Ham and Jam

Exploring Chicago

2010-09-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

The last two days that we were in Chicago we stayed with some friends of Kim and Evan. Matt and Jessica were the best hosts you could imagine. They live right outside the city and they couldn't have been nicer. They cooked dinner for us each night and woke up early to make us breakfast before out flight home. Matt helped us navigate the city by mapping out where we should go and which bus, train and road we should take the night before. We were able to wonder all around Chicago with out getting lost. We went to all the free places we could think of which included the Chicago History Museum and the Lincoln Park Zoo. I don't remember the last time I went any where like that with out a group of kids in matching red t-shirts. It was kind of fun to go as adults!! : )

Of course Josh wanted to check out the reptile exhibit... he was loving it!

"Hey Everybody... Harry Carey Here!!"

One of my favorite things we saw, the huge Weber Grill out side the Weber Grill Restaurant. Everything is cooked on Weber Grills here. The traditional Weber Grill is all my dad and grandpa used so it holds a special place in my heart! : )

Across from Hotel 71 is the Trump building. As fans of The Apprentice and of course the DT himself... we decided we wanted to go and check it out. It's a beautiful building with hotel rooms and condos. There are door men there that carry your bags for you wearing white gloves. We tried to blend in just a little bit and went up to check out the view from the lounge. It was a great view of Navy Pier and we could see a clear view of Hotel 71's penthouse where we were the night before for the reception. Drinks were a little pricey so we didn't stay but it was fun to pretend we belonged there for just a few minutes.

We had an awesome time in Chicago and we can't wait to go back... who knows when that will be but still!! : )

The Wedding

2010-09-05T00:10:00.001-07:00

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Hot Chocolate

2010-09-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

Jackson had found this little restaurant on another Chicago trip and just had to take us there. It was super delicious! The menu had everything from gourmet hamburgers to fancy Macaroni and cheese. The food was excellent and so was the hot chocolate!!

Homemade marshmallows... soooo good!

Room with a view

2010-09-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is the view from the room where we all stayed.

Looking down from 34 floors up.

Chicago Adventures part I

2010-08-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-08-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

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Reunion

2010-08-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-17T22:51:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-16T16:12:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

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!!

The 4th of July

2010-07-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

Although we didn't do so well with documenting the 4th of July with pictures... We had Emily and Aaron over for a good old fashioned backyard BBQ. It was so great to see them. It had been awhile since we were able to get together so it was great to catch up. We had delicious but huge hamburgers. I am still learning how to form the patties so that they don't shrink up so small with out making them too big... we enjoyed some delicious baked beans that Emily brought... she will have to tell us where she got the recipe because they were really good! She also brought a peach cobbler which we enjoyed hot with some vanilla ice cream. Yummy!!! We swam and enjoyed the sunshine at the pool and played a game of Seinfeld Scene It and later I gave Emily a Beauty Society Facial. We had such a great time with them and I hope we will be able to get together again soon!! : )

Coloring

2010-07-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is color and Jackson is finally old enough to have fun coloring with me. He is still working on not coloring on the carpet, his toys, his pjs, his auntie Heidi and anything but paper but he seems to be learning pretty quickly! : ) We had fun drawing the other night, I drew some of his favorite things and he helped me color them in... ice cream, water melon (melon as he says), corn, mama, daddy, Carter oh and of course Dora! : )

He is also very into reading books so here we are reading "Are you my Mother?" and "The Foot Book" Jackson reads it to me "Oh, foot! Oh, foot! Oh, Foot!"

This was Carter's 1 month Birthday! Where does the time go?????

T Odd

2010-07-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Todd surprised Josh on his Birthday by coming to our house when we thought he was in Korea... the bummer was we were in AG so we weren't there to see him that day. It was a fun surprise none the less!! So, once we were back in town we finally got together. We went over to his parents house for dinner and we had a fantastic time. His parents are so sweet and so funny just like Todd so we always have a great time together. We reminisced about the time we spent Thanksgiving with them and their dog Coco knocked over a glass of red wine and it landed on Buddy turning him instantly red but luckily Buddy saved the expensive rug from getting stained. We joked that Buddy really had a drinking problem and smelled like wine all the way home. We always have fun with Todd, always lots of laughs and we can't wait to see him again, hopefully in December! We love Todd!!! : )

Picture Fun at the Apple Farm

2010-07-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

So many choices so little time...

Goofing around in the giftshop.

Happy Birthday Mom

2010-06-30T00:11:00.000-07:00

Last but not least we celebrated my Mom's birthday. It really was 4 days of celebrations!! My Grandma and I took my Mom to the Apple Farm in San Louis for lunch. If you haven't been to the Apple Farm, you must stop there the next time you are driving up the coast. We had a delicious lunch and then wandered around in their fabulous little gift shop. It's also a hotel so you could spend the night there as well.

After lunch we headed back to Avila to another one of our favorite spots the Avila Valley Barn. They also have a wonderful little gift shop that's always fun to look around in as well as a ton of fresh fruits and vegetables. They have recently added an ice cream shop with a great little patio. So we enjoyed some ice cream out on the deck. It was so much fun to have an afternoon with just us girls.

