JUST THE TWO OF US...PLUS ONE

New pics

2010-06-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

So I know I've been a complete slacker when it's come to updating my blog with pics. I just have not felt like blogging lately...sorry. So here's a couple pics of Aly at Disneyland, the pool and Miss Aly on the potty.

The Princess and the Potty

2010-06-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

So Alyssa is starting pre-school in August and in order for her to be able to attend she must be potty trained. Last Thursday we started the "potty training". The first time I was able to get her to pee on the potty, she freaked out. She jumped off the potty and peed all over the bathroom. Lovely! Accident after accident by day three, both she and I were tired of all the pee. Alyssa was very sweet I kept explaining that we go pee-pee on the potty and asked her if she understood and she would reply, " I understand, I sorry Mama.". Bless her heart. So on Saturday, day three, Aly woke up dry in her pull-up and I thought "Here's my chance, we'll get her to pee on the potty and today will be better". I put her on the potty three separate times before breakfast...nothing. I sat her down to eat breakfast and two seconds later she peed all over the chair. I asked her where we go potty and she replied "On the ground". After that I decided that we're taking two weeks off and starting fresh, hopefully it will sink in where she's supposed to go potty.

Bye Bye Binky

2010-03-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

Bye bye binky! So Doug and I have been trying to wean Alyssa from the binky...a tough task considering Alyssa LOVES her binky. We've let her have her binky when she naps, goes to bed at night and for the occasional car ride (to keep mom sane).

So Alyssa has chewed two of her binkies to the point where there are now holes in them and she doesn't like the "broken" binkies anymore. I have one binky that is still okay, which I've hidden from Alyssa. For the past 3 days we've put her to bed with her broken binky and she refuses to put it in her mouth. She has gone to bed with very little or no fussing at all. I've shown Alyssa her binkies and explained that now they are broken and we can't fix them. She hasn't asked for her binky at all. Can it be true...are we really binky free?!

DisneyLand and Grandma DeLancy's birthday

2010-02-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

The first pic Aly is wearing my 3 1/2 inch heels strolling her baby along. So cute!

In 3rd the picture I'm with my mom, Grandma and Aunt Becky and I look like a giant (this is my Grandma's birthday, we ate dinner at Cedar Creek, yum!). My mom, aunt and grandma are all below the height of 5'2"...so I guess I'm kind of a giant compared to them...still that pic is funny.

The rest of the pics are from Disneyland. I have a year pass and my mom after her sales/service conference went to Disneyland with her sales team. We decided to meet her at Disneyland and go on a few rides. We had lots of fun, but as you can see by the end of the night Alyssa was definitely done. Alyssa has also decided that Snow White is just too scary for her.

New Years 2010

2010-01-03T16:29:00.000-08:00

For New Years, we were spontaneous and went up to the bay area to visit our friends Cameron and Monica. We hadn't seen them for a long while and thought it was time to reunite. We had tons of fun, stayed up way too late and had great food.

We went into San Francisco on New Year's Eve to eat at Cameron's restaurant The Toaster Oven ..so good. I'm so sad they don't have one here in So Cal. Guess we'll have to make another trip up to San Francisco. Anyways, I had the kitchen sink sandwich with hot peppers and it was so so good. YUM!
We stayed up till midnight..barely..to ring in the New Year. On New Year's Day we went to Fenton's for ice cream sundaes. Doug and I recommend the black and tan sundae....so yummy!

The following day Doug and I headed to Nation's Giant Hamburgers for lunch (we split a hamburger and Alyssa ate all of our fries). Then we met our friends the San Agustins for dinner at Aqui...I miss this place a lot. It was fun seeing John, Trista, Morgan and Lauren...we always have fun with you guys. We finished off the night with a game of Settlers with Cam and Monica and headed home the next day. We had so much fun...we hope to visit again soon.

The last pic of Alyssa is her scared face..sort of...our camera wasn't quick enough to capture her expression. There was a pic on the wall that was a little scary and she would look at the pic and get this funny look on her face.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm finally getting to my blog and posting pics from Christmas. Alyssa was apparently very good this year cause she received lots of gifts. She received a new pink kitchen from Grandma and Papa, which she loves and a table and chairs. She loves her new puzzles and her dollies and doll stroller from Santa. She had a cold and cough, so she was not feeling the best Christmas morning, but she had fun with all of her new toys nonetheless.

We spent Christmas Eve with Doug's family. Doug and I were Mary and Joseph this year in the re-enactment of the nativity. Christmas morning we spent at our home with my parents, my brother David and his fiance Kristin. We then spent the rest of Christmas day and evening with Doug's family.

Alyssa and Santa

2009-12-13T20:05:00.001-08:00

While in Hawaii we took Alyssa to see Santa. She would not sit on Santa's lap and put a death grip around Doug's neck when he tried to set her on Santa's lap. So funny.

Hawaii 2009

2009-12-13T19:44:00.001-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year we went to visit my parents in Hawaii. We had so much fun! Alyssa loves the beach. Doug and I hiked Diamond head this year, I've always wanted to do it and so we made sure it happened. It was a pretty quick hike and had an amazing view of Waikiki beach and the coast. Doug rented a long board and would go surfing just about everyday. We spent just about everyday at the beach. One day we went to North Shore with my parents and cousin Laurie to watch the Gidget Pro tour. Bethany Hamilton (the girl who had her arm bit off by a shark) was surfing and she did amazing. Very cool! It was sad to leave the warmth and sun and return to the freezing cold weather in California. I guess it just gets us ready for Christmas.

New Moon

2009-11-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

A few ladies from our ward got together to see the midnight showing of New Moon. Some people (including some women from our group) had been camped out all day (thanks Michele and Jolene!). Teens were camped out with chairs and lap tops playing "Twilight". I showed up later after Doug got home and it was a bit chilly waiting in line. The line for Starbucks was just as long as the lines to see the movie...total craziness. They let us into the theater at 11PM and our show started at 12:05AM. It was nice to thaw out before the movie.

New Moon was so much better than Twilight (hard to believe, I know!). I totally give props to the dad who was sitting next to our group. He brought his two tween daughters to see the show...he was one of maybe 5 guys who were there with their wives, girlfriends, or daughters to see the midnight showing. Anyway it was lots of fun and hilarious to hear some of the tween girls' comments throughout the movie. We are already planning to go to Eclipse in June 2010. I should be recovered by then and thank goodness the weather will be warmer!

Happy Birthday Doug!

