me feel that won me over. Before Dana, I hadn't ever had a real boyfriend. Part of it may have been because I was always way too nervous to allow anyone to get close to me. But, there was something about Dana that made me feel so comfortable and happy. I always use to say I didn't like romantic things, but after spending that Valentine's Day with him, I realized I loved it. There was something about the way he acted, the way he made me feel that had me feeling like all of this romantic stuff came naturally to me. I was never thinking "What should I do now? How should I act? Do I look like a dork?...." no, I was so in the moment and enjoying every bit of it. That is how I knew I couldn't let him go. This is what it is suppose to feel like. And I don't want to share this feeling with anyone else besides him. 

Now, its been 4 years to the day and we are planning our future together. We have all of these memories to share and are so excited to have the rest of our lives to share many more.

I can't believe how much time has gone by since February 16, 1981.  I've lived a wonerful life and have all my friends and family to thank for it.  First pic is me, with my dad, right when I was born.  Second pic is me on my 1st Bday.  How cute :)

Over the last weekend of February, one of my bestest friends ever came to visit Dana and I. Natalie, who is a bridesmaid in the wedding, and her husband Wayne came to San Diego to celebrate their last vacation together before they became parents (also called their babymoon). It was an amazing visit in so many ways and I am so glad they chose the city we live in for a little R&R. They spent some time for themselves close to the ocean, and then with us for a couple of nights. We ate good food, went wine tasting (Natalie was a trooper, while she watched us enjoy it all), and did lots of sightseeing (thanks to the best tour guide ever--Dana). Unfortunetly, Natalie was 6 months pregnant and her little baby was resting herself on Natalie's sciatic nerve, so she was in too much pain to walk. We joked about getting a automatic wheel chair, but she managed to do the best she could, which was more than enough to have a good time together. The first pic is at Orfila Vineyard in Escondido, and the second is of me and Natalie in Ocean Beach on the pier--me with my hand and her soon to be baby.

A week after Natalie and Wayne visited, my Aunt Rhonda came to visit. She had a conference to prepare for over the weekend, but as soon as Monday came around, she was all ours. We had a great visit, with a lot accomplished. While she was here alone, we went antiquing, worked on some sewing projects, and had a few drinks and lots of good conversation. Then, my Uncle Bob joined in the adventures and flew in on Wednesday night. When he came, it was nothing but good food, great company, and lots of beer drinking (yes, we are bloode related--and thats where I get my great beer drinking skills). It was so nice to have them here and to show them where I live and what Dana and I are up to these days. My aunt and uncle have always been a big part of my life and it meant so much to have this time with them.

My cousin Jennifer, and her husband Sean welcomed their new baby boy into the world. His name is Gavin Nickolas Reames. This is the third addition to their family, and quite possibly the last. :) Congratulations to both of you, I can't wait to meet him!

I am so excited because our Orchid is back into full bloom in 8 months!! I love this beautiful plant because it reminds me every day of this journey of engagement and how fun it is. You see, when Dana and I had our engagement celebration in San Diego, a friend of mine, Julia and her fiance, Joe, brought an Orchid as a gift. Now, usually, I kill off any plant I ever get because I have no idea how to take care of them--my idea is wait til its completely dried out, then water it until it drowns, then repeat. Ha! That doesn't work so well. Fortunetly, I am marrying a wonderful man who knows how to do it all. He can cut the grass, build a house, rebuild a bronco, cook, love his chihuahua like its his very own blood related son, and, yes, he can keep a plant alive!!! And, now this plant is in full bloom and takes me back to those days in June when Dana got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. Oh, the memories bring tears to my eyes. I was also really excited because I hadn't seen Julia and Joe since our engagement party until Easter Sunday, isn't that a little ironic? She was happy to hear that it has been well taken care of, and she also mentioned to me that they are using orchids for their own wedding in October. Who said Roses symbolize love....I think its the Orchid.

So I realize that I haven't been keeping my blog as updated as I should and hope I didn't lose all my readers, ha! "Is anybody listening?" But, its only because both Dana and I have been so busy working and have the mentality that we will be taking lots of time off for the wedding, so we need to work extra hard now. I try keeping our businesses out of the blogs because its just not that interesting to the outsider, but in the last few months, that has been our lives. I have been spending all of my time creating my summer line, which I will be launching with a Trunk Show/Fashion Show the weekend before I go home. So I live, breathe, and eat fashion and clothing construction. Dana is working really hard to take the next step with his business, and is always juggling all of his clients and trying his best to make them a success.

Lately, I've been spending more time wedding planning and doing what I can before I go home in May. Some days I am really happy and excited, and other days I get really stressed about all the decisions a bride has to make. I can tell it has taken a toll on me because I slept 15 hours last night!! I was wondering why I've been so irritated lately, but now I realize I was lacking sleep. :)

I'm still working on my wedding gown, but haven't gotten too far. I try to work on it one day a week, but always tend to get distracted with other things. I have made my first sample for the flower girl and it is looking really cute. I will show it to her when I go to Michigan for our wedding shower and see what she thinks. I hope she likes it!!

We've also been spending some good time on our registries. At first it was too overwhelming for me, and I didn't really enjoy it, but then my mother-in-law sent me some recommendations on things that I may need or want and it made it so much easier and actually a bit fun. Its been really nice because needing her help with the registries has allowed us to have more time on the phone together. Much needed time!! I find that the more I talk to her the more we find things in common. Its a very comforting feeling and makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

I've also been thinking alot of my decorations and my new sister-in-law, Heather, has been a tremendous help. She shares the same vision as me and has so many good ideas. It is going to be beautiful!  I can't wait for our big day!!!  The days are counting down and time is going sooo fast!!!

Every Sunday Dana and I try to do something, no matter what it be. We have to be together and we must get out of the house, even if its just to take a walk. Today was the first Sunday of the month, so we met up with our friends Jen and Carlos. Dana has been wanting to go to Pizza Port, which is a restaurant known for its great beer and great pizza. What more could a man want? Being that there is one so close to Jen and Los's house, we decided to take a drive up there and join them for a few brews, and some relaxation time by the beach. Well, the critics were right, our food was so delicious that Dana and I ate every bit of the medium pizza we shared, washing it down with a great Cask Aged Nut Brown. They served the beer a little too warm, but it was still so very good. After Pizza Port, we met back up at their apartment, and then took a walk down to the beach. The weather was perfect, the ocean was majestic, and the sun was just starting to set. It was nice to get a nice long visit to the ocean before I leave to go home for almost 2 weeks. Now I am sooooo ready to go home and see the family!!! It's been so long and I've missed everyone so much. See you all soon!

My wonderful friend, Natalie and her husband, Wayne, introduced their new baby girl into the world this morning. I got a very unexpected text at 3:00am letting me know the good news. It was a little funny because I just talked to Natalie yesterday and prepared her with my mom's phone number so she could call me when I was visiting in Wisconsin, since my cell phone doesn't work there. She said "I will definetly need the number because I am pretty sure she is coming early", well she wasn't joking....she came just hours later!! When I woke up to the text I was so overly excited with joy that I was crying and felt sooo incredibly happy, so I woke Dana up and said, "Honey?", and he was like "What?" (BTW, he hates getting woken up), I said "I am sooo sorry I have to wake you up, but Natalie just had her baby and I am so excited that I feel like if I tell you about it I can stop crying and go back to sleep." Haha, he was a trooper and rubbed my back, and we both fell back asleep. Congratulations, Natalie and Wayne!! You are going to make the best parents ever and I am looking forward to spending some quality time with Norah. She looks beautiful, good job!

My journey of hitting four states in 2 weeks started on Wednesday, May 6th. I left Dana and Rocky for a long plane ride to Minneopolis. I was so excited to be there that the plane seriously felt like it took 12 hours to get there. My cousin, Gwenda, picked me up from the airport, which was a perfect plan. Since she was graduating with her Masters that Saturday, she was going to miss the bridal shower in Ashland, so this was a great way for us to get a chance to see each other before I came back to San Diego. Our journey together began with a visit to my grandpa at the VA Hospital, close to the airport. He had been there for 5 months, while recovering from a hip replacement and the complications that came along with it. He was so happy to see us and was quite suprised by the visit. (I am happy to report that he has returned to his home and is now rehabiliating with a walker--and doing fantastic!)

Then, Gwenda and I headed to her apartment since I hadn't gotten a chance to see it since she's lived there. She has a beautiful place with her boyfriend, Matt right across from a golf course. She showed me some things she had been working on for her classes, and we got a chance to talk for an hour. It was great because Gwenda and I are best when we can fit in a good conversation with each other. We love to talk about life and all of its meanings and I always walk away feeling refreshed and so happy to have her in my life.

After that, we headed to my cousin Ashley's house where I got to see Max for the first time!!! He is her 1 year old son. All I can say is that it was love at first sight. He was sick, crabby, and had a runny nose and poopy diaper, and none of that mattered at all. I just couldn't get enough of him. Heehee.

I also got a chance to spend quality time with Ashley (who is 5 months preggers). We stayed up until 1am talking about everything you could think of. If we didn't know she would have to get up at 6am for work, we probably would've kept going. I always enjoy listening to Ashley talk about things because she likes to say it how it is, but she manages to use the right words so that it doesn't come across very abrasive. I love you for that, Ashley! She is always so on top of everything, which reminded me that when I need any advice on weddings, marriage, or babies, she's the girl to go to. :)

The first of my wedding festivities started in Ashland, wisconsin where my Maid of Honor, Andrea and my mom put on a wedding shower for me. It was held at the Visitor's Center, which normally would've been a beautiful and scenic place to walk around, but it was cold, windy, and not very pleasant to be outside. That was fine, though, the room the party was in was perfect. We started it off with great food of all kinds, with everything from cold cuts, to Mark's famous coleslaw, to Terri's delicious cake. While everyone was eating, Andrea started off by playing a couple games. The first was a "how well do you know Brooke" game, with about 10 questions from how many kids I plan to have, to what my dog's name is. If I remember right, my cousin Ashley was the leader, with 9 right? And, second came my cousin, Tara. It was no suprise to me at all, since I am very close to both of them. Then, I opened gifts, which there were so many. It was a lot of fun! I got help from a couple of the younger girls, Taylor (Jennifer's daughter) and Addey (Tris's daughter). They did a great job with teamwork. I received many gift cards, which was really nice since I was traveling so much, and some great gifts. I got a 17 peice pyrex bakeset from Auntie Bev, Auntie Pat, and Aunt Josie, some colorful and beautiful drinking glasses from Aunt Nancy, a coffee grinder from Janice (who couldn't make it), a picnic/wine bag--perfect for a picnic date on the beach from Tris and Terri, a margarita set and pizza stone from Aunt Jennie, a woven hamper from Tracie, Megan, and Katie, and martini glasses from Aunt Cindy. Jenny and Alphia, Ashley, Andrea, Tara, and Rhonda, Melva, Cortney, Jennifer and Taylor were all very generous and gave us cash, checks, and gift cards to Target. Thank you to everyone who came, it was so nice to spend time with all of you!

After my bridal shower in Ashland, I had the rest of the week with my mom to get as much wedding planning done as possible. Every day we worked on something new. The first day, Andrea, my mom and I went to the reception site and sat down and absorbed the room. We were all on the same page as far as how the decorations would look and how we would do it all. Thank god they are on board with helping, it is going to look so beautiful! We then bought most of the items we were going to use in making the decorations. The following day, I went to the hair salon and did a practice run on what my hair will look like.  My high school friend, Janelle's sister, Julie is going to do it.  It was great seeing her and exciting to see how much I am going to love seeing my hiar on the big day!  The next day that we put into decorating was going to the ceremony site and putting the tressels into the ground where we thought they looked the best. When I was there looking around, picturing my wedding day, I realized it is going to be the most beautiful site ever. Thanks for Mark for making the tressels and putting them into the ground. Then, the last part of wedding planning we did was the "dirty work" in making the centerpeices for the tables for the reception. There was a lot of spray paint used, along with picking twiggs and rocks, and assembling everything. I can't tell you more because then you won't be suprised! :)

After spending a week in Ashland, I was way too ready to leave for the 14 hour drive to Blissfield, Mi. I wanted to leave as early as possible on Thursday morning, so we would get there are early as possible that Thursday night. But, I was on my mom's schedule, and she was in no hurry to leave. All I wanted is to see Dana again!! And, I couldn't wait to see his family since it had been almost 2 years. With seven nieces and nephews under the age of 10, two years is a long time. They grow and change so much!

So noon came on Thursday, and we were finally preparing for the drive. We left soon after to head through the Upper Peninsula, then cross the Mackinac Bridge and continue heading south. We made a couple stops, but let me tell you, there really wasn't very many places you could stop. Civility, houses, and people were few and far between. But, there was some very beautiful scenic parts where we rode along Lake Michigan...the road was so close to the water I almost thought I could reach and touch it. And, the lake was so big, that it really didn't look much different than the ocean that I am use to seeing.

Mark drove for the first 8 hours, and as it was getting dark, he was getting tired. So, I decided to take over. We pulled at a rest stop and switched spots. I felt freedom and excitement as I got behind the wheel because I knew if I drove, I would drive straight to Dana (where we had maybe considered a hotel to continue the drive the next day). I was just thinking about seeing him waiting outside for me and I would run into his arms and kiss him and not let him go. Then all of a sudden the car just gave out. It didn't make a loud noise or do anything abruptly, so immediatly I didn't realize that there was something wrong...until I put my foot on the gas and my foot went right to the floor. Uh oh, this can't be good. We pulled over and I looked around only to realize that it was midnight and there was not a single building or street light or anything near us. My heart sank, thinking about how just 5 minutes earlier I didn't have cell phone reception, but as I looked down I saw that I had 5 bars! Yay! Immediatly I got on the phone and got road side assistance. We were towed to the nearest Saturn dealership, which was an hour south. We brought the car to the parking lot, got a hotel, and dealt with our problem in the morning.

We had to wait until 2pm to get a rental, for they didn't know how long the car would take to fix because they couldn't find the problem. At this point, I just had to tell myself that this was all a test and keep my patience because it could've been way worse. Everything was taken care of, and I only lost a day in Michigan.

We finally made it and my reunion with my babe was just as I imagined it. He looked as handsome as ever and eager to watch us pull up the driveway. I ran into his arms and kissed him and squeezed him, and, well, I just couldn't let go of him!

My new mother-in-law and sisters-in-law threw a couple's bridal shower for us in Blissfield, Mi on Saturday night. They put a lot of time into making tons of great food, decorating and putting on a fabulous event for us. Along with all of Dana's family, both of my parents and their significant others were there as well. It was the first time all of the parenst met. It was so great to have my parents there with me.

I got to meet all of Dana's family, which I find is a little bigger than my own, and it was so much fun! Dana got to see people he hadn't seen in years, including old friends and people he use to work with. I got to mingle with the family and finally put faces to all the names I hear about. His family is so wonderful that it was hard to think I was just meeting everyone for the first time, they have a way that made me feel so welcoming that I felt like they were already my own family. That has got to mean something good, right? :)

To add to the entertainment, Heather played a few games with the crowd. Dana and I were involved in a couple of them. The first game involved blindfolding Dana and then lining up a bunch of women on chairs, including myself and he had to feel everyone's forearm and pick which one was me. I was nervous for him, but without hesitation, he chose me!! After that, the roles were reversed and I had to feel a bunch of guys calves and figure out which was Dana. I was so nervous because that would be one part of the body I've never paid any attention to. But, to my discovery, I sure knew who my man was....I got it right too! If you could've seen the look on Dana's face. He said "Honey, how did you know?" in complete suprise and excitement. I don't know how to describe it, but I just knew!!! It felt like the best calf in the bunch. heehehe

Overall, it was a great turn out, everyone was very generous and included alot of gift cards and money for us. We appreciate every dollar, every gift, and everyone who came to celebrate!!

Memorial Day weekend was just last week, and it was our first weekend back from our trip home. Since I knew it would be a busy weekend, I picked up some bartending shifts to make extra money. I worked 4 nights in a row, which took a toll on me. By the end, my knees were killing me, my sleep schedule was off, and I was a bit cranky because I hadn't spent much time with Dana. I was so looking forward to Monday because that meant no work for me, and a day spent with the family (Dana and Rocky). In my head, I was picturing me waking up on Monday, packing a picnic lunch, and us leaving in the Bronco to head to Kate Sessions Park to watch Rocky run around, and we would play with the new digital SLR camera we just bought. The day was mapped out perfectly...Until I woke up.

Dana had told me he was going to grab breakfast 3 hours prior, and he still hadn't returned. I tried calling him, and no answer. I painted this picture in my head of him walking around with Collin and not realizing his phone was ringing in his pocket, which sometimes happens, so I called him like, well, um, like 5 times. Yeah, maybe a little psycho, but I was having a hard time grasping the fact that he wasn't there when I woke up because it wasn't the picture I painted in my head of the day.

Soon enough Dana came home and I was mad, because I knew he would need to work for another hour or so since he was gone for a while. And by the time it was all said and done, picnic time at the park did not sound fun anymore. After trying to figure out what we were going to do, we decided to walk around Balboa Park with Rocky and take a bunch of pics, since there is so much to look at. We got ready, tied Rocky's kennel up in the back of the Bronco, I jumped in the passengers seat and Dana can't find his keys! After 10 minutes of frantically searching, he finds them. So he starts up the Bronco and decides he needs to fix something, which takes another 10-15 minutes. I know, he has to be testing me right? How much longer can I wait around? Finally, we get going.