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you so much and I am so glad I could spend the day with you this year!!! xoxo

Happy Birthday Josh

2010-06-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

The next day it was time to celebrate Josh's 28th birthday! We had a BBQ at the Ambrose's house with yummy Burgers (and hot dogs) grilled by Rick. My family came over as well as Scott, Nichole and Logan. It was a great way to celebrate Josh's special day!

I posted pictures of this hansom little guy in April when he was just a few weeks old. Wow, he has grown a lot in just a few months. He is a sweetie pie and he totally stole the show. Everyone wanted a turn to hold him, especially Grandpa. Apparently these people are grandchild deprived or something... hahahah ; )

Father's Day

2010-06-29T23:38:00.000-07:00

The second day we were in AG we celebrated Father's Day. We had a delicious brunch prepared by Karen and enjoyed laughing and playing with Bubbles out side with the dogs. Maybe it was just me that did Bubbles with the dogs but everyone else got a kick out of watching Buddy chase and eat them. It was so special to all be together for Father's Day this year. We are very blessed to have such amazing Dad's who love us and have taught us so much! Oh, and who are always there for us to help us figure out what to do when life throws us lemons!!!

Andy's Graduation Party

2010-06-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we kicked off the Summer by heading to beautiful Arroyo Grande California for a weekend of celebrations. The first celebration was a graduation party for Andy. It was a wonderful party and people who have known and loved Andy through his whole life were there. Everyone is so proud of him!!

Growing up Mom always made us M&M decorated birthday cakes. We hadn't seen one in a while so this was a really fun treat. She did an awesome job of creating the Cal logo out of M&Ms, maybe that's were I get my inspiration for my cookies!

Tara, Ian and Uncle Jon came all the way from San Diego just for the party and then turned around and went home all in one day. Now that is true love! Aunt Nancy was on a trip with some other family and we really missed her, parties just aren't the same with out Crazy Aunt Nancy!!

How cute is Jadyn?!?

This is Carrie, my second cousin once removed... I don't know... we are some kind of cousins, they gave us a lesson but it's way to confusing!

8th Grade Graduation

2010-06-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the pleasure of being a part of the 8th Grade Graduation Ceremony for my first class. I had these kids when they were 4th graders and I remember thinking that I would go to their graduation some day. It came so much faster than I ever expected it to. They are not little kids any more. In fact, most of them are taller than I am, even with my heals on. I am so proud of them and it was so much fun to be there for their special day!! It was fun to see the families as well. Being a teacher can truly be a very hard job but, on days like these it really is rewarding. I feel so lucky to have been a small part of their journeys, I know they were truly a huge part of mine!!

My Little Class

2010-06-23T00:11:00.000-07:00

School is officially out for the Summer which I am very excited about but it was hard to say good bye to my little students because I know when I see them again in the Fall they will have grown and changed so much. For open house I drew a picture of each of my students and they got to decorate the frame with all the shapes and colors that we learned this year. Everyone really enjoyed seeing these pictures because they really captured each of my students looks and as well as personalities. It was a very different year teaching preschool this year but in many ways it really was a blessing. I am also blessed to have the Summer off!!!!!! : )

Welcome to the World Little Carter Bug

2010-06-23T00:05:00.000-07:00

Just two weeks ago we made a trip to the hospital to meet a very special little baby boy. We were so excited to meet Carter, he is so precious!!

The very proud parents

I could seriously just snuggle with him for hours!!

We love you Carter and are so glad you are finally here!!!

Happy 6th Anniversary to us

2010-06-22T23:55:00.000-07:00

On May 22nd we celebrated our 6th Anniversary. It was a very low key Anniversary but honestly with how busy and crazy things have been these last few months that was exactly what we needed. We enjoyed a day of relaxation and a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We had no one to take pictures for us so we decided to take some ourselves... these things must be documented you know!

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!

2010-06-21T23:19:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been to my cookie blog in awhile you really should go check it out! I have made more cookies this year than I can count, some of which I didn't even get pictures of. It has been a lot of work and a lot of fun. I have even had to recruit help... thank you Leanna!!!!! So, please go check it out!!! : )

www.cookiesbyheidi.blogspot.com

Something New...

2010-06-16T12:42:00.001-07:00

Sooooo... I have started a new business!! A few months ago my dear friend Amy became a Beauty Society Diva (consultant) and I have watched her have nothing but success ever since. She has been having so much fun with it and has been making money too!! I was hesitant to try it because I have been doing Mary Kay for the last 3 years and wasn't sure I wanted to get into something new and different. Amy generously offered to help me get started because she believes in to so much so I finally made the decision to give it a try. Turns out, I love it!!!! Beauty Society is a local company based out of Huntington Beach and they have a fabulous little Beauty Bar (shop) that you can visit right near the beach. When you are there you can buy products or get a facial. We could even host a party there. The company is environmental friendly which means many of their products can be refilled instead of replaced. The business side of it is just wonderful, so easy and you honestly start so see profit right away!!! I am so glad that Amy has helped me out with this exciting new business and I can't wait to do more with it over the Summer!! Please check out my new website and if you are interested in hosting a party you won't regret it. You will earn a ton of wonderful free products!!! Plus you will be helping me out!! ; ) If you need to make some extra money or just enjoy skin care you should really consider becoming a Beauty Society Diva it really is a lot of fun and Amy and I will be glad to help you in anyway we can!! Enjoy!! : )

www.mybeautysociety.com/heidiambrose

Andy's Graduation

2010-06-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

We are all very proud of Andy for Graduating from Cal Berkeley a few weekends ago. Graduating from Berkeley is no easy task, what an accomplishment! It was so exciting to be there for his big day to celebrate with him!!

