Beachy Keen

Last weekend was weekend #3 of staying in Aptos. Rob had a meeting and the house was available so we were able to stay again. This time we were with the Beiers, Evans, and Jesslie (Jesse and Leslie – they’re like celebrities and stuff). Out of the past three weekends, this weekend’s weather was the best.




We got take out from Village Host – enough to feed about 25 people, and went to the store to get necessities such as ice cream, cookie dough, red bull, wine and eggs. After dinner we broke out the games. None of the girls wanted to play Trivial Pursuit because it’s boring, so we decided to play it first to get it out of the way. This wasn’t the 80’s or pop edition – it was straight up Trivial Pursuit. I knew 1 answer for the entire game – including answers for the opponent’s questions. My correct question didn’t even give us a point, because we, including me, decided that Boar was not the male name for a pig but the Hog is. Wrong! Oh well.

The winners were Rob and Brian Rob, Brian, Maryanne and myself. Gooooo team! We kicked boo-tay.



This is what losing looks like: Jesslie and Dorothy. Aren’t they cute though?



Keith got a work call and had to sit this game out. Between working and talking to people on the phone he would shout out over “what is the question?” He was there playing with us in spirit.



After Trivial Pursuit, we move on to Catchprase and then Cranium. By the time we got to Cranium, we were all a little gamed out. I think you’ll understand by this picture.



And this picture…



Ok, maybe I was the only one who was having ADD and was over it.

What’s a blog post without some Buddy?






Everyone left soon after they woke up (noon) and after eating some breakfast first, of course.



Thanks everyone for such a fun weekend!

Gaballah Shower

Today Rob and I went to Sarah and Mike's co-ed baby shower. I was in charge of picking up the gift. I went to babies r us one day during my lunch hour and was bummed to find out someone bought the gift we wanted to buy. I found some goodies in the store and brought them up to the register when I realized I didn't buy a gift bag. I told the lady I would be right back to grab a bag - there was no one behind me so I thought it was no big deal.

I was trying to rush to grab a bag because I needed to get back to the office. Truth is I don't really have a "lunch hour." I sit and eat lunch at my desk every day because I want to utilize all my time to work when I'm physically in the office because I leave early to beat traffic on the way home. So I'm in the bag section about to grab this cute pink bag when I thought "she is having a girl, EVERYONE is going to grab one of the three large sized cute baby girl bags so I'm not going to grab the bag that screams girly girl." Nope, I had to be different. So I was looking around and saw one that was cute that was gender neutral. It had yellows, greens and blues. Yeah blue is typically boy, but this bag didn't didn't seem boyish to me.

So I get to the register, pay and walk out the door reviewing the receipt. There is a line item that says Baby Boy. Huh? I'm halfway to my car at this point and look in my bag to look at the gift bag in greater detail. Yup, clear as day it said "Baby Boy". Large. In glitter. My first thought was, I can't believe the person at the register didn't say anything. Hello, everthing I bought was pink! Maybe she was thinking "how clever, she is trying to be different with buying a BOY bag!" Yeah, I'm kind of a blame shifter. Hmph.

You can bet that I was going to be the ONLY person with this bag at the shower and that was my main goal, right? Well, I decided that I didn't want to be "that girl" who comes in the shower with a boy bag and people whispering to each other "oh my gosh - she thinks Sarah is having a boy!"



In the end, I was able to find a bag at home to put the gift in and save this boy bag for another day. Oh, and I left it in the garage. Yeah, I didn't even bring it. So what's worse: showing up with a boy bag to a baby girl shower, or show up with nothing at all? The plan is to meet up with them next weekend and finally present them with the gift. To be continued...

Carla Corinne Navone

Michael, Kathy and Carla Navone

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our niece Carla. Carla Corinne was born yesterday at 4:36 pm weighing 7lb 7 ozs and 21 inches long. Rob and I visited Carla, Michael and Kathy last night and Carla is such a cutie. She slept most of the time we were there, waking a little bit every now and then with a little cry.

Words of advice from mom: "The key is to get the epidural as soon as you get to the hospital!" I will definately keep this in mind!

All in all it sounded like things progressed pretty quickly. Kathy pushed for about 30 minutes before Carla arrived. Congratulations!


Auntie Lyssa with Carla


Uncle Rob with Carla

Flashback Friday

July 2007 – Sedona, Arizona

Rob and I had been to Arizona a few times, but we had never been to Sedona. We heard the red rocks were something you just had to see at some point in your life and we wanted to see what the fuss was all about. We planned a weekend trip to Sedona in July 2007. It just so happened to be just after our first niece, Gracie, was born and right after our own new arrival: Buddy.

