Gotta show my Jo Jo

I was just scanning through my pics and thought I should quickly indulge and enjoy myself with a few pictures of my favorite bitty baby niece. I would love for you to see one of the joys in my life.

This selection of photos is by no means professional, but they make me laugh and enjoy her funny personality.

I love this one. It is definitely one of my favorites.

This is Joelle mid sentence.

Just about to say something. She really loves talking.

My sister caught one of my expressions toward Joelle. Maybe I over smile a bit. Maybe instead of trying to make her smile, I scare her. I am not sure. I guess it's a face only aunties can make.

The previous three pictures only further incriminate me. I promise she was talking and smiling at me!!

    

My Jo Jo.

 

Jo Jo loves her Justin too.

The SLip N SLide

So, on our SCU weekend retreat we set up a giant slip n slide. Justin's wild idea, of course :) We rolled out three sheet of painter's plastic and the guys went crazy!

The classic slip n slide position. This was a rare occurrence. Most guys had a rough trip down. There were many bruises and bumps, but they still had fun!

Here is Justin sliding between the sheets

All the way to the end. This is also where Justin stood up and said, "Where's my Wedding Ring?". Yay! Let's have fun looking for his wedding ring along the slope of ice plants! (my sarcasm) Leo also announced that he too had lost his class ring.

We brought out the big guns thanks to Matt who's dad had a metal detector. After finding a coke can and a few other small metal objects in the ice plant, we finally found Leo's class ring! However, we did not find Justin's Wedding ring in the plants.

A little while later, Justin came out to the backyard with his wedding ring. He had wisely taken it off before the slip n slide and set it next to his wallet. Pretty smart, babe, but it helps if you remember when you do that kind of stuff :) At least it gave him the passion to find Leo's ring!

SCU Camping Retreat

For those who don't know already, Justin leads the college small groups at our church. I help him on Wednesday and Thursday nights as well. The group is called Sandals College United (SCU). On Wednesdays, about 16 small groups meet at one place to worship then break off into groups. Each group has a leader and the leaders go on a retreat about twice a year to connect and get refreshed.

So this time we went camping! Backyard camping that is. Usually we go to Justin's family's cabin in Idyllwild, but this year we chose area code 92504 in the Collier's backyard. They have an extreme and huge backyard so it was a blast! 

Here are some selected pictures to give a taste of the fun we had.

Here are the guy's tents all nestled up in the trees.

The yard has many fun things like a pool, zip line, pond, trampoline and volleyball court.

We also made our own fun with board games, slip n slide, bocce ball, watching Jaws in the pool at night....

... and Capture the Flag at night. This was done with only the light of the moon and the teams not knowing where their opponent's flag actually was. As you can see we are all wearing black (Amanda did finally get some black on). I gotta say I did not have high hopes for this game, but it turned out to be one of the funnest things we did. Also my team Won!! 

Justin and I by the pool. This was one of those pictures where Justin was so tired that he closed his eyes and opened them on the count of 3 for the picture. He looks really awake, but still cute at the same time.

Although we had a lot of time for relaxing and fun, we also got to worship and spend time with God. We prayed and meditated on his words. We were able to connect to Him as we took a break from normal life. I also got to know our leaders even better and loved spending time with them. I can't believe God blessed us with such great leaders! They are seriously Awesome!

P.S. Anyone college age out there? Come to our group on Wednesday nights at 6:30. I will hook you up with a rad leader who will encourage and challenge you spiritually. Check us out on facebook- search Sandals College United. Leave a comment if you want more details :)

My First Sewing Project

This is my first sewing project. It is a baby blanket with chenille on one side and satin trim. 

My mom bought me my first sewing machine for my birthday. It is so nice! It has around 70 different types of stitches, which lets me be extra creative. Cyndi, my mother-in-law, helped me start this project out. She helped me set up the thread and gave good guidance.

I chose fabric that didn't necessarily look babyish. I also embrace the mess ups in my stitching. It makes it seem homemade, but hopefully I do get better :) 

This is the stitch I chose for the edge. It looked very vintage to me, which is the look I am going for. I am very attracted to a blend of vintage/old and simple/modern.

I can't wait to make more! 

Anyone out there want to share their first or most recent sewing project?

I am THAT customer

I went to Starbucks this afternoon.

My friends, Kim, and I got a drink. Kim ordered first. Her drink is the first sentence. Below that is my drink.

Yes, that is seven lines of drink specifications. All that to make my perfect Starbucks drink.

 I actually like to be an easy customer, but sometimes I want a little less or a little more of certain things. So, I guess for now, I am THAT customer. I even got the drink for $2 bucks because of the Receipt Treat thing they have. Thanks Starbucks!