We love you Andy!! You did it!!!!!

Grace's Quienceanera

2010-06-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

Josh and I had the pleasure of attending the Quienceanera of one of my former 4th grade students. It was a beautiful party, wedding reception quality! It's hard to believe that my little Grace is already 15, my how the time goes by fast!! It feels like just last year that she was in my 4th grade class (my first class by the way) talking about going to her cousin's Quienceanera over the summer. It was all she could talk about! She brought in pictures, a CD of the music and everything. Grace is so sweet, we have kept in touch over the years and she even came to help me in my classroom over the summer while I was getting ready for 1st grade. It was so sweet of her to invite Josh and I to her special party. Most of the 8th grade class was there, many of which were also in my first class. It was so much fun to see them so grown up and having so much fun together.

Joy and Sean and Keisha were there as well.

Is this not the cutest cake?!

The whole thing was basically like a wedding reception planned by a 15 year old!

This is Marina and John, they were in my class and Grace chose them to be apart of her court. She had around 7 guys and 7 girls who were all dressed up just like these two. They had all been practicing for months at Grace's house after school on about 4 or 5 different dances. Two of them were rather traditional Quienceanera dances while the rest where pretty much just for fun. My personal favorite was when they did Ake Breaky Heart in Spanish!! : ) It was a super fun evening and we felt really special to be a part of it!

more from the party...

2010-06-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day

2010-05-31T01:24:00.000-07:00

Josh's parents were able to spend Mother's Day afternoon with us this year. We went out to a very nice dinner in down town Claremont.

I made an almond, raspberry, cheese coffeecake for dessert. Karen loves anything almond and I had been wanting to try this recipe for a long time so this was the perfect opportunity. It was delicious and I am excited to make it again sometime. For dessert we even pulled out the china. It was a very nice day! Josh and I are very blessed with two wonderful mom's that we love so very much!!!! xoxo Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day Mom

2010-05-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!! I wish we could be together today but we will be in 1 week!!!! I love you so much and truly don't know what I would do with out you! Thank you for always being there for me and for helping me become the person I am today! xoxoxo

Preschool

2010-05-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

In the Month of April we learned about insects and spiders in the 2 1/2 year old class. Teaching my little class about insects and spiders pretty much means reading them The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle. They love these books and for the past few weeks during circle time they say "I want the Caterpillar book". They now pretty much know the story by heart so will I read most of a sentence and they fill in the blanks. For example "On Monday the very hungry Caterpillar ate through one red apple but he was still..." and all the kids say "hungry!!!" Another line in the story is this "the caterpillar built a little home around himself called a..." I knew this was a hard one but I wanted to see if they would get it and Elijah says very confidently... "a raccoon!!!"

Today we celebrated Cinco de Mayo preschool style with some delicious Mexican sweet bread which comes in bright pink and yellow and a pinata or a "pinyaba" as the kids called it. It was a Sponge Bob pinata (I didn't choose it) and each kid got a chance to brake it. They all got 3 hits and of course it was a very strong pinyaba and so the teachers later had to finish it off. After all the candy was picked up all that was left on the ground was the yellow tissue paper that was used to make the box look like Sponge Bob. Most of it got cleaned up but at the end of the day my little friend Joyce (a 4 year old) picked up a little piece of yellow tissue paper and when I asked her what she had in her hand she said "it's Sponge Bob skin!"

Sunshine

2010-05-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Buddy and Boo (especially Boo, she loves the sun!) enjoyed some wonderful sunshine outside with me today as I pulled weeds and watered my flowers. The weather was so nice today probably in the mid 80's. I am so ready for Summer, it's not even funny but I know I need to enjoy this weather as long as it lasts. It's just hot enough, and before we know it it will be really hot!!!

The School Dance

2010-04-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night after a long week of work Josh and I got all dressed up for the first ever 7th and 8th grade dance at ACS. We were asked to dress up in something fun and be there to dance with and encourage those students who were a little hesitant to dance. Well, they really didn't need any encouragement to get up and dance, literally everyone was up and dancing most of the night. Actually what they were doing most of the night was more like jumping up and down with a little dancing mixed in here and there. We have been to lots of dances over the years and never have we seen so much jumping. I have seen jumping like this at concerts before but not at dances. It was pretty funny. These kids LOVE "Mr. A" and I have gotten to know them a little bit this year as well so they actually wanted us to get out there and dance with them. We did the tiny bit of swing dancing that we know and suddenly they were all were circled around us taking pictures and cheering us on. They loved it, none of them were actually dancing together as couples so I think they were some what impressed or maybe confused as to what we were doing, I don't know... Anyway, we had a lot of fun and the kids did too.

You know you are at a Jr. High dance when... there's a candy table fully stocked with Gummy Worms, Bubble Gum and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Mr. A dancing with the kids

Baby Sarver

2010-04-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

We spent Spring Break with our families in AG and for some reason I wasn't really in a picture taking mood. I did however feel the need to capture a few pictures when we went to meet Scott and Nichole's new little baby boy Logan. Scott and Josh go way, way back. They have been friends since they were in elementary school and Scott was in our wedding. Over Christmas we finally got to meet Nichole who is super sweet and on this trip we got to meet baby who was only 5 weeks old!!! The little Sarver family is just so cute!!! They are adjusting to life with a brand new baby and yet they had us over for an amazing dinner followed by a delicious cake that she had made. I was totally impressed! It was fun seeing Josh and Scott together with a baby!!! Instead of talking cars and sports they were talking all things baby, it was pretty cute! I guess we are all growing up aren't we... weird! Next time I will have to make sure that Nichole and I get in a picture as well.

