too much to catch up on!

So, i have been meaning to catch up on my blog for a few months now but every time i approach the task, i give up. well here i am going to sum up the recent activities...

last time i blogged i was looking forward to Casey's birthday, Garrett and Julie's Wedding and Halloween... i had no idea that by the time i got on my blog it would be after Thanksgiving and Christmas as well.

Here are some updates and pictures from the past few months:

Casey's Birthday:

This year i was so excited for Casey's birthday.. he turned the big Two-Five! My husband is officially a quarter of a century old! We had a small birthday celebration with Casey's family, went to Disneyland for a rainy day, and went to Vegas where we ate at our favorite restaurant and went to the Hoover Dam.

Garrett and Julie's Wedding was beautiful. I loved being in the temple with my husband and seeing my family. But that was also the night before my first time teaching a lesson in Relief Society. (did i mention i got a new calling since the last time i blogged?) So i was also a bit stressed... and it was a really humid day so all of our hair fell...but it was still fun and beautiful. :) I loved being a bridesmaid!

Halloween was fun this year. I have a hard time getting into it now that i am a bit older and cannot really go trick or treating but it was fun at work getting dressed up as a Dork and doing Sunshine's Fall Festival. I had forgotten how much fun dressing up could be. My favorite part of Halloween is still getting and carving pumpkins. Casey and i went to the "famous" Lombardi's Ranch to get our pumpkins and go down Scarecrow Alley!

Well, this blog is getting a bit too long so ill catch up on Thanksgiving and Christmas next time.. hopefully sooner than later. Happy Holidays Y'all!

End Of Summer Wrap Up

So i'm not sure if it is officially the end of summer yet, but my summer has been over for about two weeks now, and with the end of summer comes a bunch of change and new beginnings.

Summer camp has ended for work and i've started a new group at Sunshine. I have a mixed group of 2nd and 3rd graders and i have TWO co-counselors, one of wich is a "newbie". I'm loving my group so far but im still getting adjusted to school schedule versus summer schedule.

My LAST Early Child Education class began two weeks ago. This class is at the Valencia COC campus. This is my first time taking ECE classes at the Valencia campus...and i have to say, im not a fan. I LOVE my teacher and the class is easy enough for me. HOWEVER i hate the location. The class set up is akward and the building is so removed from the rest of the campus that there is NO easy way t get to it. I cannot wait for December when this class is over and I start working on my General Education Classes and my Real Estate course. Hopefully those classes will keep me away from this campus and closer proximity to a parking spot in the shade. lol.

Another change that has been made is that my dad no longer lives in northern California. He is still unemployed and it really made NO sense for him to be paying rent on a place to live all by himself with no nearby family and no job. So he's closer to me and my little sister which is so great. It was difficult to move him and go through all his stuff. It seemed so much easier moving him up in 2008. Im beyond excited to have my dad closer to me. :)

Summer was SUPER fun

-My Birthday (Disneyland, Price is Right & Vegas)

-Annual Lake Mead Trip

-Fourth of July in San Diego

-Summer Camp

-Going to the Hill's Series Finale

-Daughter's trip to San Fran

But i LOVE fall. I love the clothes, the weather, nature, holidays... im so excited for all the upcoming fun thats on its way!

-Labor Day Weekend

-Casey's Birthday

-Garrett & Julie's Wedding

-Halloween

So much to look forward to. Until next time :)

Come On Down!

So as you know, i went to the Price is right on May 25th and my episode aired on June 17th.

in case you missed it, here it is!

The Price is Right - 6/17/2010

ooh and to top it off... some background clips :)

you should watch it.



i cant figure out how to get it posted now, but look on ThePriceIsRight.com and look for the clip that says "Lonestar rocks TPIR".

Oh yah, i dont know if i mentioned this in my previous post, but Lonestar played! It was amazing. Such a fun day!

My prizes will arrive within 90 days of the air date. i cannot wait. i got some fun things planned... like a massage and some other much needed treats for myself.

hopefully pictures and an additional video to come. :)

It's a Celebration!

This year i turned 21, and i am so blessed to have been able to celebrate it as much as i have. it has been such a crazy month. It started with a trip to The Price is right. I was so excited to go. My friend Ashley went with me and we made custom shirts that turned out so cute!

