Sunday, November 20, 2011
32 Weeks
It's hard to believe that I have now made it to 32 weeks in my pregnancy. Time has gone by so fast, and I know the last 8 weeks will go by even faster with the holidays approaching. We still have a little bit of work to do on the house to get it ready for Grayson to arrive, but it's definitely coming together. I will post pictures of the nursery when its done. Until then here are some pictures to show you how much my belly has grown.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Boston
In September, I got to travel to Boston for a training conference. The best part about it was that Mark got to tag along with me. While I was sitting in class all day, he got to tour around Boston and see the sights. Although sitting in a conference room all day was really hard on my pregnant body, I did get to enjoy some of the sights in the evening as well. We attended a Red Sox Baseball game, visited Harvard, road the subway, and enjoyed the view from the top of the Prudential building a night. While we were there, we also met up with one of my moms friends, Debbie, to have dinner at the famous Regina's Pizza. Here are some pictures from our trip.
Suprise Baby Shower
On the same day as our Halloween party, I also had a bunco get together scheduled earlier in the day hosted by one of our friends Heather Schmit. To my surprise she had turned this into a baby shower instead of playing bunco. What a little sneak. She had been planning this since May or June of this year, and Mark was in on it the whole time. I have to say I was completely surprised and shocked when I walked into her house. Even my mom and sister n law came in from San diego for the shower, which was even a bigger surpise. I can't express how thankful I am to have such wonderful friends, and a big thank you to Heather for such a fabulous party. Here are some pictures from the shower.
Halloween Party 2011
We had our annual Halloween party again this year. Although we didn't have quite as many people as last year, it was still a ton of fun with some awesome costumes. I have to give credit to Mark because he did all the work to get the house decorated and setup for the party. Here are some pictures from the evening.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Princess Leia joins the force!
On Monday, March 7th, we welcomed Princess Leia into the family. She is a female fawn pug that we adopted from the Arizona Pug Adoption and Rescue Network (APARN). She is 14 months old, is in perfect health, and full of energy. She has a bald spot under her chin because her previous owner had a neck collar on her that was way to tight. We are hoping her hair will grow back, but if not its ok. She is still a beautiful little girl. The boys (Obi-Wan and Anakin) have accepted her into the family very well. She definitely keeps Anakin busy chasing him through the house and playing tug of war.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Vickie becomes an Aunt
Nathan Makara Ades was born to Swain & Lynn (Vickie's brother and sister in law) on January 12, 2011, weighing in at 6lbs 8oz, and 19 1/2 inches long. He is such a cutie!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
2010 Year In Review
So, I am still wondering where year 2010 went. It flew by in a flash, and I was really really bad at updating our blog. So, as part of my new years resolution, I am planning to get better at posting updates. I figured I would start with a year in review from 2010 to get everyone caught up on what Mark and I have been up to.
One of the great things about living in Phoenix is the spring training games. We like to follow our San Diego Padres all over the valley, and one of our goals is to visit every baseball stadium here in Phoenix. We were able to get to three different games, and visit 2 new stadiums in 2010. The first was to the Los Angeles Angels stadium, then to the brand new Chicago White SOX stadium, and of course to our beloved Padres stadium.
In April, we were invited to our friend's house for a murder mystery dinner. There was 4 couples all together. Marianne, is a wonderful chef, and cooked us a five course meal with wine pairings for each course. Mark's character was "Otto Von Schnapps" and mine was "Marilyn Merlot". Below are some pictures from this fabulous evening.
Mark and I attended our very first professional basketball game in April 2010. It was the last game of the regular season for the Phoenix Suns. I am not a huge basketball fan, but have to admit being there at the game was a lot of fun, and they really get the crowd involved during the game. I would definitely go again.
In May we went to the Foreigner, Kansas, and Styx concert here in AZ with our friends (Heather, John, Mary, and Don). We met for dinner first at Majerles Sports Grill, and then walked down to the concert venue. Kansas came out first, then follwed by Foreigner, and Styx. Overall this was a fantastic line-up and a heck of a show and I truly believe that this music and they guys playing it will stand the test of time. Most of these bands are going on more than 30+ years with most original members looking at 60 soon, but are showing no signs of slowing down.
The first week of June we headed to Niagara Falls, Canada to visit with Mark's mom, do some things around the house for her, and also get to see some of Mark's friends. While we were there we got to visit the African Lion Safari. This animal park is unique by the fact that you get to drive your own car through the park. One of the highlights was being so close to the lions, having the baboons jump on your car, and an ostrich pecking at our window.