Just a tinly little peanut!! : )

Shelby and Matt's Wedding

2010-04-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

Matt is a good friend of ours who works at ACS with us. He also went to APU and lived with Jackson for awhile. Shelby went to APU as well but we are just getting to know her through Matt. They are a wonderful couple and they got married the Friday before Easter. It was a beautiful, slightly cold ; ) but truly beautiful wedding! We also had fun traveling to the wedding with Jackson, Melissa and Stacy... lots of good laughs too and from the wedding as always.

Sushi Time

2010-04-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

Life has just been too busy lately and not only have I been slacking in the blog department (as my mom so kindly pointed out, at least someone misses me! ; ) but there as been a serious lack of Jackson pictures in my life!! Sad!! We got together with Leanna, Amy and Jackson for Sushi a few weeks ago and it was time to catch up on some long over due pictures! Josh M was busy working because it was tax season but thankfully that's over now so we will get to see our friends much more often!! : ) Jackson is getting so big, he walks all over the place, loves to talk and although he hasn't exactly mastered the chopsticks yet, he does love sushi or as he would say... suseee!!! : ) Amy is due in June, we can't wait to meet Baby Carter!!!!

Universal Studios

2010-04-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

For the month of March Universal Studios opened it's doors to teachers in for free. They decided to do this because of all the crazy things that have been happening to teachers these days. We were all very excited to hear about the chance to get in for free so we just couldn't pass it up! It was my first time going and we really had a blast! It was fun being together again with our wonderful friends. We were reminded of the good old days when we used to go to Disneyland all the time! : )

These were all taken on the Universal Tour, do you recognize any of these famous places?!?!?!

Baby Buddy

2010-03-07T21:42:00.000-08:00

Seeing little Brownie the other day brought back memories of the first day we saw Buddy and so I had to go back and find the pictures!! He was just so little and cute it makes me want to cry. Buddy was even younger in these pictures than Brownie is now, I think he was only like 9 weeks old here. So tiny and floppy, with those little ears and that puppy fur!!!! Oh, I just love him!!!

Brownie

2010-03-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

Keisha and her family just got a new little puppy named Brownie. He is a cacapoo just like Buddy and he looks a lot like Buddy did as a puppy except that he is brown. Even his little nose is chocolate. He is just 12 weeks old and I got to see him just an hour or so after they brought him home. I forgot how tired little puppies get, they wiggle and play and then flop and sleep. He is so soft and snuggly, I just wanted to bring him home with me. We can't wait for him to get all of his shots and everything so that he and Buddy can play, they will be so cute together!

The Groundlings

2010-02-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

On Friday night we went with Emily, Aaron and Monica to see the Groundlings. Monica was one of Emily's roommates in collage and she now lives in Boston. She came out for a visit so Emily planned lots of fun "Hollywood" things for her to do. She invited us to join them for the Groundlings. I had heard so much about this show but I had never been. As you know, I am a huge fan of SNL. I love it! We watch every Saturday night (well we usually Tivo it and watch it later but still) and the Groundligns is very similar to SNL. Many people get there start there and go on to be in movies, shows and SNL. Right now, the director is Mikey Day. He was on the show Kath and Kim. It only lasted one season but we all watched it and really loved it. Molly Shannon from SNL played Kath and she is super funny. Mikey Day was really funny on that show so we were excited that he was involved. Since he was the director we weren't sure if we would see him or not. He did come out a few times and we were all pretty excited about it. Aaron happened to be wearing the exact same sweatshirt as Mikey, I thought that was pretty cool! I know, I am a nerd!

We recognized a few of the actors from different things but the most exciting one for me was Michaela Watkins who was on SNL last season. She only got to be on SNL for one season which was really a bummer because she is very funny. She had several sketches that we loved including when she would play Hoda Kotb from the Today show with Kathie Lee Gifford. She was sooooo funny, if you haven't seen it you should go watch a clip of it on hulu.

Here's Aaron in his Mikey Day sweatshirt! : )

I tried to take a picture of us watching the show myself...

It was fun to see all the old pictures of comedians who have preformed there over the years. We found Lisa Kudrow and many others. It was so funny, we all really enjoyed it. Sometimes you just need a really good laugh!! If you live in the area or are coming from out of town and are looking for something fun to do, I would totally recommend it... just don't go with out me ok!?!

Pink's

2010-02-21T16:52:00.000-08:00

Although I have heard about this place many times, and seen it in episodes of some of our favorite TV shows, I had never actually been to Pink's. It's open all night (I think) and you will see huge lines of people waiting even at 1:00 in the morning for a Pink's hot dog. After the Groundlings, we went just a few blocks to Pink's. It was raining a little which is probably why the line wasn't as long as it could have been. They have these old photographs of when their hot dogs were just 10 cents. Now a regular hot dog there is $3.75 and the specialty hot dogs are more like $5-7.00.