May 25th : The Price Is Right

I wake up at 2:30, drive to CBS Studio's (next to The Grove) arrive at 3:30am. wait in line until 6:00 AM when they pass out the tickets. Walk back to the car, warm up and sit in the comfy seats for a few minutes. Head back, eat breakfast, and be back in line at 8 for 4 hours of processing. During the processing got my name tag, filled out a little piece of paper saying why i wanted to be on the show, got interviewed in a small group by the producers of the show, went through security and finally got filed into the studio. After dancing around to the "get pumped" music they had on, Rich Fields (the "come on down" guy) came out and told us the rules of the taping. They started filming and all i can say is to watch June 17th at 10 am (CBS). You wont want to miss it! :)

May 27th: the actual birthday

I woke up at 6 am to go to work, and there were streamers and happy birthday signs all over the house. I wish i had gotten pictures because it was so cute. I was so tired the night before that i didn't even wake up when Casey got up and decorated the house for my birthday! i went to work as usual. I had planned a relaxing fun day for the kids so we had a pizza party and watched Bed Knobs and Broomsticks. The kids loved the movie and i enjoyed the easy day. I came home and got ready for dinner. Casey planned on taking me somewhere nice for my bday so he took me to Salt Creek. The food was SO good and thanks to my mom, we got an amazing dessert on the house. It was a very nice night.

May 30th: Disneyland!

Once again, i woke up early (theme for my birthday i guess) and drove to Disneyland with Christina. We got there right as the park opened. I was really nervous because we dared to go to Disneyland on a holiday, but the lines were surprisingly, and uncharacteristically short. We got on all the rides in less than 15 min. By the time we were done it was barely after lunch. we got home by 3pm with plenty of time to go to my nephew, Gunners, 4th birthday party. It was such a great fun day.

June 4th-June 7th: VEGAS TRIP

Friday: I woke up early.... again... went into work for a little over an hour to finish decorating my room for summer camp. then, i got home and we got on the road for Vegas. We stopped at the outlets at State Line as usual and then got back on the road. We had planned on staying at the Encore for our trip. We went to check in but we got sent away because apparently, booking three months in advance means nothing and they overbooked the room so we got sent to the Four Seasons which is the top four floors of the Mandalay Bay. we were kinda bummed but hey, its the Four Seasons. It was very nice. Friday night we wandered around the casino where i got to gamble for the first time, ate at the Mandalay Bay Buffet, and then wandered around some more.

(My Very First Time Gambling)

Saturday, we slept in (finally), went to the pools. That was so great. Aside from the ten pools that the Mandalay Bay has, The four seasons has their own private pool exclusively for their guests. They run it like a restaurant. They seat you in your own private lounge and come by with cold towels and frozen melon balls, fresh lemon water and stuff. it was so nice! After we were done at the pool, we got ready for the BIG NIGHT! we had dinner reservations and tickets to a show. We drove over to the Encore and Wynn hotels where we had the best dinner of my life!

The restaurant we ate at was called Bartolotta. We had to make the reservations to eat there 3 months in advance, but it was so worth it. We had a private cabana overlooking a large koi pond. Our reservation happened to be right at sunset. It was beautiful. They specialize in seafood. All of their seafood is flown in daily from the Mediterranean. We shared this scallop appetizer which was basically one bight for each of us... but i have to say, it was by far the bets bite of food i have ever had. For the main course, I got Scorpion fish pasta and Casey got this mixed seafood risotto. They were both amazing. His tasted like dessert. Then we got dessert... i don't even remember what it was called. All i know it was sooo stinkin good!

The Cabana

After dinner, we killed some time wandering around and looking at the amazing shops in the Wynn and Encore. Finally it was time to go to the show we got tickets for.

It's called "Le Reve" which means The Dream, in french. it was such an amazing performance. there's a pool as the stage and people come out of the pool, dive into the pool, fall from the ceiling... it was amazing! The best way for me to describe it is an Aquatic, Acrobatic, Theatrical performance. I would totally see it again. We had amazing seats, 8th row (the best one because you are perfectly eye level with MOST of the action). i couldn't take pictures during the show but if i were you, i would look it up! the pictures i do have is how they set the stage as everyone got their seats. OH and an added bonus, somehow we got free popcorn. The people in front of us as we were presenting our tickets at the door gave up some free popcorn passes and we got them.