In September Mark and I took a road trip to Zion National Park in Utah, Las Vegas, and Laughlin, Nevada. Zion was very beautiful and the weather was perfect. The first day we were there we hiked the "Narrows". This is a strenuous route due to the demands of river hiking, slippery rocks, and swift water crossings. The views of the narrows were amazing and it took most of the day to hike in and out, approximately 10 miles round trip. The second day we took a shuttle bus throughout the park and hiked various smaller trails to get a good look at the rest of the park. We loved Zion so much, we can't wait to go back.
Next was Las Vegas, NV, where we stayed at the MGM Grand Hotel. After all that hiking it was nice to relax in such a nice hotel and lay out by the pool. We also went to go see the show "KA" by Cirque du Soleil. While we were there we met up with our friends Heather and John for lunch downtown and then visited the famous pawn shop that is featured in "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel. We were a little upset that we didn't get to see Chumlee, but it was fun to walk through the store. I have to admit for being a Pawn Shop I thought the items were very over priced.
Before heading down to Laughlin, NV, we stopped by the Hoover Dam to see the new bridge that was built over it. It was finally complete when we were there, but no one was allowed to drive on it yet. This bridge is amazing site to see.
One of our last stops was Laughlin, NV, where we met up with our friends Heather and John again. They frequent Laughlin quite a bit and were able to get us 2 nights free at the Riverside Casino and Hotel. While we were there Mark and went to church service in one of the theaters at the Casino, and then that same night we went to a burlesque show (compliments of John and Heather), which was in the same theater that the church service was held in. Definitely felt a little strange. The show was actually very entertaining and we all had a terrific evening which including a very nice prime rib dinner and of course some gambling.
On our way home from Laughlin, we stopped in Oatman, AZ. This is an old mining/ghost town, where the wild burros roam through the street looking for food from the tourists.
In October, Mark's favorite holiday finally arrived. A couple weeks before Halloween, we had our annual Halloween Party, where Mark was the Joker and I was Bat Girl. The night before Halloween, we got dressed up again and went to McFaddens at the Westgate with our friends Matt and Nelly. McFaddens has a costume contest every year, and its fun to watch the people arrive with the various different costumes. Some of them are amazing and very original. On Halloween night, we handed out candy in the drive way with our Neighbor Tracee. This has been an annual thing that we have done the past 5 years.
In December, our friends Heather and John put of this very cool event called Santa Express. Heather and John own a trucking company, so we helped them decorate a 24 ft flatbed truck with Christmas lights, hooked up some christmas music, and headed out into some of the lower income neighborhoods in the South Moutain Area of Phoenix to give out free stuffed animals and candy from Santa. John dressed up as santa and we were all of his elves helping out. A couple of months prior to the event, Heather starts collecting and buying stuffed animals at places like Goodwill, etc. This year she definitely had some help from us and several others, so we ended up with 28 trash bags full of stuffed animals, and they were all gone by the end of the night. It was a great night, and I am very greatful Heather and John lets us be a part of such a wonderful event.
For Christmas my Mom and Dad came a little early for a visit, but left just before Christmas because they wanted to be home just in case their 1st grandson decided to come earlier than expected. That meant that it was only going to be Mark, myself, and Mark's mom for Christmas. So we decided to have what I called an orphan party on Christmas Day. We invited any of our friends that didn't really have a place to go for Christmas because their families were in a different state, etc. We had a great turn out of approximately 15 people total. We cooked 2 turkeys and everyone brought their favorite dish to share. It was great to be surrounded by such great friends on such a special day.
The highlight at the end of the year is the Insight Bowl. This is a bowl game here in Phoenix that my company sponsors, so we get free tickets every year. I was especially excited because Iowa was playing, and our friends (Heather, John, Mary, Don, & Matt), got to join us. What made it even more special was that Iowa actually won. It was a very exciting game, and we had a lot of fun with our friends.
One of the great things about living in Phoenix is the spring training games. We like to follow our San Diego Padres all over the valley, and one of our goals is to visit every baseball stadium here in Phoenix. We were able to get to three different games, and visit 2 new stadiums in 2010. The first was to the Los Angeles Angels stadium, then to the brand new Chicago White SOX stadium, and of course to our beloved Padres stadium.
In April, we were invited to our friend's house for a murder mystery dinner. There was 4 couples all together. Marianne, is a wonderful chef, and cooked us a five course meal with wine pairings for each course. Mark's character was "Otto Von Schnapps" and mine was "Marilyn Merlot". Below are some pictures from this fabulous evening.
Mark and I attended our very first professional basketball game in April 2010. It was the last game of the regular season for the Phoenix Suns. I am not a huge basketball fan, but have to admit being there at the game was a lot of fun, and they really get the crowd involved during the game. I would definitely go again.