We drive around the park and it took at least 30-45 minutes to park because it was a very busy day there. Luckily, it wasn't Dana's fault, so I couldn't be mad for that. haha. We find a spot, park the Bronco, get Rocky out, put him on the leash and I look at Dana and say "Ok, grab the camera". And he says, "Uh Oh, its not in here". He forgot to put it in the Bronco!! Argh! At this point, I just have to laugh. We still walked around a bit, grabbed some lunch and kept joking about all the photographic moments we passed. We would say "oh, look! That would've made for a great pic!"

After walking around, we decided we would drive back home and grab the camera, then head to some hiking trails, where we could park the Bronco and get some nice pics. So, we swoop by the house, grab the camera and continue our journey to Mission Gorge Trails. We find the perfect spot with the mountains behind us to park. We get out, grab the camera, put the lense on it, and no battery!!! At this point, it was way more funny than anything else. But, Dana did carry the torch as the official "day ruiner" on our memorial day. And, of course we don't have a single picture of our day, and if you read through all of this, then you know why. LOL

In the end of the day, it actually turned out really nice, even though not a single thing went according to plan.  We were together and did things that we don't normally do, and even if it was just to take nice pictures with the new camera, it got us to go there.  Now we know where we want to go when we finally do get it all right :)

Over the last weekend, my cousin, Jennifer and her friend, Cindy came to San Diego for a long weekend visit. Since Jennifer loves it here as much as Dana and I do, she was excited to introduce her friend to the culture, weather, and the ocean. We had a great visit with them. They went and spent time at the beach the first day while I stayed home and got some rest. The next day, we decided to walk around Balboa Park and check out the scene since the weather was perfect and Jennifer had never been there. We saw so many beautiful flowers, interesting people, and great art. After walking around for a while, we went back home to regroup, then went out to dinner in the Gaslamp District that night. We went to Yardhouse to get their infamous "Hawaiian Poke Stack", which Jennifer and I loved the last time she was visiting. Her husband loves it as well, so we were sure to rub it in his face after we ate it. Yummy!! After, we went to check out a "country" bar/club that many of my friends work at--yes, I stepped foot inside a country bar. It was nice to see everyone and have a couple entertaining drinks with the girls, but the music was enough for me to want to make it quick and get out of there...hahaha! On Sunday we went to brunch and then hit up some wineries throughout San Diego County. We had a ton of fun learning about what different wines we liked and left every winery with a bottle of their best bottle. Yay for visitors!!! The first picture is of the three of us sitting at the Rose Gardens in Balboa Park, the second pic is at the first winery we stopped at on Sunday.

At the end of last February, one of my best friends, Natalie came to visit with a bulging belly, and a baby inside! After spending the long weekend with her and feeling her baby kicking inside, i already felt attached. So, as we dropped her off at the airport and was about to say good-bye, I thought, I need to visit her again when her baby arrives. I told Natalie that when I find a really cheap ticket, I will book it and come visit. And, that is just what I did. I flew out last Sunday and got back last night (Wednesday).

Meeting Miss Norah for the first time was such a wonderful experience. She is an absolutely beautiful baby, and looks exactly like both of her parents. Wayne and I would also joke around whenever Norah got fussy and say that is when she looks most like her mom. (Love you, Nat :) ) Anyway, while I was there, Natalie and I got to catch up on everything that we could possibly talk about, and catered to Norah's every little need. It was relaxing to get away from wedding stress for a few days and focus on that precious little baby.

While visiting, Norah seemed to be a little more fussy than usual. We were all a little concerned and didn't know what the problem could be. After talking to the doctor, we realized that she was fussy cuz she was a growing baby and just needed more food!! So, mommy started giving her more formula per feeding--I can't wait to see her in 6 weeks and see what that extra formula does to her size.

(pics below, 1.  Me holding Norah, 2.  Natalie and Norah posing with the stuffed piggy I got for Norah, dedicating it to the pig farm that Natalie grew up on)

Another experience I got to have was waking in the middle of the night to feed Norah. After staying there the first night and listening to Natalie tell me she was up 4 times to feed her, I thought, I have to do it the next 2 nights so Natalie can get some rest. I can't imagine doing that every night. I can suck it up for 2 days and see what it's all about. The first night was interesting. I was so anxious about waking up that I never fully fell asleep. I was so excited when she finally started crying for her bottle. The second night, however, I was so tired from not sleeping the night before that I only woke up to the sound of Norah's cry. I started thinking "No! I was sleeping soooo good." then I would drag my body to the crib, and as soon as I looked down at her, I instantly forgot how tired I really was. I realized she is solely relying on me to make sure she is fed, changed, and can get back to sleep herself. As I rocked with her in the rocker, all I could think about is how my friend, my old roommate, my bridesmaid, it is her (and Wayne, of course), she made this baby, she carried her to term and gave birth to her. It is amazing, it is just, wow! I don't know the words, but when you know someone so well, and love them so much, it is pure joy you feel for happiness in their life. Nothing can show that more than holding that little baby in the middle of the night and rocking her back to sleep.

(pics below, 1.  Zoey their Boston Terrier, 2.  Giving Norah the first bath she ever enjoyed--from what I hear, she usually cries harder than anything else, but seemed quite happy with it this time, I'll take credit for my special touch ;)  just kidding)

Not only did I get to spend time with Natalie and Norah, but I also gained a new best friend, Miss Zoey. She is their Boston Terrier. She followed me wherever I went and waited for me outside my door every morning. I took her for a couple walks, along with Natalie and Norah, and when it got too hot, I would carry her like a baby back to the house because she just didn't want to walk anymore. She was so much fun to be around and did a great job keeping my feet warm. Every time I sat down, there was Zoey, sitting right at my feet, keeping me company. She is so cute!!!

And, I can't end my blog without giving a shout out to Wayne, the big man of the house. I didn't get as much time with him because he was working hard all day when I was there. But, we had enough time together to eat dinner (Natalie and I shared duties in making dinner), and share a couple bottles of wine. I'll be dedicating my next blog to him because he loved my stuffed pork chops so much that I am going to post the recipe to share with all of you.

Ok, usually, once I week I make something that I've never made before for dinner. I like to try new and different ways of cooking and experimenting with things I've never tried before. In most cases, it turns out wonderfully. A few weeks ago, I tried this new recipe of Stuffed Pork Chops, which I got out of the "Southern Living Cookbook" I got from my mother-in-law. It was such a hit that Dana couldn't stop talking about it. While I was in Denver, I talked about it, and Natalie and Wayne suggested I make it for them. Well, I did just that, and got rave reviews from my critic, Wayne. He loved it so much that he asked me for the recipe so he could try to make it himself. I also wanted to share the recipe with all of you, because it was way easier to make than you might think, you just needs the guts to give it a try. I will say, however, that it does take a bit of time. If you are short on time, I would suggest breaking up the recipe by cutting up everything that needs to be cut in one session, make the stuffing and stuff the pork chops in another session, and then cooking it all when you are ready to eat. And, don't be scared of the apples because it only adds flavor and you can't even tell that it actually apples inside. Mmmm, good!

Stuffed Pork Chops

prep time: 30 minutes, cook: 50 minutes, Serves 6

6 bacon slices
2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and diced
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 cup cubed fontina cheese
6 (1 1/2 inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops
1 1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Cook: Bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tbsp drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon; set aside.

Saute: Apple, shallot, and ginger in hot drippings 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat, and stir in sage. (I couldn't find fresh sage, so I mixed in 1 heaping tbsp of dry sage)

Stir: together apple mixture, bacon, and cheese. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each pork chop, cutting to, cut not through, other side to form a pocket. Sprinkle both sides and pocket of each pork chop with salt and pepper. Spoon apple mixture evenly into pockets; secure with wooden picks.

Cook: chops, in 2 batches, in hot olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden. Place in a lightly greased roasting pan or large shallow baking dish.

Bake: at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!!  I promise you won't be disappointed.  And, you can play around with the recipe a little.  I didn't ever follow it exactly the way the recipe calls and it still comes out tasting great.  I used different cheese once--trying out Havarti Dill.  I couldn't find fresh sage, so I used the dry stuff and mixed it together with the shallots and apples right away.  And, for those of you who may not know what shallots are, they are onions.  They look like a mix between a yellow onion and a large version of garlic.  You find them by the onions, and I have typically found them in those little plastic, wire bags at the end of the onion stand.  If you can't find them, you can substituate with one medium sized onion.

Now that the wedding is getting closer (46 days, but who's counting), things are starting to come together nicely. I am checking things of my wedding planning list daily now and it sure feels good. Yesterday, I decided to have an enjoyable wedding day and go shop for my shoes. It was fun, but I did have a bit of a criteria on what I was looking for. Since I am about 9 inches shorter than Dana, the first thing I needed to make sure of is that I have some sort of heel that will give me a little height. And, I also wanted to make sure that they would go with my dress (naturally). I found the perfect pair, but was very dissappointed in the stiletto heal. I walked up and down the aisle of the store, thinking to myself, how am I going to do this? How will I walk in the grass, during the ceremony with a stiletto heel? Every step I take, I will sink into the ground and lose my balance. But, how can I get over these shoes? Argh!

So, I call my dad and said "Hey, can you carry me down the aisle?" and in a bit of confusion, he says "Um, sure. I can do whatever you want." Haha, my poor dad. I laughed a bit and explained that I would have to walk on my tip toes to the end of the aisle, so he would really need to help me keep my balance. And, after getting the A-OK, I immediately bought them. Now, I'm just going to have to practice tip toeing in my new shoes. I hope I don't fall.

Oh, and Rocky is the cutest thing ever, so I had to throw in a picture of him.  Look close, he is sticking his tongue out just slighty.  He's so silly.

The sun is finally shining, and boy is it hot! Dana and I had a great weekend together and spent lots of time outside. We both have really red shoulders to prove it. First, though, we were honored to have our brother-in-law (well, mine, soon to be) in town through the week working with Dana at the big office of Web Design Solutions. They worked hard, ate hard, and Ryan did lots of push ups. :) We also got the opportunity to introduce Ryan to Phil's Barbeque, which is absolutely the best BBQ in town. I still haven't done it, but I swear I could eat a whole rack of baby back ribs, and next time I just might do it!

Anyway, after he left on Saturday, we went to my friend, Isha's wedding. It was so pretty. I know Isha because she is also a fashion designer and we try to get involved with fashion events together. We have built a great connection through the love of art and design, and we were also planning our weddings at the same time. So, it was great to be a witness to her beautiful day. Her and her now husband, Nate, got married on the La Jolla cove, close to the spot where Dana purposed. The day was perfect and she looked absolutely gorgeous wearing the dress that she made herself!

Today, Dana and I spent the day walking and eating way too much. We bought tickets for "The Taste of Adams", which is where we walk up and down Adams Avenue and sample food at each of the 25 restaurants in the area. I think we got to maybe 15 before we threw in the towel. Not only were we more full than I could've ever imagined, but it was the first real hot, sunny day of the summer, and we just weren't use to it, or even prepared for it. Our feet are killing us and I still can't think about food, even 7 hours later.

We ended the day by watching the movie "The Hangover", which is hilarious, and then coming home to take Rocky for a walk, since he was home most of the day by himself. :( If you haven't seen the movie yet and you need a good laugh, I highly recommend it. Of course, now I joke around with Dana about how I won't let him go on his bachelor party. Ha!

The 4th of July weekend is always a big deal in San Diego. The sun starts shining the fullest, the beaches are packed, house parties are abundant, and fireworks are in the air! And, of course, on most of these occasions, Dana is celebrating and I have to work. Boo! Dana woke me early on Saturday to tell me he was leaving to celebrate the festivities for the day...he gave me a kiss and was on his way to having fun in the sun.

Our celebrating together didn't happen until Sunday, which was the first Sunday of the month, and meant we would be hanging out with Jen and Carlos. It was the last day at the fair, so we all decided to get our fill of bad food and entertainment before the fair disappeared. We started the day off with deep fried artichokes, eventually adding crispy creme chicken sandwiches, corn on the cob, a cinnamon roll, a gyro, a beer, australian battered potatoes and ended with a bag of kettlecorn to have later in the evening (its the one snack we like to eat with Rocky--I know, we're naughty). So, needless to say, we got our fill of bad food.   (pictured is Jen and Los ordering Crispy Creme jelly filled Chicken Sandwiches)

We walked through the whole fair and also played a game. Dana and I somehow started a tradition that he wins me a stuffed animal, so he played a game of darts and won me a purple monkey....

And, we also took the sky ride to ride above the whole fair.  Everyone thought it was a good idea, but me, so I thought I would see if I could handle it.  You see, over the past 5 years or so, I have developed a horrible fear of heights.  I don't know where it came from or why, because I never fell from anything high, but I cannot deal with heights even for the least bit.  We bought tickets to go to one end and back, but the whole ride one way was so incredibly freightening for me that I had to get off at the nearest spot possible.  I feel so bad because I was so scared for my life that I yelled at Carlos like 3 times and all he did was move a little.  To pay me back, he said that when him and Jen plan a wedding, they are going to say their vows jumping out of a plane and I would be a bridesmaid!!!  Heck no, thats one wedding I wouldn't be a part of.  Ha! 

Overall, we had a fun day with Jen and Los, and with each other, but Dana and I decided that the fair is not our thing.  We pinky promised that the we will only go if there is a special event going on that we want to be part of, or when we bring our own kids.  Other than that, it just sucks all the money out of your wallet and we left there broke.  :( 

I just got back from a long weekend in Las Vegas for my bachelorette party. I can't begin to tell you how much fun I had with all my girlfriends and how special everyone made me feel. On day one, my friend Megan and I got there before everyone else, so we layed by the pool and enjoyed the relaxation of being in the Vegas and finally on vacation. My maid of honor and her sister (who are also my cousins) arrived later in the night, along with 2 more friends. We went out and danced our butts off.

On day two, we had 6 more girls arrive to carry out the festivities. I wore a white dress and the girls dressed me in a tiara and veil. I fought the idea at first, but gave in after a few saki shots during dinner. It actually turned out to be a really fun idea. I had so many people congratulating me, giving advice, and making me feel so excited about getting married. I also had people yelling "Don't do it!!!", haha, that was kind of funny. And, I had a few married couples who were so excited to share their advice on how to keep the marriage going strong.

Because we had 12 attractive women all together walking around Vegas, we definetly got tons of attention and people in the nightlife industry catered to our every need. We were invited to the hottest clubs with free bottle service and free rein to dance wherever we felt. It was just so much fun to have so many friends together and having so much fun.

One our last day we had 6 more girls who came for the day and we spent the whole day at a pool where we were served the most delicious rasberry mojitos. I'm sure my skin was wrinkled because I didn't leave the water once. The weather was hot and the pool felt so good. Overall, it was the best bachelorette party ever and my friends put in so much effort to make me feel special and excited to be getting married. This was a well needed weekend with all my favorite girls, and I will never forget the memories we all made together.

Now, I am so excited to get married and have this magical day that I have been waiting for for so long to finally happen. The days are coming fast...and soon I will be known only as Mrs. Brooke N. I can't wait!!! Yay!!!

About a month back, Dana asked me if I could take off this Saturday night from work because he had a suprise for me. When Saturday came, I was very anxious and a bit annoyed because he gave me no clue as to what we were doing. All he said is that "Rocky planned it all out". So, in my eyes, I couldn't complain because I knew I would be spending the day with Dana and Rocky. I absolutely hate when we have to leave Rocky behind.

After a few slip ups from people, I began to become suspicious as to the fact that more than just Dana was involved, but I really had no idea. We drove to Kate Sessions Park in PB, which is an absolutely beautiful park that gives you a great view of the water and you are allowed to bring dogs and alcohol (glass-free of course). As we got out and started to walk down to the trails I started to notice how everyone in a particular crowd looked very familiar.

As I got closer, I hear everyone yell "Suprise!" and realize that it was a bunch of Dana and my friends. They were crowded around, grilling and talking. As it turned out, my friend, Liz coordinated a shower for us, since we didn't have one here, and then Dalina jumped on the bandwagon and put all her efforts in helping as well. It was the most perfect day ever. Even with the hot sun, we were in the perfectly shadowed spot that gave us complete comfort. Some friends that I haven't seen in ages came, as well as familiar faces that I never get to spend a relaxing Saturday with.

Rocky had so much fun, getting attention from everyone. He had a friend (a Boston Terrier named Peanut), who he got to play with for the first half. And in the second half, he became curious to what the other crowds of people were doing in their group. He's quite the chick magnet, so he loved getting attention from all the ladies sitting in the other areas.

Overall, it was a very memorable day, which really helped set the mood of excitement for our big day that is only 3 weeks away!!! It really is coming so quickly!

Today Dana has turned 32 years young. We celebrated his big day a couple days earlier by going to an over night getaway in Temecula at South Coast Winery Resort and Spa. I suprised him with a day of wine tasting, relaxing, eating, and time swimming in their pool. We stayed over night in a villa where we were greeted with a bottle of wine, passports to their tasting room, and a wine and cheese pairing tour. We had so much fun together, and we didn't realize how much it was needed! With the stress of wedding planning and business for Dana, our lives were running parallel and barely ever crossed.

