Christmas Time

Our favorite holiday and time of year is Christmas time. We wait all year to set up our lights, tree, nativity, etc. and we usually do pretty early because we just can't wait. The past 2 years we have set up Christmas the weekend before Thanksgiving because we're always in Mesa the whole weekend of thanksgiving and we want to enjoy our decor as long as possible.

This year we did the same, except we started the week before thanksgiving, doing a couple things each night. We had a lot more this year than we did last year because of all the things we got last year either as gifts or after Christmas when everything was on sale. We forgot about all that stuff, and we were so excited because our house looks so good this year!

Here are a few pictures of our humble abode...










We are very excited to be able to give so many gifts this year! We will be going to Mesa on Christmas Eve to spend Christmas with my dad, and then spending Christmas Day with Dan's family, my mom and then at my step mom's family Christmas party!

We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Christmas weekend and enjoys the time with their family & friends. If anyone would like to get together, we're planning as of now, on being in Mesa Wednesday night through Sunday. Give us a call if you would like to get together sometime over the weekend!

Happy Holidays!

Graduation!!

So, I am way behind in updating our blog for the past month or so. Everything has been so busy with finals and everything. I'm going to try and catch up a little bit, but I have to post about my graduation before anything else.


It's so weird, it doesn't feel like I am old enough to be graduated from college and have a bachelor's degree already. It's also weird because all growing up everyone who graduated college was like the rich, smart, overachievers; it almost has been like graduating college is only something rich people do. Not only am I no where close to rich, I just don't really feel like I did enough to be able to graduate college. I don't know, it's weird and hard to explain but it feels so good to be done!

We had a big party here at our house after the graduation and then more partying like all weekend long. Dan's brothers, aunt Rita, and Marie came down to stay the night with us Thursday night, which was a lot of fun. Then Friday morning, we all woke up early and cleaned/straightened up the house before the whole rest of my family started arriving around noon.

I had to be at the Convention Center (where the graduation was held) by 1. So I was rushing around just trying to get ready and keep the house clean. My grandparents, aunt and cousin flew in from Chicago a couple days before and came down with my dad and step mom. My mom's parents came from Surprise, AZ and Danny's family also came to celebrate with us. It was a house full but so much fun.

We had Chick Fil A catered for the main dish and then I had everyone bring something on the side for the potluck part of the party. It was so much fun and so nice to have my entire family together, since that doesn't ever happen hardly with my parents divorced, etc. So it was a lot of fun.

I got so many wonderful gifts. A lot of money, which I knew was part of graduating college, but I guess I just still wasn't really expecting it. I don't know what I want to get with it yet. We'll see...I'll probably find something in the next couple of days now that I'm DONE and can go shopping whenever I want.

Anyway, we went up to Mesa soon after everyone left our house Friday night. We stayed the night Friday and then had lunch with my dad's side of the family on Saturday and then went to the Martin family Christmas party in the afternoon/evening. It was definitely a VERY full weekend, and we are glad to be home. We have a house full of all the left over food, which is fun because we won't have to go grocery shopping until after we get home from Christmas in Mesa!

We have been sleeping like all day today, and just kind of hanging out trying to recover from hosting and attending parties all weekend. Here are some pictures that Marie took from the graduation...

Waiting for the Graduation to start
Not listening to whoever was speaking lol...
Me shaking the Dean's hand
Right After the Ceremony
Marie & Me!
In laws, me, Dan
Ana, me, Dad
I love him!
My best, my hubby, me
Daniel, Me, Mom
Dad, Me, Mom
Me and My Baby Sadie
This is a poem my mom wrote and framed for me

Home for Dogs?

For about 9 months now, we have had 3 sweet dogs. We love them all dearly, but it has come to the point now when the 2 older/smaller ones need a new home.

They are not as happy as they used to be before we got Sadie.
They about 5 years old, and are very mellow.

They love to just lay around and sleep all day, have their belly rubbed every so often, and Mika likes to play ball once a day for about 10 minutes. That's it. They are so low maintenance!



Mika and Quimby aren't living the life they deserve. Sadie loves to play, and wants to play with them but she is so much bigger than them and plays too rough for them. They have to be locked outside with Sadie all day so she doesn't chew up everything, but they don't chew anything and are more than potty trained. They can't really play on their own without Sadie wanting to play, but she plays too rough so they usually just give up.

They don't deserve to be locked outside all day, and need somewhere where they can play a little bit every so often like they like to. It just isn't really fair to them to be living the way they are.

It is also not really fair to Sadie either. She wants someone who can play with her the way she does. A puppy who has the same amount of energy as her, and who can be her buddy. Right now, she likes Mika & Quimby because they keep her company while we're at work/school, but we can tell she just wants a companion to play with her on the same level as her.


Mika and Quimby need a home where they can relax and play softly. They like to be in a quiet and peaceful place and to cuddle up next to you when you're sitting on the couch or laying in bed.

If you or someone you know would like to help us out and give these sweet dogs a home. We would be so grateful, and I know they would be too. We don't want to have to take them to the Humane Society. They don't necessarily have to go together, but we'd prefer they did. They are connected at the hip. They are so sweet and just want somewhere where they can be comfortable.