2009-11-15T22:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Doug! This weekend we drove out to AZ for my cousin's wedding. We arrived late Friday night at the Nielsen's home (Amy and Eric let us stay at their home this weekend..thanks so much guys!) and stayed up way too late talking. Saturday we went to the Tempe Market Place and grabbed so lunch at CPK and a few cookies from the Paradise Bakery- -so yummy! Saturday night was the wedding. Amy and Eric were so nice and watched Alyssa for us while we went to Chris and Tiffany's wedding. The wedding was beautiful. After the wedding we went back to Amy and Eric's to find Amy's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and cheesecakes from the Cheesecake factory to celebrate Doug's birthday! My new favorite is the white chocolate blueberry cheesecake..it's SO good! Doug loves the vanilla bean. Thanks Eric and Amy...the cookies and cheesecakes were amazing! We finished up the night and early morning talking and watching "the Proposal". Sunday we traveled back to California and had dinner with Doug's family. Doug's birthday dinner was roast and mashed potatoes and homemade rolls from Rachel. For dessert we had mint ice cream pie...so good! I think Doug and I gained 5 pounds each from all the tasty treats we ate this weekend.

GI Joe, a pink fairy princess, and a flashback to the 80s

2009-11-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

For Halloween Alyssa was a pink fairy princess. She absolutely loved her costume and would twirl and spin once we put it on her. Doug dressed up in some army fatigues and I dressed up as a girl from the 80s. Sadly 90% of my outfit was found in the women's clearance section at Target (I guess the 80s are back!). I did however still have my old hair crimper from the 6th grade and some fingerless gloves...classic!

On Friday night we went to our church's annual trunk-or-treat and then on Halloween we went to the OC and trick-or-treated with my grandparents (Aly's great grandma and grandpa DeLancy). We also stopped by Doug's parent's house and the Bruschkes to hang out. We had lots of fun and Alyssa loved going trick or treating. She would lift up her pumpkin and say "treat". It was very cute!

Happy Birthday to Liz!

2009-10-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

For my birthday we went to the happiest place on earth...Disneyland! This year on your birthday you can get a free admission to Disneyland on your birthday, so we decided to take advantage. David, my brother, came with us and was able to get Doug in for free. We had a fabulous time. We went on tons of rides and Alyssa was just mesmerized by all the things to look at in each ride. She did get a little scared on Pirates of the Caribbean with the two drops in the beginning, but other than that she had a great time. We stayed until 8PM and Alyssa fell fast asleep in Doug's arms on our walk back to the car. Thanks David for joining us on my birthday it was fun having you celebrate with us!

Utah vs. UNLV - Vegas Baby!

2009-10-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we headed out to Vegas to see the Utah v. UNLV football game. We met the Boyds, Willis, and Nielsens there. We stayed at the Red Rock hotel which was really nice. We had a great time with friends and ate way too much good food. The Utes won and the game definitely had its moments. The section we were seated in was particularly rowdy and all that can be said is you had to be there and lots of people were living by the slogan "What happens in Vegas...". Thanks everyone for the memories and for making the trek to Vegas!

New pics

2009-10-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

Run/Walk for Breast Cancer

2009-10-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here we are with some of Doug's firm at the annual run/walk for breast cancer event that Doug's firm helps sponsor. This year we had matching pink shirts...probably the only time I'll ever see Doug in a pink shirt.

Casa de Bandini

2009-08-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we headed out to Carlsbad to go to Casa de Bandini. My family and Doug and I had eaten at this restaurant when it was located in Old Town San Diego, but the restaurant lost their lease in Old Town a few years ago. However, we recently found out that this summer, they re-opened their restaurant in Carlsbad. Doug and I remembered their food being awesome, so we decided to check it out and see if it was everything we remembered it to be. We heard that since Casa de Bandini's re-opening it's been very busy, so we decided that we would go for a 5PM dinner. Luckily, we were able to get seated right away even though the restaurant was already busy. Almost immediately after we were seated a rush of people arrived and had to wait for tables. We were seated on the patio, which was nice because it was a warm evening. The chips and salsa..awesome! Doug ordered the steak fajitas, which were really good. I had the chimichanga, which was huge and SO SO yummy (I would definitely get it again). Aly had a bean and cheese burrito that came with a side of rice and beans --the rice and beans proved to be plenty for her, so we took her burrito to go. Although we had eaten way too much, we topped dinner off with some fried ice cream and churros. Everything was really good...I totally recommend it whether or not you're in the area (it was so worth the drive). I just wish it was a little bit closer. :)

More pics of Alyssa

2009-08-20T11:32:00.001-07:00

Aly likes to drive

2009-08-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is one curious little girl. Alyssa and Doug were playing in the garage and Alyssa decided to check out Doug's car. She climbed into his car and would sit in each seat and then try and put the seat belt on...she likes to be safe. :) She liked to try and turn the wheel and pushed all sorts of buttons to see what they did. Her favorite was the push-start ignition (the key wasn't in the car, so it would just beep).

Doug also got her this hat while they were out on a walk last night.

8 Great Years!

2009-08-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

Doug and I celebrate our 8 year anniversary today! It's crazy to think that we've been married for 8 years. We celebrated our anniversary this last Saturday by going down to the San Diego Temple (where we were sealed) and then to PF Chang's for some dinner. So yummy!

Today Alyssa and I met Doug for lunch, which was also so good. It was a little sandwich shop called Phood on Main, the sandwiches are very unique and so tasty.

Tonight both Doug and I had church responsibilities, so we didn't see eachother until 9PM. Doug did surprise me though and brought us home a pizzookie from BJ's (the black and white -half white chocolate macadamia nut and half chocolate chip pizzookie). On one of our first semi-dates, as Doug likes to call it, we went and ate dessert at the BJ's in Laguna Beach. So lots of good food for our anniversary...Doug knows me well. Thanks for being such an amazing husband and father Doug. I love sharing my life with you. Love you!

Pictures from the past few weekends

2009-06-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

So here are some random pictures from the last few weeks. We should have a lot more pictures in the next week because Doug's sister Debbie is getting home from her mission in Belgium. All of the Highams are coming into town to welcome her home. Lots of family and lots of fun.

Alyssa LOVES shoes. She loves to wear Doug's shoes, my shoes and she fell in love with my Aunt Becky's turquoise peep toe shoes (last pic).

Alyssa on the merry-go-round in Fashion Island. In the 2nd picture she seems a little unsure.

