Thanksgiving, 10 Year Reunion, Christmas Lights, and More!

DISCLAIMER: There will be lots of photos..and this blog is long. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving is over!!! AHHH...and now its already December 2nd? Seriously? Where did the time go?????

That was a lot of question marks.

Well, these last 10 days have been a bit of a blur....a fun, joyful, busy, and relaxing blur. Jeff and I started our Thanksgiving week with an engagement! Not just any engagement but our little brother Josh's engagement!! He officially asked his girlfriend (now fiance) to marry him on Saturday November 23rd. It was beautiful. He invited about 30 of her closest friends to join us with a surprise engagement party that same day! Makela's parents drove down from Nevada City and almost everyone who came was from out of the area. The party was filled with so much love and joy, it was wonderful!

 I'm so excited!!! I keep smiling. First, my sister's wedding, then I find out my sister-in-law is pregnant with baby # 2, and THEN my brother-in-law's engagement! 2014 is shaping up to be an amazing, fun-filled, wedding, baby, traveling, year...it is going to be epic.

After the celebration festivities, hugs, cries, and laughter, Jeff and I saw Catching Fire! 

OH EM GEE.

I don't know why I see movies when they come out...I'm always left wanting more!! Now I have to wait another year until MockingJay comes out. It's okay though, I have patience. At least I keep telling myself I do.

((It says Hunger Games, but I promise it was Catching Fire.))

We were able to enjoy an entire 9 days on the Central Coast. It was so nice to relax and not feel like we are cramming in family time in two days. We were able to go on walks, runs, dinners, and fun outings with both my family and Jeff's family. We spent Thanksgiving day with the Sparrow's, extended family and all, as well as the Weebe family! I loved it. I love family. I love being able to spend time with family. I'm so thankful that the Lord blessed me with such amazing people as my family and relatives. I couldn't have imagined it any better.

((Check out Love My Baby Photography on facebook! She is amazing!!!))

While we were on the Central Coast we went on a glass bottom boat extravaganza and saw the local fish in Morro Bay. We walked around Morro Bay Rock, and we attended Jeff's 10 year high school reunion! WOW. 10 years. That's mind-boggling to me...especially considering I have 5 more years until my 10 year.

Anyways, Jeff really enjoyed his reunion and it was so great meeting all kinds of different people that he grew up with. Some were married, some were single, some were still living in the area, and some lived only 20 minutes away from us in Orange County! What a small world we live in. I loved watching Jeff mingle with all his old buddies. Everyone was so nice too! It's so much easier to mingle when people are generally nice.

After that we were able to visit the Cambria Pines Lodge Christmas Lights! It was THE BEST WAY to end the Thanksgiving holiday and start the Christmas season. Here are some pictures:

And that brings us to today...Cyber Monday. Oh yes, I finished 97% (actually, I made that up...but I only have 3 people left) of my Christmas shopping today. Cyber Monday has great deals for people like me who hate shopping. Online shopping is SO nice. No lines, no crazy people, no mean people, no maneuvering around chaos. Just me and my computer. LOVED it.

So now we are back home, I finished most of our Christmas shopping, and I have 25 days until I have to have everything packed and stored away for our move out date. Time needs to slow down!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Let me know how yours went...any crazy stories? Any funny moments? The best memories are the ones shared.

Love,

-Em

P.S. I forgot to mention that while Jeff and I totally and completely enjoyed our time with family and friends, we also got sick. I don't remember being this sick in years...I mean, it's only a cold, but I feel like it's the worst cold in the entire world. LOL...the funny but not so funny part is I also got Jeff sick. My poor husband...So we have been sick since Wednesday with no end in sight. I do have to say, I wouldn't want to be sick with any other person than Jeff! He is the best sick person to be sick with. Hahaha...Okay, goodnight!

San Francisco and a Wedding Dress

Amidst all the packing, traveling, and holiday festivities I was able to take a 3 day mini-vacation with my mommy & daddy last week. Yes, I still call my awesome parents mommy and daddy. 

It was my dad's second-to-last week at his last job before he started his new one with another company.  He was able to build up a bunch of points for the Marriott hotel because of all the travel he had been doing this past year; so he invited my mama and me to San Francisco! 

That's where he has been flying in and out of each week for four days at a time to work, for the last year...crazy I know. He is such a hard worker, I am glad he had the opportunity to travel a bit, but it was time for him to be

with his wifey again.

San Francisco was amazing! I have to admit I had a few preconceived notions about the city because it's more on the liberal side, and I am a conservative! And proud of it baby! Anywho, while we were up there mom and I were able to visit my dad's work (which was really cool).

We walked around the famous Pier 39.

We got to spend a half day with dad exploring, and walking up & down Lombard street, which is well known for their zig-zaggy street. It's so cool!!! I LOVED Lombard street. It was probably my favorite part of the trip. 

We found the golden gate bridge!!

LOL. Just kidding...we were walking down Lombard street and saw someone's front gate. We made a joke because the real golden gate bridge is red. Hahaha, it was funny to us. By the way, we also drove across the golden gate bridge, but it was at night so I didn't get a photo.

We were also able to visit Ghirardelli Square, and try some of their famous hot cocoa. YUM.

It was a really nice way to spend time with my parentals, I loved having quality time with them! I also loved exploring San Francisco. It's much prettier than I thought, and there are a lot of great qualities to it, even if it is a little too liberal for my liking. I enjoyed watching all the people, and just being able to be a tourist for a couple days. 

We didn't have a chance to visit Alcatraz Island, but I'm going to make that a priority for Jeff and I when we travel up to San Francisco as part of our adventure.

So, mama and daddy if you're reading this, THANK YOU!!! I love you both so much, you are amazing and you both inspire me with the love you have for the Lord, each other, and your family. I've been blessed to have you as mine.

On another note: Today I went wedding dress shopping for my sister Ciara!!! My other sister, Treasure, my mama, my adopted-into-the-family-sister, Scarlett, and the soon-to-be mother in-law all came to enjoy it! Ciara looked beautiful in every dress she tried on, so it was hard for her to choose, but she picked the perfect dress for her perfect day!! This is such an exciting time for her, and it brings me back to when I was planning my wedding. I love that! It will be two years in February! ...time sure does fly by...I can't post of picture of Ciara's dress because her soon-to-be hubby might see this, but she looked like a princess. Her tiny, little waist made every dress look amazing. The store manager started taking pictures of Ciara to have as her model! It was great. 

So there you have it, San Francisco and a Wedding Dress. We have been blessed with this life, and I love being able to enjoy each moment, knowing the Lord makes all things work together for our good.

Love, 

Em

P.S. While in San Francisco I tried calamari for the first time, and I actually liked it!! And my mama tried oysters for the first time too! She ate it like a champ, buttt I don't think she will be ordering it for herself anytime soon. ;)