Back to the grind.

We are back from our week off and back in full force to the grind of life. Full day of work, bills to pay and things to do around the house. Man, it hits you hard coming back but at least it's a shorter week, which makes it easier to get through. After seeing some of what I did see in New Orleans I am so grateful for my home, my job and my life here. We drove through the 9th ward one day to see all the damage that had been done by Hurricane Katrina and the levees that had broken. It has been three years since that happened and it was still a disaster. Only about 1 in 10 homes had been redone and the others were just abandoned. There was still writing on the side of the houses from where they had written if they had found anyone in the house or not. It was really heart breaking. The streets were all torn up and we hardly saw anyone living in the area. Those that did had totally new homes. It was crazy. You could totally see a difference between the haves and the have nots. It was really sad but it put life into perspective for me. I am so thankful for all I have and I don't want to be a have that doesn't give back. Underneath the bridges there were hundreds of tents were homeless were living. I'm sure many of them were victims of the hurricane. It was also good to see projects that Brad Pitt has started and Oprah to get some homes built and get life going again. It was very moving.

The wedding was awesome too. It was such an honor to celebrate with Shawn and Rebekah. We have been through so much with Shawn and it was just such a great moment to see him take a wife and a wife that adores him. Apparently Shawn was a legion down in the dirty south and all t he girls wanted him but Rebekah won his heart. She kept thanking him for picking her. So cute!The wedding was very traditional with communion and their vows. Then the reception was in a barn that is all made up for weddings. The floor was bark and in each corner of the room they had different scenes from southern homes set up. So quaint and very cute. Outside they had tons of oak trees to walk through. Hammocks to lay in and rockers to rock on. It was very peaceful. We did some line dancing and some slow dancing and best of all some good old karaoke. So much fun! Shawn and Rebekah were out there the whole time. Us California people totally stood out with out colorful cloths and our tan skin. Plus, we didn't have an accent! One guest said they knew which to groomsmen were from California because one looked like a surfer and the other was tan.- in a southern accent. So funny! But we celebrated till the ever end and sent them off in style. I'm sure I'll be sharing more with you from our trip. We had a blast! It was everything I wanted it to be and more!

Last day in New Orleans

This was our last day in New Orleans. We had a blast!

Dinner from Emerald's Place- Nola

Mother's

Jackson Square

Gulf Shores, AL

The Pink Pony Bar

The Dirty Dirty South!

Fairhope, Alabama

You May Kiss The Bride

Shawn's Wedding!

We got stuck in some good old southern rain.

The Big Easy!!!!!

WE ARE BACK!!!!! We had a blast. We ate more then we could handle but we had such a good time. Here are a few pictures from our trip. We did a swamp boat ride and a tour of a plantation. So much fun. Enjoy the pictures!

ADIOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are off! I am wrapping up work as we speak trying to cram in a whole week into 2 days. We fly out tomorrow to New Orleans and Alabama for a week. We are going to our good friends Shawn and Rebekah's Wedding! We are flying with our friends Kyle and Vy, and Jason and Tara. This group should come back with some really funny stories! I still have a lot to do before we leave our house at 6:30am tomorrow to head to the airport. You see I have the curse of a missionary kid. We don't pack a thing to the last possible moment. We stay up super late and then as we pack you will see an art happen before your eyes. Rolling and stuffing and using every inch of that suit case you can. Josh hates this about me but I can't seem to change it. I try to be so good. Last night I did all our laundry so everything that we would possible need would be clean. I got my suit case out and opened up on the floor in my bedroom and then I just started throwing anything I might need for any occasion. But then I got to stressed out to do anything with the huge pile. So tonight is the night to weed through what I really will need and not just what might happen.

But I am so excited and so ready for a break. We won't be home till next Tuesday! We are going to sight see in New Orleans, do a swamp ride, maybe tour a few grave sites, stop by where Josh was born, hit up the beach at Gulf Shores and dance the night away at the wedding. And of course, how could I forget, eating tons of deep fried southern food!!!!!!!!!

When I get back I'll post lots of pictures for you all! I also have some really funny 80's Prom pictures that our church just did. Everyone went all out!

Choa!

Red Bull Air Show

These are just a few highlights from the RED Bull air show.

WE HAVE GRASS

These are before and afters and now we have grass!!!!!!
Josh and a friend did all the work. Doesn't it look amazing!!

Working for the Man.