It was fun to see all the pictures of the celebrities who have been there over the years.

I am generally not a hot dog fan but there are a few occasions when a hot dog actually sounds good to me. For instance, I will gladly have a hot dog at a baseball game because I feel it's all part of the experience. I decided that going to Pink's and not getting a hot dog would just be wrong. It was actually pretty good... for a hot dog! ; )

Just For Fun

2010-02-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

I love SNL and these two always make me laugh. With this little sketch they pretty much had Josh and I in tears we were laughing so hard. I don't know if I have ever seen either of them crack before and when they start laughing that just makes it even funnier! I love it!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

Baby Lexi

2010-02-14T14:17:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Andy came to stay with us for a few days because he had a meeting in LA on Monday and Tuesday. We had a great time together, hanging out and relaxing. It started off a little crazy as I had to pick him up at the airport in the pouring rain and the drive home was a little scary... but we made it! We had fun watching Friends like the good old days. On Sunday we went to meet our newest little family member, Lexi. Andy and I drove over to Hollywood where Sierra and Michael live now. Lexi was just a few days old and slept most of the time we were there. Andy and I knew that Mom and Grandma would be totally jealous that we got to see her before them! : )

Sierra had her in these cute little knee socks. They were too big for her tiny little lets and kept falling of but they were just so cute!

North Carolina

2010-02-07T20:35:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we received the news that Josh's Grandma had passed away. His Grandparents as well as aunt, uncle and cousins live in North Carolina. Josh and I decided that we would make the long trip across country to be with the family during this difficult time. Josh is very blessed to have had all of his Grandparents living up until this just happened. His Grandma was 80 years old and her and Grandpa had been married for 60 years. Grandpa is still alive and he is now 83 years old. Although it was a sad occasion it was good to be able to be with the family. We hadn't seen them in several years and I had never been to North Carolina before so it was really neat to get to see where they live. It was beautiful back there but very, very cold. It was actually a record cold for them while we were there!! It was in the 20's and even got down to like 12 degrees at night. For us California kids, that's really cold!!!!!!

These pictures were taken in Grandpa's back yard. There are no fences and the yard leads right up to a little creek.

This is in the front yard.

This is Grandpa and Grandpa Ambrose when they were young, I love these old pictures. I think the one of Grandpa Ambrose looks a lot like old pictures I have seen of my Grandpa.

The Church

2010-02-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

This is Josh's Grandparents church in North Carolina. There are churches like this around almost every corner in North Carolina. It was so old fashioned and beautiful that I just had to take some pictures.

It was sooooo cold... this snow had fallen there before Christmas and was still not melted almost a month later.

Biscuits, Biscuits and More Biscuits

2010-02-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

I knew that the food in North Carolina would be a little bit different but I really had no idea how popular biscuits really are there. Biscuits and fried chicken are huge back there!!! Right away we were hearing about this place called Bojangles. They serve biscuit style breakfast sandwaches all day long as well as chicken. They also have these things called bo rounds that are kind of like hash brown patties only better... it became this big deal, we had to have bo rounds! I will admit, it was pretty good, I love biscuits so I didn't mind eating them the whole time we were there. We didn't get to eat at Biscuitville but I had to take a picture becasue it reminded me of my favorite Justin Timberlake sketches on SNL... "Bring it on in to Omeletteville!"

I finally got to eat at the world famous Cracker Barrel... Yummy! It was so cute too!

This is Christopher Josh's cousin. He was our ringbearer, he was 5 at the time I think. It was hard to believe that now he is almost as tall as me.

It was just fitting that right next to our terminal in the airport there was a Bojangles... We just had to take a picture!

Just another day at work...

2010-02-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

Once a month we have dress up theme days in preschool. The last one we had was Super Hero/Princess day. It was super cute!! I had nothing to wear except these fairy wings that Melissa had left at our house on Halloween (thank you for letting be borrow them by the way). When the kids asked what I was I said I was a Fairy Princess. It worked for most of them but one little boy told me I couldn't be a princess because I didn't have a crown or a wand. So, one of the little girls heard this and she decided to make them for me. It was so cute, she has seen us make birthday crowns for the kids so knew just how to make my crown. My favorite part though was the tinny tiny little wand she made me!!! All of us teachers were just loving it! They were right though I did feel more like a princess with my wand and crown!! : )

Happy New Year 2010

2010-02-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

This year New Years Eve was spent in PJ's with my family. It consisted of playing games, watching TV and Dad working in the shop. It was pretty exciting... we did have Sparkling Cider and a pair of 2010 glasses... wild right!!??

I think Buddy wore them best don't you?!?

The Hitching Post with Kim and Evan

2010-02-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas we got to have a double date with Kim and Evan, just like the good old days. We took a ride out to Casmalia to have dinner at the Hitching Post. The Hitching post is known for their amazing stakes... soooo good! You may have seen the restaurant in the movie Sideways. There is a second restaurant in Buellton which is the one they actually used for the movie. It was so much fun spending time with Kim and Evan. Even though they live in Chicago and we don't get to see each other that often when ever we get together we always feel like no time has passed.

Happy 80th Birthday Grandma

2010-02-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

In December my wonderful Grandma celebrated her 80th Birthday and we were so glad we could be there to celebrate with her!