We visited our good friends the Boyds in Palos Verdes. It's absolutely beautiful there, so close to the ocean. Who knew that this little oasis was so close to the city?!

Alyssa was so tired and was just not having it with picture taking...she had a very long day running and playing with her friend Morley.

Brad, Lisa, Morley and Louise.

Alyssa in my Aunt Becky's turquoise peep toe shoes.

Tom's Farms

2009-06-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

I just love Aly's sunglasses...our little celebrity!

So last weekend we went to Tom's Farms, it has a farmer's market, petting zoo, and some kids rides. Here are some pics of Aly with the pygmy goats. She is quite the tough little girl, if the goats got too pushy she would push them back. Go Aly!

Check out that duck's hairdo.
Yes, Aly..icky! The petting zoo seriously grosses me out, which is why Doug was in there with the animals and not me.

Doug put Aly on this tractor (notice the sign that says "Do not climb on tractor") Lovely!

Here are some random pics, Aly, Doug and I went to an Angel's game with the Bruschkes and Miners . We were in the firm box seats, always nice!

Here's Aly in Doug's shoes. Aly is obsessed with shoes. She loves her shoes and she likes to try and walk around in mine and Doug's shoes.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

2009-05-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

At the lake....this rootbeer is spicy!

For Memorial Day weekend we had some family from Utah visit, Adam, Jimmy and Christi. On Saturday we went to Mission Viejo lake and Doug played some volleyball with Jimmy and Adam and their friend Brett. The rest of us lay out in the sun, it was so nice.

Then on Monday we went to T-street in San Clemente, which was not as busy as we thought it might be, considering it was Memorial day. It was gorgeous; not too hot and nice and sunny. Parking was awesome too...just like any other Saturday...guess people decided to stay home this Memorial day. We had a fun time with Doug's parents, and brothers and sisters, Adam, Liz, Michael, and Becky, and the Bruschke's. Alyssa LOVES the beach, so she had so much fun. She didn't even mind the cold California water...brrrr.

Hawaii May 2009

2009-05-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

A long day at the beach and going out to dinner, did not make for a happy Alyssa! :(

At the end of April and beginning of May Doug, Alyssa and I took a trip to Hawaii to visit my parents. We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday while we were there, which was very cool.

We went to the Honolulu zoo, which was a pretty good. It actually had a lot more animals than I thought it would. Alyssa was not as interested in the animals as I thought she would be. Alyssa goes crazy whenever we see dogs or cats and I was expecting the same reaction. I was sorely disappointed. She did get somewhat excited to pet the stinky goats though!

We went to the beach everyday. Alyssa loves the water and the beach. She has a little pail and shovel which she loves to play with. My parents babysat Aly for two nights, which was super nice. One night we went to Duke's in Waikiki. We had an awesome salad bar, coconut shrimp, mahi mahi and hula pie (macadamia nut ice cream on an Oreo cookie crust with hot fudge and caramel sauce)...SO GOOD! We also had some awesome food at Chuck's steakhouse and Teddy's for burgers and shakes. Needless to say we probably came back 10 pounds heavier...stopping at the Cookie Corner every other day probably didn't help either.

While we were there, Doug got me a massage at a spa as an early Mother's day gift...it was so lovely. Thanks hon!

We miss Hawaii already..a week is not nearly enough time.

AVP Tour 2009

2009-04-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

This year the AVP Tour was hosted in Riverside (both Doug and I thought it was kind of funny, since usually the tour is held in one of the nearby beach cities). So Doug's firm had tickets for Saturday, so we went out in the 95 degree heat (fortunately there was a bit of a breeze) to check out all the men and women pro volleyball players. We brought one of the youth in our ward, Michael, since we had some extra tickets. It was lots of fun to watch the pros compete.

During one of the breaks in the games they needed two couple volunteers (for which Doug volunteered us) to participate in a relay. It ended being a 3-legged race from one side of the volleyball court to the opposite end (yes, under the net), at which point we each had to drink a Gatorade and then race back to the side of the court where we started. A middle aged couple from Texas was our competition - we made it down to the end of the court and had a decent lead, but I lost it for us when I could only drink 1/4 of my Gatorade and Doug had to finish the rest for me. Drinking large quantities of liquid in a short amount of time is not one of my skills I guess.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone had a very Happy Easter! The Easter Bunny visited Aly this year and surprised her with a new swim suit and some clothes for Hawaii, a new bunny and baby chick stuffed animals, bubbles, a memory foam game and a magna doodle board (she loves).

We spent Easter with my grandparents and my Aunt Becky, Uncle Mike, and cousins. Megan and my Aunt Becky hid some Easter eggs for Alyssa and she was really quick on picking up on finding the eggs. She was so cute looking all over for the eggs. She was determined to check everywhere, just to make sure she didn't miss any.

Alyssa and the park

2009-04-05T20:48:00.000-07:00

Aly LOVES the park. Doug and I have just started taking her to the park and she absolutely loves to explore and climb everything. She is quite the little dare devil.

This is Aly's care bear that she got from her Aunt Sarah and Uncle Justin and cousins for her birthday. She loves her care bear. We leave it in the car for her and she loves to hug her bear as we travel.

Aly's owies

2009-04-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

So this was a tough week for Alyssa. This last weekend it was super nice and so Doug, Alyssa and I went to the pool. Aly was having a blast running around until she fell on the cement and skinned her knees...poor girl. Then on Tuesday Doug took Aly to the park while I was at a young women's activity and she tripped on the sidewalk and did a face plant with the cement. The sidewalk won again and poor Alyssa had a fat lip that got cut and little scraped chin. So sad! I only saw the aftermath once Doug cleaned her up, but there was plenty of evidence from her injury all over her shirt. Stain stick is a marvelous and wonderful invention.
On a side note, when Alyssa gets hurt and you try to pick her up and comfort her she starts hitting you. I guess she feels she needs to make you hurt as much as she is hurting. Makes it hard to comfort a child when they're hitting you in the face.

Why Mormons Build Temples

2009-03-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

My father-in-law forwarded this to me and I thought it was pretty neat. So here you go.

He's Just Not That Into You

2009-02-19T14:09:00.001-08:00

I saw this movie last week with some friends and we laughed throughout the entire movie. It was so funny!