We only had Buddy for about 3-4 weeks at this point and everything was still hard and new with him. The morning of our flight, I took Buddy out to go potty. Going potty in the morning in the early days was a process. It could take up to 30 minutes for the little guy to go #1. I think we were just trying to get a schedule down with him plus he really liked to be outside so I think he held it as long as he could because going potty meant we go back inside. FINALLY the little guy went and I went back inside. Rob was saying “we aren’t going to make the flight” and I kept saying “no, we’ll be fine, the airport is 1 exit down from where we live, calm down.”

So we get to the airport and the first time out of ~30 years of flying out of this airport, I see the line to get through security was so long it was inside the PARKING GARAGE. This is at the San Jose International Airport so anyone who knows the airport knows this is just ridiculous. So we told the security lady our flight was leaving in twenty minutes and could we please go to the front and she said nope. So we finally get to the gate and the plane is still there but the guy or gal, can’t remember, told us it was too late because the door was closed – apparently he didn’t want to open it. Luckily for us, there was a flight leaving in the next 45 minutes and they got us on that flight with no charge. We finally were able to breathe and relax a little.

So we finally get to AZ, rent our car and were on our way. I think the ride to Sedona from Phoenix was around 2-3 hours. There wasn’t much to look at for most of the drive so we kept ourselves entertained by looking at the weird street signs in the middle of the desert. They were streets called “Ox’s Blood Way” and things like that. Totally random. I also kept myself busy by taking portraits of myself.



Once we started getting near Sedona, we started to get a taste of red rock country – it was really pretty. At last we saw signs for the Enchantment Resort. I found this place on an Arizona message board. I told my friend Lyn about it and she said she saw this place on the Travel and Leisure world best hotels list online so this made me feel better – I was a little nervous as the pictures online were limited. The hotel is a couple miles off the main road which was kind of scary but when we pulled up it was just beautiful. The resort was in the middle of canyons of red rock. We requested the room travel and leisure said was the best room with a view and even the concierge said we got the best room – woohoo! The room was cute – it had a southwest vibe to it:








This was our view:





That night we ate at the more casual restaurant on-site and ate outside to take in the views:





The next morning we had room service breakfast out on the patio.



After breakfast the next morning, we both took a yoga stretch class together. It was fun to take a class like that with Rob. Something tells me it’s the last time that will ever happen.

After we got ready for the day, we went to the gift shop to pick up some souvenirs then went to the front desk to see about getting a jeep tour of the red rocks. We were able to get a ride with just us two and the tour guide. I was a little nervous on the ride – sometimes I felt like the jeep was vertical but it was really fun.





Rob with Willie Nelson our tour guide.



Rob and I



Rob's mom told us about a beautiful church in Sedona that we had to see so after our tour, we set out to see the church. We then went to downtown Sedona for lunch and shopping.






When we got back, before dinner, I had one of the best massages I’ve ever had complete with the sound of rain on the glass roof top. Yes, it rained every now and then while we were there. We were told it was normal for that time of year.

That night we went to the nicer restaurant at the hotel and enjoyed a yummy dinner. After dinner we looked at the stars with some guy who had some expertise about the subject – sorry I don’t remember the details. He had a massive telescope and I think he worked for Nasa at some point, or something.

The next morning we went to the breakfast buffet which was held at the fancy restaurant and enjoyed our last meal in Sedona. We were only there for 2 nights but we managed to squeeze in a lot of activities and R&R. I still think about the trip with fond memories and would love to go back someday.

Living Room - Before and After

There are some rooms and/or walls in our house that I'm not in love with. Mostly because we haven't had the time or funds to purchase a neat piece of art or enlarge scenic pictures from our honeymoon to put on the blank walls or it's something that I just can't put my finger on. On the other hand there are walls and rooms that I love. Let's just say it's all a work in progress.

Our living room was one of our rooms that I wasn't in love with. I wanted to put a picture of the Colosseum that we took in Rome over the fire place, I also wanted to paint the walls. Then there was the furniture. I liked the furniture, but I felt like the furniture was sooooo spread out. Each couch and chair was up against a wall. It wasn't very cozy until a week ago when I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I wanted to see what it would look like to scrunch everything together and I have to say I love how it turned out. I love the room 83% more than I did before this change and I didn't spend 1 dime. I think I even managed to burn 50 calories moving all the furniture.

Before





After

Buddy's Blankies

In the last few weeks, Buddy ONLY sits on blankets on the couch. Some of these pictures were taken on the same day but most are from different days.