May God bless you and be with you in this time of disaster and devastation. Our hearts and prayers are with you.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Rain, Rain Go Away....
Come Again.... Never!
Wow! What a week it has been! Most of you have probably heard about the storms we've been hit by in Southern California. It has been crazy! I have never seen rain like this! Granted, I've been caught in a few crazy snow storms, but this rain was out of this world! It started to rain on Tuesday morning and by mid afternoon, it was hitting hard. Gabe called me at work that afternoon and told me that they had issued a tornado warning along the coast, from Laguna Beach heading towards Dana Point and we were right in its path. Obviously I wasn't swept away and lived to tell the story of my first tornado warning, Thank Heavens. But the tornado did do damage to a lot of cars and boats swept up in its path and dumped on harbors and roads. Meanwhile, the rain never stopped and in La Canada it began destroying hillsides causing major mud slides. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes and still waiting to go home. Cars have been stuck in roads that have now become rivers and crews are working around the clock to clean up the mess. Up in the Mountains, Big Bear has gotten a ton of snow, making me wish I had my skiis! (I never thought I needed them living so close to the beach!) We took Texas to the park yesterday during a small calm in the storm, and he ran and ran in what used to be a soccer field and is now a muddy lake of water. He came home covered in mud and happy to not be cooped up anymore.
And here I sit, Friday Morning, looking out the window at somewhat blue skies, and clouds waiting for the next storm to roll through. I'm not sure if it will be storm #5 or #6. On the radio and news they've been keeping count. It just seems like one big mother rain storm to me. All I know is that I'm ready for this rain to be over and get back out into the sunshine. For now, my goal for today is the Laundry Mat and Grocery shopping, be it rain or no rain.... (i'm crossing my fingers for no rain). But i just watched the morning news... Today's Forecast... RAIN!
Wow! What a week it has been! Most of you have probably heard about the storms we've been hit by in Southern California. It has been crazy! I have never seen rain like this! Granted, I've been caught in a few crazy snow storms, but this rain was out of this world! It started to rain on Tuesday morning and by mid afternoon, it was hitting hard. Gabe called me at work that afternoon and told me that they had issued a tornado warning along the coast, from Laguna Beach heading towards Dana Point and we were right in its path. Obviously I wasn't swept away and lived to tell the story of my first tornado warning, Thank Heavens. But the tornado did do damage to a lot of cars and boats swept up in its path and dumped on harbors and roads. Meanwhile, the rain never stopped and in La Canada it began destroying hillsides causing major mud slides. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes and still waiting to go home. Cars have been stuck in roads that have now become rivers and crews are working around the clock to clean up the mess. Up in the Mountains, Big Bear has gotten a ton of snow, making me wish I had my skiis! (I never thought I needed them living so close to the beach!) We took Texas to the park yesterday during a small calm in the storm, and he ran and ran in what used to be a soccer field and is now a muddy lake of water. He came home covered in mud and happy to not be cooped up anymore. And here I sit, Friday Morning, looking out the window at somewhat blue skies, and clouds waiting for the next storm to roll through. I'm not sure if it will be storm #5 or #6. On the radio and news they've been keeping count. It just seems like one big mother rain storm to me. All I know is that I'm ready for this rain to be over and get back out into the sunshine. For now, my goal for today is the Laundry Mat and Grocery shopping, be it rain or no rain.... (i'm crossing my fingers for no rain). But i just watched the morning news... Today's Forecast... RAIN!
Trying to maneuver through the streets of Long Beach
After the tornado hit Huntington Beach
This is how it's felt for the last four days.
Trying to stay dry. "Trying" being the key word here.
Crews working around the clock to get the mud out and people back in their houses.
A calm in the storm, for a little while anyway, at Huntington.
This is the dog beach where he take Texas at Huntington. It is so beautiful, and we're ready to go back!
