Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to do a quick post today to wish anyone and everyone a Merry Christmas! For those of you that haven't received a Christmas card/letter I wanted to post it up here. Enjoy!

I will try to update October, November and December by the new year...stay tuned.

Have YOU been to the DOMINICAN?

Last January we had an opportunity to buy 4 nights at an all-inclusive resort for  merely $12 per person per night in the Dominican Republic. Who could say no to that? 

We had 10 months to anticipate and dream about our luxurious tropical vacation. It was going to be so awesome to get away to somewhere warm and just relax and possibly explore the island life and some waterfalls.

The airport was welcoming with signs saying "you're finally here" and some live music from local musicians as well as the free sample of rum to start your vacation off right.

The cab ride was "cozy." Did you know those lines painted on the road to separate traffic don't actually mean anything??? Neither did I...but our cab driver was super intelligent, he used both lanes as he pleased to get around traffic, which consisted mostly of motorcycles with at least 3 people squished on the back while holding a child over the side. I regret the shock of the sight paralized me to the point that I missed the opportunity to get photo evidence, but trust me, it happened, 3 people, 1 tiny motorcycle and 1 helpless toddler being held (face-out) on the hip of the woman on the very back. Feel free to pause in horror as I did. 

The accommodations and amenities were to DIE for! We were provided golf carts to drive around the resort...

We had an adorable villa with it's own pool and seriously UH-MAZING amenities! Oh and don't forget the private beach with our very own covered cabanas!

Now the food, that was something else. AND, all you can eat!!!

It was an ideal family vacation and we had an amazing time! 

We'll have to do it again...because the trip you just saw was all part of our dream, you know, that dream we had about our vacation for the 10 months leading up to it. I hate when I forget to sort the photos I create in my head with what happens in real life!

This is what it was really like

We slept...

We ate...

It rained...

We got soaked!

(which is good since there wasn't water for showers)

I fell 

(re-enactment for dramatic effect)

And we spent maybe a grand total of 2 hours in the ocean, but we did manage to find a WalMart

And we got to see most of the city of Puerto Plata through the windows of a van on our way back to the airport.

All-in all, we really did have fun. It would have been better if it were raining less, but we did learn a few things. 

1. I apparently look Polish or Russian (first time I've ever been asked that)

2. Buy you souvenirs, especially vanilla, at the grocery store, not the little shops

3. If it rains every day of your vacation, and you get an hour of non-rain, you can run around and take pictures of all the cool stuff you could have done or that you did do and didn't take pictures of.

and lastly,

4. As long as you have great people to spend time with the time still flies because you're still having fun!

If you want to see a video of the rain, click here. It pretty much did this non-stop for 3 days. And the lightening will light up the video a few times where you'll be able to see more. The thunder was bone crushing loud but that doesn't really come through from this.

September...Where did it go

The month of September has flown by! I don't even know where the month went, I was just getting used to it and now it's October! I really do think it's true what they say, time does go faster as you get older.

Labor Day

Our first big holiday weekend together in the house brought on two monumental milestones for us. First we bought our first dining room table. It's beautiful and can seat 6 comfortably and probably up to 8 if you don't mind your neighbors. We got a pretty good deal on it and were able to use some of the money gifted to us at our house warming party which was superb! 

The second milestone was completing our first big home improvement project. We painted our guest bathroom. Since we've lived here we've done a few minor upgrades including putting frosted glass in our door windows, installing a vent/fan in the master bathroom, and changing the kitchen faucet.



Mud is Fun
I hate running, I really do. But since Brad likes it so much and he tries to encourage me to do it I decided theo only way I was going to enjoy running was if it was "fun" so I signed up for a 5k mud run and then started training my body to survive. I still hate running, but the 5k was AWESOME!  If I could run through mud pits every day I totally would run more often! In fact I have also signed up for a 5k Mud Run in San Francisco in February...it's probably be freezing, but it'll be a GREAT time!

At the starting line

Somewhere along the way

 At the finish line

And what's more awesome than finishing a mud run? Rewarding yourself with a most delicious and greasy cheeseburger where the burger is really just an excuse to eat CHEESE! It was mouthwatering!

Martie & Betsy's Reception
I've been friends with Martie since she and I were in 4th grade. We were best friends in 4th grade and thought it was so cool that we lived in the same "model" house, which meant that we had the "same" room and we even both had brothers named Josh that had the "same" room. Very cool as a kid, still cool as an adult.
Anyway, I was so happy to go to her reception in September. It had been probably 3 years since we'd seen each other and it was great to catch up and to see her so happy! I love seeing my friends find their true love and the pictures from their wedding were nothing but pure happiness and devotion!