For a special birthday gift my mom contacted all of Grandma's friends and family and asked them to write a letter or special memory for her. My mom put all of the letters, notes, poems and pictures together in a special memory book. On the morning of her birthday my mom presented the book to her. It was such a special gift. My Grandma has touched so many people over the years, everyone who meets her feels like family. It was so much fun hearing some old stories that I had never heard before as well as many memories that I do remember. I love my Grandma so much, I am truly inspired by her and I was so glad we could be with her on her special day.

Later that night we had surprise party for her. She thought we were just going to dinner... then friends and family started showing up, she was very surprised. I gave her a purple scarf to wear because I can always remember my Grandma saying "when I am an old woman I will wear purple." We decided that 80 counts as being an old woman, even though she still doesn't seem that old to me!

My Cousin's son Benjamine really stole the show, isn't he cute!!!

Tea Party with the Girls

2009-12-31T16:13:00.000-08:00

Marion had us girls over for a beautiful Tea Party so that we could catch up with one another. For the first time in a long time we were almost all together. We were only missing Amy but I felt lucky that I got to see her over Thanksgiving. It was fun catching up and seeing how much everyone has grown up and changed.

We apparently still like to be just as silly as when we were 17!

Christmas Night

2009-12-31T15:55:00.001-08:00

Christmas night we had the Ambrose's over for a dinner of just horderves. It was really fun, everyone was in charge of bring an horderve, even the boys. Dinner was delicious and then later we played Apples to Apples. We are so blessed to have two families that get along with each other so well.

Christmas Morning

2009-12-31T15:48:00.001-08:00

We spent Christmas morning with my family. We slept in, opened gifts, ate the traditional coffee cake and of course sang Happy Birthday to Jesus! : )

Josh loved his Griswold Family Christmas shirt.

My Dad wrote my mom a very sweet Christmas poem.

Christmas Eve at the Ambrose's

2009-12-31T01:09:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve with the Ambrose Family. First we went to Church with my family as well where we enjoyed the traditional candle light singing of Silent Night. I think that is one of my favorite parts of Christmas each year. I still remember one year when my mom was so touched because Andy (who was like 4 at the time) started crying during the song. She thought he was being emotional... nope the wax was burning his little fingers.

Then we went back to the house for a delicious stake dinner followed by lots of gifts and tiramisu! We had a lot of laughs over some very "special" gifts and it was a very fun night.

Christmas Party 2009

2009-12-22T22:38:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night was Amy and Josh's annual Christmas party. Good friends, good food, Jackson, and lots of laughs, what else do you need? And yes, I cut my hair!! : )

Oh, how could I forget the White Elephant gift exchange? Emily was so happy with her gifts! ; )

Merry Christmas Preschool Style

2009-12-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas Party Time

2009-12-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is the Christmas tree at our house... I wish!!!

The ACS Staff Christmas party was held at a parents house this year. It was beautiful and their tree was amazing!

They had personalized snowman cupcakes for everyone, they were pretty cute. The funny thing is that this is the second party I have got to for ACS teachers and both times there have been cupcakes. I don't think the people who throw these parties realize just how many cupcakes teachers actually eat a year. It's kind of like really!? More cupcakes?!

Charles and Jen, Jen teaches 5th grade

They were very cute though!

Sierra's Baby Shower

2009-12-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

My parents stopped at my house on their way home from spending some time in Palm Desert so that they could come to my cousin's baby shower. They got here just in time to help me with the cookies that I was making for the shower. They also got to console me during a minor melt down in the car because the icing on the cookies wasn't all the way dry and the writing was getting smashed.

The shower was at a pro golfers house so it was a huge mansion. It was a little different than most baby showers we were used to, partly because the guys were invited too. Josh couldn't make it because he went to the Holt's house to help celebrate Amy and Emily's Birthday. Happy Birthday friends!!

Christmas Tea Party

2009-12-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

The lovely lady standing in the middle row of this picture is my friend Barbara. She is the one who I borrowed from when I set a table for the tea at my church. She invited me to come to a Christmas tea party at her church and her table was by far the cutest one there. It had a gingerbread theme and it was adorable. It was so much fun to be together with my old teacher friends again. We have really missed each other.

This is one of my former first graders, Chloe. She is now in 3rd grade and I cannot believe how grown up she is!

Bowling

2009-12-19T22:30:00.000-08:00

One afternoon while we were in town we went bowling at Cal Poly with Matt and Erik... of course we were cracking up the whole time!

Gotta love bowling shoes...

Erik and I did Dance Dance Revolution... oh wow, I am so bad at that game!!

Coffee with Amy and David

2009-12-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

Generally when we are in town for the holidays we try to catch up with old friends. This time Amy and I were the only girls (from our old high school group of friends) who happened to be in town at the same time. We met for brunch at the adorable little Honeymoon Cafe in Pismo. We had never eaten there before but my brother recommended it to us. It is a very earthy kind of restaurant and they cook everything outside on the BBQ. The coffee was very tasty. It was a lot of fun catching up with Amy and her husband David. This was the first time they had been to CA in several years I believe. Josh and I felt that it was cold in AG but Amy and David are now living in Utah so thought the weather was just right.

Buddy...

2009-12-19T21:46:00.000-08:00

Spoiled Rotten Dog

Thanksgiving

2009-12-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving with both sides of our families at the Ambrose house. Here's Rick and Karen getting the delicious dinner ready.

