Spontaneous Road Trip: Part 1

After Carly & Chase's wedding we decided to drive up to Portland, OR to visit our college friends Dave & Rachael Berry and meet their daughter Pearl. We figured, hey, we'll be halfway there (in Sac) and we're unemployed with time to spare, so why not!

It was a great decision! The drive up there was beautiful- neither of us had driven that far north as adults and seeing I-5 in the spring is a lot greener and nicer than summertime. Gigi noted that there were "wots [lots] of cows."We had a great time touring around Portland with stay-at-home dad Dave (one of David's college roommates and also to be forever remembered as the groomsman at our wedding with 2 left shoes). He helps pastor a church in Portland and took us to tour Skate Church which his co-pastor started over 20 years ago. It was really fun to see Gigi and Pearl play together, too. Pearl turned 1 in December so they are only about 7 months apart.
We went to Powell's Books which is the biggest bookstore I could imagine- an entire city block and multiple levels!! It was awesome! And we also saw the beautiful Multnomah Falls (pictured up above) in the Columbia River Gorge. It was raining, but that didn't stop us from venturing out!
I really loved Oregon, especially how green it is~ and I mean that literally and figuratively.

Enjoy the photos, and stay tuned for the rest of trip's recaps.

Almanor Crew Meet-Up

If you saw our February photos you may have noticed we had a little get-together with part of the Almanor crew, aka the families I grew up camping with every summer.

It's always fun when we're all together and this time was no exception. We met up at the Churney's new house (which they've done an amazing job fixing up) in Orange, and a highlight was definitely seeing Gigi get to play with her friend Ryan who's only a month younger than her, and his new baby brother Jayden.

We of course missed the rest of the crew (including this family and this one), but hopefully one of these days we'll all make it up to the lake for a reunion!

Love you guys!!Gigi's first time "holding" a baby!

P.S. Kelly, I owe you pictures, I'll email them soon or your can download them off my flickr account. :)

January Photos and A Message to Bennett Markley

sI've been meaning to post this link...
Here are all of our January Photos on Flickr.

Gigi's First "Vlog" (Video Blog)

Something Gigi loves is to watch "movies" that our friends post of their kids on their blogs. Today she literally asked me to watch one of her favorites- Bennett Laughing-- Click the link so you can see how cute he is (she likes the dancing one, too), but don't forget to come back here and scroll down!

Here's Gigi smiling away as she watches Bennett...


And in response, she wanted to do a Vlog for Bennett:

Weekend in Sac!

Gigi and I flew up to Sacramento this weekend for a fun time with family and friends. We were so stoked that David was able to come out from Colorado too and we loved spending the weekend with him; it made us even more anxious for when he's finally out here for good!

We stayed with our friends Dave, Emily & Isabelle as we have been wanting to visit them ever since Dave had a bit of a health scare last month. We loved meeting Isabelle and Gigi was so happy to meet another new friend, Ih-belle. Gigi & Izzy got to take a couple of baths together and Gigi got to play with all of Emmy's fun toys that she has from her speech therapy days, and Mommy was happy to eat yummy abalone for dinner- mmm!!

Bath time!

We also went to celebrate with the Bennett side of the fam and Gigi got to go to Aunt Carly's bridal shower and spend time with her and Uncle Chase, Granny and Granpa and even Aunt Stacey, who came all the way from Indiana, surprising her little sister! During the shower, David and his dad got to play golf at the golf course that David worked at in high school with his buddy Taylor and his dad ~ just like the old days.

Surprise!

At Carly's Shower

On Sunday, we also spent time with Kristina & Sarah, another one of Gigi's friends. It was so cute to see the three girls sort of "hanging out" together and observing the different stages each of them is in.

Moms & Daughters, the next generation

Isabelle (~6 mos.), Sarah (~11 mos.), Gianna (~21 mos.)

Speaking of stages, sweet little Gigi Bri has officially entered the Terrible Twos, as of Carly's shower, which she pretty much spent in one constant tantrum (sorry, ladies!). Although, she sort of redeemed & refreshed herself yesterday with two good naps, and a good night's sleep.

Thanks, everyone, for a really fun weekend!

Christmas & December Photos

A delicious date night out at Delicias in Ranch Santa Fe with two sets of Pavones.


We had a really nice Christmas at the Pavones' house this year, complete with the Bennetts spending Christmas day with us, too.

Gigi loves her new pony from Yaya & Papa!!

Gigi and Granny on Christmas.

Here's our December photo album (sort of big!)~ December was a fun month here in CA for us, and we've thoroughly enjoyed David's two weeks off of work!

A very happy Gigi at lunch with the Wingers in La Jolla.

Come Make Something Fun at the Beach!

I have a fun announcement!

What & When? I'm going to host a Make Something Day party at our campsite at San Mateo Campground (part of San Onofre State Beach) on the day after Thanksgiving (11/28/08)~ time: TBD.