The Wiggles

2009-01-29T23:07:00.000-08:00

Alyssa has discovered The Wiggles...or we have introduced Alyssa to The Wiggles. It all started one Saturday morning when Alyssa woke up at 6AM and Doug turned on the tv hoping she might show some interest in a kids show, so we could get more sleep. The Wiggles were on and for a blissful 1/2 hour Alyssa watched The Wiggles and we were able to sleep. Heavenly!

We now own two Wiggles dvds which Alyssa likes to watch. Today Doug came home and said that The Wiggles' songs were running through his head all day long. You know you're a parent when you start singing songs from your kid's shows.

Alyssa's 1st Birthday!

2009-01-25T16:17:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Alyssa's first birthday with family. We had Aly's birthday party on Saturday and had a party with the Bruschkes, Yees, Doug's dad (Doug's Mom is in Houston with the Myers family) (little)Liz, Becky and Michael. We played pin the nose on Elmo (Morgan and Natalie tied). Alyssa received a blue care bear from the Yees, little people from the Bruschkes, Winnie the Pooh scooter and ball game from us, Elmo live from Grandma and Papa Leber, and some money to start a bank account from Grandma and Grandpa Higham.

After Alyssa's party we went to my Grandparents house (Grandma and Grandpa DeLancy) where she received some books, which she loves. A big day for a little birthday girl. She was absolutely exhausted and cranky by the end of the day.

Alyssa and her Birthday cake!

2009-01-25T16:09:00.000-08:00

For Alyssa's birthday cake she had a small 4 inch pink Princess Aurora cake, which was so cute and so good. Alyssa had no problem digging into her cake. Until her hands got completely dirty with icing and cake and then she didn't know what to do. She decided at that point she was done.

Aly in my pink sweater

2009-01-12T21:49:00.001-08:00

The pink sweater Aly is wearing was something I wore when I was her age.

Aly's first tooth

2009-01-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

Our little one tooth wonder.

Christmas 2008-Aly's First Christmas

2009-01-12T21:42:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve 2008

2009-01-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

I know I'm posting these pics later..but better late than never. Christmas Eve we spent with the Highams. We had burritos and root bear floats for dinner...so good. Grandpa Higham read "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"; we sang some Christmas carols and rang bells; and particpated in the reading of the Christmas story found in Luke.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

2009-01-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Everytime we see this movie preview or poster, Doug says "Liz it's you".

Doug is hoping for a cure.

Aly and snow

2008-12-19T14:07:00.001-08:00

Hawaii 2008

2008-12-19T13:55:00.001-08:00

Aly is a silly girl!

2008-11-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

Alyssa is 10-months old!

2008-11-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

Aly loves her baths.

Aly has some wild hair after the bath...there is some definite curl there!

That's better, we've gotta tame the mane!

Aly loves to crawl with these rings in her hands and any other object for that matter..it's so funny.

Alyssa is 10-months old today! Where does the time go..seriously?! Here are some things Alyssa can do at 10-months:

-she can walk holding on to chairs, couches and tables

-she can walk when I hold just one of her hands

-she can stand all on her own without holding on to anything

-she loves to hug and kiss her teddy bears

-she loves to go out and in doors

-she gets so excited when her dad comes home and crawls super fast to see him

-she loves to try and pick the freckles and moles off my arms

-she makes and laughs at silly faces

-she loves it when we chase her and she likes to chase us

-she has started to throw tantrums (not mom's favorite thing, I thought that started at 2)

-she likes to coo and sing

Alyssa and George the Lobster

2008-11-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night we went to dinner at Jon's fish market in Dana Point with my grandparents. At the fish market they had a 14 pound lobster that they had caught...14 pounds!!!! Alyssa weighs 18 pounds. The picture that Doug took on his iphone really doesn't do the lobster (named George) justice.

Old Town, The "U" Game and Happy Birthday Doug!

2008-11-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

This weekend we celebrated Doug's birthday by visiting Old Town San Diego and the University of Utah game v. San Diego State University at Qualcomm. Our good friends the Boyds (Brad, Lisa and Morley) got us tickets to the game. We had a blast and the U beat SDSU...a nice B-day gift for Doug. Brad and Lisa also brought these awesome cupcakes from a bakery called Vanilla located in Santa Monica...the cupcakes were so so good. Thanks guys for the tickets and cupcakes...what a great B-day gift...you are too good to us.

When we got back from the game Doug opened his gifts from Aly and I; he received Season 4 of "The Office" and a new Tumi briefcase.

The last pics are of our HOA's pre-holiday party at the Citrus City Grill. We had some yummy food and there were tons of crafts for kids and raffle prizes. Our development participated in a gingerbread house contest, we came in 2nd place and won a $50 gift card to some shops...very nice. There's also a pic of Alyssa with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.

Aly...the Great Pumpkin for Halloween!

2008-11-06T21:57:00.000-08:00

For Halloween Alyssa was a pumpkin. We trick-or-treated in the OC this year with Doug's family. It was lots of fun! Morgan, Daniel and Taylor were the 3-blind mice. Doug's sister Liz was an Indian, Becky a pig (which Alyssa was not a fan of as seen in the very last pic where she's crying...so funny) and Mikey was a ninja. Driving to the OC Alyssa fell asleep and we could not get her to smile at all once we woke her up and dressed her up. Maybe she was going for a "serious pumpkin" portrayal. Funny girl!

My birthday...the big 30.

2008-11-06T21:51:00.000-08:00

My birthday was on a Sunday this year, so Doug and I went out for sushi at Maki Maki which was so good Saturday night. Then Doug made me a great birthday dinner on my birthday (Sunday). We had some yummy pizzookie as my birthday cake/dessert on Monday. I received some new True Religion jeans and a new Nicholas Sparks book. Thanks hon for a great birthday!

VOTE Today!

2008-11-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

If you haven't done so already make sure you get out and VOTE today! Alyssa and I made it to the polls this morning and she even made her opinions known by opening and throwing her entire container of cheerios all over the floor....so lovely. After I cast my ballot I was picking up cheerios off the floor...what a little pill.

Election Day is almost here...Get out and VOTE!

