The last "Party of 3" vacation

What an amazing vacation!!  We have always looked for an excuse to make our way to the west coast, and to be honest, could not have had more to celebrate during this trip!  We decided that our San Diego trip would be to celebrate Rich's 36th birthday, me passing my boards, and the fact that our little family of three will soon be expanding!

The trip was AMAZING!  We had never been to San Diego before, but have always heard so many great things.  I am like a little walking tour-guide now, so if you are thinking of going, I will be more than happy to talk your ear off about it!  We spent four nights there, and somehow fit in La Jolla, San Diego Zoo, Disneyland, Sea World, and Coronado island.  The food was amazing, the experience was amazing, and the weather was amazing!!

Before you are inundated with photos, here are some fun things that I learned while out there:

1.  There are no Sonics in San Diego.  People look at you like you are crazy if you ask about it.

2.  No body, and I mean no body, drinks Diet Dr. Pepper.  I couldn't even find it at Wal Mart.

3.  As gorgeous as it is, allergies are way worse on the west coast.  I literally thought my brains would come out, if I had to blow my nose one more time.

4.  If you drive a motorcycle, it is completely acceptable to drive in between two lanes of traffic during rush-hour.

5.  You know the two "boob-like" structures on the highway in Naked Gun???  Yeah, those really exist, and are on I-5 between San Diego and Anaheim. 

6.  If it's not described as "grass-fed beef" Californians are not likely to eat it.

7.  Recycling the the ONLY way!

8.  The weather is perfect all the time.

9.  People will actually pay $50/day for hotel-parking.

10.  In-N-Out is a way of life.  No matter how many times I tried, I could not say "animal-style" without giggling just a little.  I'm sure the cashier was a little annoyed with my childish-ness. :)

Okay, so here are some pictures!  I will not overwhelm you with the 5,000 pictures of animals that Addi insisted that I take, but here are some of her favorites...



Addi is almost three years old, and this is the first elephant she has ever seen.  She loved it!

Oh, my favorite!  I loved this guy!

A face only a mother could love.

We were so excited to find all the seals right in our little Cove!  We had dinner within feet of them!  They were literally everywhere, and people were still swimming in the ocean.  So awesome!

Our view at dinner.  We celebrated Rich's birthday at George's on the Cove, and later found out that the chef there was ranked one of the top ten chef's in the country by Food and Wine magazine.  I am still sick that I didn't take a picture of our food before we demolished it!  It was incredible!

Disneyland!!!!!

Addi talking to Aerial.  They had a very indepth conversation, people.

That's my guy. :)

Addi was totally captivated by the "It's a Small World" ride.

Okay, this picture speaks a thousand words.  Addi was talking all day about wanting to meet Mickey, but this was her reaction when we actually got to him.  I think had something to do with his incredibly large head.

Yes, that is someone else's child I took a picture of because my child wanted nothing to do with the large rodent.

In-N-Out...how I love thee....

Chocolate shake!!

I could have watched this creature all day.

Addi's favorite part of the entire-trip.

These flowers were everywhere.  How gorgeous.

California sunset.



Everything about this day was perfect!!

Tuesday, August 31

We woke up, extremely excited to know that this would be the day that we would share our gender-reveal with all of our family and close friends.  The day could not have been more perfect....more magical.  It was amazing.  We got up early, and headed for our OB appt, which was followed by the ultrasound.  We told the ultrasound tech that we did not want her tell us the baby's sex, but instead write it in a sealed envelope.  We took the envelope straight over to our friend Katie, who made our precious cake!

We had all of our family and some close friends over to celebrate the big news with us.  After tons of snacks, and kids playing on the jungle-gym...it was time.  I can't begin to describe the love, excitement, and nervousness that overcame me at this moment.  It was amazing.

It's a BOY!!!  We could not have been happier!

How gorgeous is this shot??

Proud Mommy and Daddy!  So excited to bring in some blue!

And let me just say one more time how very special this night was to me.  Everything about it was perfect!  Thank you to all of you that shared in our special occasion.  We are so blessed!

Dream on

So, my last post said that I thought it would be a couple of months before Rich started his next "project".  I was wrong.  It only took ten days.  I came home from work to be confronted with this diagram, that he had spent who knows how long drawing.  This, my friends, is a schematic of the back-yard.  I wish that you could see just how much detail he put into this drawing....and how much dreaming.  Look closely.  We've got it all folks.  Two decks, a hot-tub, a Koi-pond and river, a waterfall, a bridge, a trampoline, a sitting-bench, a stone-path...the list just goes on and on.  I have also been made aware that we need a "focal-point" for the back-yard.  Of course we do.

I love my husband for his vision and excitement for yardwork.    But this went a little far.

It is finished, and it is good.

The pergola is finished!  I would not believe it if I didn't get to stare at it all day!  We have been talking about this for more than a year now and now that it's done, I keep asking myself why we waited so long to get it started.  I love it!  I don't want to get super-sappy, but I am so proud of my husband for doing this.  He designed and built the entire thing by himself.  He spent 8-10 hours per day in 100 degree weather, and loved every minute of it.  I will never again question his creative-capabilities.

So, here are the step-by-step pictures...

He even worked in the dark...

Don't mind the chalk all over the side!  Hopefully we will get a little rain soon.  This is pretty much the finished project.  The only thing he has left to do is wrap the footings.  Isn't it awesome?!?!

I'm pretty sure that he is addicted now to building projects.  He is walking around with his head hung low, he's lost his appetite, and I might have heard a little whimper coming from his side of the bed last night.....almost like he has lost his best friend.  I give it two months before he has come up with a new building project. :)

What we've been up to.

Well, since the last time I posted, we found out that we are expecting baby number two!!  This pregnancy has been so much different than my first.  I have been WAY more tired, and WAY more hungry this time around.  I am almost through the first trimester, and am praying that I get a little energy back in a couple of weeks. 

We had our first ultrasound today.  This is our baby at 12 wks.  Heart-rate 168.

We went on vacation to Myrtle Beach last month with some very dear friends, Jared and Casey Cox.  We have been talking about vacationing for more than 10 years, and finally got around to doing it!

Enjoying the Beach

Sandcastles with Dad

Addi and Christian

We have also made about a million trips to the zoo.  Addi gets so excited the second we pull into the parking lot.  She has decided that giraffes and monkeys are her favorite animals.  (Why does there have to be a five-mile walk to get around to see the giraffes anyway)

This guy was pretty entertaining.  Right about this time, he started relieving himself.  Totally made the day of about 10 little school-boys standing next to us.

Whoa.  That is some crazy hair.  Does everyone know about Will Rogers Park??  How is it that I have lived here my whole life and have never been to these gardens??  Absolutely gorgeous.  If you have a good camera, you might just never leave.  Seriously made me rethink my choice of profession.

Feeding ducks with cousin Payten

Masterpiece in the making.  Poor thing....she is going to be devestated when her playroom is transitioned to the new nursery.  Wah.

She does paint a pretty picture though.

Addi at her friend's birthday party

Loving her Gampa's homemade chicken noodle soup.  This girl is so happy.

And this is what Richard has been up to.  Building a pergola!  You would think that he would have waited until it got a little cooler outside, but I'm not about to stop him.  Please don't anyone tell him that it isn't normal to drink four quarts of gatorade and not pee.  Okay, that maybe crossed the appropriate-line.  I apologize...or maybe I don't.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a fun summer!!!