My Parents' 25th Wedding Anniversary...

July 20th, 2010 marked 25 years of marriage for my parents.  I was born 11 months after they were married, so I feel like I had the opportunity to watch their marriage throughout the years, which is neat.  I have always wanted to throw them a 25th anniversary partty, and had honestly been planning it for years.  These days, I feel like 25 years is REALLY something to celebrate.  So, I applaud all the couples who have made it through THICK and THIN.  YOU are something to celebrate!  And to my family...my mom and dad, my Aunt Terri and Uncle Jim, and My Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rick...THANK YOU.  Thank you for making it! :)

Here are some pics of the party.  It was held at our new house...that proved to be challenging, especially since we had only lived there for 6 days.   :)

This is a picture of our front room.  I decorated with their wedding albums.

These are the decorations.  We had the party in our backyard.  I chose my mom's favorite colors: Red, black and white.

Of course I thought the party would NOT be complete without a chocolate fountain.  THIS was WAY worth the investment!  It was a HIT!

David's best friend owns a catering business, so we had him cater it for us.  We had a taco bar.  It was really YUMMY!

I wish I could take credit for this AMAZING cake, but I can't.  My friend's sister did it for me.  It was BEAUTIFUL, and really good too!

This is a picture of my parents and their friends from high school.

My grandpa was hamming it up with all the ladies! :)

My mom wrote this letter when she was 9 1/2.  It was saved in a safety deposit box and taken out for her wedding, and NOW for her party!

Here are some more photos:

Overall, it was an AWESOME party.  Thank you to those who came, and ESPECIALLY those who traveled from out-of-state!  I SO appreciate your presence. :)  To another 25 years...

Brea Improv with Friends

Wednesday night, before we left home for the Thanksgiving break, a bunch of us from Linda Vista (the school I am student teaching at) went out to a comedy show.

David and I got free tickets and so I decided to ask some people from school to go.

David and I thought that the show would suck, since the tickets were free, but we were pleasantly surprised. It ended up being HILARIOUS!!! David was really excited because they had a surprise guest...Gabriel Iglesias! He is a VERY well known and popular comedian who just recently came back from Iraq, where he did shows for our troops.

I didn't think he was the best of the comedians that night, but he made David laugh so hard he cried, and so I had fun watching him...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE laughing!!!

The three ladies who got me through the last 8 weeks of my life... 3/5 Student teachers from Linda Vista

Susie and Lauren...

Me and the MASTER teacher, Linda

David and I...before he laughed so hard he cried... :)

A Day to be Thankful!

I just wanted to take the time to write a blog about being thankful. I feel like too often we take things for granted. Everyday I wake up and have so many blessings from the start. I wake up and have the opportunity to eat, get where I need to go with a car, wear proper clothing and live in a country where I can think and be what I want. While this may all seem silly, I realize that many people in the world do not have these daily blessings. Therefore, I feel it appropriate for me to tell you some of the things I am thankful for.

God

Family

Husband

Friends

Good health

Freedom

Education

Open-minded people

My puppies

Good food

Having a place to call home

Having a car

Soda

Chocolate

Clothes

My cell phone

H&M

Hot showers

Accessories

Free Shit

Warm Pj's

Giving gifts

Vacations (new places, road trips)

My king size bed

Having a great Master Teacher

Having good students

Almost being done with my Teaching Credential

Gossip

Music

A good laugh along with funny people

Touching moments

Texting

Instant Messaging

E-mails

Massages

Shoes

Main/Pedi's

A funny conversation

Babies

Children

Dancing with the Stars

As the World Turns

Desperate Housewives

One Tree Hill

Coats and Scarves

A tear jerking movie

Plans...I LOVE having a plan for EVERYTHING!

Even numbers

Things that are in order

ORGANIZATION!

BMW's

Decorating

Holiday decorations

PICTURES!!!

Spontaneity

Spellcheck

Christmas

Big, gaudy jewelry

Yorba Linda Fires

I thought I would share my experience during the Yorba Linda fires. So here it is:

Friday night I left school around 6 or 7 (school, meaning the elementary school I am doing my student teaching at...::yes, I ended with my sentence with a preposition, Linda, so insert you noun::)

I remember thinking to myself how weird and eerie the weather was. It was warm, windy and dark. I think I even mentioned to Susie and Linda that the weather was weird.