A little reminder of God's love.Sunday, January 3, 2010
Happy New Years 2010
Happy New Year's 2010! We had a great New Year's weekend! Here's our New Year's check list:
-New Year's eve: NO WORK! Went on a run. (much needed after a Holiday binge in Utah!) Went into work anyway to finish some unfinished business. Went to the gym for 20 minutes... who knew they closed early? Got all showered and dressed up for an early night out on the town. By early I mean we were dining with old people. We ate at an awesome Mexican restaurant in which we had bought a coupon for at restaurants.com. Good food, great deal. Bought tickets for a stupid movie. We were the only people in the theater under age 50, and the only ones not laughing. I'm sure it was a funny movie... we'll try it again in 25 years. Twenty minutes into the movie, snuck into a different theater room to see Sherlock Holmes... awesome! Went to Albertson's for some Martinelli's and rootbeer floats. It's not as easy to find non-alcoholic bubbly in Cali as it is in Utah...found it in the kid's juice department. Cuddled up with Rootbeer floats in our sweats and flipped through channels until we watched the ball drop. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1... HAPPY NEW YEAR! New Year's kiss, sip of kid's bubbly, off to bed. Asleep by 12:08.
New Year's Day: Sleep in! By sleep in I mean 8 am. Take the dog on a hike in the huge canyon behind our house. Try our Texas' new cool doggie back pack that he got for Christmas. Get all sorts of scratched up trying to find the river. Mission accomplished. Texas braved the running water, a long time goal for Gabe and I. Took a few New Year's pics. Never mind the just woken up look. Made our way home for left over Mexican food. New Year's nap time. Much needed from our "CRAZY" night out.... Hit the mall for some New Year's deals. I of course found many things that I absolutley "NEEDED", while Gabe was there for good support. Came home with a watch that fits, a bracelet with a "G" on it to stand for my one and only, and a cheetah shirt. (the much needed item.) Took back the red boxes we had forgotten about for a week and rented a new one. A dollar, you can't beat it! Then headed off to an ASIA BUFFET. That's right an Asia Buffet! Gabe was determined to get his money's worth so we sat and ate until we couldn't eat any more sushi, any more wontons, egg rolls, orange chicken, kung pao chicken, coco nut shrimp, and everything else Asian you can imagine. Came home with our redbox and cuddled up ice cream.
Jan. 2: The weekend continues: Only today we decided to start with part one of our New Year's Resolution: get organized. We spent the whole day pulling everything out of our closets, hampers, bins, corners, and drawers and organized, organized, organized. We gathered two huge black garbage sacks full of clothes for the D.I. It felt so good to actually know where things are stored in our little apartment. Got ready and made our way into Newport. Went to the beautiful Newport temple, followed by Pizza and Dateline:48 hours, a special on a kidnapping in Mexico. Decided that our plan to drive my little beat up Corolla as far into Mexico as we can until it blows up and ride a bus back to the U.S. is now a NO GO. I prefer not to be kidnapped by the Mexican Cartel. Fell asleep early with Texas at the foot of our bed. Last night he graduated from the crate to the carpet. A big step for our American bull dog puppy.
Jan. 3-Woke up early due to the change in time for church. 9 am. Yawned through all our meetings. Home for nap time, had to catch up from the early wake up call. Left over Pizza, reading and blogging. Hopefully we'll be in bed early.
Tomorrow- Back to reality!
Hope your New Years was Fantastic! We have so much to look forward to in the year 2010! Best wishes for your 2010!
-New Year's eve: NO WORK! Went on a run. (much needed after a Holiday binge in Utah!) Went into work anyway to finish some unfinished business. Went to the gym for 20 minutes... who knew they closed early? Got all showered and dressed up for an early night out on the town. By early I mean we were dining with old people. We ate at an awesome Mexican restaurant in which we had bought a coupon for at restaurants.com. Good food, great deal. Bought tickets for a stupid movie. We were the only people in the theater under age 50, and the only ones not laughing. I'm sure it was a funny movie... we'll try it again in 25 years. Twenty minutes into the movie, snuck into a different theater room to see Sherlock Holmes... awesome! Went to Albertson's for some Martinelli's and rootbeer floats. It's not as easy to find non-alcoholic bubbly in Cali as it is in Utah...found it in the kid's juice department. Cuddled up with Rootbeer floats in our sweats and flipped through channels until we watched the ball drop. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1... HAPPY NEW YEAR! New Year's kiss, sip of kid's bubbly, off to bed. Asleep by 12:08.
