Beach Bum Visitors

This weekend one of my best friends and another dear friend came to visit us here in the desert! They are stationed at Pendleton (for those of you that aren't familiar with that base....it's sitting on the Pacific Coast Line so they are practically on top of the beach) and so coming out here (to the desert) in the summer was a shock to their system (weather wise). It was such a blast seeing them and hanging out. Emma stayed with us and Julie stayed with our friends the Farmer's. We hung out and relaxed for a bit when they first arrived and then Saturday night we went to Christine's for a little get together so everyone could hang out and meet/see Noah! It was a full house, but it was a blast! Along with Emma and Julie, Christine's family, the Farmer's, Erica and her girls, Carolyn and her daughter, as well as Diana and her son were there. The kids had such a wonderful time playing together and it was a great time to just hang out and have fun. After the get together, Emma came back over and we watched the women's gold medal match in volleyball since it was the US vs Brazil (where Emma's from) and this time her team came out the top dog! But....Sunday night we came out on top when the men's team also played Brazil for the gold!!! Anyway, on Sunday we went to church and then came back and had a little brunch...quiche and fruit salad, before it was time to say good-bye until we get to hang out again. Emma and Julie, sorry we live in the armpit of California, but... I'm so glad that you guys drove out for the weekend! It was nice to see you and catch up in person and I can't wait to see guys again in September!!!

Madison's One Year and Our Family photos

We weren't totally thrilled with how these turned out, but we got a few good ones, so I thought I'd post them for you to see :)

Just wanted to share these

I took these pictures a couple of days ago and just thought they were too cute not to share! Hope you enjoy them!

Happy Birthday Billy!!!

This past weekend we went out to Orange County again. This time we had the chance to go out (just the two of us) to help our dear friend Billy celebrate his birthday! It was a surprise party that was spectacular. Billy's parents, along with his amazing girlfriend, had the party catered and even had a live band. The party was at Billy's parents house in their backyard and was just so much fun! Billy's girlfriend even rented a video game truck that allowed up to 16 people to be playing up to 4 different video games at a time. It was really neat. There are some pictures from inside the truck. Alex and I played Guitar Hero for the first time, but unfortunately just as we were going to play against each other it was time for the truck to leave. I must say it was a lot of fun!

It was also really neat to see Alex get to hang out with his friends that he doesn't get to see very often. They are some amazing guys! We miss being closer to them. Many of them were in our wedding as well! Alex and I had a blast reconnecting with everyone!
Billy, we hope that you had a wonderful birthday and that you know just how loved you are! May God bless this next year of your life and do amazing things in and through you!

Baby Noah is here

My dear friend Christine gave birth to her beautiful son yesterday! She is amazing! I still remember when I got the phone call letting me know she was pregnant and the shock/excitement in her voice and now her little man is here in her arms. Her husband is deployed right now so she's been doing this on her own and she's been such a trooper through the whole thing. She is going to make a great mom!


Noah Lee Bouchard was born at 3:31 pm on August 12, 2008. He weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces and was 20.4 inches long. He is as darling as can be!

Christine, I am so proud of you! Bringing little Noah into this world is such a beautiful miracle and gift from God. You and Dave are going to be wonderful parents. Congratulations again!!!







"Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17

The Dress...

When I was younger my mom's friend from college made this dress for me. My mom kept it all of these years and when Madison was born, she gave it to me. I took a picture of her in it the other day. Here is the picture of me wearing the dress and then one of Madison wearing the dress. My mom thinks I was either 13 or 14 months old in the picture and Madison is 13 months in hers.


me


Madison

Also, everyone keeps asking where Madison gets her red hair. I think it's obvious, but for those of you who don't see the red I currently have in my hair, take a look at the color of my hair in my photo. :) Now that's some red hair :)

Lunch at Wahoo's

This weekend we went to Orange County. We had a blast being out of the desert, relaxing, watching the Olympics, and hanging out with Kami. Kami is in town for a couple of weeks and we were able to meet up with her for lunch, at Wahoo's, on Sunday! We had good times talking, eating, and just catching up.


Playing with the book Aunt Kami got her for her birthday


Can't hang out and not take one of these :)


Kami and Madison being cute


Madison loves her Aunt Kami

We had so much fun hanging out Kami....we hope it works out for us to see you next weekend too! We love you and always miss you when you're away!

Backyard Visitor

So....I was vacuuming this morning and I looked up to see something staring at me through the window to our backyard.
Look what it was....anyone know what kind it is? I have been trying to look it up and have had no luck finding its identity.





Welcome to the desert right?!?

The Natural Resource Specialist came to help us get rid of the snake. I showed them pictures and they said that it's a Red Racer which means that it eats rattle snakes, scorpions, and crickets and it is not venomous. They weren't able to find it, but at least I feel a little better about this lurking snake....as "better" as one can feel!

Enchilada Night

About a week and a half ago, I had some of the girls over for Enchiladas and 7 Layer Bean Dip. We had a blast and really enjoyed our time together. I snapped a couple of pictures of the kids "playing" together that I thought I'd share....thought they were too cute not to share.

This is Madison, Levi, and baby Cailyn!

"Come back here kitty....I just want to hug you!"

Madison is big into hugging lately and one of her favorite things to hug are our cats. She tries to sneak up on them, but most of the time they don't stay still long enough for her to hug them. Here are some pictures of Madison's attempt to hug Leia! Hope you enjoy them!

Happy Anniversary

Alex and I just celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary! Can't believe how fast time flies. In the past four years we sure have done a lot. Alex finished law school, took the bar exam, passed the bar exam, went to The Basic School, went to Naval Justice School, became a dad, and started practice in the real world as a Lawyer. I taught first grade, second grade, and a 1/2 combo and I became a mom, as well as a full time stay at home mom/homemaker. Together we've adopted two cats, lived in three states, moved four times, became parents, and still managed to fall more and more in love with each other. I feel truly blessed to have Alex in my life as my husband, my best friend, and as the father of our beautiful little girl.
Alex was gone the whole week before our anniversary (he was in Chicago for training with the Marine Corps), but he was due back home in the afternoon on our anniversary. The day started out a little hectic, being that Alex's flight from Chicago back to LAX was cancelled, so he had to scramble and try to find a different flight so that he could still make it home. Once he was home, we were blessed with the opportunity to go out and actually spend some time alone together. We made reservations at PF Changs (which we were so excited about because we hadn't been there in over a year). Also, for those of you that don't realize how "in booniesville" we are, the nearest restaurants are about and hour and fifteen minutes away, so to be able to go there and just relax together was such a blessing. We had a wonderful time at dinner. We took our time and enjoyed a very relaxing evening just talking and focusing on each other. Here are a couple of photos of us on our night out :)

Shadow Ridge

Well, we just got back from a little vacation in Palm Desert at a place called Shadow Ridge. We went with my parents and had a blast! We relaxed, hung out by the pool and Alex and I got to go on a little date to go see The Dark Night! (What a great movie) My dad and Alex also went golfing together on Thursday bright and early so that they could try to beat the heat. Here are some pictures from our stay :)


Mommy and Madison waiting to check into our room


Madison and daddy getting ready to go in the pool


Grandma teaching Madison how to kick her feet in the water


Madison, being a ham, while running through the little water park