Anyways, I left Yorba Linda and went home. I feel asleep early, exhausted from the week I had just endured (my master teacher is a slave driver...haha j.k).

I woke up to the sound of all of my telephones ringing. My cell phone was going off, David's was, and so was our home phone. When I finally decided to answer it I heard my mom on the other end. She was calling to inform me that Yorba Linda was on fire. I just figured it was a small fire and it would be out in no time...boy was I wrong!!!

I turned on the news and was shocked to see what was unfolding right before my very eyes. It was hellish. I can't even explain what was going through my mind, but I do remember that I was in disbelief.

My first instinct was to make sure everyone I care about was safe. I called and texted all of my friends who live in the area and made sure they were okay. I was also worried about my students and their families. While I was watching the news, they were showing countless homes being destroyed...

It is so hard to sit there and know that you are completely helpless...but I was... I just sat in front of the news all day and watched...It was so sad, but for some reason I couldn't take my eyes off of it...

I spent the rest of the night worried and upset. I slept about an hour that night. When I walked outside on Sunday morning I saw flames across the street. That was such a scary sight. I cannot even explain it. All I can say is...SCARY!

We packed up some of our most valuable possessions and left. Luckily we were fortunate enough to be able to come home to our apartment in one piece. Unfortunately, others were not so lucky. I just feel so blessed that all of my friends and family are okay, and that their homes are in one piece.

Here are some pictures of the fire. One of the teachers I work with sent them to me. They were taken from her home...Her house is okay, but she was lucky as you'll see...

State of Emergency...

So. Here I am at home. Yes, home. I am fortunate enough to have one. Right now in So. California, we are in a state of panic. Many people in Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills, Corona, and NOW some people in Chino Hills are being evacuated.

It is so scary how all of the sudden, one morning, you can wake up, and your life can be in flames....literally.

As horrible as this is, I can't take my eyes off of the news. In fact, ironically, I usually HATE the news. I generally don't enjoy watching a bunch of depressing stuff. Today is different though...it's so close to home. I am worried about all of my friends in the area and their families. Luckily they are all safe for now. I guess I will just stay up tonight and keep watching...waiting...and praying for everyone and their homes.

Last day of classes

I finished my classes at Cal State Fullerton not too long ago. It was really nice to know I was finally done with going to my credential classes. While I was really happy, it was a little bittersweet. I am going to miss all of the friends I made along the way. Hopefully we will still stay in touch.I was so proud of myself. I made these cupcakes for the last day...not too shabby, eh?
Cascia and Denise at our potluck

Afterwards, a few of us went to lunch. This is a pic of Brandi and I

Afterwards, my friends took me out to celebrate. We went to the Yardhouse and toasted to no more CSUF!!!


Best friend Gabby, and I



Gab, Me, Ashley and Britt

Today!

Today was a good day. It started off when I woke up this morning and went to my Elementary School to observe. I got off early and then went to my parents house. I spent the rest of the day with them. My brother stopped by so he could show us his new "ride." He is working for a company and they gave him a tow truck to drive. it's brand new and he thinks it's pretty cool. Here are some pix...

Here is Skyler with his tow truck

I didn't quite get it, but apparently guys think having a tow truck is REALLY cool. Here are my dad, brother, and my parents neighbor (who came over to admire the tow truck) haha!


Later that evening my mom went out with some friends, so my dad asked if David and I wanted to go to dinner. He took us to a place called Teppian. It was really fun...AND REALLY good! Here are some of the pix from dinner...

Here is a picture of us at dinner.

This was our chef. He made a volcano with the onion. If you look closely you can see the fire coming out of it!

Our chef made a heart out of the rice and eggs he used for the fried rice. Cute.

2 years ago today...

We got married!

I can't believe we have been married for 2 years already! Time goes by so fast. It feels like just yesterday we were planning and getting ready for the big day, and now it's two years later and I am blogging about it! It's funny because while it seems like just yesterday, it also feels like we have been married FOREVER (in a good way!)