We started our adventure with a tour of the winery, where they explained how the wine is made. They finished the tour by sitting us at tables with a wine and cheese pairing to explain what goes well together. Dana and I are very much interested in wine and its whole process, so it was fun to learn what foods to pair it with. We sat at a table with another couple from San Diego who were celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary. The husband suprised the wife with the resort getaway, just as I did to Dana. We shared stories about love, molding our men--haha, and Hawaii (they went for their 10 year anniversary, and we are going for our honeymoon). We also sat with 2 sisters who were as excited as we were to drink the wine and laugh about the slight buzzes we were getting from all the tastings.

I had to post the pic below cuz its just too funny.  That is Dana's expression after we finished the last tasting.  I think he wanted more, he looks a little disappointed.  :)

After the tour, we were brought to the tasting room, where we were invited to taste all the of the wines that they make at the vineyard.  We are more red wine drinkers, so we skipped over most of the white and tried out all the reds that sounded interesting.  In the end, I think we tried about 12 each, and I am sure you can imagine what that amounted to--yes, quite the buzz.  We started acting really goofy and laughing at what seemed like our own funny jokes, but I am sure if anyone else was there they would've thought we were crazy.  We followed a bunny rabbit around and starting calling him Rocky because any animal that looks cute to us automatically gets the name Rocky.  I guess you could say we are two peas in a pod. 

After wine tasting, we checked into our room, which was absolutely beautiful.  It was a king-sized villa, with a living area, fireplace, entrance to our own balcony, which overlooked the vineyards, and huge bathroom with a jacuzzi tub. We really didn't want to leave because it was so nice inside, but we left for dinner soon after, which was also lots of fun. I encouraged Dana to get whatever his heart desired, which he decided was a steak and lobster tail--he was fed like a king!!  And, in the end, the restaurant treated him to cheesecake for dessert.

After dinner, we settled down with a dip in the salt-water pool and hot tub.  It was the perfect way to end a perfect day.  We are now looking so forward to our wedding and all the festivities that come with it.  We are so in love and ready to start the next chapter in our lives.  Hope to see you all in the next 2 weeks!!

I don't have much time to blog today,for we are leaving for Ashland, Wi in an hour, but a few things I wanted to share with you that happened over the weekend. A couple of Dana's groomsmen flew into San Diego to throw him his bachelor party. I didn't ask for details, but it sounded like they had plenty of fun. Here is one of the pics:

After a year and 2 months of planning, Dana and I have finally married. The stress of wedding planning and looking to our future together was finally relieved of the intensity by reciting our vows and legally binding ourselved to one another. Our journey to Ashland, Wi (the wedding spot) was fast paced and overwhelming at times, but in the end, it all paid off.

We flew in a week before the wedding to wrap up all planning that needed to be done. On the Thursday before the wedding, alot of our out-of-town travelers started to make their way in to town. We hosted a small gathering at Deep Water Grill, where many people met with us. Dana wore his tuxedo t-shirt and I was crowned a "soon to be bride" by my mother-in-law. We stayed up late, drank too much, and felt it the next day.

Friday was our rehearsal.  Everyone from the bridal party (minus two groomsmen, who had a heck of a day travelling) participated in what was a very confusing event--thank god for Christine who guided me through all the important things that people should be prepared for, come ceremony time.  After figuring out the layout of the day, we all met at Molly Coopers, which is a restaurant overlooking Lake Superior at Hotel Chequamegon.  We ate a BBQ themed dinner and relaxed a bit before hitting the sack for the morning.  Dana and I parted ways, which I was sad to see him go, but so excited to know that the next time I saw him would be at the ceremony.  From what I hear, he had a fun night of playing in the pool with all his friends.  I, on the other hand, finished up some last minute planning and went to bed with my mom, 4 dogs, and 2 cats.  It was interesting to say the least.  haha.  Rocky doesn't like cats, so everytime one of them moved, Rocky went into attacked mode, jumped off the bed, then I would yell and he would stop, only to realize he couldn't jump back onto the bed, so either my mom or I would have to get up and grab him to put him back on the bed.  And, we repeated this procedure probably 3 or 4 times.  But, luckily, I did get enough sleep.

The pic below is of me and my bridesmaids (left to right: Tris B., Natalie W., Me-Brooke N., Andrea G., Heather J., and Jen P.)

The morning before the ceremony, my bridesmaids all met up and finished decorating the reception site (which they did an absolutely fabulous job) and then picked me up to get our hair done together.  When they picked me up, they were all showing off their new "Bcat Threads" t-shirts that I gave them as a gift the night before.  After hair, we all went to my aunt Nancy's (where the ceremony was) to put on makeup together and put our dresses on.  It was a very fun bonding moment that allowed me to relax a little before the madness began.  My mom met up with me early and put my grandma's pearl necklace on me to perfect the whole wedding look.  It was an emotional moment for me, but something that made me feel so very special. 

So the ceremony began.  As I hid behind the house, I listened to each song that I had patiently picked out and envisioned to make the perfect wedding.  I couldn't believe that all the effort I put into planning these moments were coming to life.  My dreams were flooded in my mind and everything felt so magical.  As the song for me to walk to was at a long pause, I was growing so impatient, I was so ready to walk down that aisle!!!  Finally, the song began.  Where I thought my nerves would take over and I would really screw up, something inside of me grew so calming, it felt natural, it felt real, and it felt like the one moment where I had no reason for nerves to set in.  My eyes caught Dana right away and everything else around me vanished--it was just him and I.  And so the rest of the ceremony went, and Dana and I left as husband and wife...Mr and Mrs Dana P. N.

Our reception followed, with beautiful decor, lots of friends and family--and not enough time.  I am one to get overwhelmed way too easily and felt like there wasn't enough time in the night for anything.  By the time I felt like I could breathe, it had all ended and I was only feeling like it just began.

The next morning we had a small gift opening at my mom's house.  We had a few friends and family show up to watch us open our gifts and cards and to see us off, as we were wrapping up our trip to Wisconsin and heading back to San Diego.  As you can see by the pic, I got lots of help from my new nieces, Brynn, Rowan, and Kierce...and Dana just ate his way through the event and nodded and smiled where he found it appropriate. 

It's been a week and Dana and I have already found our way back to normalcy--kind of. As soon as we got back to San Diego, Dana headed back to the office and I began my duties as a wife. Well, my "duties" haven't changed, its just that I was finally able to get to them now that I don't have the stress of planning the wedding. I've been gathering all our pictures from the wedding, writing out thank yous, updating our website, and now starting to thoroughly clean our house. I'll admit, I completely let go in the last 6 months, and now its time to turn this house around.

Everyone has been asking us if married life has been different,and it really is hard to say. Yes and No. Our daily lives run about the same as they did before, but now we keep trying to find ways to use the words "wife" and "husband" and giggle every time either one of us says it. There is also a bit of a comforting feeling, knowing that we are married and not wondering where our future is as a couple. I, myself, feel a bit less selfish, which might be a big thing to say, but its true and I'm not scared to say it. :) We've always considered each other's opinions before making any decision, but now, its more like "What do we want?", rather than "Would Dana mind if I wanted...". Some people laugh and say we are in our "honeymoon" stage and that good feeling won't last long, but we are here to prove them wrong...hahahaha (yes, Ryan, I'm talking to you!)

Anyway, last night, Dana and I had a good time with our friends, Carrie and Ben, at a pre-season Chargers game.  They treated us to tickets for the game, which was so much fun!!  The Chargers lost, which really made no difference to me, but hanging out with our friends was the best part of it.  We tailgated in the parking lot for a couple hours before the game, along with another couple (Ben and Tina), then hit up the game.  Since I had been going to bed at 9Pm every night, I was started to get pretty tired by the end, but it was nice to get out and finally hang out with them!

For those of you who read our blogs regularly, you might get a little kick out of this. As you might recall, back in May, Dana and I bought a new camera and took it for a test run at the Mission Gorge Trails ( http://danaandbrooke.com/n-900-the-day-ruiner.html), and came home with no pictures. So, this last weekend Dana and I decided that we were going hiking at the same trails. Its something we always talk about, yet never do. Well, we were doing it this time. I knew it would be a beautiful hike, so I wanted to bring the camera. I was thinking about all the beautiful shots of the scenery we would get, on top of pictures of Dana and I to prove that we actually did go hiking.

On the way to the trails, Dana and I got into an arguement about what we would carry with us while hiking.  He said he would carry the camera with the long lense already attached (which is for long distance--scenery from afar).  I wanted to take the camera case with both lenses because I wanted to catch closeups as well.  And, in the case, we also fit 2 water bottles, a phone, and keys.  Dana was being minimal and I was preparing for everything.  Yes, the bag would be a little heavy, but we would have everything we need.  So who's right?  You can decide, its all in the type of person you are.  Needless to say, I won the arguement (Dana has already learned his role as a husband-hahaha).  But, I had to carry the bag, he, the camera.

After hiking for the first mile, we had stopped to shoot a few different spots, change lenses, and admire all the photographic views.  I was thinking carrying the bag was a bit irritating, but knowing what it had to offer kept me content.  And, so came this big tree which overlooked a beautiful pond, with huge branches hovering over the whole trail, creating a great deal of shade, and a perfectly photographic moment.  I asked Dana to take a few of me, and he is snapping away, only to realize that the screen says "No memory card".  What?  NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Before we left, I took the memory card out to take off all the pics that we already saved to the computer, but I never put the memory card back in!!  Argh!!  All the arguing, carrying the heavy case, and changing lenses, and all for nothing.  And, this time I couldn't be mad at anyone but myself.  Of course, we had to laugh about it because the last time that happened, we were at the exact same place and made just as big of a deal about it as this time.  We joked about how the spirits in the park definetly didn't want us to have any pics of this magical place.  Oh, and the camera bag?  What a waste of time and space.  I was so mad about it that Dana took it from me without any hesitiation and carried it back to the truck so we could continue on with our hike (and that is why I love my husband soooo much).

Of course, he wasn't going to spend the day without teasing me about it a little...so as we were hiking through the most beautiful areas of the park, Dana would take a moment to say "Oh look at that beautiful rock, lets take a picture", or "This is a great photographic moment".  And we both would get a bit of a chuckle out of it.  As you can see below, this is the only picture we got:

 Sky  sky sky sky sky sky sky sky sky sky sky sky

trees                          trees

Dana and Brooke

dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt

This past weekend was hot, sunny, and lots of fun. My college friend, Dana, came to visit for the weekend from Hermosa Beach, Ca. It was so nice to see her and catch up. For the last few times we hung out, it was a bit rushd and we were usually in a big group, so we didn't get to talk much. This time, we had all of Saturday together (just her and I), so we went and had dinner at El Zarape, a new mexican restaurant near my house (and P.S. if you ever come to visit me, make sure we eat there because it is soo good and just slightly different than the usual). After dinner and a few margaritas later, we went down to Rosie O'gradys to share a pitcher of beer and some great conversation. We ended the night with my husband, Dana, picking us up and having one more drink together. Whenever my friend, Dana visits, its always so much fun. Especially since there are 2 Danas--we always get a few laughs out of it.

Sunday morning, we went downtown and had breakfast at Mary Jane's, in the Hard Rock Hotel. My friend, Dana and I both got the Tijuana Eggs Benedict, and yum, yum, it was good. My husband, Dana, had a revelation after he tried Corned Beef Hash for the first time. He absolutely loved it and couldn't stop thinking about all the opportunities in the past where he could've had it, but was too scared to try it. Well, scared no more, he'll be ordering it everytime he sees it on a menu, I'm pretty sure.

We continued our expedition to Intervention on the rooftop of the Hard Rock Hotel for a few drinks, some good music, and mingling with friends. Intervention is an event that takes place every Sunday, where people go to show off their bikinis, listen to good music, and have fun in the sun. Dana and I have been talking about going for the last 2 years, and we were finally able to go check it out this last weekend.

After we got home from Intervention, and Dana left to go back home, we went to our cousin, Lorie's house for the best carne asada I think I've ever had.  Lorie BBqed all the meet, made her own guacamole, and rice and beans.  I ate two plates full, where I probably should've only eaten one.  Where I found the room for that second helping is beyond me.  :)  We got to talk about all kinds of fun things, and recap on the last time we saw each other, which was our wedding.  And, they also gave us our wedding gifts.  Aside from some really nice registry items we asked for, Lorie also framed a peice of paper, which was decorated with the same flowers as our invitations, and wrote out the reading that she read during our ceremony.  It brought us to tears to receive something so sentimental.  It is sooo beautiful!

Dana and I had a great Labor Day weekend together. Dana had been out of town on Thursday and Friday, and I was bartending Friday night, so by the time Saturday came around, we were so excited to spend the day together. We've been talking about buying hiking stuff (shoes, backpack, etc.) before we left for Hawaii, so we decided to take a trip to REI and then go out to grab some dinner afterwards. We both found a pair of hiking shoes, we got a backpack for our camera, a waterproof protector to take pics under water with our digital camera, and a book on hiking in the San Diego County (this isn't something we plan on giving up once we get back from Hawaii). The book we got is: "Afoot & Afield: San Diego County" by Jerry Schad, which came highly recommended by all the REI employees (who, by the way, all seem to really love their job--they are all sooooo very helpful, and don't make you feel stupid if you are a beginner).

Anyway, after shopping, we got so excited to use our new book and find a place to hike the following day, when we realized it was the first Sunday of the month! Its the day we spend with Jen and Carlos...I was hoping they would be up for a good hike on our day together. And, they were!

We chose the Los Penasquitos Canyon--approaching from the East Side. I had hiked the same trail a while back with a friend of mine and remembered really enjoying it. So we all met at the beginning and took off on our 6.4 mile trek. The first half of the trek, we seperated by the sexes. Jen and I scooted ahead of the guys to catch up on girl talk, while the guys did their own thing a few yards behind us.

Our halfway point, was a small waterfall.  Here, we rested a bit, took some pictures, walked around in the crystal clear water and then carried on our way.  The first pic below is Jen and I on one side of the waterfall taking a pic of Dana while Dana takes a pic from the other side.  The second pic, is obviously, the newlyweds hanging out under the big shady rock.  And the third pic is Los, Jen, and I getting ready to start hiking the second half.

Overall, we had a great hike, and ended it with a picnic lunch at the end of the final trail.  What we learned from the picnic is that Carlos loves Ranch Dressing, and Dana is pretty funny (even when he laughs at his own jokes first).

The hike was beautiful, the weather was perfect.  I wouldn't suggest doing it if the temp is over 80 degrees.  It is very easy, and would be a great hike for beginners, or people looking for something that isn't too difficult of terrain, for it is mostly flat the whole way.  You can bring dogs with you, you can mountain bike the same trails, and you can also take your horses there to ride.  If you live in SD and want to try something new, hike these trails!

I'm sitting here with my cup of 100% Kona Coffee, amped with energy and ready to tell you all about our fantastic honeymoon. We spent two weeks in Hawaii, breaking it up with one week on Maui and the next week on Hawaii-the big island. In week one, we broke it up and stayed at 2 different resorts right on the ocean. First, at the Westin, we had a beautiful view, overlooking the resort's pool area, and a beautiful view of the ocean where we could also see the island, Molokai in the distance. We watched the sunrise every morning and the sunset every night.

We were greeted with a bottle of champagne and a card addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. N...".  And, although we were married a month before we left, that had been the first time we had been addressed that way.  Every time I hear my new last name, I get butterflies thinking about how I now carry Dana's name.  And we are a Mr. and Mrs.!

During our stay, we rented a car and decided to venture away from the resort and see some of the beautiful sites that Maui has to offer.  We were given a book from our friends, Marty and Monica called "Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook" by Andrew Doughty, which Dana read from front to back to suck out all the information needed.  One of the neat places we visited was a huge blow hole, and here is a goofy pic of me enjoying it:

In the same spot, we found a rock that had a hole in it the shape of a heart.  I took advantage of the photographic moment and got this pic (which is one of my favorites):

On day 3, we took the infamous road to Hana.  For being such a small distance, it sure took up quite the day.  The road distance to get from one end to the other is about 70 miles, but it took us about 4 hours to make the drive one way!  Yikes!  The scenery was beautiful, for most of the drive was along the edge of the mountain--but it was also very scary, for most of it was only one lane, right on the edge, with oncoming traffic--no joke.  And, it wasn't always paved, so my heart was beating quite fast most of the time.  After such a long drive, we started to get over everything, but knew there would be light at the end of the tunnel.  Once we reached Hana, we went to Haleakala National Park where there was "The Seven Sacred Pools" and a 4 hour hike through Pipiwai Trail, which was a bamboo forest that ended with the Waimoku Falls, a huge waterfall that you could get as close to as you wanted to.  Walking through the bamboo was amazing...there was so much of it, and they were so tall that even though we were walking in the middle of a sunny, hot day, the bamboo covered so much that it was dark and cool.  And, bamboo is so strong that no animals can live to walk through it, so no animals, birds, or anything.  It was so neat and different than anything I've seen before.  One of the pics is of me in the bamboo, holding myself up by the bamboo stalks that were only about 3 inches in diameter.  The other is of the beautiful waterfall that was at the end of the hike.

