Christmas Party 2007

We had such a FUN Christmas Party with some of our friends. We had a TON of food and a few games to keep everyone entertained. The best was the white elephant gift exchange. I can't wait to do it all again next year!

San Diego - USS Midway - Day 2

On the second day of our trip to San Diego, we toured the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. It was HUGE! We had a fun time exploring the ship. The best part, though, was the flight simulator. Ryan and I sat in this "box" that was set up to be like a fighter jet cock pit. Each of us could fly the plane, and we played with a computer to try and shoot down other planes. We could turn the plane in any direction and the "box" we were in would respond to the way we were flying. It was really fun! The only problem was that when we went upside down, my feet couldn't touch the pedals to go faster or slower, and I could only grip the trigger for shooting... Ryan just laughed as a constant stream of bullets came from my side of the screen.

We had a blast. Here are some of the things we saw on the aircraft carrier.

San Diego - La Jolla Day 1

Since we've been married, Ryan and I have found time to travel quite a bit, and really enjoy it! This past year we did two trips locally - one to San Diego, and one up to San Simeon/Cambria. Stay tuned for more about our trip up north, but we are so far behind on our posts, that we must to San Diego first...
La Jolla Shores is so beautiful. My brother Aaron and his family live in this area, so we stayed at their house for our little vacation. We walked all through La Jolla shopping and then went down to the beach to enjoy the peace of the ocean. Ryan, of course, we very interested in the waves. There was also a little cove where the sea lions come to rest or swim. They have built a little walkway over the water so you can get closer to the water and the animals. It was fun to see them!

Ryan's Birthday - in JULY!

Ryan's birthday was celebrated last July, and as you can see it has taken us this long to actually get the pictures posted. We had some of our friends over for a little party, and it sure was fun! The highlight was when one of Ryan's childhood friends showed up in his work uniform - a police officer. One of the women shouted - "The Stripper is here!" We all got a laugh out of that, although I am not sure the police officer friend laughed...

Oh well... Happy Birthday Ryan!

Pet Spider

A few months ago, Ryan about landed this HUGE spider right on his face. This spider was easily the size of a quarter! He made his web from the corner of our roof, across our yard to the fence! Ryan went outside after a party we had at our house to clean up a little, and nearly walked into the center of the web. He grabbed me and a flashlight, and we watched the spider, hoping to see him catch something and devour it!

Well, he never did catch anything, but we caught him! I told Ryan that we needed to catch him and put him in a jar because if I didn't know where he was, I wouldn't be able to sleep... thinking that spider might just be in our house, or worse, in our bed!


We did catch that spider and kept him in a jar for several weeks. We caught flies and other insects to feed to him. He lived a good life in our jar, but one day, he died... At least we now know what it is like to have a pet spider. FYI he was only a garden spider...

Pumpkin Carving 2007

Ok, so we are a little behind... BUT, we wanted to post our pumpkins from Halloween! Ryan and I made a date night out of it and went to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins. We choose the most perfect pumpkins and carefuly took them home with us.

Yes, we spent too much money on our dear pumpkins, but look how cute they are!!! The carving night was a few days later, but we kept our little guys safe until the big night arrived... A few years ago we decided that since we don't have much of a family for FHE, we'd get together with other couples who had young children, or no children, and do our own family night activities! It has been so much fun, and a great way to get to know other people in our ward. Our pumpkin carving night was FHE with two other couples - Brian & Heather and Jan & Dave. We had a great time time and an even better time trying to get the pictures just right! We can't wait until next Halloween to carve pumpkins again!!!

Recovering from Too much Culture

Mountain Biking in OrangeCounty

This is all the culture I need

These shots were taken on a trail called Mathis.

This picture isn't very exciting, sorry

This is a fun little lip that will allow for a little air as you jam down the hill.

Now this is culture!