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. 

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!

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.

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!

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 ;) )

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! )

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...

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.

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