Aside from the adventures we took away from the resort, we also took part in some of the other activities that the resorts had to offer.  After staying at the Westin, we switched resorts and stayed at the Hyatt, which we were really excited about.  We went to a Luau and a Cirque Show that were both held right at their property.  We really enjoyed our room at the Hyatt and spent most of our time using their pool and hanging around.  We spent one entire day at the pool, which had a Grotto, a water slide, and lots of lounge chairs.  It was a perfect day, except in the end, we didn't realize we were going to spend so much time there and didn't reapply sunscreen.  Dana was burnt to a crisp and I got pretty red, for I was wearing more sunscreen in the beginning, and Dana didn't think to put any on his legs.  He's still paying for it (his legs are still red and peeling--oopsl).  After staying 3 nights at the Hyatt, it was our time to leave Maui and head to "The Big Island".  That will be the next  blog.  To see all our pics from Maui, check them out in our photo gallery: http://danaandbrooke.com/g-1156-maui.html

As soon as we got to Kona, we knew it was going to be a completely different vibe, and it was.  In my eyes, it seemed more livable, and less touristy.  When we were there, we spent less time as the resort during the day, and more time at the beach and checking out the sites that the island had to offer.  We took our first trip to Volcanoes National Park.  We didn't get to see lava flowing, but pretty dang close.  We took a 4 mile hike that partly went around the rim of the crater, and then the other part hiked right across the center of it.  We were so tiny compared to the perimeter of the crater's edge.  Since it had just rained, you could see tons of crevices that were steaming because the lava underneath was still so hot.  You can see in the pic below that Dana's hand it hurting because of the steam being so hot.  While he may be acting a bit, you really couldn't leave your hand there for more than a couple seconds.  The next pic below that is me, standing in a lava tube.  Lava tubes are created by lava flow hardening at the surface while its on its way to the ocean, creating a tube.

Another fun adventure we took was coffee tasting.  Since Kona coffee is the best coffee in the world, and Dana and I are coffee drinkers, we were excited to see the process of coffee growing from the cherries on the tree all the way to roasting the beans.  Here is me, in the rows of coffee trees.

We also took a whole day trip to Hilo, which was on the other side of the island.  We weren't as impressed as we thought we would be, but we both agreed that if we didn't go, we would always wonder if we were missing something.  We checked out a few sites, but had to get really creative with our time.  My only memory of it is the huge Banyan trees along the edge of one of the roads, and the huge desserts we ordered at Coconut Grill, we couldn't decide on something to share, so we both ordered our own--not ever recommended. :)  Below is a Banyan Tree, see if you can find Dana!

Most of the time that we spent in Kona, we went to the beach.  The water was beautiful, the sun was shining, and we just couldn't resist.  We did our research, and went to see the most interesting beaches we read about or were told about by the locals.  One beach was famous for their sea turtle population, but at the time we got there, it wasn't their time to lay out on the beach.  We only saw them swimming in the water.

We went to Mauna Kea beach, which is somewhat exclusive and rated one of the best beaches in the world.

We went to a black sand beach, but only went quickly to see it and take a few pics.

And then we went to a beach close to our resort where snorkeling was good.  Unfortunetly, with the waves being so high most of the week, we only had one good day of snorkeling.  Well, Dana did.  I had fun snorkeling for the first time, until I inhaled a mouthful of water, yuck!  But, it was beautiful!  We were swimming with 4 sea turtles that were so close, we could've easily touched them.  Here are some pics Dana got underwater...so cool!!!

Of course there is so much more that we did and so many things that we didn't get to do...this just touches on how much fun we really had.  To see all of the pictures from our "Big Island" trip, you can go to our photo gallery: http://danaandbrooke.com/g-1157-the-big-island-kona.html

Since we've been back from our honeymoon, we've been living the married life to its fullest. Dana and I have both been working really hard all week long, and look forward to finding something interesting to do on the weekends. Our first weekend back from Hawaii we met Paulette and her husband Bo (Paulette works for Dana) who were visiting from North Carolina. We showed them Dana's office, then we went to check out the end of Octoberfest in La Mesa, which is just east of our house about 8 minutes. We ended the night with Paulette and Bo treating us to dinner for our wedding gift. We had so much fun together and endless conversations from love and life to work and success.

 This last weekend, Dana and I took advantage of some events going on in San Diego and also created a couple of our own.  On Saturday, we were feeling a bit adventurous and decided to go for a new hike from our hiking book.  We chose the Bernardo Mountain Summit.  It was a 7.5 mile trail with a 1000' ascent.  We felt so good when we got to the top, but by the end of it all our legs were starting to get a little stiff.  But, we felt so accomplished when we finished, that we couldn't wait for our next hike :)  . 

On Sunday, we went to Little Italy for their annual Italian Festa.  Before we left, Dana thought of the great idea of taking the Trolley to the event.  We live pretty close to a Trolley station and knew it would be easier since it drops you off right at the event.  We woudln't have to worry about parking.  Well, since we never took the trolley before, we kind of made a whole trip out of it.  We thought it was more fun than most of the carnival rides at the fair.  Our first stop was Italian Festa.  We ate delicious food, drank Italian wine, and walked the streets, absorbing all the festivities.

We left the Festa and took the trolley to downtown.  We got off and walked 5th Ave.  Little did we know, we were walking into an auto show.  Well, since we all know how much Dana loves his automobiles, I knew we'd walked into something enjoyable.  I made Dana pick out his favorite "Mid Life Crisis" car from the bunch....here it is:

We finished the trolley by taking a loop around the edge of San Diego county and back to the truck.  We ended the night with dinner, a Target trip, then some delicious vanilla Beyers ice cream  Yum Yum.  Now, what are we going to do next weekend?  Hmmm...

My cousin, Gwenda, called me today to tell me the terrific news. Matt proposed to her today! I am so happy for the two of them and very excited for their future together. When I think of the two of them, the first thing that always comes to mind is the two of them giggling together. They share the same sense of humor and have supported each other in so many ways...it is so nice to see such a beautiful couple take the next step in their future together. Congrats to both of you, I love you soooo much! Matt I am so happy to have you as a new cousin and I welcome you to our family with open arms :)

As some of you may know, I am always trying new recipes and techniques in cooking. Last night I made Creole Shrimp and Sausage Stew from a recipe I found in a Cooking Light magazine.  It is super easy to make, about 10 minutes preperation and about 15-20 minutes to make.  And, it was soooo good and healthy!  Try and out and let me know what you think:

For as long as I have known Dana, I've always known that he has had the dream to be so self sufficient that we would never need to rely on anything except whatever grows in our own backyard.  Since we don't own our house right now, we aren't able to turn half our yard into a garden, but Dana has done what he can to add a few fruit trees here and there.  After planting a lemon tree and a lime tree, Dana thought he would attempt a banana tree.  He planted it within the first 3 months of moving into this house (we've been here 2 years and 3 months now).  We watched this tree outgrow the house within the first 6 months, it grew so fast!  Over this last summer, we realized it was growing too much and started to take over one side of our house.  Dana decided to trim it down a bit....then, yesterday, he noticed that we have bunches of bananas growing!!  How cool is that?

So, if anyone is in the mood for banana bread, banana cream pie (Megan!), banana pancakes, banana ice cream, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, or anything else that can be made out of bananas, you know where to come!  :)  Our door is always open (and P.S.  we are ready for some visitors to start planning their trips out here).

I know I've been slacking a bit on updating our blogs (I was in a good habit of writing one a week), but I think I have a few good reasons. One is that Dana and I have both been working really hard lately. Dana was gone to Vegas for SEMA for a whole week, I was running around working on some new design ideas. And, after all that hard work, neither of us want to do anything when the weekends are finally here. We have both become such homebodies, it makes me laugh. "Do you want to go hang out with ...?", "Hmm, maybe we should just have them come over to our place." Or, "Want to see what's going on this weekend?", "Well, not really. Let's just stay home." And, my favorite one yet, "Hey Dana, its BEER WEEK, want to go check out the fesitivities?", and he replies with "Nah, I really just want to stay home." Ha! What has gotten into us? Maybe its the weather. Now that its cooling down, we just want to stay warm and cozy in the house. Or, maybe its the honeymoon phase. We just want to be together and don't want to share our time with anyone else. Hmm? I don't know.

Regardless of what it is, we finally got over our slump and decided to get out into the world and see what's been going on around us. This last Wednesday, we made a date with our friend, Ryan. We've been friends with him since the very beginning of our relationship (he lived next door to me), and we always make a point to check in and keep in touch with him. Our friend, Dalina, was hosting a martini tasting in Pacific Beach, so we went to check that out. We ate a scrumptious dinner, which Ryan treated (thank you, Ryan!), then hung out and caught up on life.

It had been a while since we hosted a BBQ at our house, so what better day to do it than when the Chargers planned and succeeded on crushing the Broncos. We invited a bunch of our friends over for a day of hanging out, watching football, and eating good food. We find that the best types of BBQ's are the ones where we ask everyone to contribute. That way,we always end up with so many different and good foods. We had everything from homemade guacamole from our neighbors, Elisa and Ryan to the most delicious brownies with hints of peanut butter tucked inside every bite, made by our good friends, Collin and Liz. Dana grilled the best burgers and brats in town and served them up with all the fixin's and condiments you could imagine. We ate so much food that neither Dana or myself wanted to eat anything today...and to think Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

and of course, we had to share a picture of Rocky in his Charger Jersey, thanks to his Auntie's Steph and Lorie

As the time got closer to Turkey Day, Dana and I were starting to realize that the plans we had weren't going to follow through, and we weren't going to have anything do that day.  Jen and Carlos heard of our lack of plans and decided to adopt us into Carlos's family Thanksgiving.  We took them up on our offer and had a wonderful time.  Our day started with Jen and Los stopping by our house to say hi to Rocky and hang out for a bit.  As you can see in the picture below, Carlos planned his day by dressing in the same colors at Rocky (now that's love!)

We then proceeded to Carlos's Aunt's house where we were welcomed with open arms by everyone.  The house was beautiful, overlooking a canyon.  People were scattered everywhere, talking, drinking wine, watching football, and of course, eating.  Dinner was super scrumptious, with tons of delicious sides, turkey, and ham, and a large array of desserts to finish everything off.  In order to make room for everything, we took a few breaks, where we took advantage of the beautiful view by taking some pictures.

And, once my belt could no longer fit around my waist, it was time for us to head home and recline our chairs in comfy pajamas and talk about how wonderful our Thanksgiving was.  Dana and I are so very thankful for the wonderful life we've been given and all this time that we have had to share with each other.  We are thankful for our loving, healthy families, our supportive, touching friends, and for all the family who welcomed us into their traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year.  We keep you all close to our hearts and love you so much.

With the holidays here, there never seems to be a dull moment, or even enough time to write a blog.  Dana and I have been working all week and trying to keep up with everything thats been going on around us.  Holiday parties, fashion shows, date nights, and work have been our constant juggle, but very enjoyable too.  But, I want to start this off right away with an introduction to the cutest little man that you will ever see dressed up in his holiday best... Mr. Rocky Nevins!!

Just a little FYI about Rocky.  I did this little photo session with him to show off his cuteness, and in the end, it turned him into a part time fashion model.  He has been involved with two different photo shoots with an amazing team of photographer, stylists, model, and designers.  Of course, as soon as I get the pictures, I will have to share them with you.  He has become quite popular, especially with the ladies.  Today, he made a new girlfriend, Maggie, who is another chihuahua (mix). 

Aside from Rocky's new popularity, we also headed to Newport Beach last night to meet up with some of Dana's clients.  One client treated us to dinner at a wonderful restaurant.  The food was so delicious and the company was great.  We shared a couple bottles of wine and great conversation.  We got to know the clients on a more personal level, which was great, especially since we hadn't even met one of them in person ever.  Its always nice putting a name to a face.  Here is a group shot from our night...

How was everyone's Christmas this year?  We sure do hope it was well, for ours was too.  As you can see in the picture above, we have been using the same tiny Christmas tree that we have had for the last 3+ years.  This year we created a whole wall with the Christmas theme.   Plus, after we add some gifts, we can't help but feeling festive. For those who sent us a card, if you look close enough, you may even be able to pick it out on the wall, for we hung them all up to think of you all while being so far away.

Anyway, Dana and I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas morning at our house.  We made Irish Cream Coffee, lit hazelnut candles, turned the TV on to Christmas music and laughed at Rocky for being the goofy little guy that he always is.  We opened some gifts that we got for each other, enjoying our first Christmas as a married couple.  My most exciting gift to Dana was a ceramic beer stein with a pewter lid.  On the stein is a design of two bald eagles.  For those of you who weren't at our wedding, the 2 bald eagles is a great symbolization of our ceremony, for my family told me they saw two bald eagles fly over us as we were getting married. How exciting to find a stein to symbolize our most memorable day together.

Dana's favorite gift to me was a pair of boots.  He knew how bad I wanted a pair of black boots and did everything he could to find the perfect pair for me.  He picked out what he liked best and I absolutely loved them!!  He now prides himself in his ability to pick out my personal style (which I know most men wouldn't even attempt), and he rocked it!!  Below are a couple pics opening gifts.  Rocky is watching over Dana as he opens the gift that he got for his dad.  It is a tin of popcorn because when Dana eats popcorn he always shares a few kernels with Rocky, which, of course, Rocky loves.

After our morning together, we joined forces with Lorie (Dana's cousin) and Steph who invited us over for Lorie's infamous lasagna.  We ate a ton of food, watched the Chargers kick some butt, then wrapped up the night with a game of Mexican Train.  Some neighbor friends and a work friend of Lorie and Steph's all came over and joined us.  We were all introduced to the game for the first time, except Lorie and Steph.  It was so much fun, but it got to be so late, so we ended the game a little early.  Dana was winning (I'd just call that beginner's luck), so he carried the torch out the door.  Now we are so happy that after a couple days of celebrating, we have the whole weekend to relax and do nothing.  (Please take notice to the fact that Dana picked out his clothes just so he could match Rocky--Yup, no joke.  Man, I love him! )

Happy New Year to you all and what a year it will be!  With Dana and I getting married in this last year, we both have great memories of what this last year has offered us and now, with the new year beginning, we are looking forward to creating new memories. 

Even as a new, young married couple, most people have already compared us to their grandparents because we decided to have a low key NYE celebration.  It consisted of us watching TLC til 9:30, where I then decided to call it quits and go to bed.  Dana stayed up, drank a couple beers and watched the countdown with Ryan Seacrest (haha).  And, while some of you may say you did something quite similar, I would have to argue that we don't even have kids yet!! If you ask me, it has been the best NYE celebration yet, because I woke up early New Year's day with plenty of motivation. 

Dana and I decided to go for a new hike in San Diego county.  We chose the San Margarita River Trail in Fallbrook.  We went there because we felt like taking a little bit of a drive to get there, and it was dog friendly.  We'd been curious about how Rocky would be on a hike, so this was the true test.

From the beginning we had been impressed with the hike because it was so green.  Being in San Diego, we are use to everything being dry and more desert-like, but not this day.  Dana and I agreed that it felt, looked, and smelled like home in the midwest.  Unfortunetly, after about an hour of hiking we became a bit discombobulated and spent the next two hours trying to figure out where we were and how to get back to the truck.  During our "lost" part, we walked past this car (picture below) about 3 times.  Of course, Dana's curiousity hit him and he wanted to know what kind it was, hence the picture (Dad Nevins--do you know what it is?)

Where we would've become quite irritate by not knowing where we were going, we were quite the opposite because during the journey, we decided to take Rocky off his leash.  We have never in his life ever seen him as happy as he was running on the trails.  He was running laps around us the entire time, checking out every crevice, cliff, tree, everything!!  I know it might sound a little silly, but we were so happy watching him have so much fun.  It made what could have been a bad hike into one of the best we've been on so far.  Oh how we love our Rocky Boy!!

(Below is the view at one the forks on the trail--Absolutely Gorgeous!)

Then, to wrap up our New Year's weekend, we treated Jen and Carlos to Brunch at the Posideon in Del Mar because they recently became engaged.  Carlos purposed on the beach near their house right before Christmas and we were finally able to get together to show them our congratulatory wishes.  They are a beautiful couple (inside and out), and we are so happy to be friends with them and excited to watch them on their new journey.

Then, rather than having dessert, we wrapped up our date with a round of mini golf.  Dana was the winner, (but, only because I let him win ;) )

Ok, so remember a while back when I told you Rocky was part of a photo shoot?  Well, here it is, the debut of his modeling career.  The photographer is also a dog lover and knew how much it meant to me to get him in a shot, so he worked his magic and sent this photo to me as soon as he could.  My heart melted the second I saw it.  It was such a good way to start my day.  Hope you all enjoy it, too!

With Dana and I finally having some time off to do whatever we wanted, we were lucky to have visitors in town who wanted to see what San Diego was all about.  A friend of mine from high school, Tanya, and her friend Sara were near San Diego for a seminar and had a day to escape.  It had been quite a long time since the last time we saw each other, so I was happy to see Tanya and also very happy to show her what Dana and I call home.  We met for lunch at World Famous, which is right on the beach.  And, after the horrible storms all week long, we were lucky to have a day of sunshine and clear blue skies.  We took a walk on the boardwalk where we spotted a snowman in the sand.  It was real snow!!  We are assuming someone took snow while in the mountains and brought it to the beach because it definetly wasn't cold enough here to have snow.  Of course, we had to take a picture.