2008-11-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

So tomorrow is election day..make sure you get out and vote. And before all is said and I'd like to share some thoughts on our experience with Proposition 8. For the past two weekends Doug and I have been heavily involved with Prop 8 work. We've hung door flyers encouraging people to vote and have waved Prop 8 signs in some intersections. What has been most enlightening is both the support (about 90-95%% of drivers, cops and firemen all supporting, when they've driven by) and those opposed to Prop 8. Those opposed drivers will sometimes give the thumbs down or shake their heads, which is totally fine. We live in America where we have the freedom of speech. What is completely classless are the people who curse, name call, or shout angry hateful things out their window. Seriously, we had families on the corner with kids ranging from 9-months to teenagers...the whole no on 8 campaign is based on tolerance and equality, yet I've found that those individuals have been the least tolerant and have said the most horrible things. In one area we've known people who have had bleach and even urine thrown at them from a car window. Seriously...can you believe that. If you disagree with the message then hold up your own sign in protest. To me name calling and throwing things at people is just hate and violence and definitely not "tolerance" of another person's views..I think tolerance is just a one way street with some people. Anyways, fortunately we didn't have anything thrown at us. :)

Overall it's been a very good experience, something I never imagined myself participating in. For those who are yet undecided, my reason for voting Yes on 8, is because I'm Pro-family. I have family and friends who are gay and I completely agree that they should have the same right and privileges as heterosexual couples (voting Yes on Prop 8 does NOT take any rights away; homosexual couples can still enter into domestic partnerships/civil unions). Jack O'Connell in his no on Prop 8 commercial says schools are not required to teach about gay marriage, well Mr. Jack O'Connell (California's school superintendent) if you checked your own website you would see that 96% of schools teach a sexual education class where marriage is taught and gay marriage will be taught (under California code parent's cannot opt their kids out of this). Also, I don't think taking an elementary school class on a field trip to witness a gay marriage ceremony is "educational"...did they take that same class to a heterosexual marriage ceremony and say it was "educational"..I sincerely doubt it. I don't like the fact that the 4 activist judges just decided to overturn Prop 22 (in 2000 Prop 22 passed by 61% of voters which declared that only marriage between a man and a woman is recognized in California.) because they felt like it. This is America and we vote and you should have placed it on the ballot not just overturned the will of the people. Lastly, the far reaching effects of Prop 8 is that churches who do not condone homosexual marriage may lose their tax exempt status if they refuse to marry homosexual couples in their churches. Catholic Charities in Massachusetts had to close down their adoption agency because they refused to allow homosexual couples to adopt from their agency ..it was considered unconstitutional..where's the separation of Church and State? So I'm voting Yes on Prop 8, to maintain religious freedom and keep more parental rights.

Some new pics of Miss Alyssa

2008-10-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics we had taken of Alyssa. She's getting so big and she's already standing all by herself. She is so ready to just walk and run on her on...look out world.

Aly is 9-months old!

2008-10-24T09:04:00.001-07:00

Wow..time flies. Alyssa is 9-months old today. Here are some things Alyssa has learned to do:

-crawls everywhere, upstairs, not so much downstairs just yet
-she can pull herself up to a standing position
-can stand on her own for a few seconds
-babbles and says dadadada
-sings in the car
-loves to splash in the bath
-gets so excited to see dad when he comes home
-she can open cupboards and drawers
-loves to push and pull open doors
-she still has no teeth...we're hoping they come soon
-loves Gerber Strawberry apple puffs and Cheerios
-she's very mischievous and likes to get into everything she shouldn't

Aly is a fun and lovable girl and we're blessed to have her in our family.

Aly and the Great Pumpkin

2008-10-22T19:06:00.001-07:00

We visited a pumpkin patch with little Miss Aly and here are the pics. As you can see she was a little tentative at first with the pumpkins. The last pic is of Aly, she thinks she's so big!

An early birthday celebration

2008-10-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

My parents flew in for a visit from Hawaii this past week. It was great to have them in town and Aly was so spoiled by her Grandma and Papa. We celebrated my birthday one week early and went to Houston's and then Roy's for chocolate souffle for dessert...if you haven't had it you need to go...it is so GOOD! My mom and dad for my 30th gave me Tahitian black pearl earrings and a necklace to match. I absolutely love it Thanks mom and dad!

10 days till the BIG 3-0!

2008-10-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yep, there it is looming in the near future...the big 3-0...or in my mind 29th the sequel. Remember when you were a teenager and someone would say they were in their 30s and you would think that's so old. So I guess I will be officially old (even though in my mind I'm still 25).
Looking back at the last 10 years a lot has happened. I went to college, graduated, got married, lived here and there in California, started a family and had lots of fun a long the way. I can only imagine the next ten years will get more busy and change even more.

Yes on 8!

2008-10-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

Twilight

2008-10-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for this movie to come out. I loved the books, so I'm hoping the movie is just as good!

Aly at the pool

2008-09-28T18:19:00.001-07:00

Pics of Aly

2008-09-28T18:15:00.001-07:00

Some pics of the house

2008-09-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Updates...

2008-09-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

So I've been slacking when it has come to blogging lately, but I've had a good excuse. Doug and I bought a home out in Corona and we moved in two weeks ago. So our lives were turned upside down with the move; packing, unpacking and getting organized. We're still in the process of getting things organized, but for the most part our house does look like a home. I've taken some pics and hopefully I will get those posted this weekend.
One thing our house has plenty of is stairs. Aly has learned how to crawl up the stairs..yay, we're still working on how to crawl back down.

Happy Anniversary...7 Years, Wow!

2008-08-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary! So Doug planned our anniversary this year. He was super sneaky and arranged to have his mom and dad watch Alyssa so we could have an evening out. He wouldn't tell me where we were going or what was on the agenda...I just had to be ready to go. So we dropped Alyssa off and we headed en route via the 5 freeway. We arrived at Benihana's in Beverly Hills for dinner. I had the filet mignon and lobster and it was so good. Doug had steak and shrimp. Yum! After dinner we drove through Hollywood ..there were more surprises to come. Here we are at Benihana and here's our chef.

We ended up at the Pantages in L.A. to see Wicked. I was so excited! I've been wanting to see Wicked since it opened in L.A. a few years ago. It was really good! The actress who played Glinda was so funny.

I know this wasn't Doug's 1st choice of activities, but I totally appreciate his thoughtfulness and willingness to endure watching the musical with me. What an amazing hubby I have! Thanks hon for an amazing anniversary..it was so much fun spending the evening with you. Thanks for everything you do for our little family. Love you!

Breaking Dawn

2008-08-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

It's finally here! So Doug..my wonderful husband bought the last book of the Twilight Saga for me at midnight on Saturday morning. Yes..we were that couple. However, we bought it at the grocery store (no long lines for us). We walked in, bought the book and left...took a few minutes and best of all no waiting in a long line. I finished the book last night and it was SO GOOD! I loved it!

