It comes to an end

Just like all good things, our vacation has finally come to an end, but not without lots of pictures taken and memories made. On our last day I got to go to lunch with all my girlfriends and their adorable little ones. It was so different from 6 years ago when we were in High School, but its so fun that we are all in such different places in our lives and still get together at rare opportunities like this one.All the ladies together againMe & Joseph and Michelle & DanielLittle Joseph-I couldn't get enough of those cheeks!!Me, Jack and Melissa-The 2 Jacks together again. Last I saw him he was a baby-not anymore!

Then for dinner Mark and I met up with his favorite mission companion and wife, Steve and Brittany and their adorable daughter Mackenna. The last time we saw Mackenna was when she was 3 days old. She is now a bright, bubbly, beautiful 1 year old. We had so much fun at Downtown Disney with them.Me, Mark, Mackenna and Brittany (Thanks for snappin the pic Steve)Mackenna and me (or as Mark likes to call her "Mark"kenna!! So cute :)

On our long drive Mark loved the accidental stop at General Patton's Museum. (The pregnant lady needed a stop). It was so random, in the middle of nowhere, but whenever there is a tank nearby, Mark insists on getting his picture taken. Just about the only time Mark is a willing participant in photos is when there are Army related items or babies involved :)
We had such a wonderful trip: Disneyland, surfing, wakeboarding, baseball game, kayaking, pool party, baby shower, BBQ's and more!!! We made sure to thoroughly enjoy our "last vacation" and we had a blast!

Perfect Getaway

In Lake Arrowhead Mark and I enjoyed all of the following:

The Wakeboarding

The Real Estate

The Landscape/Views

The Company
Thanks everyone for a great couple of days and the perfect end of vacation getaway!

What we've been doing

Don't get used to me posting this often, my life is not going to be fun or exciting again for a while. But the past couple weeks Mark and I have been living it up on what we refer to as "our last vacation". This will be the last time we have zero responsibility, ever!!! We have been enjoying every minute of it. We went to an Angels game on Friday night and thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks show. Yes, we were close enough to need our gloves!Then on Saturday we had a BBQ/pool party in my parents backyard (the greatest place ever!) We had burgers and hot dogs and a ton of fun. Thanks to everyone who came to play :)
Tonight we leave for Lake Arrowhead (up near Big Bear) for a couple days and you better believe there will be pictures when we get back. See ya!!!

Spontaneity

Being in a place where one minute you're at home deciding what to eat for dinner, and the next you're at the beach having a BBQ with family and friends is such a blessing. On Thursday we met up with some friends last minute down in Laguna and played football, ate burgers, hot dogs and fish and watched a gorgeous sunset. No wonder it costs too much to live here. At least for the time being we can visit!!

Thanks Again!!

I just wanted to put a GIANT thank you out there for all of the many gifts I got at my baby shower. Yesterday we sat down and put together the "group gift", my carseat/stroller set. I absolutely love it!! It took a little while to figure it out, but now I know how it works and its gonna be great. I wanted to push around an empty stroller all day just because I was having so much fun!! Thanks to everyone who chipped in and made my night so wonderful. Here's some pics, especially for you Grandma!!

A Baby Shower...for me?!?!

I am having a baby in 10 short weeks and it still doesn't seem like reality. Last night, reality sunk in just a little bit more when my wonderful friends and family celebrated with a baby shower for me!! It was really strange to attend my own baby shower, but I loved every minute of it. Everyone's smiling faces, the fun games, delicious food and all the fantastic gifts. I loved every single gift, they were all so perfect :) I am so excited for Baby Boy Bracken to arrive and really wish we could pick a name!! Thank you so much to everyone who came and especially those who helped put it all together (thanks mom!!) and for those who couldn't make it we missed you and enjoy the fun pics!

Two Weddings in One Weekend

Mark and I had the pleasure of attending 2 weddings in a weekend. On Friday night in Arizona we got to celebrate with Tyler and Brittany at their reception. It was so fun to see cousins and friends we hadn't seen in a long time, and we were so excited for the happy couple.For more wedding pictures, see their new blog http://tylerbrittany.blogspot.com/ Can't get enough of this little guy!
.On Saturday morning we drove to CA to be there in time for Dani and Matt's reception. Man, can this family throw a party!! Again, we got to see so many family and friends that we haven't seen in such a long time. The place was packed and it was so much fun! These 2 are so cute together, it is so wierd to think Dani is old enough to be married, but then I remember they are the same ages we were!! Crazy times :) We had a blast!

Family Fun

On Thursday Mark and I got to meet our cousin Stone for the first time. This adorable little guy has already enjoyed a year of life before we got to meet him, but we are so glad we stuck around in AZ long enough to see his adorable face. He has the biggest eyes and the most beautiful skin. His mom frequently is asked if she takes her son tanning. WHAT?!?! That's awesome. We love you Stone!We also got to see our favorite little champs, our cousins twin boys Zane and Gage. We have watched these little boys grow from 2 pounds to almost 7. We love these little guys and they sure make me appreciate that I am having only one. You're a super hero Lynds!!

Just for funsies

So, some people have these on their blog as a tag, and some are just doing them for fun. Since no one tagged me, and I really wanted to do it and frankly I have too much free time right now…here it is! The google image search: the only rule, look up the answers to the following questions/subjects on google image and select a picture from the 1st page only.

My First NameThere were some really inappropriate ones to choose from, haha!!

My Age
Where I was born
Where I live
Favorite food
Favorite petMy parents dog is my favorite pet at the moment.

My first jobI was a hostess at Styx Restaurant

Favorite object
Past loveMy whole neighborhood would get together to play capture the flag on Friday nights when I was a kid. I loved it sooo much!

Nickname(s)

Favorite place
Where I want to goIt was this one or pictures of Miss Hilton, haha!

Grandma’s namesJanice
Florene

Bad HabitDriving too fast, haha!

What I am doing

I’m not tagging anyone, but if you wanna do it, give it a try. It’s funny to see what you come up with :)

Happy Anniversary it was...

As much as we would have loved to spend our anniversary in some exotic location, enjoying a relaxing vacation, well, that just wasn't an option. That's not to say we didn't enjoy spending our day together. I took the day off and Mark has the whole month off (much deserved) and we got to sleep in. We went to an afternoon baseball game at the D-Backs stadium. They played the Pittsburgh Pirates (yuck, PA!) and honestly it wasn't a very exciting game and it was really short but we had great seats (8th row) in their awesome indoor, air conditioned stadium where we almost got a couple foul balls (ok, I just ducked but Mark wanted one). We also got to see Randy Johnson pitch. That guy is 45 years old and still throwing 95 MPH, that's impressive. For dinner we went to one of my favorite restaurants, although I prefer the Hawaiian locations, it was delicious. They even brought us a strawberry tart with candles and Happy Anniversary written in chocolate. I wished I'd had my camera, sorry! Thanks for a wonderful day of celebration babe! Maybe for our 5th we can take that trip :) I love you forever!