He Dresses Himself

So, Justin has his own unique style. Anyone who knows him would surely agree. He puts his clothing ensembles together, mostly with the help of GQ and the internet. 

We went to Chick-Fil-A with friends for dinner and I noticed this Justin's clothing choice for the evening.

I would use the word "stripes" to describe his outfit that night

I am doubting this idea came from GQ

Three Gallons of Iced Tea

My husband likes iced tea. He likes it so much that we removed a shelf from our fridge and bought a 3 gallon drink dispenser. 

Almost every weekend I make a whole three gallons of this stuff and put it in the fridge.

It takes a lot of hot water kettling and brita filtering.

This may add a little time to my schedule, but it truly saves a bunch of money. To make this amount it takes approximately $0.70 cents. The dispenser, which was $20 has definitely been paid off with how much we are saving.

 The tea bags are target brand big bags.

 This box costs $1.39 and you don't use the whole thing for one batch.

Now it feel like a rip to pay $2 bucks for one glass of iced tea in a restaurant

Vacuuming the Backyard

Yes, That is correct. I vacuumed my parents backyard today. 

First it started with your typical leaf blowing. I have never done this before so it was new and eye opening. It really does take skill for those guys who do yard work to corral those leaves to where they should go. I have more respect for those guys even though they use machines that tend to be  loud and smell like exhaust.

After I coaxed the leaves into a smaller area, my dad appeared with a couple new attachments for the blower. He said that it vacuumed too. I was not sure what to expect, but I put the nose to the ground and it started to suck up the leaves. It was a little awkward, but it got the job done.

Here are some pics of me in action

The Pregnancy Counseling Center

Yesterday I had a great day! 

Casey (my sister) and I went to the Pregnancy Counseling Center (PCC) to check it out and see how we can help them. I was trying to get a feel of how this place is ran and what their needs are. I learned that one of the easiest things to do is to wash and organize the baby clothes. There is a big room with bins that hold different baby necessities.

 Some of the bins are full and some are low or empty. There is a constant flow a young girls who come in to collect a bag of needed items from this place. I felt the need to take a little action and do what I can do to help keep those bin full.

This is a bin that happens to be low. It is for baby bottles.

We washed a load and a half of clothes and put together "Layette Sets". This is a package that the PCC give to young girls who will be giving birth soon. This package includes basic baby needs. I took a photo of the list of everything that a volunteer should put in a layette set. Once we stuffed all these things in a bag, Casey and I had fun decorating the bag to look like a gift with ribbons and stuffed animals.

I am so excited and pumped to do more for this place. The PCC is a critical part of being an alternative for abortions (btw an abortion clinic is one street away). I can't wait to get back there next week and do more. 

Casey and I are plotting a bunch of things to help raise money and supplies for this place. I will definitely post on this subject again (... and again I'm sure). I will let you know what we are planning and maybe you would like to be a part of  it too!!

Adventures in Babysitting

So, Justin and I babysat my nephew and niece on friday night. It happened to be my sister and brother-in-law's 10 year anniversary. They went to Disneyland for an old fashioned date.

Our night with the kids was successful. Here are some of the evening events:

*Making organic mac and cheese for Caleb

*Watching Justin's first bottle feeding experience with Joelle

*An exciting Papa John's pizza delivery

*Putting Joelle in her Piglet jammies

*A bedtime devotional reading with Caleb about "Busy Beavers"

*Justin rocking Joelle to sleep

*Watching the new Vegas movie with Cameron Diaz

*Replacing a dropped pacifier before sleeping Joelle notices its gone

It was fun. Justin and I love to be the fun uncle and auntie.

Here are a few pics of the night

I handed justin the bottle and baby and he said, "How do I do this?"

How cute is that?

Justin multitasking. Ordering pizza online and baby holding.

Yard Sales

So I went to some Yard sales today. One of my favorite things to do. I got some good deals. Didn't spend much which is a good thing. I did come across a killer item. This would be a score for any girl who has limited time and wants a great tan as well. 

I think it comes with a radio and maybe a tape player. I would totally jump on this since I am usually too busy to tan, but I really have no place to put it. I guess I will be fine with my farmer style tan for now.

Here is my first post, World!!

Well, I have been waiting for a long time to have a blog. I finally had to take matters into my own hands and go set my own blog up. My super talented, web-master husband will soon set me up with a custom blog on our own website. For now I will share my thoughts with the world on this humble blog spot. 

So, I guess i will start with last night. Every thursday night my aunt Joanie makes my family an incredible home-cooked meal. We stuff ourselves and then we sit and hang around. As the adults were watching the Republican National Convention live on TV, I found Justin accomplishing more important things on his own.

I love my husband.