Tag- - - I'm it!

2008-08-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

So my friend Amy tagged me..so here are some fun facts about me.

Random Facts:
1. I studied abroad in London for a semester..loved it!
2. I'm a convert to the LDS church. I was actually baptized in the ward that Doug's Aunt Sharon and Uncle Bob were members of..kind of crazy.
3. On Oahu you can go in a shark cage and they do the whole chum line dealio. So Doug and I did it. It was pretty cool, a little surreal and scary when huge 15 feet tiger sharks are nose to nose with you.

Current Obsessions:
1. The Twilight Saga and anything Stephenie Meyer writes...I am obsessed..seriously.
2. Avocado Salsa at El Pollo Loco..don't know why but it tastes so good on a BRC burrito.
3. My shows...yes I'm an addict..right now it's Shear Genius, Project Runway, and So You Think You Can Dance. I'm bummed that Chelsie got booted last week on So You Think You Can Dance.

Goals:
1. To shower...seriously when you have a baby finding time and energy to shower is just hard...my poor hubby.
2. To stick to my work out routine...still working off the baby weight gain. Ahh the joys of post-pregnancy.
3. To start packing cause we're moving in a month.

Fears:
1. Spiders and sharks...we've been finding huge spiders in our house (the brown lightning speed jumping kind). Ick...they scare me to death.
2. Moving..I'm not one who's big on change so moving always gives me anxiety..poor Doug gets to put up with me during my occasional emotional breakdowns.

Joys:
1. My amazing husband and Aly. Both can make me smile.
2. Family and close friends are always there for you when you need them.
3. A good book and the beach...what else is there.

Beach week-end

2008-07-30T10:48:00.001-07:00

So we traveled up to Oxnard last weekend to spend time with our good friends the Nielsens. Of course we didn't take any pics like we wanted..Doug and I are the worst at taking pictures. We had so much fun and Amy's family was so nice to let us stay at their beach house Friday night. A big thanks to Spencer and Will for letting us use their room! Friday night we hung out and played games, watched a movie and talked. Saturday was all about the beach, which was right across the street...absolutely perfect. We definitely need to look into renting a beach house for the summer...sounds like a great tradition we need to start!

More peas please!

2008-07-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

So Aly has started solid foods. We had a rocky start with the yellow veggies, but I was determined not to give in and give her fruit. We tried sweet potatoes, squash and carrots. Aly cannot stand carrots at all and she mildly tolerates squash for about two spoonfuls and will begrudgingly eat sweet potatoes. So with reluctance I moved on to the green vegetables; convinced that we would have to force feed her. We started with peas and she loves them...who would have thought. She definitely is Doug's daughter...he loves peas!

The new iPhone 3G

2008-07-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here it is the new iPhone 3G. Doug's firm got some of the attys the new iphone...Doug is in love. He is smitten with this new gadget. Pretty much any new techy thing that comes out Doug just adores. I do have to admit...it is pretty darn cool!

Aly and rice cereal...yum!

2008-07-19T11:54:00.001-07:00

Aly and Doug at the beach 4th of July

2008-07-19T11:50:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I promise to download pictures, but I'll give a quick recap of what's been going on. Doug's parents have returned from Tucson. It's been great having them back. We've had quite a few big family dinners which have been lots of fun.

We spent the fourth of July at San Clemente beach with Doug's family. The Valgardsons, Yees, Bruschkees, Jimmy and Christi and Highams were all there. We took up a lot of that beach. We decided to not stay for the fireworks since we were parked around the corner from the 7-11 and trying to walk back at 10PM with a baby in tow just didn't sound like fun. Instead we headed over to my grandparent's house in Laguna Niguel and watched the fireworks from their jacuzzi...so nice!

My parents flew in for a visit from Hawaii and we were able to spend a week visiting with them. They brought Aly some very cute dresses from Janie and Jack (love that store) and brought Doug and I cookies from the Cookie Corner (these are the best cookies you will ever eat, yum!). We ate lots of good food and had lots of fun hanging out together. My mom and I got pedicures while she was here...I love pedicures they are absolutely wonderful. They flew back yesterday and Alyssa is going to miss Grandma and Papa very very much.

I have some pics of Alyssa at the beach with her toes in the water...I promise to post those soon!

Rip Curl

2008-06-21T00:06:00.000-07:00

So Doug had an interesting experience this evening. Doug was wearing his Rip Curl t-shirt, which he's had forever. As you can see Rip Curl is colored in red, yellow, green and blue (and no purple whatsoever). Well as he was filling our car up with gas at a local gas station some punk teenagers were pulling out and called Doug a "@!*$ (and a derogatory name for a homosexual)". Yep! I thought it was kind of funny, I don't know if I would have necessarily thought, based on his shirt, that he would be batting for the other team; especially since Rip Curl is a surf shirt. Anyways a funny random experience for all of you... and a cautionary tale that if you have a shirt that may be a bit too colorful you may get some shout outs.

Doug's 1st Father's Day

2008-06-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Aly and I were sneaky and went to get her picture taken without Doug knowing so she could give him a picture for his office. Aly behaved beautifully and Doug loves his new picture of her.

We visited my grandparents on Father's Day as well.

Aly gave them a picture for their brag wall too.

This last picture didn't turn out, but we're at an Angel's game in Doug's firm box seats. Aly did not enjoy her 1st baseball game experience. Every time the crowd cheered or the fireworks went off she burst into tears. She was so traumatized by the event she didn't even eat her dinner, which never happens, this girl is all about food.

Aly and her swing

2008-06-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here is Aly lounging in her swing.

I guess we're at the point where she needs to be buckled into everything.

High School Tag

2008-06-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

Amy tagged me a while back and I'm now just getting to it...having a child is just all too consuming. Since this is now sadly over 10 years ago I'll have to really try and remember what happened "back in the day".

1. If you could go back and tell your teenage self one thing, what would it be?
Probably not to be so introverted and shy. I was super quiet until senior year of high school..I know hard to believe cause I'm always just rambling on and on about nothing.

2. Did you do any extra curricular activities in high school?
I was on the tennis team freshman, sophomore, and junior years and the track team. I was also in a lot of clubs (y'know, french club, CSF, etc).

3. Coolest thing you did as a teenager? I so was not the cool kid in high school or now, so I don't know. A good question for Doug, since he was the "cool kid".

4. What did you do with your free time?
I hung out out mostly with my close friends. We had SO much fun doing random silly things.