New Year's Day: Sleep in! By sleep in I mean 8 am. Take the dog on a hike in the huge canyon behind our house. Try our Texas' new cool doggie back pack that he got for Christmas. Get all sorts of scratched up trying to find the river. Mission accomplished. Texas braved the running water, a long time goal for Gabe and I. Took a few New Year's pics. Never mind the just woken up look. Made our way home for left over Mexican food. New Year's nap time. Much needed from our "CRAZY" night out.... Hit the mall for some New Year's deals. I of course found many things that I absolutley "NEEDED", while Gabe was there for good support. Came home with a watch that fits, a bracelet with a "G" on it to stand for my one and only, and a cheetah shirt. (the much needed item.) Took back the red boxes we had forgotten about for a week and rented a new one. A dollar, you can't beat it! Then headed off to an ASIA BUFFET. That's right an Asia Buffet! Gabe was determined to get his money's worth so we sat and ate until we couldn't eat any more sushi, any more wontons, egg rolls, orange chicken, kung pao chicken, coco nut shrimp, and everything else Asian you can imagine. Came home with our redbox and cuddled up ice cream.
Jan. 2: The weekend continues: Only today we decided to start with part one of our New Year's Resolution: get organized. We spent the whole day pulling everything out of our closets, hampers, bins, corners, and drawers and organized, organized, organized. We gathered two huge black garbage sacks full of clothes for the D.I. It felt so good to actually know where things are stored in our little apartment. Got ready and made our way into Newport. Went to the beautiful Newport temple, followed by Pizza and Dateline:48 hours, a special on a kidnapping in Mexico. Decided that our plan to drive my little beat up Corolla as far into Mexico as we can until it blows up and ride a bus back to the U.S. is now a NO GO. I prefer not to be kidnapped by the Mexican Cartel. Fell asleep early with Texas at the foot of our bed. Last night he graduated from the crate to the carpet. A big step for our American bull dog puppy.
Jan. 3-Woke up early due to the change in time for church. 9 am. Yawned through all our meetings. Home for nap time, had to catch up from the early wake up call. Left over Pizza, reading and blogging. Hopefully we'll be in bed early.
Tomorrow- Back to reality!
Hope your New Years was Fantastic! We have so much to look forward to in the year 2010! Best wishes for your 2010!
Our Christmas run down
We hope you had a Merry Christmas! Its crazy how we spend all of December preparing for this one day and it is all over so quickly! I especially loved the Christmas season this year. All the lights around the city went up, we decorated our little apartment, listened to Christmas music and I truly felt the spirit of Christmas. I am so grateful for the the reason of Christmas, the birth of our Savior. I hope you all felt his love this Christmas as we did.
We spent our Christmas in Utah with our family... here's a little run down of the trip... (pictures to come later)
-Packed our car to the roof of presents and luggage for a 3 day trip to Utah
-Piled Gabe and I, the dog Texas, Gabe's cousin Chelsey, and her dog buster into the car wiggled in between the presents.
-Left 70 degree weather for 7 degree weather.
-Had awesome Cafe Rio for Christmas eve lunch with Gabe's mom and brothers and spent the day with the other last minute crazy shoppers.
-Enjoyed a beautiful Christmas Turkey dinner with my fam and grandparents.
-Woke up to a crazy Christmas day. Ping ponging from one family to the next. Presents at Gabe's parents house, breakfast and presents with Grandparents Yates at my parents house, lunch with the Spencer Clan, Lunch at Grandma Janet's with the Valenzuela crew, followed by turkey and dessert with the Hendricksen's with Grandpa Jack! It was so good to see everybody and spend the day together! Thank you to all for all the gifts! Our car was more full on the way home!!!
-Post Christmas day: Shopping with mom, lunch with friends, a trip to the Mexican grocery store for some good Venezuelan cooking! (Thank you Gabe! The arepas were DELISH!)
-Dancing with Grandpa Jack at the Murray Arts center with the rest of the retired community of Salt Lake. SO FUN! Grandpa Jack taught me how to waltz and Gabe got to dance with some nice old ladies! Not to mention dancing with my husband is my favorite.
-Dancing was followed by a late night dinner at Grandpa Jack's! Can't beat fried Halibut and potatoes!
-next day: SLEEP IN!!! We needed it for the 10 hour car ride home! Made sure to stop for our last chance for Cafe Rio! Arrived back home to warm weather and a much needed sleep recovery!
Our Christmas was wonderful! WE loved spending it with the people that we love!
We spent our Christmas in Utah with our family... here's a little run down of the trip... (pictures to come later)
-Packed our car to the roof of presents and luggage for a 3 day trip to Utah
-Piled Gabe and I, the dog Texas, Gabe's cousin Chelsey, and her dog buster into the car wiggled in between the presents.
-Left 70 degree weather for 7 degree weather.