WORK- I have a love/hate relationship with this job. It's odd but it works. Sometimes I love it here and I couldn't imagine working any where else. I have been here almost 4 years now. Crazy! I have a great boss who rarely is in and when he is in we have a good time. We are more like family then boss/employee. Josh and I are god parents to his 3 kids and we hang out on weekends every now and then. I have freedom to come and go as I please. I can work from home if I want to and it's a perfect job for when we start our family. Sometimes I hate that I was put in an office the size of a small bedroom. I am crammed in here with not even a real desk. It's a small company so we don't do team builder things like a day at the Padres or even a happy hour. We just work and since I am in marketing I do many of the tasks for the employees like setting up a lunch in for them and getting the food and buying them Starbucks cards but we, in marketing are never included. Weird. But I am learning to be grateful for all things. I have a job when right now in the US people are losing their jobs. I get paid well. Enough to own my own home, cars and even be able to go out and do fun things. I am home by 4:30 and able to hit up the gym and spend time at home. But sometimes I wish I could just be at home, all day. Some day! I also know that someday when I am at home all day I'll wish I was at work. So, it's a lose lose situation really. So, I find contentment and gratefulness for what I have.

New Family

Friday night we drove up to Orange County to spend mother's day with my mother-in-law and the family. Jeremy, Josh's brother, and his new wife, Erin were also in town. We met up with them before hand and just he 4 of us hung out. It was great getting to know Erin since it was only the 3rd time I have met her. We had a great time and then met her parents and our parents for dinner. We had a wonderful time and lots of laughs. These are just a few pictures of out night and mother's celebration.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are our families and our wonderful moms. Thanks mom for supporting us through everything we have been through in the last 5 years! You two are the best and we love you a lot! You both are great women of God who have always put your family at the center and have always prayed for your kids. Thanks for covering us with your prayers and your love. I am excited to one day join the mothers club with you. We love you!

Changing in the car.

Well, yesterday was eventful to say the least. I got to church yesterday with thoughts in my head of a really relaxing Sunday at home. No going to happen! I went to church dressed very down yesterday since summer was in the air. I had on sneakers, capri jeans, and a tank top. Perfect for a relaxing summer Sunday. Well, right as church ended someone reminded Josh that him and I were suppose to go to a very fancy dinner auction for Young Life that was to start at 4. Well, here is where it gets good. We had all ready told Shawn we would have lunch with him and his mom. His mom was in town from Alabama visiting. So, we did lunch with them and by the time we were done it was 3pm. We live about 30 mins away. So, we weren't going to have enough time to drive home, change and get back. So, my husband has the idea to just go out and shop for an outfit. So, we rushed to the mall. He got his outfit in The Gap, khaki pants, and a sweater for $28 bucks! Score. then I found a pair of gold high heels, which I needed anyway for another dress that I am going to wear to a wedding, and a green sun dress for $24. We get in the car and make it to the place. He changes in the front seat and I change in the back seat. I pulled my hair back, put on some lip gloss and we were off to mingle. We were there until about 8:30. What a long day. I had other plans in my head but at least I got a new outfit out of it! Only with my husband would this happen. But we had a couple really good laughs about it!

Travels!

Being a missionary kid I love to travel. When we haven't gone on a trip, and by trip I mean on a plane, I start to feel anxious and want to travel some where. Luckily Josh and I have been very blessed to have done a lot of traveling in our 5 years married. When we were dating we did a lot of road tripping which I loved. We went to school in New York so we would hop in the car and just visit different places on our breaks. We went to Boston, Maine, PA, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virgina, Florida and Washington DC. So much fun. Then when we got married we moved from NY to San Diego. So, we drove through half of America! I just remember, St. Louis, Kansas City, New Mexico, Arizona, Las Vegas and Denver. It was a long drive but so fun. I loved seeing so many different parts of the country. Then in our first year we got to go to conference in Portugal, Spain. This was our first trip to Europe. It was amazing! The jet lag was bad but so many things to see and experience. Since then we have got to Hawaii, Ecuador, Puerto Vallarta Mexico, and Panama. We went on a short 3 day trip to San Francisco in March and had a blast. We are once again going to get on a plane and head to New Orleans and then Alabama to celebrate a really close friends wedding. I can't wait. I love the feeling of being in the air headed some where to explore and just relax and take in something new. I'm sure New Orleans is going to hold many new adventures. Here are just a few pictures from some of our travels.