San Diego!

This past weekend Phil and I drove down to meet my parents in San Diego. My Dad was there for a work trade show and it was Mom's birthday. We drove down Saturday in terrible traffic. It took us 3 hours to get from L.A to San Diego which is not normal! My parents flight was also canceled so they had to take a later one, but we all made it! We stayed in the Gaslamp district, which I had never been to.

For lunch, we went to Dick's Last Resort. I wish I would have gotten pictures of this place.... It was a bit crazy. It's called the Last Resort for a reason! :) The waiter was making fun of everyone and also the service was terrible. But wait, it's supposed to be bad service! He called Phil Hair Product, my dad a bastard and told my mom she could do better. He asked her "Were you on drugs when you said yes?" Personally, not my cup of tea but everyone else though it was hilarious. There are bra's hanging from the bar ceiling and it's a fun atmosphere. Just not what we were expecting! Good thing we are easy-going :) Here's the restaurant website to give you an idea.... http://www.dickslastresort.com/

After lunch we went shopping around the Gaslamp district. I bought a dress :) There are a lot of cool boutiques and great restaurants. We went out to dinner for my mom's birthday about 5 blocks from the hotel at Greystone Steak House. It was AMAZING! Here's some pictures from dinner...

Excuse the purple teeth :)

Lauren's first time to the midwest!

In April we took our first trip to Kansas City Missouri to visit Phil's sister Michelle, her husband Justin and daughter, Lily. We had a blast! Apparently a trip to Kansas City would not be complete if we didn't make a trip to Lily's favorite store... Cabella's! Here's a few pics from the store.
Uncle Phil and Lily check out the fighting stuffed Elephants. Never have I seen something like this...
Don't worry... it's just a Moose in the middle of the "pond".
Lily feeding the fish.... yes fish.
Another first for Lauren was shooting a gun. The first time I did it was frightening... really. I didn't think I would do it again but I got up the courage to try a few times. And... I hit the target!!! Woohoo!! Thanks for teaching me Justin!!

Phil and I were happy to be a part of Lily's first Easter Egg dying experience. She loved it. She was very careful not to spill and was complimenting everyone on their good eggs. Saying "Good Job". Very cute!Uncle Phil and Lily dying eggs together.

All done! Posing with Dad!

Nothing like a good bowl of ice cream to finish off Easter Egg Dying! We had a great time and can't wait to go back!!

Holidays!

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Glendora and Christmas in Pleasanton. Anyone who knows my mom knows she always goes all out for Christmas. Jane, my sister's girlfriend even said "I've never had a Christmas like this!" A little overboard but who's complaining?!









Phil's parents were able to make it up to Pleasanton the day after Christmas. We all went up to Napa for a little wine tasting :) We also took everyone to go see Deacon Dave's in Livermore. He puts up these lights every Christmas Season.













Great first Christmas!

Our Babies...

Before we got married I had our kitty Izzy. She is the black and white one, also known as our special needs cat. If you ever meet her you'll know why. Before we were married I lived with my friend Lisa and she had a cat. Well needless to say I feared Izzy was lonely so I talked Phil into adopting just one more :) Welcome.... Harvey! Here's a few pics of our babies

Through sickness and health... right??

Phil definitely proved to be a wonderful husband FAST! I have (since I can remember) had a small bump on the right side of my neck. It never bothered me before but soon after we came back from Maui it started getting noticeably bigger. Then.... it got red, then redder, then bruised. You get the idea. Well, it ended up being a benign cyst that somehow got infected in my neck. They had to operate to get it out and they couldn't close the wound so we had to pack it with gauze twice a day.... or should I say, Phil had to pack it while I sat there screaming and crying. Here's a picture of my neck while we were in the waiting room before surgery.... Ewwww.

Catching Up!

I have been reading other people's blogs and have finally decided to start one of our own! I have some catching up to do, so bare with me!

Phil and I were married on October 18, 2008. We spent 1 1/2 planning and it turned out wonderful. We couldn't have asked for a better party :) Our ceremony was held at Trinity Baptist Church in Livermore and reception at the Ruby hill Golf Club in Pleasanton.

























After the wedding we flew off to Maui! We had the best trip of our lives! Here's a couple of pics - Phil and I in a cave at black sand beach and us at our hotel for dinner.