-Had awesome Cafe Rio for Christmas eve lunch with Gabe's mom and brothers and spent the day with the other last minute crazy shoppers.
-Enjoyed a beautiful Christmas Turkey dinner with my fam and grandparents.
-Woke up to a crazy Christmas day. Ping ponging from one family to the next. Presents at Gabe's parents house, breakfast and presents with Grandparents Yates at my parents house, lunch with the Spencer Clan, Lunch at Grandma Janet's with the Valenzuela crew, followed by turkey and dessert with the Hendricksen's with Grandpa Jack! It was so good to see everybody and spend the day together! Thank you to all for all the gifts! Our car was more full on the way home!!!
-Post Christmas day: Shopping with mom, lunch with friends, a trip to the Mexican grocery store for some good Venezuelan cooking! (Thank you Gabe! The arepas were DELISH!)
-Dancing with Grandpa Jack at the Murray Arts center with the rest of the retired community of Salt Lake. SO FUN! Grandpa Jack taught me how to waltz and Gabe got to dance with some nice old ladies! Not to mention dancing with my husband is my favorite.
-Dancing was followed by a late night dinner at Grandpa Jack's! Can't beat fried Halibut and potatoes!
-next day: SLEEP IN!!! We needed it for the 10 hour car ride home! Made sure to stop for our last chance for Cafe Rio! Arrived back home to warm weather and a much needed sleep recovery!
Our Christmas was wonderful! WE loved spending it with the people that we love!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Happy ONE year to us!!
We did it! Yesterday marked one year since Gabe and I sealed the deal. On 12/12 of '08 Gabe and I got married for forevers in the Salt Lake Temple. The day of our wedding was absolutely beautiful (beautiful for a December day in Salt Lake). We woke up the next morning, (the morning of our reception) to a unbelievable snow blizzard. I loved it. The wedding was beautiful. What an amazing day! I can't believe a year has gone by. It has been a wonderful year. We have done so much. We moved to California, got new jobs, traveled all over, and became best friends through it all. I am so grateful to have Gabe in my life and I love him so much. Happy one year babe!
What a fun anniversary we had!
We got all dressed up for dinner and Gabe bought me these beautiful roses. I love, love, love getting all dressed up. I feel like I'm going to prom... only way better.
Aren't they the most beautiful red roses?!
We went to dinner at this great little Italian place called Tannin's in San Juan Capistrano. The food was fantastic. And we definitely stuffed our selves.
Then we headed down to San Diego. We stayed in the Marriott in La Jolla. It was beautiful. And Gabe worked his magic and got us into the suite.
This is a horrible picture, I know, but this was the view from our balcony. That lighted building in the background is the beautiful San Diego Temple. You can see it a little better in the lighted picture from the morning.
The awesome view from the balcony.
Just "hanging out" in our room.
OK. This is my most favorite part of all. Most of you have probably seen this famous picture. It is absolutely my favorite picture. I always said (before I was married) that some day I was going to find some body who would kiss me like this. Well.... I found him...
A few months ago, Gabe had to go down to San Diego for a work thing. He found this huge statue and immediately thought of me... He's so cute. He kept it a secret until our anniversary. The morning of our actual anniversary, 12/12, we drove from our hotel to San Diego. Gabe said he had a surprise for me. He told me we were going to take a picture. As we were driving, I was looking for what he would possibly want to take a picture by. As we pulled in.. I saw it. I immediately took a huge gasp of breath. I couldn't believe it. The picture! The huge statue! I was blown away! I loved it! We hopped out of the car, in the pouring pouring rain mind you, and asked a guy walking by if he would take our picture. I must say....It was
PICTURE PERFECT!
The most perfect anniversary present!
Afterwards, we drove back to Mission Viejo, went and had a yummy breakfast at Coco's, and went back to our warm house. Since it was still pouring rain and cold outside, we rented some movies, got back in our jammies, and snuggled in front of the T.V. for the rest of the day.
It was perfect. What a wonderful first year anniversary. Here's to one year with my sweetheart and many more to come!
A little weekend get away...
Gabe and I took off last weekend for a little trip to Arizona. Arizona isn't too far from us, so we packed up and took off. We met up with one of Gabe's mission companions Kreg and is wife Brittany Lewis. It was so fun to get together and go see the lights at the Mesa Temple. I do have to clear up one thing though... Contrary to popular belief.... Arizona IS cold during the winter time! We did have a blast though and loved the weekend in Arizona!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)