Newport Vacation

This past week Blake and I were in Newport with my family and let me tell you it was a much needed vacation, especially for Blake. We had so much fun just hanging out with family, eating good food, being together, and for Blake sleeping in. Here are some highlights from the trip...

We started off on Sunday going over to Andrea and Kent's house to celebrate Kent's birthday. She made yummy "cafe rio" salads and fried ice cream for dessert.

We went to the beach....

Benjamin and Dylan. They are some funny kids.

Yes my belly is getting huge and I am completely aware of it :)

 Kaiden was scared of the water at first but once he got used to it we couldn't make him leave.

I love Dylan and his little belly.

My mom and I laying out.

We rode bikes on the Boardwalk...

I'm sure it was entertaining watching an 8 months pregnant girl trying to ride a bike down the boardwalk. I still had fun though :)

Isn't he cute? Love this boy.

Kurt and Natalee

Since Bryan and Brooke's family is so big and they didn't want to have to rent bikes for all the kids they just got one BIG bike (aka. "the family limosine") for the whole family. It was so funny and the kids loved it. They were laughing for the first 10 minutes of the bike ride and people would just stare at these guys. It was pretty funny. I'm sure Bryan and Brooke got a good workout in riding this thing.

We relaxed...

So isn't this the cutest thing ever? Nathan absolutely LOVES Blake..I think they have a special bond because they both love food so much. I just think these 2 are adorable. 

My mom and Christopher just hanging out together.

Devon just passed out by the pool. Blake was trying to wake him up by plugging his nose and flicking his ear but he was dead asleep.

I could just sit and stare at this little guy forever. Christopher is just so dang cute!

We went swimming...

Once again the 2 buddies swimming in the spa together.

 Devon trying to show me how he could do a back-flop and Nathan making a funny face.

 Keith and Dylan in the spa.

Nathan wanted me to take a picture of him. How can you look at this kid and not have a smile on your face.

Brittany had sprayed Keith's back with sunscreen but apparently she missed a few spots. Blake said it looked like a bigstick popsicle. Poor guy.

We played Minute to Win It....

 Creepy yet hilarious picture of Ben trying to move the oreo from his forehead to his mouth.

 Bryan of course was a pro at the pyramid game.

Keith trying to get a little workout in while he is timing my dad.

Blake is the only one who didn't make it in time..that's ok babe maybe next time :) I like to rub it in as much as I can because it doesn't happen very often.

We explored.....

 Kaiden and Dylan watched the fish for a good 45 minutes. Kaiden even named a few of them. He insisted that his "Bumble Bee" transformer wanted to watch the fish with him.

 Kira playing on the slide.

Kira has that same mischievious smile on her face everytime.

We played games....

Blake and Devon were partners for the waterballoon toss.

 Bryan and Brooke playing bocce ball. Blake and I kept wanting to play them but they were too afraid of getting beat by us that they kept chickening out.

Yes that is Blake standing in the ball. He thinks he is 5 sometimes.

My mom brought this huge ball that the kids could roll around in and they loved it. I think Blake and Bryan probably had more fun throwing the kids at it so they would bounce off.

Kaiden and Dylan putting together.

We did so much more that I didn't get on camera such as playing tennis, eating amazing food, having a movie night, BBQing with the Zylstra's, going on walks, and of course how could we go down to the beach without hitting up Ruby's for shakes. Blake and I also celebrated our 3 year anniversary and we enoyed getting to spend more time together than we normally get to. It was such a fun week and we loved getting to hang out with family and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The weather was perfect all week and we took advantage of the time and just relaxed.  

Of course, this wouldn't be complete without a baby update. I am 35 weeks along and so far I am feeling great. Sleeping is a bust but what pregant woman can say she slept great during the last couple of months of pregnancy. I am more than ready to have this kid and I am getting anxious to get everything moved into our new house and get things organized before he gets here. Wish me luck :)

3 Year Anniversary

Last week Blake and I celebrated our 3 year Anniversry. I can honestly say that these past 3 years have been the best of my life. It is amazing how much each of us have grown and the things we have learned about eachother and ourselves. I am a better person because of Blake and he is constantly making me want to be even better because of the type of person he is. I am so grateful to have him as my husband and my best friend. Here are some things I love about him:

-even though he gets stressed at work and has a long communte, he always comes home with a smile on his face and gives me a kiss.

-he knows how to make me happy no matter what mood I am in

-he loves to play with our nieces and nephews and I can't wait for him to be a daddy

-he is always willing to help others even when it isn't always convenient

-he makes everything 10 times more fun when he is around

-he is very thoughtful, hardworking, and basically an all-around good person

Basically, marrying him was the BEST decision ever and I am so grateful for him. I don't know how I got so lucky.

