Steph's Visit

My friend Stephanie has already come & gone! It was such a quick trip but I'm SO glad she came out for a visit! I needed that girl time. So here's what we did:

Thursday: This is the day she got here. She got here at 9:30 am and she had been traveling since 11 pm the night before! So we came back to my apartment, ate lunch, and she took a nap. She was pretty tired. Then we went and got some craft supplies. It's actually really nice to have an extra set of hands while out & about. I offered her a job as my nanny but she didn't think her husband would like that :)

That night we worked on our crafts and watched Breaking Dawn. Oh, and I tried to replicate Chipotle's Burrito Bowls for dinner. It was okay, but not the same.

Crafting away!!

Taking a break to watch some TV.

Friday we went to the park, to Maxie B's bakery for cupcakes, and Chick-fil-A for lunch. We finished our crafts and then for dinner we took her to the classy Cici's Pizza (we had to check our forks for food particles!). 

Park time!

Saturday we made some sandwiches and headed out to some outlets. We did some shopping and then ate our lunches in the car. When we got home Drew and the kiddies went to sleep and Stephanie and I hit the mall for more shopping! After the mall Steph introduced me to the world of Cracker Barrel...the store there is so dang cute! Definitely going back soon. That night we had homemade fondue, which was delicious! And we played games and laughed so hard! It was way fun.

Steph had to try Cheerwine, a Southern soda. (She said she didn't like it better than Dr. Pepper)

Sunday we had church. After church I had a lasagna ready. We ate and sat around and talked until Steph had to leave :( I was so sad to see her go but so happy we got to spend some time together.

With my silly kiddos

I love this girl!!

Luke

3 years ago, I gave birth to my sweet son, Luke.

Happy birthday, Luke Andrew!!

Vawentimes

That's how Luke says Valentines... "Vawentimes."

Too too cute.

I hope you had a FABULOUS Valentine's day! We did!

Here are OUR Valentines:

Aren't they sweet?! And Drew made me DELISH fondue for Valentine's dinner! YUM.

Happy Vawentimes Day!!

A Sweet Visit

I got the biggest and happiest news the other day. My friend Stephanie is coming to visit me!

This may not seem like a big deal to some people. However, I grew up in Merced, Ca and I made lots of AMAZING friends there, Stephanie included. After high school I went to college and some of my friends went with me and some stayed in CA and some went other places. It was always nice to go back to Merced and have reunions. 

Then my dad got a new job. In Washington. Which means it's no where NEAR Merced. And I moved to Texas. My heart was so sad. When would I ever go back to Merced?! None of my family lives there! 

I went a couple of times (for Steph's and Lacey's weddings) but now I have no idea when I'll be getting a chance to go back (especially since I've moved even further from CA).

So when Stephanie called and said she's coming to visit me, it was like she was telling me some of home was coming to visit me. I'm SO excited!

In my excitement, I decided to go through my old pictures and put up some pictures that I have of Steph, so you can see our history. No one probably cares about this but me, Staphanie, and Lacey (the third one of our high school trio!) but I wanted to share anyway. And there were LOTS more, but I had to pick and choose.

Enjoy the craziness!! (PS I tried to get these photos somewhere close to chronological order but they're not really. No judging.)

Me, Lacey, Steph. We dressed up as cheerleaders and possibly teased our Stats teacher behind his back. (oh Mr. Gonzaaaaales!)

I think this was at our Golf Team Awards Night or something. But I doubt Buckner (the golf coach) gave out awards.

We graduated!

I have no idea when this was, but I think we were having fun!

We were watching a movie in the bed of Steph's truck

Harry Potter fans!!

Eating tasty tacos somewhere

Crazy faces!!

At a drive-in movie. I think we saw Taladega Nights

She was driving me somewhere...

I never said we were normal.

Yeah, definitely NOT normal.

At a friend's wedding reception

Sunglasses Twins!

At In'N'Out (one of our FAVS!) She gave me that perfume for my bday

At the LDS Sacramento temple

At some random mall, in a photo booth

Ladies Night Out!

She came to my wedding!

And the "After Party"! Ha, I mean the reception. Fun little story: She also decorated the hotel room for after my hubby and I got married!

At a baby shower for my first baby, Luke

Friends!

Meeting Luke!

She missed out on her true calling: Modeling.

Dinner before Lacey got married

Lacey's wedding!

Steph's bridal shower

Showing off the bling!

Steph's wedding!

I stayed with her for a week before her wedding

Sprinkles Cupcakes! Soooo good!!

I'm excited to see ya, Steph!!

My "Babies"

Today Gracie is officially 11 months. 

Which means next month she will be 1. 

One! 

That's crazy. I still remember so well her birth story. Like it was yesterday.

See that picture? She's wearing a 3/6 months-sized onesie and 6/9 month pants. She is so teeny! Or petite. That sounds better.

She is my little sunshine. She's happy so often and she LOVES having me hold her. She also loves her BIG brother Lukie.  Speaking of which, he's going to be THREE in 13 days!! 

Yikes!!

Yup, this little cheeser is almost 3. I can also remember when HE was born like it was yesterday.  

I LOVE MY BABIES!!

Drew's BIG Exciting News!!!

Get ready to be excited!!

Two years ago, Drew applied to Texas Christian University. (Obviously we were still living in Texas at the time.) He didn't get in. He was sad. I was sad for him. 

Fast forward a year. Drew was getting a little restless with his job and still wanted to go back to school. He decided to give it another whirl. This time he applied to a Communications Masters Program at the University of Texas (at Austin) and Texas A&M. He wasn't accepted into UT and Texas A&M told him they didn't have any funding to offer.

However, around the same time we heard from Texas A&M, Drew also had been offered the job in North Carolina. We had decided to go to North Carolina regardless of what news we heard from Texas A&M. Good thing.

A couple months ago Drew applied to Wake Forest University. He applied to their MBA program. Isn't he a fighter?? He just doesn't know when to quit. Most people would give up but Drew knows how important education is. And he wants to be able to take care of his family in the future.

3 days ago he was told that he was ACCEPTED to Wake Forest!! 

Woohoo!!

I couldn't be prouder. He is an amazing man, husband, father. 

(Side story: While we were in NC apartment hunting, Drew got chilly. He ran into TJ Maxx and came out with a Wake Forest sweatshirt. Little did he know he'd be associated with them just around a year later!) 

Anyway, yesterday we went and toured the campus (by ourselves. Nothing formal.) It's so pretty! The buildings are WAY prettier than BYU's. While we were there, Drew said. "I feel like I'm cheating on BYU." Haha!!

This is a chapel on campus. Drew's TJ Maxx sweatshirt and a $5 WF hat.

Going crazy!

Some pretty building. I have no idea what it's used for.

This where he'll be taking his classes (we think).

My handsome MBA hubby!

The kids are excited for him, too!

Congrats to Drew!!!

Wake Forest University Facts:
Established: 1834 in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1956
Undergraduate students: 4,500
Graduate students: 2,500
Ranking: Top 50 part-time. Top part-time program in North Carolina.
Cost: Way too much money. (It's an investment in your future, right?)
NCAA sports: The Atlantic Coast Conference
Mascot: The Demon Deacon