O Christmas Tree

 This year we decided to go cut our own Christmas tree.  It was fun, but we didn't really have the best to pick from because we waiting about a week too long to go get it.  Oh well, we still found one that was ok so we started sawing!  Well...  we didn't start, Shawn sawed, Ellie held the tree, and I took photos. 

Here is a family photo of the three of us at the tree farm.

Here is the tree set up in our home and Shawn beginning to decorate it. 

 Adding the star to the top...

 The finished product!

Half Baked

Our little fetus is half way done cooking inside the womb!  Shawn and I have both been able to feel the little guy kicking around, and we are working on picking out names for him.  Yep, we've found out it's a boy - proof is in the photo! 

Here is a photo of my growing belly.  I think at this point it's cute - if I had it my way we would stop growing right about now.  Before the stretch marks, the awkward wobbly walk, and the sore back.  Ha ha ha...

Christmas Lights

Shawn and I spent our Saturday afternoon hanging up Christmas lights for our first Christmas together.  It was fun, and we are so happy to have a house to hang them on! 

 Looking good!

San Francisco Girls Trip

Last weekend three of my best girlfriends from high school and myself went to San Francisco for a quick weekend getaway.  It had been years since we had all four been together hanging out with no kids, families or other obligations and it was SO much fun!  We packed our weekend full of seeing all of the best things San Fran had to offer. 

Get ready for a boat load of photos!

Here is the wonderful view from our hotel room.  That's Alcatraz Island in the far left distance.

 Here is Tara and Rushell as we wait for our "F Train" to take us to our tour of Alcatraz.

 And there comes our train!  They use old cable cars from all over for these trains.  Pretty cool!

 On our boat to Alcatraz.  Check out those birds.  There were tons that followed us on our boat ride.

 And here I am with my tour map covering my head - I was SO afraid of getting pooped on!

 Here is a photo of the four of us on our boat.  Left to Right, Tara, Annie, Me, and Rushell.

 For some reason I am very excited to be locked up.  It was actually pretty creepy in there, but I was doing a great job of faking it.  :)

 Here is a shot of one of the cells.  I was surprised at how tiny and cramped they were.

 View of the jail from outside.

 Walking along the piers on our way to Fisherman's Wharf, we came across this street performer.  I stopped to ask him if I could take a picture with him and he gave me a nice little lollipop.  As we posed for a photo, he wanted me to kiss him.  (I'm still not sure if he really wanted a kiss, but it was hilarious none the less)

 Here he is going in for the kill, and I'm trying to figure out if he was actually going to kiss me.  I was cracking up and screaming all at the same time. 

 Here comes the screaming part.  People were all cracking up watching this unfold around them. 

 Here are the four of us at Fisherman's Wharf

 Rushell and I at Kara's Cupcakes.  We bought some, and they were sooooo good.

 Here we are at the Ghiradelli chocolate factory and store.  We stopped there for an ice cream sundae and it was delicious!

 Here is a ginormous hill we walked up because we were too cheap to pay for transportation.  We only had to walk about 5 blocks so we thought it would be easy, but we didn't know the 5 blocks would all be straight up hill.  At this point we're only about 2 blocks in.  But it's a cool shot looking down at Alcatraz below.

 This is the next house Shawn and I are going to buy.  Ha ha... it's right on Lombard Street (the crooked-est street in the world) and I totally fell in love, so cute!

 Here is Lombard Street from the bottom. (Yes, after walking uphill 5 blocks to get there, we then walked up and down Lombard Street.)

 Here I am in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was such a beautiful sight and the weather was gorgeous that day - we really lucked out. 

 The bridge as the sun was setting.

Happy Halloween!

We carved pumpkins this year, and we made the mistake of getting three huge pumpkins to carve.  It was a ton of work, there was so much pumpkin guts in them!  Here is a photo of Shawn and Ellie just getting started.

 Here are the three of us with our finished products.  They turned out pretty good!

 Happy Halloween Everybody!!!

Thirty

I guess turning 30 wasn't so horrible...  I'd been dreading it for about 30 years and I survived it without any major battle wounds.  Shawn invited a bunch of people over for cake and festivities, and it was fun to see all of the people that came.  He also made me a cake and decorated it all on his own!  My husband is so nice to me...  :) 

And of course there was a ton of Wii playing going on that evening.  What would be a good get-to-gether without come competitive Wii action?

Greenbluff Fall Festival

Each weekend in October the farming community of Greenbluff hosts it's fall festival.  We just had to go up and be a part of the festivities.  We ate some fresh hot pumpkin doughnuts, picked out our fall pumpkins, and enjoyed the unseasonal temperature of 80 degrees!  It was a beautiful day.  Here are my people resting on a straw bale. 

 Shawn eating a yummy pumpkin doughnut.

 The family

 Here's Shawn hauling away all of our pumpkins we purchased!  We are really looking forward to carving them to display by our door this year.  It's our first time with trick-or-treaters in our new home! 

Sweet 16

Ellie turned sweet 16 a couple of weeks ago (I'm late on the blogging) and she went down to get her license that day right after school.  She was so happy to have passed and now she's an independent woman driving all over town!  Here is a photo of her and her dad at her birthday party. 

And a picture of her super cool cake!  A family friend made it for her, and it was so tasty too!

The baby in the baby carriage!

Yep, Shawn and I are expecting a little baby!!!  I made some cute little cinnamon buns to bring in to work today.  Check out the cute little tags on the toothpicks! 

We are due on April 19th, so I'm about 3 months along so far.  We could not be more excited!

First comes love...

I'm sure most of you can remember the ending to this little rhyme, but I can't seem to! 

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes.... 

How does it go - what comes next???

:)

Shawn's Best Friend

Shawn's pup Nick passed away yesterday - he was 16 years old.  (That's like 112 in human years!)

Nick was an amazing dog.  Those who know me well know that I am NOT a dog person.  I haven't ever come across a dog that I really tolerated, let alone liked.  I liked Nick right away.  He was quiet, calm, and so nice - he never barked, jumped on me, licked me, or did any of the other gross dog things.  He just hung out and liked to be pet and taken for walks. 

I only knew Nick for the past 5 years, but Shawn brought him home 16 years ago.  Nick was there through Shawn's divorce, through raising a daughter, through job changes, moves, and life for one and a half decades.  Ellie doesn't know life without Nick.  I remember when Shawn and I were dating and he talked about how when he was single for so many years Nick was his only companion;  he was his best friend. 

Nick's health hadn't been great for about a year, and he took a bad turn yesterday.  Shawn had to make the unthinkable decision to put him down and it was horrible to see my husband so heartbroken losing his long-time friend.  We know now that he's in doggie heaven running for hours just like he did in his youth.  Rest in peace Nick.