David and I met when I was a Senior in high school. I was behind in my math class because my dad got really sick. After he got better, he decided to hire me a math tutor (David) to help me catch up to where I needed to be. At first, I liked David a lot and thought he was funny (but I didn't LIKE him). It was actually my mom that peaked my interest. She said "You two are so funny together. I really like him. Do you?" I actually thought she was crazy because he was my math tutor, and the very idea seemed scandalous.

In the end, we decided to hang out as friends. We ended up hitting it off pretty quickly. A year and 9 months later we were engaged and 5 months after that we were married.

I love you David! Thank you for putting up with me from day-to-day! I am so happy you chose me as your wife, and I can't wait to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary together! I LOVE YOU!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

Blog Neglector (if that's a word)

Okay, I have sucked at posting lately, and I have no problem admitting it. I think its been about 4-5 weeks, so I have a lot to post... here it goes...

Car Shopping:

David and I went car shopping with my parents. They are looking at some sports cars so it is fun to go test driving with them.

My parents test driving an M3 BMW

While we were at the car dealership David and I saw a Mini Cooper. I have never been inside one so we looked inside. David really liked it, especially the fact that the Cooper got awesome gas mileage. He said that when he gets a new car he will def. consider the Cooper.

David inside his new favorite car

The Ostapecks Visit:

David's Uncle Glenn and cousin Stephen came down from Sacramento. His cousin needed to be here for a baseball tournament. (his aunt and cousin Elizabeth were in Paris...lucky) We got to spend time with them which was nice. David's whole family went out to dinner with all of us. We don't always get to do things together. since people live so far away.

David's Uncle Glenn being Sandwiched in by his massive nephew and son...haha

David's Dad, Cousin Stephen, David's Mom, David and his Uncle Glen... Everyone thought David was tall. He is ONLY 6'4". Stephen is 6'6" and is ONLY 17...that means he is still growing...CRAZY!!!

Wedding fever:

David and I have been to a lot of weddings this year. I always joke around with him and tell him that we didn't get the memo that said "everyone should get married in 2008." Haha! My friend from high school, Sandon, married his long time girlfriend Laura. The wedding was beautiful, and a lot of fun too. They had a free photo booth, which I took full advantage of...

On our way to the Larson wedding...

The Bride and Groom

Our friends Chris and Linzie. (Chris was the best man)

"You may kiss your bride!"

Cocktail hour

Happy Birthday to ME!

So, my birthday was Monday, June 30th, and yes...I am JUST now posting the pictures...

My birthday started off with a hit. I got home from Utah the day before my birthday and was picked up by David. When we got home I started going through mail, organizing, etc...you know the things that need to be done after you have been away from home. All of the sudden out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something unusual on our patio. When I looked closer I realized that the patio didn't look the same. David and my parents had surprised me with a brand new patio set, barbecue, flowers and balloons. I was def. not expecting this since my birthday wasn't until the two days later.

My new Patio set (thanks David)

My new Barbecue (thanks mom and dad)

The next day Davids parents took us out to a nice dinner for my birthday. We went to a restaurant called "The New York Grill." It is one of mine and Davids FAVORITES. We had a wonderful dinner and were able to spend some quality time with each other...

Davids parents at dinner

David and I at dinner

The Ostapecks at dinner

When we left the restaurant we walked out to this (see below)

Davids dads tire was FLAT!!!

Unfortunately, on the way to the restaurant, one of Davids dads tires went flat. We didn't notice it until we were leaving the restaurant. We called AAA and the came down and put on the spare tire. The AAA guy said that they could probably repair the hole so that Davids dad doesn't have to get a BRAND new tire.

Then on my ACTUAL birthday MY parent took us out to dinner. We went to Mimi's, a popular choice among my family. Here are some pictures of that...

David and I waiting to be seated

My parents... Of course my dad always has to be goofy! :)

The Fam Bam

Finally, I went out with friends for my birthday ( I had to wait a few days because I was SICK of going out to eat) We went to Sushi and spent time just talking and catching up. Here are some pictures of the night...

Liza and I at dinner (Jason not pictured...he's the photographer)

Me opening Jay's gift...it's a...

Frame with the picture of the 3 of us. Thanks Jay!!!

As you can see, I had an AWESOME birthday... Thank you to EVERYONE who was a part of my birthday. I appreciate all of your cards, phone calls, and wishes...