After the show was done, we walked around for a bit before driving back to the Four Seasons for our last night there before coming back to the Encore for one night.

Sunday we got to check into the Encore for one night. the room was AMAZING.

I was sad we were only there one night. The pool was more of a free for all, but the room and the view was amazing and the Encore/Wynn casino is phenomenal! Sunday we went to the pool for a little and then went to the room and got ready. We had dinner at the Wynn Buffet (Casey was a little disappointed with the Buffet because the crab legs were cold. But it was still pretty tasty). After dinner we drove over to The Sahara which is kind a scary place. The crowd there is definitely different then the crowd at the Encore or Mandalay Bay. But its the only place we knew of where we could play One Dollar Black Jack... so it was worth it. It was so much fun. Casey and i played there for about four hours and didn't loose any money. in fact we made seven dollars! haha. We went back to the hotel and crashed.

Monday morning we woke up and had to check out of the Encore :( . We then headed off the main strip and to Gold & Silver Pawn aka the Pawn Stars Pawn Shop. None of the main guys from the show were there but it was still really cool to check it out. It was a mad house. There were so many people. I had no idea that many people knew of the show. I got a souvenir shirt and some pictures and we headed home.

The drive home was super easy.. but Casey might say otherwise, i slept the whole way which is totally out of character for me. I must have just been totally worn out from such an amazing weekend.

I am so grateful to my hubby for letting me over-celebrate my birthday. It was by far the best birthday ever.

Don't forget to watch The Price is Right on June 17th. (Ch 2 @ 10 am)

Until then.... :)

Spring Break

Spring break has come and gone. This was the first year i actually used Spring Break as a break time for myself. I had time to meet up with some friends and some time to hang out with casey's family.

Between my hectic work schedule, i was able to have some fun too.

On Thursday, after work, i went out with Tiffany. We went to Hollywood, walked around, enjoyed the sights, went to a Wax Museum i cannot spell or pronounce (the big famous one... Madam T...) ate dinner at hooters and headed home. So much fun with such a great friend!



Friday night casey and i saw The Last Song (not amazing, but more acurate than most movies based on books - as usual, the book is MUCH better)

Saturday morning, Casey and myself met up with his parents and we went to "A Place to Shoot" and shot off some handguns. it was SO much fun! I shot a 44 Magnum, 9 mm glock, 45 mm glock and a 40. I cannot wait to get my own gun this year for my birthday gift!



Not too long now til my birthday trip to vegas! so much to look forward to!

until next time :)

A lot can happen in a year

A year ago this month, casey and i got married. It was the happiest day of my life. I had been waiting a long time for Casey to make me his wife. A little less than a year and a half after our first date, i got to be his wife. After we were married in Newport we came back to Valencia for a great party. We honeymooned in Big bear after staying at the Hyatt. We came back to our lovely house and started creating our "buisness as usual" life... which is such a great life.

So for our anniversary, i wanted to do something special, to show my husband how much March 21st, 2009 meant to me. There isnt a gift that would do it justice. Finally, i came up with the idea of a scavenger hunt. He would come home from work to find a clue leading him to his parents house. From there he would find a note leading him to his brother's house (where he proposed to me) and from there to my moms house. From my mom's house he would be told to search his car for another clue. and that clue in his car would send him to olive garden to pick up some dinner and in the takeout bag he would get the final clue sending him to the hyatt. It was so much fun setting it all up. My mom set it up so we could have room service for breakfast and we spent the day after relaxing and running errands. then casey suprised me with reservations at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

It was an amazing anniversary!

But the craziness doesnt stop there... that may have been the end of our Anniversary Celebration, but there has been much more to celebrate lately.

My dad and Whitney came into town this last friday. We had family pictures planned for Sunday and Monday was Whitney's 24th birthday.