After the boardwalk, Dana took them on his infamous guided tour where he was able to lay out all the facts of San Diego.  Since the sky was crystal clear, we went to Mount Soledad where we could see all of San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, too!  It has been a while since Dana and I took time to see the ocean, even though we live so close, so it was really nice to have visitors so we could make the journey.

Dana and I had a fun filled weekend, and still managed to find time to relax at home.  So, I guess you could say we had the perfect weekend.  The weather was sunny and perfect on Saturday, so we took Rocky for a long walk around the block.  This is usually my favorite part of the day with the family cuz we get a little escape away from reality and just talk about whatever is on our minds.  By the end of this walk, we started brainstorming invention ideas and getting excited about the possibilities of the future.

Anyway, the best part of the weekend was celebrating some newly engaged couples that we are lucky to be great friends with.  About a week ago, Dana's good friend, Collin, took his then-girlfriend to Santa Barbara for what she thought was her birthday weekend-getaway, but after day one of the trip she was a newly engaged woman!  We were excited about their news and took them out to our favorite brunch spot "94th Aero Squadron" to eat some good food and hear the story of the proposal.  It was a great visit with them, and they looked very happy to be taking this next big step in their lives. 

After departing with them, Dana and I had a little bit of down time, before we turned around to do it again.  Another couple of friends of ours, Jeff and Courtney, were celebrating their engagement by having a party downtown.  I was really excited to go to the party because I use to work with Jeff, so we are all in the same circle of friends from Typhoon (where I use to bartend).  I hadn't seen Jeff and Courtney since before we got married, and I haven't seen anyone I worked with since I quit in September.  I got to catch up with so many people, I probably could've closed down the place talking to everyone that night.  The pic below is of the beautiful, engaged couple:

And, of course I have to include the picture with my fave manager, Bryant.  I miss you, B!

For the last 8 days, Dana and I have been hitting up San Diego at full speed with our visitors, my brother Derek and his girlfriend Cortney. It has been a few years since Derek's been here and Cortney's first time, so we wanted to make sure that this would be a memorable trip for them. We did every possible tourist activity we could think of. While Dana worked, we drove up the coast, but only made it to Encinitas before we turned around because we stopped in La Jolla and stayed there for quite a while. We saw seals laying on the beach, we walked into a cave in the La Jolla Cove, and I also showed them where Dana proposed to me.

We spent another day at the beach where we walked on the boardwalk in PB and on the pier, bought souvenirs, rode the roller coaster in Mission Beach, hit up a Farmer's market, and did a little shopping for clothes.

On Friday, we celebrated Derek's 27th birthday by going downtown.  We ate a scrumptious dinner, then went out for a few drinks later on.  We made our way over to Double Deuce, where Cortney rode the mechanical bull (which is tied for first place in the best thing she did while she was here).

The ultimate part of their trip was when we surprised them with a Segway tour throughout San Diego.  We kept telling them we had a fun surprise for them, but wouldn't say what it was.  They had no idea until we were walking up to the building and they saw the sign that said "Segway Tour Here".  When Derek realized what it was, his eyes lit up more than I've ever seen them.  He later told me that was the highlight of his trip.

Once the week had wrapped up, we took a Brunch Cruise around San Diego Bay.  It was a rainy day, but the food was good and the company was fabulous, so none of us were complaining much.

If you click on any of the pictures in this blog, it will take you to the album of all the pictures that we took while they were on the trip.  Check them out!!  We did so much and had so much fun that it would take up too much for one blog, but I think all the pictures will show you just how great it was to finally spend time with my brother and his girlfriend.  We miss them already...and Rocky really misses them, too. 

We just received an email from my MIL that included a picture of our niece, Brynn. She was artist of the month!!! And, she made it in the local newspaper. We couldn't be more proud of her, for we know she is very deserving. She is a very talented girl. Congratulations, Brynn, we love you!

Although it was Easter today, Dana and I were without family and just decided to make it a great Sunday spent together. After having friends over for a BBQ yesterday, we decided to take the day to spend being together. We started our morning off by taking a walk to the local Starbucks and getting our "usual Sunday coffee drinks". We also treated ourselves to a doughnut at a local doughnut shop (I hadn't had one in years!). We drank our coffee and ate our doughnuts, then continued on our way to a walk around the neighborhood (about 3 miles). Of course, Rocky was with us, too. We let him off his leash the entire way today and almost got to the end of our walk when he encountered a cat. He has a huge interest in cats, which can sometimes turn into trouble. Most cats don't really like him. Dana is convinced that one day he is going to lose an eye after a cat scratches it out. I, on the other hand, think the only way he'll learn his lesson is if he gets scratched. Regardless of the fact, Rocky survived his encounter today.

After that, Dana and I drove down to the US Olympic Training Center to check it out. It was just something to do and somewhere to drive. Of course, we were 2 of just a few people there. We walked the path to check out all the different areas. Since we had never been, it was really interesting to see where the actual Olympic Medalists practice. They have a 1 mile path to and from the entire center...so that put our walking total in today to be 5 miles each!

(First Place, just like a true Mrdjenovich ;)  )

First of all, I would like to say Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother!  I would also like to say Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mother-in-law!  And, to every other mother that is close to my heart, this day is dedicated to you and I hope you felt extra special today.  I, too, got a little Mother's Day celebration today.  Rocky convinced his daddy to get me something special so I didn't feel left out.  After all, I do have a little baby boy that I pamper daily.  So, Rocky gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  I love them!!  Its been a little while since I got flowers.  Rocky sure knows how to get to my heart ;)  And, I guess I owe a bit of thanks to my love, Dana, too, for helping Rocky out.

We spent the rest of our Sunday as we usually do, with a nice long walk and Starbucks.  And, now just relaxing at home.  I know my blogs have become fewer and further between, but we really haven't been interesting enough to think we should share our time with everyone.  I do, however, have a particular cousin who likes to crack the whip once its been over a month since my last blog.  :)  I like it because then at least I know someone out there is reading this.  haha.  I love you, Ashley.

And, before I part today, we would like to say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our nephew Reese!  We love you so much, Reese, and hope you have the absolute best birthday ever!!!

As of today, Dana and I just found out that we are expecting our first baby! We could not be more excited. And what a surprise to the two of us. As this blog post is written, I will tell you, it is actually June and I am writing as my memory remembers March 21, the day we had our positive pregnancy test. This is how we found out: Dana and I went hiking this Sunday and had a great day. I remember having more energy than I usually do, leading far ahead of Dana (where we usually keep the same pace, or I'm falling slightly behind).

We weren't ready to end our day after the hike, so we started looking around at open houses. When we got home that night, Dana became determined to start house shopping seriously and find our new home. He eagerly got onto the computer, searching for the best agent to help us start the process of house shopping. He started looking at houses for sale and lined up our first home tour. I decided to take a shower. In the shower I had this huge realization that not only was my period late, but my body was a little different than what I knew to be normal. I am lucky to have a body that is very consistent in its behavior, so I am very in tune when something is different. As I added everything up in my head, I thought, Hmm, I wonder if I could be pregnant.

So, as I got out of the shower, Dana is yelling through the door about houses he has found, and all this stuff, but all I am thinking is "How am I going to get the pregnancy test out of the hallway cupboard without him noticing?" If I was pregnant, I wanted to find a way to surprise Dana with the news. So, I just kept him focused on the website of houses for sale, grabbed the test, hurried and peed on the stick, then rushed it to my sewing room to wait for the results. My heart was beating so fast, but I went and sat next to him on the couch, waiting for the 2 minutes to go by. He's talking about houses, and I can't hear anything he's saying, I'm so excited and nervous and man, those 2 minutes took forever!! I finally run back to the room and see what I think is a plus sign, but it was so faint, I didn't know for sure. Rather than keep it in, I basically ran out into the room and said "Guess what!", He said "Well, you're not pregnant, so what?" and I showed him the pregnancy test. He was shocked and excited, but he too didn't know for sure that it was positive.

So, we thought we better take another one, and this time use the digital ones that either say "pregnant" or "not pregnant", that way we couldn't screw it up. I couldn't go to the bathroom again so I started drinking a ton of water...well, not such a good idea, because I was so diluted that the test said "not pregnant". We decided to wait again until the next morning to take another, and sure enough, it came back positive!!! Now what to we do? Well, I made my first doctor's appointment, which turns out, you can't see them until 8 weeks for that is when they can see the heartbeat to know the pregnancy is viable. 8 weeks!! Such a excruciatingly long time to wait.

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We've made it to 8 weeks with barely any change in our regular routine. Although, I am starting to feel nauseous and a bit lethargic. Still working out as usual, and actually beginning to wonder when the symptoms are going to start? Its my first baby, after all, so I am excited for this whole experience. We finally had our first visit with the doctor. We were nervous and excited all together. We were hoping the doctor only had good things to say and we would finally see the heartbeat that we heard would be noticeable at this time. We wanted to see that there really was something going on inside me. Sure enough, just as we hoped, the doctor said everything looked great. We got to see our first ultrasound, including that little itty bitty heartbeat.  Below is the pic of our first ultrasound.  The pic to the left shows the measurement of the baby, the one on the right just shows the baby.  And, for those of you who can't see it, the baby's head is to the left, torso to the right.

The baby was 1.5 cm long and looking on par in size with when we thought the baby would have been conceived. Having experienced that doctor's appointment made everything very real to Dana and I. We were happy, proud, and so excited. To celebrate, we treated ourselves to Joe's Crab Shack for some yummy crab.  Below is my first pregnant belly picture.  Of course, I'm sure you can't really see much, but the rounding of my belly has begun just a little bit.  Its enough that I notice it, but Dana doesn't see it.

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My mom has wanted to be a grandma for far too long and I think everyone knew about it. So, I knew that when I told her, it would be a huge surprise and something so exciting for her that she wouldn't be able to contain herself. The big reveal turned out perfectly. I took the picture from our ultrasound and framed it in a picture frame that said something like "Grandchildren are the best part of life", I wrapped it in tissue and included a mother's day card. I mailed it to her, but made her promise that she wouldn't open it until Mother's Day and she had to be on the phone with me. She promised, but as it turned out, she was planning on visiting my brother that weekend and he happens to have a web cam. So, I thought it was even more perfect. She brought the gift with her, unopened, then when I got home Saturday night we hooked up the webcams and started talking to each other. Dana, Rocky, and I were on one end and my mom, brother, aunt Mary Kay, and Cortney on the other end. I told her to open her gift. I was so nervous I could barely sit still, my legs were shaking and I couldn't talk, I just froze. The second she opened her gift she knew what it was. She said "oh my god! Really? Are you? Really?" and I started crying and said "Yes, its true, we're having a baby." She was in shock, giggling, squealing and smiling so big she didn't know what to do, and quite frankly, either did I. This was the first time we revealed our big secret and it was almost scary and so surreal.

Dana had planned his mother's surprise a little bit differently. Knowing that this would be his mom's 8th grandchild, he thought he would question her as to how many grandchildren she had, but then we thought that would be too simple. So, we changed it to how many great-grandchildren Dana's grandma had, which would make her think a bit. We thought the family was going to be together all day, so we thought we would be sharing the news with everyone. Nothing really turned out according to plan, but it was still a very joyful experience. We wished Dana's mom a happy mother's day as she was driving over to church to meet with the rest of the family. Dana asks "how many great-grandchildren does grandma have?" and she said "I think 42." Dana says "Are you sure its not 43?" She says "No, I'm not sure. It could be 43"....Oh no! That was not the response we were expecting. So as the conversation went back and forth for a bit, I finally said "How do you know its not going to be 43?" and she says "Well, I don't know. Are you trying to tell me something?" Yes, we are!!! We are having the 43rd great-grandchild!! She was so excited and emotional and so were we. Dana's dad was in the background saying "What? Is Brooke pregnant?" Yay! After our talk, we let them go to church, then called back later to tell the rest of the family.

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I am 3 months along and dying to get that baby bump. Whenever I say that to a family member who has had a baby, they laugh and say, it will come and all at once, so watch out. Ha!! I am feeling a little better these days. I get bouts of energy and less morning sickness. So, I feel like I can function for at least a few hours a day. I still nap almost every day and spend a little time hugging the toilet, but its not nearly as bad as it has been. I've been able to find enough energy to spend a little time in the gym a couple days in the last week. That's been really nice, considering that I haven't been able to step foot in the gym for over a month. I've weighed myself only to see that after losing a few pounds from being so sick, I really haven't gained anything back. I'm finally eating again, though, so it shouldn't take time for the scale to start tippin'.

According to all my baby books, my little peanut has grown to about 3 inches and the size of a peach. I can't imagine...where is it hiding? I mean, my belly does protrude a tad bit, but only Dana and I can notice it, once I put normal clothes on, you can't see anything.

I just went in a few days ago to take blood tests to look for any abnormalities that we should be concerned about. So far, so good. Our next appointment isn't until June 14th, so I have a month before we find out any more news. Right now, we know that our due date is November 26th, which is the day after Thanksgiving. And, ironically, my mom already took her vacation time to visit us for the holiday, far before she realized that she may be able to witness her first grandchild being born. We will find out the sex of the baby on July 7th...a day I can't wait for. We aren't taking bets yet, but I'm feeling a girl. Not sure if its because my mom influenced me to think that way, but I'm going to believe her. Dana thinks its a boy. I guess we'll find out who's right soon enough. I have to admit, if it is a boy and looks anything like Dana, especially when he was a baby, then we will have the cutest darn baby ever. My man might be handsome now, but his baby pictures just make me want to melt. He was such a cutie!

Here is a comparison of this month from last month.  Of course, there isn't much of a difference yet.  I'm sure that will be coming soon enough.  :)

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Since the day I met Dana he has always discussed his strong desire to own his own house.  I'm sure many men (and women) can relate to that.  Being that we live in San Diego, it has been more of a challenge and a far bigger goal to reach than we had ever expected.  But after years of hard work and dedication, we have finally reached that goal.  We are now proud owners of our own house!!  This has been a very exciting adventure for us, and now the time has come.  We met last night with our loan officer to sign all the official documents to receive our funding, then on Monday we close with Escrow and get our keys!!  Here we are signing out papers:

Our loan officer was also kind enough to give us a congratulatory gift of wine and two wine glasses.  They are etched with our names and a message from the loan officer.  What a great idea. 

Now we can tell you a little about our house.  We bought a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in a neighborhood called "Rolando".  Its about 8 miles east of the ocean, in a quiet neighborhood close to San Diego State University.  We have a huge backyard that spans the distance of about 3 "typical" San Diego yards, totaling 1/3-1/2 acres.  We will have plenty of room for a garden, fruit trees, patio furniture, and even a pool, if we ever decide to get one.  If you are interested, take a look at the pictures we took when we went for our inspection.  Pictures are here.  Of course we have some changes we will be making right away, but for the most part, its in great enough shape to move right in.  So, if anyone wants to come and visit, we would love to have you.  :)

And, on a side note, I would like to give a shout out to my old man, for today is his Birthday.  Happy Birthday, Dad!  We love you!

Dana and I officially closed and received our keys on Wednesday of last week.  Wow, I can't even explain the feelings that came across us.  I have been trying so hard to not get my hopes up through the whole process because I didn't want to be let down in the end.  As we got the words to feel free to pick up our keys, it was relief, excitement, and a little bit of overwhelmnet.  We let out all our excitement on the ride over.  We screamed, yelled and high fived...yay!!  It is ours!

So, after getting over the excitement, we dove right in to getting all the things done that we needed to do to move in.  We began cleaning and prepping for painting our bedroom and my Bcat Threads room.  Those are our priorities right now because those are most crucial to get done in order to move in.  The rest will happen over time, and shouldn't be a problem to be living in the house while we are working on the other rooms.  Plus, the only thing we needed to do to these rooms is paint.  So, after spending many hours between Lowe's, Home Depot, and Ikea, we got all our supplies and began our new project.

Dana and I found that we make a pretty good team when it comes time to getting things done.  I would spend all the time painting all the trims with a paint brush while Dana would then follow with the roller to get all the main spots (for anyone wondering, we used Organic Soy-based paint, which has no fumes and is very safe for the environment).  In working so well together, we were able to get both rooms painted in two days, while also moving more and more of our items in and finding places for them throughout the house.  I can't wait to show you the final results as we finish each room to our liking.  Its going to look great!

Along with beginning our moving, cleaning, and painting, we have also had the opportunity to get to know our neighborhood a little.  As it turns out, our street is extremely friendly and safe.  We started by meeting our next door neighbor, Phil, who filled us in on the history of the neighborhood.  As it turns out, his house was the first built on the block and ours was built just two years later.  Both houses have only been lived in by the families who owned them, both being passed on to the children.  Phil seems to keep a good eye on everything going on, so I think he will be a good person to live next door to.  Then there is Frank and Vera.  We have only met Frank, but he was a very genuine and caring guy.  He was very close to the couple that lived in our house, and it seems like he is passing on that warming relationship to us.  He has already taken our garbage cans back to the house for us, and stopped over a couple times to say hello.  On the other side of our house (next door) is Gil and Ed.  We haven't talked to them as much, but Gil seemed to take a liking to Rocky, and they both were super nice and welcoming.  I think we will add a great dynamic to the neighborhood.