In May we went to the Foreigner, Kansas, and Styx concert here in AZ with our friends (Heather, John, Mary, and Don). We met for dinner first at Majerles Sports Grill, and then walked down to the concert venue. Kansas came out first, then follwed by Foreigner, and Styx. Overall this was a fantastic line-up and a heck of a show and I truly believe that this music and they guys playing it will stand the test of time. Most of these bands are going on more than 30+ years with most original members looking at 60 soon, but are showing no signs of slowing down.
The first week of June we headed to Niagara Falls, Canada to visit with Mark's mom, do some things around the house for her, and also get to see some of Mark's friends. While we were there we got to visit the African Lion Safari. This animal park is unique by the fact that you get to drive your own car through the park. One of the highlights was being so close to the lions, having the baboons jump on your car, and an ostrich pecking at our window.
In September Mark and I took a road trip to Zion National Park in Utah, Las Vegas, and Laughlin, Nevada. Zion was very beautiful and the weather was perfect. The first day we were there we hiked the "Narrows". This is a strenuous route due to the demands of river hiking, slippery rocks, and swift water crossings. The views of the narrows were amazing and it took most of the day to hike in and out, approximately 10 miles round trip. The second day we took a shuttle bus throughout the park and hiked various smaller trails to get a good look at the rest of the park. We loved Zion so much, we can't wait to go back.
Next was Las Vegas, NV, where we stayed at the MGM Grand Hotel. After all that hiking it was nice to relax in such a nice hotel and lay out by the pool. We also went to go see the show "KA" by Cirque du Soleil. While we were there we met up with our friends Heather and John for lunch downtown and then visited the famous pawn shop that is featured in "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel. We were a little upset that we didn't get to see Chumlee, but it was fun to walk through the store. I have to admit for being a Pawn Shop I thought the items were very over priced.
Before heading down to Laughlin, NV, we stopped by the Hoover Dam to see the new bridge that was built over it. It was finally complete when we were there, but no one was allowed to drive on it yet. This bridge is amazing site to see.
One of our last stops was Laughlin, NV, where we met up with our friends Heather and John again. They frequent Laughlin quite a bit and were able to get us 2 nights free at the Riverside Casino and Hotel. While we were there Mark and went to church service in one of the theaters at the Casino, and then that same night we went to a burlesque show (compliments of John and Heather), which was in the same theater that the church service was held in. Definitely felt a little strange. The show was actually very entertaining and we all had a terrific evening which including a very nice prime rib dinner and of course some gambling.
On our way home from Laughlin, we stopped in Oatman, AZ. This is an old mining/ghost town, where the wild burros roam through the street looking for food from the tourists.
In October, Mark's favorite holiday finally arrived. A couple weeks before Halloween, we had our annual Halloween Party, where Mark was the Joker and I was Bat Girl. The night before Halloween, we got dressed up again and went to McFaddens at the Westgate with our friends Matt and Nelly. McFaddens has a costume contest every year, and its fun to watch the people arrive with the various different costumes. Some of them are amazing and very original. On Halloween night, we handed out candy in the drive way with our Neighbor Tracee. This has been an annual thing that we have done the past 5 years.
In December, our friends Heather and John put of this very cool event called Santa Express. Heather and John own a trucking company, so we helped them decorate a 24 ft flatbed truck with Christmas lights, hooked up some christmas music, and headed out into some of the lower income neighborhoods in the South Moutain Area of Phoenix to give out free stuffed animals and candy from Santa. John dressed up as santa and we were all of his elves helping out. A couple of months prior to the event, Heather starts collecting and buying stuffed animals at places like Goodwill, etc. This year she definitely had some help from us and several others, so we ended up with 28 trash bags full of stuffed animals, and they were all gone by the end of the night. It was a great night, and I am very greatful Heather and John lets us be a part of such a wonderful event.
For Christmas my Mom and Dad came a little early for a visit, but left just before Christmas because they wanted to be home just in case their 1st grandson decided to come earlier than expected. That meant that it was only going to be Mark, myself, and Mark's mom for Christmas. So we decided to have what I called an orphan party on Christmas Day. We invited any of our friends that didn't really have a place to go for Christmas because their families were in a different state, etc. We had a great turn out of approximately 15 people total. We cooked 2 turkeys and everyone brought their favorite dish to share. It was great to be surrounded by such great friends on such a special day.
The highlight at the end of the year is the Insight Bowl. This is a bowl game here in Phoenix that my company sponsors, so we get free tickets every year. I was especially excited because Iowa was playing, and our friends (Heather, John, Mary, Don, & Matt), got to join us. What made it even more special was that Iowa actually won. It was a very exciting game, and we had a lot of fun with our friends.
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