Second visitors

Brad's parents came from Utah to see our  new home and of course to see us. One really exciting thing that happened while they were here is the space shuttle Endeavor flew over the aquarium. Brad and I both had to work that day but I did make sure his parents knew about it. They did end up using our passes and going and they got some pretty amazing shots of the space shuttle, it was so close to them! I had to watch from work on the roof of one of the buildings and this is the view from there.

On Saturday I had a sewing class in Pacific Grove that was a ton of fun. Brad and his parents went on an adventure in Santa Cruz trying out a new restaurant I found and wanted to try and then they enjoyed the boardwalk. Saturday night we went to Brad and my favorite seafood restaurant in Moss Landing - - Phil's Fish Market. Yum!

Tea Towels

Cards

Sunday morning K&R left really early to catch their flight back to Utah. It's always sad to see visitors go, but we knew we'd see them in 2 months for a trip to the Caribbean.

Someone turned 2

Later Sunday we attended a birthday part for our friend's daughter who turned 2. It was a Dr. Suess themed party with lots of delicious food ad fun games!

Cheer-io!
Much later that same Sunday our friends from the SLO area came to visit. They were actually in town to prepare for their new move to England! Crazy fun! I wish we were moving to a new country! I bet England during Christmas will be so awesome! J&B and little L are going to be so missed! Hopefully we can go visit them in England while they're there for a few years!

Santa Cruz
The last weekend of the month we spent the day soaking up the sun and playing in our favorite arcade. We also ate at a delightful little restaurant called The Buttery.

Summer Lovin'

August is the month when weather gets a smidgen better in Monterey, we get sporadic days of warmth, which is a welcome change from the mostly cloudy, cold, and drizzly damp days. We had a lot of fun in the Month of August, we had our first visitors, saw some great friends, and even went on a mini vacation. Another major event for us was our open house, which was quite fun!

Newport Beach
We were invited to meet up with our friends down in Newport. This was our mini vacation and it was nice to escape to warmer weather for a few days. We left after work on Friday and spent the weekend exploring the town and hanging out.

Upon recommendations from other people we tried Sprinkles cupcakes. I was told they're SO much better than Georgetown cupcakes...well, I tried them...3 different flavors and I have to say I much prefer Georgetown cupcakes. Sprinkles cake was dry and not flavorful, the frosting was just like any other grocery store frosting. I have to say Georgetown cupcakes is still my favorite by FAR!

We spent lots of time on the beach and walking along the beach. The water was actually bearable and enjoyable in comparison to Monterey. The Seagull above was really determined to eat that bag of chips but it couldn't figure out how to undo the clip, it was quite amusing. 

Visitors
The party continued the following weekend when we hosted our first visitors, none other than the ones we met down in Newport. They decided to make their way back home to Utah via our place.

We went to the aquarium and saw the deep sea exhibit which had been under construction for quite a long time!

We drove along 17 mile drive, stopped and skipped rocks on the bay, ate strawberry hand pies, and walked to a sunken ship of sorts on a beach.

Thanks for coming S&M! We had a fabulous time with you and are so glad you were our first visitors in our new home!

Fancy Cars
I volunteered at a car event where I got to rub elbows with some very influential people for an evening, as well as indulge in some delicious gourmet food, and see the unveiling of a few very high class cars including the Lamborghini SUV and the new Aston Martin Vanquish.

The following weekend was the Motorsports reunion at Laguna Seca, which is by far my favorite race of the year. I love seeing all the old cars dating way back to pre-1910! Amazing that some of these are still running!

A face in the car

We also attended a going away party for my friend Marisa. She was living in San Francisco and has since moved to San Diego where she'll be earning her PhD. Go Marisa! I didn't get to see her too often, probably once a year or so, but I'm hoping I'll continue to be able to see her about that often since I tend to travel to San Diego for work occasionally.

Home Sweet Home
We're finally homeowners! Our house warming party was a success! We had between 25-30 people attend and I couldn't have asked for a better time! I was worried for a bit that no one would show up, but it all worked out beautifully. This also means that the house was clean enough for me to take proper pictures of areas that I had previously been avoiding taking pictures of ie. the kitchen.