And, of course, Rocky has been tagging along and helping with this whole process as well.  When he saw me taking a picture of Dana, he ran over and started crying to me because he wanted his picture taken, too.  I said "sit" and immediately, he sat with his chest as far out as it would go to show just how manly he is, just like his daddy.  :)

What an accomplished week for Dana and I.  After taking a truck load of our belongings from the old house to the new house every day, we have moved enough stuff to start living in the new house.  And, even with cardboard in the windows to take the place of blinds and the super loud chirping bird throughout the entire night, I must say sleeping in the new house just feels soooo good!  It hasn't taken long for us to feel like we are finally home.  We have been absorbing the quiet, serene ambiance of the house.  Every morning and evening, we have been eating our meals outside in our patio area, while looking at how beautiful our new home is.  So much to enjoy and think about!

And while we've been working our butts off, Rocky seems to be taking it easy and just "Hanging Out".  Ha!

Just kidding.  In Rocky's defense, I made him try out this bag I came across that I bought when he was a puppy.  He jumped out of it as soon as he had the opportunity, but the pic had to be shared because it's just too cute and funny. 

And speaking of Rocky, he is starting to adjust to the new house and his new boundaries.  In our old house, we didn't have a front yard, so he was free to roam wherever he liked.  Now we live on a street, so we are teaching him that the front yard is off limits to him, which we had to begin after he ran across the street a few times to meet other dogs or people walking by.  Not a good idea, especially when you are 5 pounds.  He is getting better and has been listening well to our commands to stay in the garage when we are unpacking. 

After painting a couple rooms last week, we have made quite a bit of progress throughout the house.  Our bedroom is pretty well put together now.  We have found a place for all of our clothing and bedroom furniture and now we just need our new windows and blinds and hang pictures on the wall, then the room will be complete.  Of course, I can't show you what it looks like until everything is up.  You need the full effect ;) 

We still have plenty to pack up from the old house, but as you can see, we still have plenty to unpack in the new house.  This is just one side of the garage with all our stuff.

After lifting boxes and furniture all day long, every day these last couple weeks, Dana took a day for the more exciting things to add to the house--Trees!  He has been very excited to add new fruit trees to the backyard and try to become as self sufficient as possible.  We already moved in with 3 fig trees, 3 pomegranite trees, 2 lemon trees, a mulberry tree, a loquat tree, an olive tree, and some others I probably missed, but he also added in 2 orange trees, 2 lime trees, 2 grapefruit trees, 2 avacado trees, 2 blueberry bushes, a mango tree, and more soon to come.  Check them out now, and we'll see how fast they grow.

And, of course, the backyard wouldn't be complete without veggies, Here is Dana working hard to start our vegetable garden:

On the inside of the house, I've been keeping up with the cleaning and finding places for everything.  It has been a tricky process, but I am becoming very impressed with my organization skills.  I am taking my time to make sure that everything has a place in the house.  If it doesn't, then good-bye!  Its been very rewarding to get rid of unneccessary things and find space for the things we keep.  I can't believe some of the stuff that we had been carrying along with us through the years.  Looking through it all was starting to make me feel like I had a hoarding problem.  But, no more hoarding for me!

Here I am cleaning the hardwood floors before I moved all my stuff into the room (I had to show proof that I, too, am working hard) and Rocky right by my side as he has been doing.  He is such a good boy, always making sure his mommy is ok. 

This next week shall be another very accomplished week, for we need to get everything out of our old house and into the new.  Good riddance, old house! 

Work, work, workin' on the house, thats all we've been doing with our time.  All work, no play.  There is so much we want to do, yet not enough hours in the day.  But, we are excited to watch as things really start to come along.  We painted our living room over the weekend, adding one more room to put together.  It's by far the most vivid room, as we took a chance with a very noticeable green.  As we accent it with blacks and grays and just a tinge of pink, I think it is going to look great and like no other.  Of course, we won't be sharing pictures of that until it is finished. 

We recently added a doggie door to the sliding window overlooking the backyard.  We have been wanting to get one ever since we got Rocky, but when you rent, you can't cut holes in doors..  We are training Rocky with it right now but keeping the little flap door off, so he can freely go in and out.  In a week, we will add the flap and hope to have him trained.  (Our cousin, Lorie, gave us that idea).  So far, so good.  Here is my handsome man showing off his new door.

My other handsome man decided to get his Pride and Joy into the new garage as soon as possible.  He spent half the day organizing and unpacking boxes to find the perfect spot for it.  I know he was losing sleep having it over at the other place, knowing the house was empty.  So, right away on Saturday, we went and got it.  Boy did he look happy to be sitting in that front seat.  And, I was happily riding in my car behind him.  :)  Check out that smile, someone sure is happy to have their baby safe and sound.

The new addition that I got to the house was a new washer and dryer set.  The people in this house before us sold the washer and left the dryer, so we were stuck to find something new.  Lucky for us, we came across a great set on Craigslist for uber cheap.  I was actually quite excited to try it out on a few loads of laundry.  It has been very impressive, so we couldn't be happier with our great find.  Here I am with my "Price is Right" model pose:  (Anyone out there with a long name with lots of consanants want to try and guess the price?  ;)  --I suggest going for $1)

I went to my second doctor's visit today.  As you can tell, I'm still not really showing much and haven't even gained a single pound yet.  My stomach has a little bump that I notice, but I'm still fitting in all my clothes.  Still really looking forward to the day my pants aren't fitting anymore.  I want a little buddha belly to rub :)  Anyway, way more exciting than that is that we got to hear the heartbeat today.  It was so neat to listen to the pulsing of our little baby's heart.  It makes it so easy to picture the little bugger hanging out inside my belly.

The pregnancy itself is starting to go really well.  After being horribly sick for 2 straight months, I now only have small moments of nausea and sickness.  I have much more energy and feel very motivated to do things throughout the day.  I still take regular naps, but I feel way better when I am awake.  In fact, I've been feeling so good that it was starting to become hard for me to even believe that I am even pregnant.  So, not only was hearing the heartbeat exciting, but it was very reassuring.

Once Friday is here, I will officially be in my fifth month.  I can't believe how time goes by so fast.  I feel like this journey has just begun.  Aside from buying a really nice rocker off Craigslist, I haven't even started to shop for baby things.  I think buying the house has taken up alot of that shopping time...but, even more so, we don't find out the sex for 3 more weeks, so I think I want to wait for everything until I know what we are having.  We are very excited for that day to be here.  I think Girl all day long, but the only baby dreams I have had so far have been with a baby boy.  What do you think it is?  Hmm.

And, although I haven't begun shopping for baby stuff yet, we have a very excited grandfather who has already begun his baby shopping.  We got our first package in the mail today and it was from my dad who sent his grandson, Rocky, a stuffed toy for his belated birthday, and a whole bunch of baby stuff for the little one in my belly.  We got toys, pajamas, booties, and more.  When we opened the package, we immediately got butterflies in our stomach.  This was for our very own little baby. Even though we haven't begun on the baby's room, we have already started a collection of items for it in the closet.

So thats about it in a nutshell...I'll probably be blogging much more as soon as there are more significant changes.  Hope you enjoy!!

To follow all my pregnancy blogs, click here

What a last 6 days it has been for us.  My brother and mom flew into San Diego last Friday to check out our new house and help with anything they could.  Having 8 hands hard at work REALLY made a huge difference to our house.  We pretty much put Derek and mom to work the second they landed off the plane and didn't stop until literally minutes before heading back to the midwest.  And, even through all the blood and sweat, we all loved every minute of it.  We made a great team! 

When they first got here, we started to dabble into a little bit of everything that needed to be worked on, but the most important thing was to get our old house into really good shape so we could hand over the keys to our landlord in hopes of getting our full deposit back.  The task was bigger than what we once realized, but after working day and night through the weekend, we accomplished our mission and impressed our landlord with a very clean house and left there Monday night without our old keys.  Oh, what a great feeling that was!!

At our house, the guys used their big muscles to move things, fix things, and replace old windows.  My mom and I stripped wallpaper, painted, cleaned, cooked, and made our house look more like home.  Being that our kitchen and bathroom had some very outdated wallpaper, I had been dying to get rid of it as soon as I had the help.  Dana and I have thought that maybe in the future we would like to remodel both of these rooms, so in the meantime, I didn't want to put too much into it.  We just freshened up the rooms with new paint, and boy did it make a difference to the appearance.  Here is the transition from my stripping wallpaper to painting:

For the boys, the process of replacing windows started off a little shaky, but once they got the right tools and rhythm of working together, the pair make a dynamic duo.  It was even enjoyable watching them work together.  And, actually this had been the first time I saw my brother doing what he typically gets paid to do.  He really impressed me with his knowledge and strength...(Dana, too, of course, but I always see him working).  Derek said it was all common sense, but it really is a natural ability that not everyone has.  Being his big sister, I guess I always thought I knew better, but he showed me that there was a lot I didn't know about and he knew it all.  The first pic below was just too cute not to share.  All the boys looking at the window, getting ready to put it into our kitchen, the next pic is of Dana taking out the old window, and the third is putting a window above our kitchen sink.

Of course, there had to be some down times, too.  We couldn't work hard ALL the time.  After all, Derek and mom were on vacation.  Rocky's job these past few days was to make sure everyone had their relaxing time.  His Grandma's favorite kind of downtime was to sit in the sun with a beer and her little grandson close by to cuddle.  I tell you what, those two were a match made in heaven.  They did everything together.  Rocky also really liked his Uncle Derek.  He would run right to the couch in the morning to find Derek and cuddle with him until he got up...and even then, you could find him curled up in Derek's clothes during the day while Derek was working.  As you can tell, Derek liked having him around, too.  At night, we all got onto my mom's new computer and showed her all the cool things she could do with it.  Hopefully she'll remember everything we showed her because she caught on quickly.

After eating breakfast and dinner on a plastic table and chairs for most of the time, my mom surprised us with a special treat.  She allowed us to find new patio furniture to go with our house.  Dana and I were super excited for the great opportunity because we knew that had she not offered, we wouldn't have gotten to the patio furniture for a long time later.  We found the perfect set at Home Depot and also added in cushions for the seats and two reclining chairs to lay in the sun.  And, after putting the furniture together, my mom and I went shopping to find special added touches to spruce up the new parts of our house.  We found placemats, napkins and a center candle for our new table and also some bathroom decor, which we are still waiting to put together.   Thank you, mom, for treating us with everything that you did.  We are incredibly thankful, and love it all! In the first pic, you see my brother and I assembling our new table, and the second pic is of the new furniture with the table set right before we ate dinner.

All in all, we accomplished so much more than we had in the last few weeks that Dana and I had been working together.  We all had fun doing it together, and now Dana and I are cleaning up after the big projects to watch as our house becomes a home, unfolding right in front of our eyes.  It is such a wonderful feeling and we are sooo thankful for the help.

P.S.  After installing the last window today, Derek realized that now we have accomplished more work on our house than he has on his own house.  Ha!  I guess that means we'll have to plan a trip his way to return the favor.  Sorry, Derek.  But if it means anything, you are the best brother that anyone could ask for.  We love you!!

After having a hiatus of pregnancy symptoms, I had quite a reassuring weekend. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine lent me a baby heart beat monitor for reassurance, whenever I needed. I used it once right when I got it, to hear a healthy heartbeat of 150. Then, when my mom and brother were here, I wanted them to hear it, but I had a hard time finding a good one...although, we did hear it a little. But, over the weekend, the store line went a something like this. I wanted to hear the baby's heartbeat again, so I layed down and found it right away. It was very strong and still beating at 150. Soon after that, I started to feel some slight movement. I thought maybe I was making it up, but no, I felt it again the next day. It hasn't happened often, but I do notice it is usually at night when I am lying down. The movements are a little slower and feel like someone has there hand inside of me and are swiping their finger across my lower abs. I can't wait to feel more baby moves!

I have also been back in the gym, where I can weigh myself.  On Friday I got on the scale to see that I gained 2 pounds!  Woohoo!  Hope it wasn't a fluke.  We'll see for sure in another week and half when I go to the doctor again.  Then, on Saturday, I went shopping for clothes and noticed whenever I put on a shirt I could see my belly sticking out a little.  I thought maybe it was just the types of clothes I was trying on, but then yesterday, I got ready to go to the gym and my belly was totally visible.  Yay!  I went to the gym wearing tight clothes and I just couldn't stop looking down at my belly.  It made me smile so big.  Then, just to have some added assurance, I tried wearing a couple different pair of jeans yesterday and they just were not comfortable anymore, a little too tight around the belly area.  I know, I know, I should be posting a picture, but I am working today and didn't have enough time before I left the house...so I will post one with my next pregnancy blog.   Sorry.

In other news, in just a week and a half we will be finding out the sex of the baby.  I can't believe with the baby still being so small they will be able to see those little sex parts :)
We are very excited.  Of course we are happy with whatever the sex may be, but Dana and I have contradicting opinions as to what it really is.  I'm feeling girl and he's feeling boy.  I can't wait to see who's right!  What do you think we are having?  I would love to see what everyone thinks...I have a survey up to see what everyone is feeling, you can take it here.  Please take it.  It requires that you have an account on our website, but the account doesn't do anything except allow you to leave comments or take the surveys on our blog.  It doesn't go to anyone else.  I really want to see what everyone thinks!  Click here to take the survey
As soon as we have seen the ultrasound, we will be sure to tell everyone the exciting results.

We go to the doctor on July 7th for our big ultrasound, making sure the baby is growing healthy and well, and we will be finding out the sex of the baby!  I can't wait to find out, I'm ready to get into the baby room and start painting.  :)  Take our survey and tell us what you think we are having:

Click Here to Take the Survey: Are We Having a Boy or a Girl?

I can't wait to see what everyone thinks :)

Looking forward to the weekends these days mean something totally different than it did before the house.  Now, having the weekend means getting big projects done, not hanging out at the beach with our friends.  And, we are still enjoying our weekends :)  After having my mom and brother here helping with things around the house, Dana just couldn't wait to get back to his yard and perfect it just a big more (he just can't stay away).  Seeing him all dirty with grubby clothes has become far more common than the old Dana who was showered and clean shaven everyday.  But I guess I can't complain, for I haven't been up to par these days either.  ha!  (This picture really doesn't show just how dirty he is)

Along with the yard, we were able to put in two of the three of the last windows we need to replace.  And, we also added some better appearance to the front of the house.  If you remember, we had bars enclosing the whole front porch of the house, see pic below.

But we finally had enough.  So, Dana cut down all the bars, just leaving a railing.  It has made a huge difference.  The house looks so different!  Check it out:

And, now that I had some time, I was finally able to frame our wedding pictures and hang them on the wall.  We put them in the hallway between the bathroom and our bedroom, which needed some sprucing up.  They look really nice up there and add so much detail, I love walking by everyday and being reminded of our beautiful wedding and my wonderful husband.  Here are the before and after pictures.

More updates soon to come :)

What a week it's been.  Same ole' same for Dana and I, as far as spending most of all our time working on the house.  We have finally completed 2 rooms, both the bathroom and my work room.  But, I ran out of time today, so I will have to post pictures later.  And, while Dana wanted more time to spend out in his huge yard, adding more trees, plants, and flowers, I took the time to catch up with some of my greatest girlfriends that I haven't seen in so long.  Last Wednesday, my friend, Megan, and I drove up to LA to meet with my friend Brooke, who was visiting from Washington.  We only had a half day to spend together and let me tell you, the time went by way too fast!!  There just aren't enough hours in the day to catch up with great friends.  Here is a pic of us, hanging out at The Grove, a shopping center in LA. (left to right: me, Brooke, and Megan)

And, as if that wasn't enough girl time for me...I also went up to LA Saturday and stayed the night to visit my friend, Dana, who I went to college with in Minnesota.  My hubbie, Dana, really wanted to spend time working on the house, and I really wanted to celebrate the holiday, so I drove up to spend Sunday with my friend, Dana.  It was so much fun.  We got to catch up on our lives, go out to eat, and best of all, hang out at the beach all day.  The beaches were extremely busy.  There were so many festive people everywhere.  You would've thought with everything going on that I would've grabbed the camera for evidence, but I didn't even think of it once!

Of course, the best part of my 4th of July weekend was when I made an appearance in Wisconsin with my family.  I was only "partly" there, but boy did I get around.  Haha.  In the first picture, I am with my Aunt Rhonda, her friend, Barb, and my cousin, Ashley.  We were hanging out at the local bar close to their lake house.  Fun times! 

In the next pic, I am hanging out with Little Max, my cousin's boy.  We always enjoy blowing bubbles together.  That is how we bond.

These pictures, along with many more, were the highlight of the weekend.  I am always photoshopping my face into pictures with my family, making it look like I was there with them...so this was their way of including me over their weekend.  It is always hard for me to see everyone having a fun time together, I wish I could be with them!  Family gatherings are always the hardest times to be so far away from home.  At least I know that they are always including me in spirit--and in blown up pictures of myself.  Haha, I love you guys, thank you!  I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend, I can't wait to hear about it!