Who's invited? Anyone who's camping with us or who would like to come spend a couple hours hanging out and crafting.

Why? Make Something Day is an alternative to Black Friday, or the day when people get up ridiculously early to risk life and limb to buy a cheap DVD player and and other random and often useless on-sale items, contributing to our consumer-frenzied culture.
In a time when our economy is suggesting we live a more frugal lifestyle, Make Something Day is a great alternative. Instead of buying something, make something, whether it's a gift or just something fun for yourself.
Those of us who camp every year for Thanksgiving don't usually do much shopping on that day, but this year I wanted to make a pointed decision to not shop on Black Friday.
I'd much rather craft with my friends anyways!

More Details: Since we will have somewhat limited resources at the campground, I have a specific project in mind for us to do (although it can easily have variations). We can pool our supplies together, have some snacks, and have some fun!

What to Bring?

• Boxes with lids (a cigar box would be perfect if you know someone who has some!) or other containers (like cylindrical tin containers with lids- like the ones that chai and hot chocolate from TJ's or baby formula comes in).
• Scrapbook paper, buttons, ribbon, ric-rac, and other fun embellishments
• Glue/glue sticks
• Check craigslist and/or freecycle for containers if you don't have any, rather than buying new!
  

Please RSVP by leaving a comment so that we know how many to expect. {NOTE: I have temporarily changed the blog settings so that anyone can comment, so please leave one if you'd like to join!} Thanks, and I hope to see you there!!

Parking info: A day pass at the campground is $10 but there is a parking lot a mile away where you can park, call us, and we can pick you up. :)

Happy Halloween! {+ Oct. Photos!}

Tonight Gigi went trick-or-treating with her best neighbor friend, Keira! They were adorable!
Here they are this afternoon in their matching pumpkin shirts, and then later this evening dressed up as a Chargers cheerleader and a 50s girl {note: it's virtually impossible to get these two to smile at the camera the same time!}.

Gigi finally got the hang of it after a few houses. She liked carrying her little bag of treats around, and had fun examining "her" loot. :)

One of our neighbors was nice enough to give the little girls Teddy Grahams, so we let Gigi have a "treat" when we got home! {p.s. This picture shows the first time she said "cheese" when posing for a photo!}

October was a fun month in Colorado, and included two of Gigi's other best friends, Wyatt & Brooke's birthday parties!
Here are the rest of the month's pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157608547716184/

Week in California

Sorry for the delay on this post~ still waiting for a few pics to get emailed to me, but I figured I can just add to it when they arrive!
Gianna and I spent a week in California at Yaya & Papa's house while David traveled to Argentina for work (more on that later!).We had a great time! We saw lots of friends and family-- Granny & Granpa came down for dinner one night and Unc A & Tia spent most of the week with us, too. On Thursday we had a very full day visiting some friends in Orange County which was very fun. We even went the San Diego Zoo on Friday -- Gigi loved all the "amuls" (animals)! Oh, and Gigi fell even more in love with Sydney (aka "Ninney").Gigi Bri did awesome on the plane rides (sleeping most of the time!). The only bummer about this whole week was that we came back to significantly cooler weather. Let's just say I currently have 2 tomato plants and 1 jalapeño plant in my kitchen trying to survive ~ I'm always in denial that winter is coming!

As usual, I have lots of pictures to share from the week away...

My album from the week:
http://flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157608242781930/
Al-Buddy also has some great shots too:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14000165@N05/sets/72157607946938560/

P.S. I wrote a guest post for Green & Clean Mom last week. You can read it to find out how/why I decided to go green...

Please Pray!

Quick prayer request shout out...
Please pray for my dear friend (one of my oldest friends!), Sharla and her family as her husband Davey deploys on Saturday to Iraq for a year. Davey is an officer in the Army and he's leaving behind quite the flock of girlies in Colorado... Sharla, daughters Serenity & Aylah and 2 doggies!

Labor Day Camping Trip

We had a really fun weekend camping at Golden Gate Canyon State Park, which is only a little over an hour from our house. It was a weekend full of friends, doggies, hiking, and good food.Our friends the Matthews came for Friday night and Saturday, and our friend Tom & his puppies came up for the day on Saturday too. Then on Saturday, our spontaneous friends from HB, the Riedels joined us for the rest of the weekend (a trip they planned the week before!!).We even had a nice thunderstorm on Sunday evening. Gigi passed the time reading while we played Scrabble and snacked.On Monday we went downtown with the Riedels for the Taste of Colorado, and we even found the perfect truck for Alex & Angelina.
View all of the weekend's pictures here:
http://flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157607092174510/

Does Jake Have a Long Lost Russian Sister?

Since some of you didn't agree with my last celebrity look-alike match-up, here's another.

David & I have really gotten into watching tennis this past year, starting with the Australian Open. Today my favorite player, Dinara Safina, won her quarter finals match in the US Open, so in her honor I wanted to point out how much she looks like a family friend of ours.
In fact her brother is a pro tennis player too, but I think she looks more like my brother's best buddy from HS, Jake.