5. Did you have a boyfriend in high school?
Yep, Senior year, Matt Byrne. It was one of those on again off again relationships. Gotta love high school.

6. Songs that come to mind:
You were meant for me(Jewel) I love you always forever(Donna Lewis) Always be my baby (Mariah Carey) Waterfalls (TLC) Semi-charmed life (3rd eye blind)

8. What did you think you would be when you grew up?
An Attorney - I decided to put Doug through law school instead.

9. Picture of self.
Fortunately for you all of my high school pictures are in storage...locked away where they should be. I've always said that it's fortunate that Doug didn't meet me while I was in h.s. because I was such a dork and Doug would have been T.C. for me. :)

10. Craziest thing you did in High School.
My friends and I "borrowed" 27 construction cones and 3 construction barriers with the blinking lights (a minivan does really hold a lot of cones) and placed them on one of guy friend's driveway. Random, I know!
Senior year I did miss 68 days of school to go to the beach...ahh the beach...and still managed to graduate with over a 4.0 g.p.a. Very nice!

11. Other great memories were:
Driving out to Palm Desert for the weekend with my girl friends
High school trip to France
Stake dances (yes kind of lame, but my friends and I always had lots of fun being silly at them)
Driving around t.p.ing our guy friends homes

Okay so I now tag . . . Rachel Bruschke (Sorry Rach), Christi Higham, and Tami Valgardson.

Rolling, rolling, rolling!

2008-06-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Aly is rolling over tummy to back, back to tummy. She's a little rolling machine. I've started working again and she will lay on her playmat and just roll from one toy to another toy. She really is good and we're getting her on a morning and afternoon nap schedule. She doesn't cry at all when I put her in her crib for her naps. What a good baby!
Also, my sister-in-law Rachel was kind enough to highlight my hair. She did an awesome job and it's nice that I can take Aly over there with me and not have to find a sitter. Thanks Rach you rock!

Texas...Yee-haw!

2008-05-18T21:57:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we went to Frisco, Texas to visit our friends and family. Wade and Kathy live near Dallas and Doug's sister Shelley lives in the Houston area. This was my first visit to the Lone Star state and I was so surprised how green and how clean Texas is.
We stayed with our friends Wade and Kathy in their beautiful new home. Just seeing the kind of home you can buy in Texas makes it tempting to move there.

Alyssa and Wade became the best of friends and Aly definitely misses her buddy Wade.

Kathy made an amazing Mother's day brunch for us. It was wonderful and so delicious. Thanks Wade and Kathy for a great time in the Lone Star state.

On Saturday we went to the pool by Wade and Kathy's house with Wade and Kathy and Doug's sister Shelley and her family (they were so great and drove from Houston to spend time with us). Doug wanted to give Alyssa her first swim lesson. The minute Aly's toes touched the cold water she gave the loudest cry...guess she likes her pools to be heated.

We had amazing food, and fun times with family and friends in Texas. We went to Uncle Julio's a tex mex restaurant in North Dallas (amazing fajitas) and then we went to a bbq place called Rudy's for some good Texas bbq. Yummy! At Rudy's they had two different kinds of bbq sauce Rudy's original bbq sauce and Rudy's sissy sauce...Doug was tempted to use the sissy sauce (because the original sauce had a little kick to it), but feared he would be teased endlessly on the blog.

Pics of Aly

2008-05-18T21:47:00.001-07:00

Alyssa had her first trip to DisneyLand with her cousins the Bruschkes. We had lots of fun even though it was 95 degrees.

Here are some cute pics of Aly in her pink overalls.

Alyssa's blessing

2008-05-13T17:49:00.001-07:00

Alyssa was blessed on April 13, 2008. Alyssa's Aunt Sarah took some beautiful pics of Aly in her blessing dress. Thanks Sarah!

Rolling Over

2008-04-27T15:29:00.001-07:00

On Friday April 25th, Alyssa rolled over for the first time. She likes to roll from her back to her tummy and always rolls over on her left side. Funny girl! Now we have to keep a closer eye on her, cause she definitely doesn't like to sit still.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! The Easter Bunny visited our house and brought Alyssa some Easter treats. Alyssa also got to show off her new Easter dress at church today...cute girl!

We may need to work on our parenting skills, apparently Alyssa and the bunnies had a little too much to drink last night!

Aly in blue and with Great Grandpa too

2008-03-16T22:14:00.001-07:00

Aly is not so sure of Dad taking pictures of her before she's had her lunch.

Pics of Aly and Uncle Adam and Doug

2008-03-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Adam and the MV Duathlon

2008-03-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

Adam came and visited us a couple weekends ago to participate in a Duathlon (you run a 5K, bike a 40K and run a 5K). Here are some pics.

Love this pic

2008-03-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

My mom took this picture of Alyssa while she was here and it's one of my favorites!

Alyssa is ONE month old

2008-02-28T17:46:00.000-08:00

Lunch with friends in Scottsdale, AZ

2008-02-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

We were able to meet our friends from law school, Eric, Amy, Livy and London for an awesome lunch. We ate at the Tommy Bahama cafe (they have one here in Newport Beach) which I'm totally excited about because the food was so yummy.

Alyssa's crib and some cute pics

2008-02-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

Alyssa's crib
Doug and I just love Alyssa's cute little face here.

On Valentine's day Alyssa received her 1st rose from her daddy.

Pics of Alyssa with Aunts and Uncles

2008-02-28T17:29:00.001-08:00

Aunt Becky and Alyssa

Aunt Liz and Alyssa

Uncle Mikey and Alyssa

Aunt Sarah and Alyssa

Uncle Dave and Alyssa

Alyssa's 1st bath

2008-02-28T09:16:00.001-08:00

While in Tucson, Alyssa's belly button had healed so Grandma could give her her 1st bath. Alyssa loved the bath and was so good.

It was lots of fun seeing Doug's family and having Alyssa meet her Aunts Becky and Liz and Uncle Mikey. We also were able to sneak in a quick visit to Phoenix and see our good friends the Nielsen's. We just love them and were sad we couldn't visit longer. Pics are coming, hopefully soon. We have some cute pics of Livy and Alyssa together.

Alyssa meets her Grandparents

2008-02-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

My parents flew to California from Hawaii on Friday (the day after Alyssa was born). They were able to take some time off to help with the baby and recovery process. It was lovely.

We drove out to Tucson, AZ over the President's day holiday to visit Doug's parents and introduce the 21st grandchild, Miss Alyssa Kate, to Grandpa and Grandma Higham.