In other news, this is going to be a busy week for us...one of the most exciting things is that we will be going in to get an ultrasound of our baby on Wednesday.  We are hoping for our baby to be super healthy and doing well in my belly.  And, we will be finding out the sex!  If you haven't already, take our survey and let us know if you think we are having a boy or a girl.  click here for the survey  We will be posting our news as soon as I get back to the computer.

We are finally ready to start sharing some of the rooms that we have completed.  I am excited to show the pictures, but of course it is always hard to get the full grasp of the idea through a picture...I think you'll get the idea though.  Ok, below is the pics we took of our bathroom when we bought the house:

Now, below are the pictures of the new and improved version.  You will notice all the changes in the pictures, but since we worked so hard at making those changes, I'm also going to tell you what we did.  Knowing that we have an entire house to decorate and change, we decided to work with the tile we were given, rather than strip the entire bathroom.   We stripped the gaudy metallic wallpaper and painted it white, added new bathroom lights and knobs for the drawers, new window, shower curtain, and sage colored bathroom rugs and towels to mute the minty green tiles.  Dana added a hanging fern, and my mom and I added the little special touches (wall decor, candles, and vase).

Feel free to stop over for a potty break anytime (heehee)

Turning one of the bedrooms into my Bcat Threads work room was probably one of the least important of all of our rooms, but it still required alot of time to get it put together.  But, I still think it was the easiest to finish.  Here is the only before picture that I got from the when we first bought the house:

In the after picture, you will see that we painted the room a nice eggshell white, got a new window and blinds, and tore out the closet doors and replaced them with purple curtains.  I added a new desk for my computer and office work, added my sewing machines and tables, hiding all my work items behind the curtains and mirrored cupboard.  I wanted it to look simple and clean so I added a 3-piece gray floral canvas to one of the walls and a clock on another wall.  Simple enough and clutter free, so mission accomplished.

As most of you know, Dana's break away from life is spent in the yard.  He just can't get enough of it.  I try my best to pry him away, but boy is it difficult. He took me on a tour to show me what he has going on, and in the end, I must admit I was a bit excited to see all the new fruits and veggies we will have access to by simply walking into our back yard.  You will have to bare with me here, for their are many pictures, but we also wanted to document the beginning of what everything looked like in just week 1 or growth.  I will list the veggie/fruit, then the picture.

Cucumber:

Zucchini:

Watermelon:

Tomatoes:

Butternut Squash:

Yellow Zucchini:

Green Bell Pepper:

Cantaloupe:

Bluberries:

Peach:

Orange:

Pear:

pomegranate:

Apple:

There is many more to come, and hopefully these fruits and veggies will grow big and plentiful.  Now all we need is a pig, cow, and a couple chickens and I think we will be completely self sufficient.  Ha!

After many days and weeks of worrying and waiting, we were finally able to confirm a healthy baby girl.  Dana and I are so happy to be sharing this wonderful experience together and glad that we have so many supportive family and friends in our lives.  As soon as I have the time, I will post some scans from the ultrasound, but until then, help us celebrate our little baby girl on the way.  :)

To hear more about our ultrasound experience and see the ultrasound pic and my belly, click here!

Today was a very special day for Dana and I.  Being that I have been completely worried about my baby and wanting everything to be ok, today was like a god-send,  it was our big ultrasound.  Not only were we excited to see the sex, but most importantly, we really wanted to see that it was really in there and growing like it should be.

The whole process began with the ultrasound tech taking a look at my cervix and all that other stuff that wasn't very exciting...but, as she moved the wand over my lower abdomen, we started seeing baby parts.  The baby was moving so much that the lady could barely get a good shot of anything, but you could make it all out.  You could see the little heart beating, including the little ventricles.  We saw the hands moving, the mouth opening and closing, the brain, and of course, the most exciting part--the sex part.  Ha!  We could see clear as day that we were having ourselves a little baby girl.  The moment was so touching and something that I will never forget.  My heart had always felt like it would be a girl, but to hear the lady say it, it made everything so real.  I think within a minute of hearing the sex, Dana started spitting off like 5 different girl names.  It was so cute and funny.  I could tell he was really excited, too.

I can't express the feelings of relief and joy.  My emotions took over from that point on and I have been on a super high.  To see 10 fingers and toes, its just a joy!!  And speaking of fingers and toes, she already takes after her daddy.  It looks like they have the same feet, heehee.  Now, lets just hope hers don't grow to a size 14 like her daddy. 

Since we didn't have time today, we will be spending time on our date night tomorrow to celebrate our little girl by buying a little something special for her.  I'm thinking a little dress and a baby book.  By the advice from a friend, I will try my best not to get too overwhelmed in the baby store.  But, it feels good to start planning for our precious daughter.  Pink baby room, here we come!!

Below is a pic of our baby's profile and my belly at 20 weeks :)

Check out the progress I've made through the months.  Can't wait to see what the next few months have in store.

Another weekend, another addition to our ever-growing garden of trees, flowers, and vegetables.  While I painted the baby room pink and kept everyone fed and happy, along with hanging out with my friend, Dana, who came from LA to visit, my husband seemed to disappear deep into his other world, our backyard.  He claims it was to finally finish up his ongoing project, but seriously, will he ever be DONE?  Doubt it!  As you can see, Rocky has also been hard at work.  He is the one who looks over everything and makes sure daddy doesn't overdue himself.  Aren't my boys just the cutest ever?  Even with all that dirt and grub, you just gotta love 'em!

Anyway, one of the beautiful additions to our backyard has been the flowers that Dana has been adding.  He has been spending many nights researching the best and most beautiful flowers for us to plant and keeps adding them as the days go by.  I have to admit, I was very impressed, for I love flowers!  And, once he found the perfect placement for the flowers and the other plants and trees, he added mulch to perfect the garden's look.  I think he did an amazing job (but don't tell him I said that, or he will keep spending all his days and nights outside and I will never see him again!).  The first pic below is his section specifically for "Native Southern California flowers that draw hummingbirds".

(and keep in mind, this is just the beginning--I can't wait to show you once they all start to grow and bloom like crazy)

The next pic is of the other side of the garden where I got to help pic out flowers I liked.  They are so colorful and beautiful...and yes, that is a big rose bush with a ton of roses on it!  Gorgeous!)

Dana also added more vegatables to the back.  He made a seperate box to plant onions and a mix of lettuce, making sure the slugs don't get in to ruin our fresh food.  Oh, and exciting veggie update; We ate two zuchinis fresh from the garden for dinner last night.  Boy were they tastey.  :)  Here is our new mixed greens box:

Be on the look out for our next house update, I will be revealing the before and after of our bedroom.  It has finally been completed, now I just need to take the pics.

We finally have pictures of yet another room that we have worked hard to decorate since we have moved in.  We are excited to show you our bedroom!  It was actually the very first room that we painted and started working on, and now it is complete.  Here is the before picture:

Not really much to see....but we did alot.  After painting, we also put in new windows and bllinds.  We tore out the closet doors and replaced them with curtains, new light and outlet plates, then all our furnishings and decor.  And, here is the end result:

Dana and I couldn't be any happier with how everything turned out.  We worked hard together to get it to this point and now we love our new bedroom!  :)

Here is a general picture of what is going on at 21 weeks:  You can see the baby is so close to being fully developed

Today I had a check up with my regular midwife.  We went over the results from the ultrasound, listened to the baby's heartbeat and went over any questions that I had.  First, we did a weigh in.  I have now gained 4 pounds overall, which I am no longer worried about.  The doc said that was very healthy and there is nothing to worry about.  It was good to hear it from her.  She looked over the ultrasound results and everything was normal, normal, normal.  Good, good, good!  She did say, however, that my baby measured to be about 3-4 days different than what we originally thought.  So, she moved my due date from November 26th to November 30th. 

Other than then my doctore check up, we do have other exciting news.  Yesterday morning while we were still laying in bed, I started to feel the baby kick.  While I have been feeling the kicking for a while, I wasn't sure how long I was going to have to wait until Dana could feel it.  But, in the morning, I put my hand on my belly and felt it from the outside.  I immediately grabbed Dana's hand and rested it in the same place.  Sure enough, about a minute later, he felt the kick.  But, nothing more after that.  Then, last night, she was moving around more than I have ever felt before.  I rested Dana's hand on my belly for about 10 mintues and he could feel all the movements and commotion that I could feel.  It was such an amazing moment that we got to share.  I think it made Dana very proud and excited, for it did for me.

So, after weekened upon weekend of working on the house, I was finally able to convince Dana to get away for the day and enjoy the hot summer weather.  Being that we live east a few miles from the beach, the temperature is almost 10 degrees hotter than near the ocean.  This last week was filled with some pretty hot days, reaching the 90's.  So, what better to do than to cool off with the ocean breeze and catch some rays.  We spent the day in Pacific Beach for some much needed fun, together time.

We ran a couple erronds, treated ourselves to some acai bowls, then layed at the beach and people watched.  We ironically sat right next to another couple who were expecting, but it looked like the other girl was further along than I was.  We wanted to find a good way to strike up a pregnancy conversation, but never did...so we just kept to ourselves and played the guessing game "How old do you think they are?  How far along do you think she is?, etc."  You know, all the things you wonder, but you maybe shouldn't ask.  :)

Anyway, since we were in our old stomping grounds, we wanted to take as much advantage of it as we could.  We ate at one of our favorite lunch spots, Cass Street Bar and Grill, where we both got their infamous stuffed baguettes.  We parted ways so that I could meet with my girlfriend, Jennafer of Jennafer Grace Clothing, and we could go shopping.  I've been on a lookout for comfy maxi dresses that my belly will allow me to grow in to this summer.  And, while we were on our shopping adventures, Dana met up with Jennafer's boyfriend, Jack, for a nice cold beer.  We rounded out the day with an ice cream treat at Mr. Frostie's, compliments and Jennafer and Jack.

It was a perfect day, and so much fun!!  After our fun-filled Saturday, though, apparently my body couldn't handle much more so I spent Sunday napping and watching TV, while Dana did...well, what do you think he did?  Yup, thats right, he spent the day outside in his garden, cutting away dead branches, adding more vegetables and trees and building his irrigation system (yes, that means that each and every single thing that he has planted has its own water supply set to the desired amount that it needs daily).  I'm telling you, this guy don't mess around.

After Dana had been teasing me for "taking it easy" for the past couple weeks (I beg to differ), I was swept up with a whirlwind of a weekend...but as you will later read, it wasn't all that bad considering it was a lot of quality time with good friends, even though I didn't see Dana all weekend long (and if you ask him, I'm sure he was quite alright with that, as you will see down below).  On Saturday, I spent the day at my friend, Ruth's, bridal shower.  It was so much fun because I have only seen her once since Dana and I got married and I had never been to the house she has been living in with her fiance, Ben.  We caught up like the good ole days and I got to meet all the women in her family, who were all too much fun to be around.  It was a gorgeous day outside, so it was a perfect day to picnic in the backyard and celebrate the soon-to-be nuptials of Ruth and Ben (They are marrying in October).

On Sunday, I was participating in a fashion show that was held by the students at the fashion school that I graduated from.  Check out my blog post about the event if you are interested by clicking here. Two of my designer friends, Jen and Michelle, and myself set up a trunk show to sell our clothing, which was also used in the fashion show.  What better way to sell your pieces than to show what they look like on a model on the runway.  It was held in this gorgeous garden yard of a couple who allowed us to use it for the fashion show.  It turned out so beautiful and I made many connections and possible clients. 

And, as I was out and about being a social butterfly, Dana was....well, can you guess?  You got it, he was working away in the backyard.  He must almost be done by now you ask?  Hahahahaha, yeah right.  While he is working on one thing he is always brainstorming on the next thing because he just doesn't want it to end.  So, he started off the weekend by getting some bird feeders and hanging them in the backyard.  He was anxious to attract some hummingbirds close to his flower gardens, so he set up a hummingbird feeder on the edge of our patio and it didn't take long at all for the birds to find it.  The whole feeder was empty in one day!  We were lucky to catch a couple pics of a bird feeding while we were eating dinner last night, check it out:

And, his big project of the weekend was building a retaining wall in the very back of our yard where he felt that "it would erode very soon", so he went to get some bricks and away he went to put it together.  One thing I really do admire about Dana is that whenever he does projects like this, he really takes his time to make sure that he does it right the first time.  He leveled all of the bricks and made the wall look just perfect!  Here was the end of day one (yesterday), which he actually finished today.

And, yes, he really does wear that hat all the time.  I can't blame him, for it does cover his back and neck and prevent them from getting burned, but my gosh he sure looks ridiculously silly, wouldn't you say?   He sure is turning into an old man pretty quickly.  hahaha. 

After adjusting the days to get on track with my new due date (Nov 30), I am officially 5 months pregnant tomorrow!  It is crazy to think about it because I am now over the half way point...whoa!  Good thing I still have 4 more months because I don't even feel like I am prepared yet, but are you ever really prepared?  Probably not, from what I hear.  Anyway, the pregnancy right now has been going very smoothly.  I still do get sick and spend some time with the porcelein god in the mornings (about 3 days a week), but once I relieve myself of whatever needs to come up, I tend to start feeling better for the rest of the day.  I still have my energy and am pretty active during the day.  I am at the gym 3 days a week and spend the rest of the days walking 2 1/2 miles through our neighborhood with Rocky.

I was excited because while I was working at my friend's boutique last week, a woman asked me if I was expecting.  I was so excited that she asked.  Turns out she was expecting as well, so I'm sure she had babies on her mind.  Many other people have already begun celebrating our little girl as well.  We have received some fun packages in the mail of little onsies, sleepers, blankets, and other clothes.  I was so excited about them that I have already washed and folded them into drawers, getting ready to dress our little girl.  My mom also surprised me with a box filled with things that she kept from when I was a baby, including the outfit I wore home from the hospital and my baby book.  It was so fun to read through the book and see everything my parents did in preparing for my arrival.  One of my favorite things to read was a peice of paper that my dad was writing my mom's contractions on.  The nurse had asked him to write down the time every time my mom had a contraction and my mom included it in the book.  It made me think about how my parents, too, were doing it all for the first time once, and it was with me!  I could tell their excitement was exactly what Dana and I are feeling.  My dad also sent me a package and included a CD that read "listen and enjoy".  At first I didn't know what it was, but when I popped it into my computer I heard a collaboration of recordings of myself when I was little.  The beginning was my crying as a baby, then talking to my dad, then saying my ABC's and 123's.  It was so cute to hear and brought tears to my eyes instantly.  It is hard to believe that both of my parents have held on to these precious things for the last 30 years.

So, a little more about Baby Nevins.  She has been much more active lately.  I've been feeling her kicks much stronger now and more frequently.  Sometimes I can just sit and watch my belly move around while she moves.  I'm not sure that is a feeling I can ever sick of.  I'm pretty sure she's been having some growth spurts as well.  The other day my lower belly was hurting for quite a while.  It wasn't in a way where I was concerned to go see the doctor, but more a feeling of stretching and stabbing.  I did, however, call one of my cousin's to get affirmation that it was ok and normal.  It was bothering me for so long, though, that I thought for sure I was going to balloon over night.  It's hard to tell if one day made a significant difference, but I definitely know she's in there :)

Anyway, here is a pic of my belly at 5 months:

Happy Birthday to my amazing and loving, strong and caring, super terrific husband!  I am looking forward to spending today with you, hoping it is everything you wish for it to be.  You deserve the best, I love you!!!!!!

If you don't already know, Dana's 33rd birthday was on July 28th (Wednesday).  Rather than buy each other gifts (although I can't resist getting him something), we like to celebrate our birthdays together and try to get away.  Since we planned a whole weekend getaway for our anniversary (next weekend), we didn't want to do anything that involved traveling.  But, Dana left the planning to me.  My planning went well because we had an amazing two days together.  We woke up yesterday started the day off with a family walk and opening gifts.  Rocky gave his daddy his card first, which you can see if you are on facebook  here.  They had a good time opening it together and daddy was quite impressed with Rocky's hard work of finding that card for him.

We then dropped Rocky off at his friend, Frito's house, where Frito's dad, John, watched Rocky for the night.  We took off to go downtown where we had a room at Se Hotel booked for the night.  We dropped our luggage off and took a walk around to get lunch and enjoy the day.  We never go downtown because traffic and parking is always a hassle, so not having to worry about driving made it such a nice adventure, and so relaxing.  We ate lunch at Neighborhood, which is known to have a great beer selection (something Dana was really looking forward to).  Dana got his birthday beer and burger (and I ate, too, of course), then we walked over to Heavenly Cupcake for birthday cupcakes.

Once we got back to the hotel, we unpacked and checked out our room.  Surprisingly, we got a room on the 15th floor, which was amazing!  We were looking over all of downtown and got such a view!  Here we are right when we got there:

(By the way, I'll have to apologize for all the pics, but I was a bit snap happy)

Anyway, we enjoyed the pool for a few hours before the sun went down.  Dana also enjoyed a few poolside cocktails, as you can see. 

We then got ready for dinner, which we had in the restaurant in the hotel named Suite and Tender.  We definitely didn't restrict ourselves from anything, for we had a starter salad, our entrees, and two desserts. 