(an example of the family pics we took. more to come)

A few days after our wedding, Garrett went on his first date with Julie. that means that March 27th was Garrett and Julie's one year anniversary. On Saturday my dad, my little sister, casey and myself went to the Americana with my dad. At some point, Garrett called us and asked if we could come see a show at Universal Studio's that night. The show started at 8pm so we left the Americana, came home, changed and headed to Universal. We got there in time to go on Backdraft and then headed strait to the show.

During the show, Julie got pulled onto the stage to be apart of an act. Julie was asked to think of an article of clothing and the dog would go backstage and grab it. watch the video to see how it went.

:) SO like the title of the blog said... a lot can happen in a year:

Casey and I had our first anniversary
Garrett and Julie had their first anniversary of dating AND got engaged.
Whitney had a birthday and got to visit us
Time flies and life changes... the changes are blessings that i thank the lord for everyday.

[pictures to come soon]
until next time... ;)

Restaurant Review

So i love going out to dinner.

I am quite a stickler when it comes to service and i am kinda particular when it comes to my food.

Saturday night, casey took me out to a nice dinner at a place we had never been before. We have frequently talked about how i should write Restaurant Reviews on where i eat and what i think.

So here it goes (its not a formal review that i would send in to a newspaper... its a rough review)

Backwoods Inn:


The atmosphere was very unique. Im used to going to a cookie cutter restaurant with the dim lighting and themed music and every inch of space being used for something. however, this little nugget hidden in the middle of nowhere, is open, spacious, with random collectibles displayed. You walk in the door and see the kitchen! (pleasent view of the kitchen) There is sawdust on the floor and mismatched lighting fixtures on the celieing... But it SO works. I think there was music, but it was a quiet place with the most of the noise being the quiet, polite, conversations going on around us. Casey and i were the youngest couple there and most of the servers seemed to know most of the people there. The service showed that. I noticed the server was very busy but still gave each table individual attention. She took multiple requests from multiple tables at a time and then fufulled those requests (mostly) in a timely manner.

The food was amazing! we both got the small fillet with the stuffed baked potato. The potato was the best part of the whole meal. i was torn. I would definitely go back and order the same exact thing! I recommend Backwoods to everyone. Its a SCV classic.

Next time i go to a good/new restaraunt ill let y'all know! :)

I'm so excited!

SO the Twilight: Eclipse trailer is officially out... i personally cannot wait until June 30th. That means ill be watching this trailer and any other ones released between now and then repeatedly until then. For those who havent seen it yet, here you go. Lucky for me, i have The Last Song to hold me over through the end of the month.

buisness as usual :)

It has been a while since my last post - i feel bad for not blogging so here is me making up for lost time.

Lets just do some quick updates

Casey and i rang our first new years as a married couple. We went to his parents house for a small get together. By midnght the only one's remaining were myself, casey and his mom. The three of us had a Martinelli toast and had a pretty good time.

Shorly after casey and i headed to big bear for a short getaway. We stayed at a cute resort right in the village and did a day on the slopes and a day of our favorite restaraunts. (Captains Anchorage, Peppercorn and Teddy Bear's)

[me and casey in big bear]

A suprise came when someone hit casey's new car while he was getting his hair cut. Who hits a parked car!? anyways, its back from the shop and is as good as new.

I've gone back to school for my 3rd semester but because of all the budget cuts im only taking one class this semester.

Casey and I both got really sick around Valentine's day so we had a quiet Valentine's Day together.

Our one year anniversary is coming up. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by!

I no longer work at the salon. But i still work at Sunshine and everythings the same.

I've been reading a lot of books lately. Since the new year, ive read:
The Time Traveller's Wife (not a simple read but totally worth it)

Lovely Bones (difficult read but really good)

Dear John -Nicholas Sparks (easy and sweet and loved it!)

The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks (MY FAVORITE so far. Not a hard read. but amazing)

LA Candy-Lauren Conrad (easy and fun)

Sweet Little Lies - Laruen Conrad (easy and fun)
A Child Called "It" -had to read for school. Easy to read, emotionally difficult.

I'm not ready to stop reading yet. I LOVED all the books i read and cannot wait to read more! i would recommend all of them. i want to read more books that are also movies. im loving reading and then watching and comparing.

There are a lot of fun goings on coming up:

Anniversary

My birthday

Summertime

So look forward to those more interesting blogs. :)

see you then