For our Anniversary, we went out to dinner at one of our favortie restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory. Afterwards we walked around downtown Huntington and then headed down to the beach to enjoy the sunset and eat our cheesecakes on the lifeguard tower. It was PERFECT! So much fun and totally low key. Blake got me a picture frame with a bunch of different pictures of us together and I absolutely love it! It is such a thoughtful gift. I am one lucky girl :)

I had the red velvet cheesecake and Blake had the Reeses Peanut butter cheesecake. Red velvet is still our favorite :)

Happy 3 Year Anniversary Blake! I LOVE YOU!

baby shower ideas

I know a lot of people have been asking me what I want for my baby shower and so I figured I could give some ideas to people.

As for the nursery... I have FINALLY decided on a baby bedding.

Ok so I am not going all out with all the accessories or anything. I like the bedding and the colors and I am thinking to get the decorations separate. My sister-in-law Whitney said she saw some cute sports decorations at Tai Pan so I am thinking of just using the colors and doing my own decorations. But the theme of his room will be sports and these are the colors :)

As far as clothes go...here is kinda my style of what I like.

At Target.com there are some really cute tops for super good deals that I love..I think they are only avaliable online but it will give you an idea of what I like :)

long sleeve shirt...and here

short sleeve collared shirt ...I am a huge fan of simple collared shirts. They had these in a ton of different colors and I think they are adorable.

church shirts

simple hoodies

sporty clothes

shoes ...I have to admit, I am a sucker for shoes, maybe just because they are so small but I think they are adorable.

As far as onesies go..I'm not too picky :) just more on the simple side, nothing too crazy.

Basically, for clothes, I like simple things with not too much design. I love sporty clothes, church clothes, play clothes, onsies, the whole nine yards.

If people want to go in on group gifts, then you can check out my registry at either Target or Babies r us for some ideas. There is a ton of stuff on that.

A mom could always use diapers and wipes and little knick-knacks like pacifiers, bottles, baby lotion, books, toys, etc.

Hope this was helpful :)



4th of July Festivities

I don't know why but for some reason I just love the 4th of July. I love the fireworks and the BBQ's and swimming and just the whole atmosphere I guess. Not to mention it is another day that Blake gets off work! whoo hoo! Anyways, this year started out pretty good. We went to breakfast at Tastee's with our friends Whitney & Blake before we headed over to the La Verne parade or as our husbands' call it the high school reunion. Whitney and I both felt bad for our husbands cause it is quite obvious that they don't love the parade as much as we do but they were good sports and I least they had eachother to hang out with. Whitney and I both just love the parade and it has been a tradition ever since I can remember. It used to be more about the actual parade but now I love going and watching my nieces and nephews get excited to get the candy and to catch up and see people that I don't always get to see as well as cousins and other friends. I just love it and really do look forward to it every year. This year however, I was not feeling too hot but I couldn't stand the thought of missing the parade so I ventured out into the 100 degree weather and tried to stick it out.





Keith & Dylan watching the parade

 



Nancy, Me, & Heather. LOVE my cousins!




Obviously I wasn't feeling too hott in this picture. I think I wanted to pass out.




The kids waiting for candy.




Kira with a sucker in each hand haha. This girl has got a sweet tooth.




Love this little girl.




Mom & Brielle.




The Blakes hanging out together.




Swimming at my parents house.


After the parade, Whitney & Blake, Keith & Brittany, and Kurt & Natalee came over to go swimming. It was so hot that I am sure it felt really nice to go for a little swim. After swimming, or rather watching everyone swim, I had no more energy left and could no longer put on the happy face. I was feeling pretty miserable. We were going to go over to Keith & Brittany's for a BBQ and watch the fireworks but I felt like death so reluctantly I decided to stay home. I was actually really bummed that I didn't get to see any fireworks this year cause I honestly LOVE to just sit on a blanket under the stars and watch the fireworks. Instead, I sat on the couch feeling like death all night. It turns out I had a fever and I think the heat got the best of me that day. Oh well. Hopefully next year will make up for it.

On a postive note...I am 32 weeks! It is crazy how fast time is flying by and soon enough our little guy will be here! We also found out that Whitney and Blake are having a little boy and I am so excited that our kids will be the same age and hopefully they like eachother as much as we do. We are hoping that their kid will be really tall so that he can protect our little guy from bullies :)  All I can say is hopefully they get along cause they are going to be seeing a lot of eachother. It has been so much fun to have my best friend be pregnant the same time as me so we can share stories, ask questions, and complain about all our aches and pains together.  For me, the only part of pregnancy that has really gotten me (besides my aching ribs) has been not being able to sleep. It is a given that I will be up every night from 2-5 so if any of you are suffering from insomnia and happen to be awake during that time then feel free to give me a call.

32 weeks..and growing everyday.