What do you think?

I got tagged!

The ABC's of Me

(I was "tagged" by Linda to do this!)

A. Attached or single? As attached as they come! I love being married!

B. Best friend? David! But my girlfriends are a close second... here are a few of the many I've been blessed with: Rena, Sarah, Beth, Kelley, Annie & my mom

C. Cake or Pie? Probably cake, although I'll take pie anytime too.

D. Day of choice? Friday! Especially because David gets every other one off.

E. Essential items? laptop, cell phone, sunglasses, a good book, my nalgene, and the Bible

F. Favorite color(s)? Teal/aqua

G. Gummy bears or worms? worms (sour!)

H. Hometown? San Marcos, CA (north county san diego)

I. Favorite indulgence? brownies (the huge box from costco!) or peppermint joe-joe's

J. January or July? July, definitely a summer girl.

K. Kids? a crazy little girlie (~15 months)

L. Life isn't complete without? Jesus... He makes life worth the living (same answer as Linda!)

M. Marriage date? June 28, 2003

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 younger bro

O. Oranges or apples? oranges (especially if someone else peels it for me!)

P. Phobias? the dark (more of a fear than a phobia though)

Q. Quotes- "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold." S.E. Hinton (this was Linda's and I'm leaving it because I love The Outsiders!), but also: "We will never take our places as 'more than overcomers' with nothing to overcome." -Beth Moore, and "i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)." e.e. cummings.

R. Reasons to smile? I am loved.

S. Season of choice? I think I already answered this. :) SUMMER!

T. Tag 5 people: mom, sharla, ashley, emma, shan

U. Unknown fact about me? I'm pretty much an open book so even this might not be all that "unkown" to some of you, but in high school I was a cheerleader, did gymnastics, pole vaulted, played field hockey, and started surfing.

V. Vacation of choice? anywhere warm & tropical/humid with a pretty beach.

W. Worst habit? Wasting time.

X. X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound... I've had my fair share.

Y. Your favorite food? ice cream, corn on the cob, guacamole

Z. Zodiac sign? Aquarius. I don't believe in this stuff, but I do like water, so there ya go.

Trip to NorCal

We spent a long weekend in California, seeing lots of peeps and driving all over! The trip was to go to my dear friend Emily's baby Shower in West Sacramento, which was awesome because we had almost the whole lake crew together (missing some of the guys and their significant others). We flew into San Jose because it was cheaper, which turned out great because we even got to see a few friends in the Bay Area in addition to our friends & fam in Sac.We stayed the weekend in shared hotel room with my parents (Thanks!) and then spent a night with David's sister Carly and a night with our friends the Wingers. Thanks everyone for your hospitality and a really fun trip (minus David li'l bout with food poisoning or the stomach flu).
Thanks to my parents babysitting, David & I even got to celebrate our 5 year anniversary) (which was Saturday) with a lovely dinner at Morton's!

Here are all the pictures (make sure to enable the captions if you do a slideshow!)! Click here (sorry I forgot to make it a link before!): http://flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157605951661795/

Nor Cal

We're coming to Sac at the end of the month!!



I know this is random, but I found it on neatorama and had to make one!

A few random things...

I just grabbed some pictures off the camera and thought I'd share a few with you...

Gigi got her first "owie" at Unc A's wedding (she skinned her knew on the bricks)-- here she is checking out her Hello Kitty Band-Aid.

My moms' Bible study is more of a play group now for the summer (and we are reading Anne Rice's book Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt too). Here is Gigi with her friend Sophie (oh yeah, baby Jude's hiding in there too) at the Zoo.

We had a BBQ at our neighbors' house a last weekend. They have their own bounce house, and Gigi loved it!

This is what happens after a long morning of walking to the pool, swimming & watching all the other kids, and walking home.

Cloth diaper update: doesn't she look cute in her little BumGenius dipe? I need to get a shot of her in the gDiapers because they aren't quite as bulky (which is why I think I like them better, used with the flushable insert or a cloth insert). She doesn't seem to notice the difference between the different types (cloth or disp.). We've been using cloth at home and disposables when we go out & overnight. I even made a microfiber insert (I still need to make more) that can be used with either type of cloth dipe-- I'm learning it's good to have extra inserts. Clean-up's not too bad, although we did ditch the Diaper Champ because the nice, waterproof, washable bags I got didn't fit with it, but the li'l trash can we got is working fine and it's not even smelly in the bathroom because of it!

Party Numero Dos!

Gigi hanging out with Granny.

Gigi loves her new swing from Yaya & Papa!

Gigi's second 1st Birthday party was a blast. We had a lot of fun with our friends & family in California. Unfortunately we didn't get the best weather for a pool party, but everyone still had fun hanging out and eating. Here are all the pictures... click HERE.

We're having a great time so far... more to come later!