My Grandma can't come to town with out making a Lemon Meringue Pie for my dad. Now Rick is hooked on it as well as my dad's friend Dave. It has become a big joke between all of them. Don't mess with Grandma or no pie for you!

Rick and Karen made the Turkey and my dad barbecued my Grandpas famous ham.

Mo's, more than just a Smokehouse

2009-12-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

On our first night back in AG for Thanksgiving we went to our favorite little Central Coast BBQ place, Mo's. Mo's is famous for it's pulled pork sandwiches (personally, I usually go with pulled chicken or beef). Although it really does have yummy food that people line up out the door for, the real reason why we all love it so much has to do with the fact that Josh used to work there. It was one Summer while we were home from college. In fact, Josh used the money he earned that Summer to buy my rings so it is a very special place for us. One of the guys that Josh worked with is still there, he has put himself through school on a Mo's pay check. He is now the manager and it's fun to catch up with him whenever we stop by.

We think this sign may have something to do with the famous little clam chowder place around the corner... Splash Cafe. That's another favorite place to eat in Pismo but we didn't

get there this time.

The Tea Party

2009-11-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

This was my second time hosting a table at the Women's Tea at our church. Last time I borrowed a beautiful tea set from my friend Barbara. I had so much fun doing the tea last time that I was thinking of getting my own tea set. I was talking to my Grandma about it and she said I should look at the different settings she had before I bought anything. She had several different sets I could choose from and this is the one I picked. I came from my Great Grandma on my Grandpa's side and it's from Germany. I thought it was very pretty and just what I had in mind. I would rather have something sentimental than something I just bought. I borrowed the watter glasses from Barbara and the cute little tea spoons. The gold silverware... that's a funny story. We got it as a wedding gift and we never in a million years thought we would actually use it. It was just a little too fancy for our taste... ; ) so, it sat at my parents house for years and then in our garage for the past year. When I got the China, I noticed the gold trim and really if you have gold trim... gold silverware really does look nice. We were glad it actually came in handy after all this time. If you ever need gold silverware, you know where to find it!!

The food was delicious and everything looked amazing. It's so fun to see all the different settings people bring and to hear the stories of where they got them. All the girls from my small group sat at my table, except Catharina who ended up getting sick, we missed her. We were also joined by two other friends and a very sweet little baby!! : )

Sadie's very first Tea Party

Sadie and her Mommy

Courtney and Sadie

Buddy and Boo

2009-11-08T21:00:00.001-08:00

When I made cookies with Russell and his mom and brother, they gave me some fun Halloween gifts. Most of the gifts were for Buddy and Boo. The dogs sure enjoyed their Halloween treats!

Buddy and Boo even got dressed up for Halloween...

Halloween 2009

2009-11-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Josh and I were trying to decide what to be for Halloween this year and one day Josh was talking in his Ron Burgundy voice and that's when it hit me... "You should be Ron Burgandy and I should be Veronica Corningstone from Anchorman!" Needless to say Josh was pretty excited about the idea so that's what we did. We had a few friends over for a costume party and we had a great time! Who says you can't dress up when your not a kid???

Halloween 2009 Continued

2009-11-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures of the rest of the group...

Jackson is the cutest little Monkey ever... the Banana and the Gorilla are pretty cute too I guess!! : )

Abby and Matt, cookies anyone?

The Apple Farm

2009-11-02T20:58:00.001-08:00

I love the fall and I especially love pumpkins! I have been wanting to go to a real pumpkin patch for years now and I finally convinced Josh to go with me. It helped that I got Amy, Josh and Jackson to come too! ; ) We went up to the Apple Farm in Oak Glen. It's a beautiful place, and there are lots of fun harvesty things to do up there. Jackson really liked the Pumpkins, he kept saying "ball, ball, ball!" We took a little hay ride up to the pumpkin patch and had fun looking at all of the funky pumpkins. Later we ate dinner at Apple Annie's, mainly because it was the only place open past 5:00 and we were starving! We brought home some very cool pumpkins and some delicious Carmel apples!!!!! Yummy!!! I am so Thankful for friends (and a husband) that like to do these kinds of things with me!

Cookies with Russell

2009-11-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I got the sweetest message on my answering machine from one of my former students and his mom. It was Russell and Rita and they wanted to invite me over to make Halloween cookies. I was so touched that they thought of me and wanted to get together. It was so wonderful to see them again and to catch up. We had fun making (and eating) cookies!!

Ian and Tara's Fabulous Wedding

2009-11-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

The Girls Getting Ready

2009-10-24T00:13:00.000-07:00

The Dress

Here is the beautiful Bride getting her nails done.

Aunt Nancy (mother of the groom)

They girls got ready at Tara's new fabulous new spa in San Diego. She just opened it a few months ago with her friend JuJu. It is the cutest shop and if you are ever in San Diego and need a facial or a mani pedi you should stop by. It's called Be Beauty and here is the website

http://bebeautifully.com/

Ian and Tara's Rehearsal Dinner

2009-10-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, we go to a lot of weddings, well, here's one more!

Ian and Tara were so sweet to invite our family to their rehearsal dinner. I was pretty tired after staying up pretty late the night before to finish the cookies for their wedding but it was a very lovely evening and we were so glad to get to be apart of it!

The parents are discussing something very serious here.

The Bride and Groom thank everyone for coming and introduce the Bridal Party.