More pics of Alyssa Kate

2008-01-27T12:26:00.001-08:00

Here are some more pictures of our sweet daughter Alyssa.

Tiny precious cargo.

Here we are being discharged from the hospital.

The first car ride home.

Doug's girls sleeping in a world of pink.

Great Grandma and Alyssa.

All swaddled up in pink.

Doug's hand looks huge next to little Alyssa.

Where's Waldo? No, where's Alyssa?

Alyssa Kate Higham

2008-01-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

So I went into labor at 11PM on Wednesday and on Thursday January 24, 2008 at 9:14AM our little girl Alyssa Kate was born. She was 7lbs. 6 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. She was wide awake for an hour after she was born. We love her cute chubby cheeks and she truly is a blessing.

Weekly Visit

2008-01-23T11:34:00.000-08:00

So I had my weekly visit with the doctor today and I am dialated to a 4 and at station +1. Kinda crazy, since I feel just fine and have had hardly any contractions. My doctor said that if I were admitted I could get my epidural right now. So slowly but surely we're making our way there. We will keep you posted.

Notes from the Underbelly

2008-01-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

Doug and I started watching "Notes from the Underbelly" last year. It's 2nd season just started right before Christmas and we were excited it got picked up for another season. We laugh all the time at the show (mostly because the main couple, Andrew and Lauren, are going through the same pregnancy woes we are). So if you haven't seen it check it out, it's on Monday nights on ABC around 9:30PM. Even if you're not pregnant the writing is pretty witty. Doug and I watched the show before we were pregnant and were still laughing hysterically.

Sleep Talking...

2008-01-18T21:26:00.000-08:00

With 11 days to go you could say sleeping has become a bit uncomfortable, so obviously I tend to fidget a lot right now in bed trying to get comfortable (a seemingly impossible task). Last night Doug in his semi-conscious state declared "This has got to end...you should start walking up and down the stairs". Evidently, my tossing and turning was causing him to lose his beauty sleep. Whatever! I'd like to see him lie oh so still when having contractions, back pain, a baby kicking inside you, accompanied with the constant need to pee every couple hours through out the night.

Progress!

2008-01-17T10:27:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello! So I had my weekly doctor appointment yesterday and I am making some progress towards labor and delivery (dilated to 2 1/2 and 50% effaced..not bad after last week). So officially I'm working till 2/1/08, so this may pose a problem if she decides to be early...I was not counting on that.

Tonight some good friends from our ward are throwing a shower for me and Doug's firm is throwing him a baby shower next week.

We will keep you posted and will be sure to post pics on the blog once she arrives.

Count Down

2008-01-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Well as you can see by our ticker we are counting down. I've started my weekly Dr. appointments. I can't tell you what a lovely experience those are...just a bit invasive. As of yesterday's visit there really is no change, so I'm thinking baby Higham (we still don't have a name we agree upon) is going to be stubborn (just like Doug and I) and be late. Can't say that I blame her...it's been cold here.

In the meantime Brett and Doug put the baby crib together and I have been washing baby clothes and sheets and will take some pics soon to post. It's so cute..I love it!

The Melting Pot!

2008-01-06T22:13:00.001-08:00

On Saturday night Doug and I went to the Melting Pot with Rachel and Brett. It was absolutely amazing! Rachel and Brett gave us a gift card to go and it was such a fun experience. Doug and I have never been to the Melting Pot or La Fondue, but we have heard amazing things. We ate way too much. We started with a cheese fondue one spinach and artichoke and one cheddar. The spinach and artichoke one was so yummy. We then had salad and then they brought out the main course. The entrees included sirloin, chicken, shrimp, ravioli, filet mignon and pork. They had two different fondues that you cook your meat. Yum! Lastly...dessert...we had the flaming turtle (chocolate, caramel and pecans) and the original (chocolate and crunchy peanut butter) with strawberries, pound cake, cheesecake, bananas, marshmallows, brownies...so so good. We had a blast and it was so yummy. Thanks Rachel and Brett for a great Birthday gift!

Christmas!

2008-01-06T21:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics from Christmas. My parents were visiting us from Hawaii. It was fun to have them here. Next year we'll have an 11-month old running around...crazy.

Here I am with my brother David, his girl friend Jessica, my Aunt Becky and Uncle Mike. We had a fabulous Christmas dinner at my grandparent's house and opened Christmas gifts.

Mom and dad and my grandma and grandpa.

My cousins Megan and Bryan

While my parent's were in town we went to the OC performing Arts Theater to see the Christmas Spectacular with the NY Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. The show was amazing! At the end of the show there is living nativity, which was very well done.

Liz's Baby Shower

2007-12-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

My Aunt Debbie, friends Jane and Erin threw me a baby shower...so sweet of them to do so! I had a blast and it was so much fun...little girl things are just too cute!

Our Ward's Far-Out 70's Christmas Party!

2007-12-21T21:16:00.000-08:00

Doug and I are members of our church's activities committee and this year to mix it up the committee decided to have a 70's themed Christmas party (not our idea). That's right! So here are Doug and I decked out in 70's gear. Doug is sporting some skin-tight royal blue polyester pants and some sweet aviator glasses..control yourselves ladies...he's taken!

Twister, hula-hooping, a white elephant gift exchange, lots of casseroles, and chocolate fondue were all a part of our evening's events. It definitely was memorable.

Go Utes!

2007-12-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

Doug and I went with our friends Brad, Lisa and baby Morley to the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego last night to watch the Utes play against the Navy Midshipmen. And yes...the Utes were VICTORIOUS! It was chilly but lots of fun. Final score 35-32.

A trial run to labor and delivery...

2007-12-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

On Sunday evening I came down with a stomach bug or the flu. Not fun even when you're not preggers. So after keeping nothing down for a few hours and having some nice regular strong contractions, we called the doctor who said to come in. Hopefully the baby wasn't ready to come out just yet cause we sure are not ready for her. Doug says he needs another 6 weeks to prepare.
Anyways, so we arrive at labor and delivery and I get hooked up to everything, contraction monitor, fetal monitor and an IV with lots of fluids. My new best friend is the anti-nausea medicine they put in my IV. My contractions were still pretty strong after I drained a bag of IV fluid, so they gave me a shot to stop the contractions. So after a few hours they discharged us and I'm feeling a lot better. Doug calls this experience our trial run so we know what to expect when the real deal happens.