Chicago Adventures part I

Jackson and Melissa are officially our wedding/travel buddies. We have flown to at least 3 different weddings together and been to many local weddings together as well. Being travel buddies actually makes the weddings more fun and memorable plus even though we live like 10 minutes from each other we hardly see each other because life is so busy so it gives us a chance to hang out. We have one more wedding coming up in September and of course we are going together!! : )

We stayed together at Hotel 71 (thank you Kimberly and Evan) which is were the wedding reception actually took place. We had a beautiful room and the hotel location could not have been better. We were able to walk just about everywhere we wanted to go.

We all arrived on Wednesday night and didn't really have anything we had to do until Friday. On Thursday we made a day of it and did all the wonderful Chicago things we could. We started with shopping on Michigan Avenue followed by Chicago style pizza... Delicious as always!!

Next we wondered over to see the "Bean." It's a giant bean shaped mirror in which you can catch your reflection as well as a reflection of the city.

Kimberly and Evan's Rehearsal Dinner

Josh and I were in Chicago last week with Jackson and Melissa for Evan and Kim's wedding! We had an amazing week and there are more pictures to come but for now, I have posted some pictures and video from the Rehearsal dinner. I have been to many Rehearsal Dinners but this one was by far the most beautiful. Kimberly and Evan have waited along time for this day and we have been waiting as well. Kimberly and her siblings all play the violin and they are amazing! Her Grandparents traveled all the way from Taiwan to be at the wedding so they took this opportunity to play for them. It was incredible. I think the last time I heard Kim play was at my own wedding. They totally brought many of us to tears... watch and see!!

Photo album personalized with Smilebox

Reunion

Barbara had all of us "San Dimas" Friends over for dinner the other night. It was so great to get together. It means so much that even though things have changed we can all still remain friends. We had such a special thing at our little school and I am so glad we can keep it alive!!

As always Sean made a delicious dessert!!!! : )

One Last Stop

Before heading home from San Diego we stopped at Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jon's house one more time. We had dinner and played our favorite domino game... Mexican Train! We always have so much fun when we are together. Buddy and Boo were so tired that they slept the entire time we were there. Well, first they had to check out the whole house and sniff all the places Mini had been but then they slept the whole time! It was such a great weekend spent with family and friends! We are so blessed!!! : )

Little Italy Day Part 2

After a lovely morning at Be Beauty and a pizza dinner with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jon, we Finally got to go and see where Tara and Ian live. They live right near the water in Point Loma area and they have this fantastic little walking path that goes right along the shore. We took all the doggies for a nice Long evening stole. We can totally see why they enjoy living where they do! ; ) After our walk we headed back over to Little Italy for some late night self serve fro yo!!!! YUMM! Oh, and yes the dogs came to that too!!

The doggies had so much fun on our SD trip that they fell asleep as soon as they got in the car.

Be Beauty

On Saturday we all met up in Little Italy at Be Beauty. Josh, Brandon, Ian and Benjamin all wondered around the city and visited Ian's office while Jamie and I met up with Tara for a wonderful morning at Be Beauty. Tara and her friend Ju Ju opened an amazing little Spa just a year or so ago in Little Italy. I had been to see it during their wedding but I hadn't had a chance to experience any of their services. Jamie and I both got our toes done and I got my nails done. They have this amazing shellac nail polish that goes on thinker than regular nail polish and doesn't chip for at least 14 days. I was super excited to try it and it really was amazing! I got it on on Saturday morning and wore it all the way until the following Saturday when it looked just as good for a wedding in Chicago. The only reason I finally had to take it off was because it was growing out, it never did chip! The Spa is amazing and they also have an adorable boutique with cute dresses, bags, hair clips and jewelry. They just opened up an amazing out door gift shop as well with more home decor. If you are ever in the San Diego area you should really stop by because it's just Fabulous!!!!

http://www.bebeautifully.com/

Jamie and I felt so good after our morning at the spa!

Jamie and Benjamin walking down the street right in front of Be Beauty, what a beautiful location!

Dog Friendly

Emily and Alan graciously opened their home to Josh and I as well as Buddy and Boo. It was so much fun getting to stay with them and be able to spend sometime together. Emily and Alan have a little dog named Corby so one night we took all three dogs out for dinner. They found this funny little BBQ restaurant that is actually dog friendly. There is an indoor area for people with no dogs but the outside patio is seating for people and dogs alike. The BBQ food was delicious but not only that, the owner would bring around fresh bones for each dog to chew on while their people ate. It was a really fun and really strange experience eating out with our dogs.

Buddy had never experienced something so wonderful!!! : )

Boo on the other had was a little traumatized by the 4 German Shepherds sitting at the next table, they were sweet dogs but to Boo, they were GIANTS!! She was so freaked out in fact that she chewed threw her leash twice while no one was looking.

Thank you Emily, Alan and Corby for being such wonderful hosts. We had so much fun at your house and can't wait to see you again soon!

Balboa Park

Two weeks ago we spent the weekend in San Diego visiting family and friends. On Friday we met Brandon, Jamie and Ben at Balboa park for lunch at the beautiful and delicious Prado Restaurant. This is where Ian and Tara got married and Josh and I got equally as lost during this trip as we did during the wedding. It is a beautiful place but if you don't know exactly where you are going it's very confusing. We have decided that next time we go, someone else is driving!! : )

Arroyo Grande Visit

After my Grandma spent the week at our house she rode with us to my parents house for the weekend. My my hosted a fabulous Beauty Society Party for me and it was a big success!!

We got to see Christine, Jason and Josiah as well as meet Baby Annette. She was so sweet and just loved to snuggle.

Seriously, I didn't want to let her go!!

Josiah is soooo cute, he has the blondest hair and a very sweet and friendly personality. It was so great to catch up with this sweet family, as always!!

While we were in town we also got went to see Matt and Erik in their final show on the central coast. They are moving the company to San Diego in the fall. This was Kelrick Productions 100th show and it was a very special night. It was called "Into the Woods" which none of us had ever seen before. It was a combination of hilarious and totally emotional at the same time. It was a great show and we enjoyed spending time with Matt and Erik after the show!! : )

Happy 2nd Birthday Jackson

While my Grandma was here visiting we wanted to have Amy, Josh and the boys over for a BBQ so she could meet them. We ended up getting together on Jackson's birthday. So, of course I had to make him some kind of cake... I went with a HUGE cupcake! We also used having Jackson over as an excuse to play on the new play equipment in our complex. Later we played with bubbles and ate ate cupcake. It was a fun night!!

Jackson read a story to Grandma. It was so great having Grandma here for the week! I had to make cookies while she was here and she helped me which was fun. I just wish we had more time together and that we lived closer so we could do this more often!!