And, check out the view from our balcony when we got back from dinner!  This really is from my camera.

We then ended the trip by enjoying a walk down 5th Ave this morning, where we had breakfast at Mary Jane's, which Dana was super excited to get their Corned Beef Hash that he said was simply amazing.

It was a fantastic two day adventure that I am so happy that we got to do.  We realize that in just a few months we will have far less opportunities to do things like this together, so we are so glad we get to squeeze them in now.  And, I actually don't think Rocky minded his sleepover very much either.  He seemed very happy and well taken care of while we were away....although, he sure was happy to see us today.

Dana and I had a busy weekend away from the house, but we surely couldn't allow ourselves to leave without doing a little housework.  Dana did the usual plant and tree watering and catering to his garden as I cleaned, cooked, and organized.   On top of that though, we painted the last room in the house that needed our little special touch.  We were sick of looking at the wood paneling in our extra room and decided enough was enough.  Dana set out to find some suitable paint and away we went.  It is hard to believe how much of a difference the paint made, and it turned out really nice painting over the paneling.  Once we get carpet and furniture you'll see what I mean.  Dana and I were very happy with the end result.

So once we finished up with our painting project, we decided to treat ourselves to some fun with friends and family.  We started out on Saturday by attending our friend, Jack's birthday party, hosted by his girlfriend, Jennafer and her wonderful family.  We had a great time hanging out and making friends.  For the occasion, I handed down my favorite lion piece from my lion collection to Jack, who is a Leo and also loved this special piece.  After moving to our new house, I had no place for it and had a hard time parting with it.  But, I knew someone who would appreciate it possibly even more than myself and so I gave it to him as gift.  He was extremely stoked about it and showed much gratitude for it.  It definitely made me feel good and I knew I made the right choice by giving it to him.

We also fell in love with a new band, Little Hurricane, which played a set while we were there.  Celeste and Anthony, of Little Hurricane, met just less than a year ago and already they are a huge hit in San Diego.  After hearing them play, we knew exactly why.  They are a super dynamic duo. (The guy to the left was an addition just for the night.  He was a friend who joined the group just for Jack's party)

On Sunday, we were excited to see many people that we haven't seen in a long time.  We started off by driving up to Oceanside (about 45 min. North) to see Dana's Aunt Jean and cousin, Amy.  They are family who live in New Mexico, but frequent San Diego so I have had the opportunity to become very close to them.  I get so excited every time I hear they are in town.  As soon as Amy and I get together I just can't seem to stop talking.  While blabbing and catching up, the four of us walked on the beach, got some food at the food stands, and took a walk along the pier.

And, lucky for us, we will be blessed with their presence again this week when they come over to see our house and have dinner.  This time Dana's other cousin, Jessica, will be joining us (she doesn't fly in until today).  It will be so great to catch up with Jessica and show them all our new house.  :)

After meeting them on Sunday, we wrapped up our day by driving south just a few miles to visit with our friends, Jen and Carlos.  We checked out their new apartment and got to meet their new dog, Elvis (whom I completely fell in love with--he's adorable!!).  Then we went to Pizza Port, a well-known pizza place that brews their own infamous Microbrews.  Dana fell in love with this place the first time we went there a while back and just couldn't stop thinking about it since then.  So, we finally arranged plans to go there and eat.  And, now I remember why he loved it so much.  Yummy!  Although I couldn't try any of their beers (which Dana can atest to being very delicious), the pizza was also made to perfection.  Here's Dana and Los showing off the menu:

Now comes a busy week of entertaining, working hard, and gearing up for next weekend--Our One Year Anniversary!!!  :)

Dana, Rocky, and I just got back from our one year anniversary vacation at Catalina Island.  It was such a nice and relaxing weekend spent together as a family and for such a great celebration.  I still can't believe one year has already arrived, it seems like it has just begun!  For those of you who aren't familiar with Catalina Island, here is a map to show you where we were.

We drove up to Dana Point on Saturday to catch the noon ferry over to Catalina.  Dana and I sat on top of the boat, outside, thinking we got the best seats in the house, but once we began the journey we quickly realized that while the sight was beautiful, the wind made for a very chilly ride.  Regardless, we were really happy with our seats because we were hoping to see some dolphins or whales, but no such luck (although, we did see dolphins on our way home--so cool!).  Here we are on the boat, just arriving to the island.

Once we got to the island, it was time to unload and check out the town.  Alot of what Catalina has to do is walking around the town and boardwalk, eating good food, and checking out the cute little shops.  Being that we had Rocky with us, we had to be creative in how we would manage our time so that he wasn't couped up in our room the whole time.  The weather was perfect, warm enough for tank tops and shorts, but not too hot to enjoy a nice walk.  We toured the town on foot most of the time.

We also took advantage of all the great food.  They had a great array of different restaurants, considering it was such a small town, and ice cream shops on every corner.  Dana and I thought it would be a good idea to treat ourselves to ice cream after every meal, but we ended up eating too much to even fit any room for the good stuff...so we only had ice cream twice on our trip, and ended it with a couple carmeled apple treats.  Yummy!  You can see below why we didn't have room for dessert on our first night.

Sunday was our official anniversary day, so we planned a whole day of celebration.  We started it off with a long morning walk with our little furry son, Rocky, stopping to squeeze in half a game of mini-golf.  We had to leave after hole 9 for we then had an appointment for a couple's massage at our hotel.  We were pampered with facials and massages which made us both so relaxed and rejuvenated.  Carrying on with our relaxed energy, we went back to our rooms and grabbed the gifts that we got each other and a part of our wedding cake that my mom froze and sent to us for our anniversary.  We were excited to carry on the tradition of eating some of your wedding cake on your one year anniversary to bring us good luck and happiness for all the years to follow.  We all hung out in our hotel's courtyard and dove in to the cake.

The cake was actually in the tupperware bowl you see us eating from (we couldn't get it out)...and the hotel had no utensils, so we have to use our hands.  It made the memory that much more fun.  :)  To our surprise, the cake wasn't bad at all.  Still tasted like it did that day, except the fondant was a little gooey, so we had to work around it.  After getting a few good bites out of the cake, we exchanged gifts, which we decided to keep traditional.  The One Year Anniversary Gift theme is Paper.  Being such a broad theme, it was interesting to see how differently we thought.  I chose to paint a watercolor hummingbird painting for Dana and framed it with a personal message on back of the frame for him.  Dana bought me a blank cookbook which gives me spaces to save all of our favorite recipes.  I love it!

After exchanging our gifts, we really wanted to go on a guided bus tour around the city of Avalon (the main city on the island) to learn more about the history of the town and get a better idea of what it all had to offer.  Not sure we got what we wanted out of the tour, but it was fun to ride around together and see the different sites that we missed on foot.

We ended our night by eating dinner at Steve's Steakhouse, which we both thoroughly enjoyed.  The service was fabulous and we got the best seats in the house, overlooking the water with a window seat.  We both loved our food, we had great conversations, then finished the night off with a walk through town to find the best ice cream around :)

We have so many memories and good pictures to share from our weekend, but I don't want to ramble on in our blog, so feel free to check out the album from our trip to check out all our adventures.  Click here to see all the pictures.

While we left for the weekend for our One Year Wedding Anniversary , we had to leave the house and garden unattended.  You know it had to be driving Dana nuts to know that his trees, veggies, and grass couldn't get watered.  At the same time, I think we were both excited to see what could all grow in the three days that we were gone.  As soon as we got back, we unpacked then headed out to the garden to see what we could find.  Here are all the veggies we were able to harvest, what a collection!

Our pomegranite tree is just about ready for some harvested fruits (we picked one just to check), we had plenty of pickling cucumbers, yellow zucchini, green zucchini, mexican zucchinis, butternut squash, yellow crookneck squash, green peppers, and a few tomatoes.  It was a perfect array of veggies to make an assorted veggie dish for dinner last night (for we really needed to cleanse our bodies of all the naughty food we ate on vacation). 

To see all of our past garden stories, you can go here.

I had my 4 week check up today, which is my opportunity to hear our little girl's heartbeat and make sure that my body is treating her good, giving her everything she needs.  As I am always hoping, everything was good and well.  Blood pressure was good, fetal movement is good, heartbeat is in the 140's...and, After a long weekend of eating tons, I was not surprised to see that I gained 6 lbs from last month.  So, now I am totally a 10 lb weight gain.  Before I went in, Dana said to me that he could see my belly has gotten so big that it has to weigh about 10 lbs...well, I guess he was right :)  I am also feeling stronger movements from our little girl.  Her kicks and jabs are much more obvious and some days I can feel her all day long.  I think Rocky is starting to feel them, too, although, they aren't strong enough to get him to move away.  He still likes sleeping right next to her.  Hopefully that means they will be best friends when she actually arrives :)

It is fun having a noticeable belly now because it has striked up conversations from many mothers.  I enjoy hearing the different experiences that all mothers have through this whole process.  Here is a picture of me and my baby belly over the weekend:

Other than the baby in my belly, I am still anxiously awaiting the arrival of our crib.  We should be getting it at the end of the month.  Once it is here, I will put the rest of her room together.  I am starting to get a little impatient for I have almost everything I plan to use to decorate.  I think once it is put together it is going to look so beautiful!  Our little girl is just going to love it, well, I am going to love it for her.  I realize it really won't make much of a difference to her. 

I am also getting really excited because in less than a month, I will be traveling back to Wisconsin to see my family and celebrate the baby with a baby shower at my mom's house.  The baby will get to hear her grandma and grandpa's voices so she can recognize them when they come to visit when she arrives.  My friend, Elizabeth, is also throwing me a shower here in San Diego two weeks after that to celebrate this little girl with all of my friends.  After sending out the evite, I have been excited to see all the girls that will be showing up...through this whole pregnancy process I haven't seen many of my friends, so it will be so nice to get them all together at once place to hang out for the day.

Lastly, in just two short weeks I will officially be 6 months pregnant and getting in to my third trimester.  Can you believe it?  The time is going by so fast!!  And in just about 3 short months, baby will be here!  Whoa!  I feel like there is so much to do to prepare us for being parents and yet the time is approaching so quickly...

Now that my computer is back on track, I can blog again!  Trying to maneuver Dana's Mac was driving me crazy, so all I managed to do was keep my emails in order.  Oh, how I missed my PC :)  Anyway, our weekends of doing whatever comes up are long gone, for we are booked up all the way until the baby comes.  Not that we are complaining because everything going on is all fun and spending time with friends and family.  Last weekend was no different.  We planned a Saturday with friends, Victor and Rhaylene, who invited us to a fashion show luncheon called "Haute with Heart" which they contributed to.  It was an event put on by St. Madeleine Sophie's Center, which is "a unique organization that helps adults with develop-mental disabilities find a way of life that makes a world of difference".  They had a huge silent auction, opportunity drawings, a delicious lunch (I'm pretty sure dessert was Dana's favorite part), and a fashion show.  The best part of it all was that we finally got to spend some time with friends that we have been trying toget together with for some time.  Among many other conversations, they were filling me in on their life experiences with a 7 year old daughter.  Boy, do we have a lot to look forward to ;)

After our luncheon event, Dana and I finally got the word that our crib was in and we were able to go and pick it up.  I was so excited because that meant I could also work on putting the baby's room together.  Dana assembled the crib (thanks, my love) and I started decorating the walls.  It is coming together exactly how I wanted, but I still have a few more things I need to add to the wall and figure out what type of curtain I want to hang for the closet.  It is so close and looking so good!

Next week I will be leaving my hubby and taking off for Santa Barbara for my friend, Jen's bachelorette party....who can complain about a girl's weekend hanging out by the pool all weekend?  It will be a perfect weekend for Dana to spend in his personal oasis (maybe I'll come home to some newly grown veggies :)

Last week, Dana and I were excited to see our good old friends, Megan and Chris.  Megan is a really good friend of mine who moved from San Diego to Washington the day that Dana and I got married.  So, it had been over a year since we last saw them.  Saying good-bye to close friends is never easy, but reuniting with them is always the best feeling.  We were excited to show them our new house and have them over for dinner, which we combined with celebrating Megan's birthday (since it was going to be the following Saturday).  We started the night off grilling chicken (for me) and steaks for them.  Megan and I made a delicious caprese salad all made from fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden, and we added a baked potato to round out the meal.  To Megan's surprise, we also had her favorite, Banana Cream Pie, which we special ordered for the occasion.  We ate pie, opened a birthday gift, and talked til the bugs started biting (yes, we have been getting bit by the pesky mosquitos).  They spent the night, testing out our new pull out couch and we awoke in the morning eating my special breakfast--pancakes with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, maple syrup and whipped cream.  Yes, it is a bit naughty, but I think our visitors always enjoy it (and if they don't, I know Dana does).

Once the weekend rolled around, I left Dana and was Santa Barbara bound.  Leaving early Friday morning, 2 girls (Jen and Normandy) and myself hopped in a car and headed to SB for my friend, Jen's bachelorette party.  We made a pit stop in LA to pick up one of my closest friend's, Brooke, whose brother let us use his pride and joy, a '73 Cutlass Convertible, to ride in style up the coast to Santa Barbara.  It was a bit chilly on the way there, but we were lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day on the way home to keep the top down and let our hair blow in the wind Thelma and Louise style.  Our weekend away was much needed by all of us and very thoroughly enjoyed.  We lounged by the pool, ate good food, played fun games, and giggled 'til our cheeks couldn't take it any more.  Twelve girls made the trip, traveling everywhere from Washington, to Lodi, to New York, to San Diego.  We all left feeling like we had made great friends and are all looking forward to reunite for the wedding.  We did our best to pamper Jen and make her feel special, and based on the big smile on her face, I think we accomplished our job. 

So it is official, I am now 6 months on the dot, meaning I am now entering into my third trimester.  Can you believe it?  I can't either!!  Whoa!  The days of waiting around are now over and it is preparation time.  Once the crib arrived and was put together, I worked hard at getting the baby decorated exactly the way I wanted. 

The pregnancy itself has been going very well.  On most days it is really even hard for me to believe that I am pregnant because I have been feeling so good and really do almost everything that I did before I got pregnant.  The only daily reminder is feeling the kicks and flutters inside.  I switched to taking my vitamins at night, which seems to have helped in my not getting sick anymore, its been about 2 weeks now that I haven't had to run to the bathroom because I thought i was going to lose it. 

This little baby has already been getting spoiled, especially by all of her grandparents.  She's gotten everything from clothes and toys to all the essentials, including our new stroller (thanks Mom and Dad Nevins for the stroller).  It makes us feel so special to know that although we are so far away, everyone is thinking about us during this special time.  And, in just a week and 2 days I will be headed on a plane ride to Milwaukee to begin the baby festivities, where my mom is throwing me a baby shower.  The time is approaching so quickly and I just am so excited! 

Here is a picture of my 6 month baby bump:

And, as of right now, the baby is suppose to be about 2 1/2 pounds.  It's hard to imagine what that would be like, but I just keep thinking about my little boy when we first got him.  Rocky weighed in at 2 1/2 pounds as a pup....I have a little Rocky in my belly :)

This last Wednesday, Dana had his dreaded appointment to get his top wisdom teeth pulled.  It is an appointment that he kept putting off until his dentist gave him a deadline and said he had to make his appointment before Labor Day (and he said this months ago!).  He was very nervous, thinking about every horrible possibility.  I tried my best to encourage him to get it over with and think about the possibilities of it going reallly well.  I dropped him off at the dentist at 3 where I was told it would take 45 minutes, but received a phone call an hour later only to tell me that they were only able to get the one tooth out and he has to come back to get the other.  Not the news that either of us were hoping for.  I hung out with him while he was in the dentist's chair, waiting for the ok to leave...then we were on our way back home, where Dana filled me in with the torture he endured for the entire hour.  He came home and landed directly on the couch, where Rocky immediately jumped on him and started trying to lick his face (he must've known Dana was in a lot of pain there).  And, Rocky wouldn't leave his side the whole rest of the day.  I think that is just what Dana needed to help him get through this experience.  Here they are together:

I can also report that it has been two whole days now and Dana is still couped up on the couch, trying hard not to take his pain meds.  His cheek is swollen and he is doing whatever he can to get through the day.  I've been trying my best to find different ways to comfort him and keep him fed and hydrated, but he can barely put anything in his mouth...my poor guy!  I hope he's almost at the end of feeling so bad, I miss dinner time with my love.

After a long awaited time, I am finally able to post pictures of our living room.  Here is the before picture, just to remind you what we were working with:

And, here is the after, looking at it from each corner of the room:

I am finally ready to show off the baby's room.  I hope you like it as much as I do because I think it turned out just beautifullly!!  It is the vision I had, reflecting my personal style perfectly.  I don't have a before picture to show, but I don't think you need it so see what I did to the room.  The room is a bit small, so it was hard for me to get full views, but this picture is the angle from the doorway as you walk in:

And, this is the wall opposite of the crib:

I made the framed butterfly pictures myself, along with the butterfly collage on the wall.  I applied gold butterfly decals and then attached other butterflies in between for the 3 dimensional effect.  I combined some gold branches and butterflies together for the valance above the window, which turned out great, then added a vase on the dresser with some fake orchids, butterflies in branches, and a light up cherry blossom that I got for a gift from my friend, Megan.  So, what do you think?