Dinner was delicious and the coffee and dessert was amazing too.

The Cousins all grown up.

My Parent's 25th Anniversary

2009-10-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

I am so proud to say that my parents just celebrated their Silver Anniversary on September 22, 2009! 25 years ago I was a flower girl in their wedding and this year my brother and I through a party for them. We (and Josh) feel so blessed to have parents who we can look up to and see a positive example of what a Godly marriage looks like, through the good times and the bad. We were excited to have a party for them with close friends and family to help us celebrate.

This is my mom's best friend from High School, I have grown up calling her Aunt Candy. I think it is so neat that now I get to be Auntie Heidi to Jackson. It's so special to have close friends that are like family to you!

I don't really remember what we were laughing about here but it's a cute picture!

Uncle Jon is enjoying some "Cookies by Heidi" : )

Ok, this is too funny! Christine and Jason are going to love this! Here is Patty Ouimette talking with Josh and yes, her hair is pink and blue! She was at the Harvest Festival earlier that day and there was a hair painting booth near where her church booth was. Her and some friends decided it would be fun to go and paint their hair and show up at Church the next day that way. Patty is the sweetest lady and usually a blond and probably the last person you would expect to show up at an anniversary party with hot pink and blue hair! It was hilarious and I don't know if Christine and Jason have even seen a picture of it yet! If you don't know,

Patty is Christine's mom.

We had a lot of help for the party. My Grandma, Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jon all came early to help. Many of my parents friends brought food and our good friend Amy Ashton even came a day before to help my mom clean house. Thank you to everyone who helped, it turned out so lovely.

The back yard looked so pretty with the beautiful new patio and the lights. Andy and I feel that we did a pretty good job, especially when we both live far away.

Here is my parents good friend Dave Johnson cutting Grandpa's famous ham. The funny thing is that my Uncle's name is Dave Johnson as well.

Josh was putting out the vibe! Don't you like his new hat? I gave it to him for his Birthday.

It was such a great party!! Andy, I think we pulled it off!!! : )

The After Party

2009-10-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

After all of the other girls had left Aunt Nancy, Uncle Jon and Heather's Josh all came over to check out the house. It was such a beautiful house that we couldn't let it go to waist. We had dinner together out on the beautiful patio.

The house had a lot of interesting details like this tiny little hallway. Pretty much anyone taller than me couldn't stand up straight in it as Ian is showing here. The door there leads down to the basement or as we called it the dungeon.

Tara's Bachelorette Weekend

2009-10-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

For Tara's Bachelorette Party, my cousin Heather was able to rent us a fabulous beach house in the beautiful beach town of La Jolla. The house was with in walking distance from the beach and it was this gorgeous old Spanish style house. I think it had at least 5 bedrooms and it was just beautiful. I joined the girls on Saturday night in time for a very fancy and delicious dinner and then of course, some dancing! ; )

This was the view from the master bed room which of course Tara had all to herself. It had a huge walk in closet and a beautiful calwfoot bath tub. I think Tara really felt like a princess for the weekend!

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-10-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year, Karen and Rick happened to be in town. They were just heading home after spending some time away on an anniversary trip. They were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. Congratulations!!! To celebrate my birthday we went out to Cafe Alegro in Downtown La Verne. It's an adorable little Italian place with great atmosphere and delicious food. I had a great birthday!

T-Odd

2009-10-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

I couple of weeks ago our good friend (and former neighbor) Todd was in town and we got together for dinner. It was so great to see him, to catch up and to laugh like the good old days! We miss you Todd!!!!!!

Abby and Matt's Wedding

2009-10-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

Matt and Abby got married on September 12th. It was a beautiful wedding and we had a lot of fun at the respetion!

Seriously, how cute is this kid?!?!?!?

The Groom

The Bride

Mrs. Monkey

2009-10-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

People have been asking me how I like the new job... well, the answer is that I really do like it. It's not anything I had ever planned on but for the time being it's a good fit for me. First graders and preschoolers have the same amount of energy but in preschool I only have to get their attention for a few minutes and then we just get to play. Educational play of course! ; ) In first grade I had to harness all that energy and get the kids to work through like 10 subjects. I have a really small class and they are all pretty good kids. I had one little girl that kept pooping her pants... that was NOT fun! They are supposed to be potty trained before they come to school because we don't do diapers. I was prepared for an accident here and there but everyday was a little much. Turns out she wasn't potty trained and now she is staying home until she is!!! Hooray!!!! It makes such a difference in my day! : ) Yes, they do have nap time, for like an hour and a half. It's awesome! I sit with my kids and the 3 year olds during that time (most of mine don't stay all day, they leave at lunch) and because they are so little they usually all fall asleep!!! It's super hard not to fall asleep myself! I get to use this time to get ready for the next day which doesn't take long so I have been also using the time to do by Bible study... it's fantastic!!! With the busy lifestyle we all live these days it hard to be disciplined and make the time for a Bible study. I really appreciate having this quiet time each day!
The preschoolers are pretty funny! My students don't speak in complete sentences yet and they all call me a variety of names. Mommy, Teacher, Ms. Ambro and Mrs. Monkey. One little girl knows that I am teacher but seems to insist on calling me Mommy... I am really impressed with the one little boy I have who has mastered Ms. Ambro, pretty good for 2.5 I think. Mrs. Monkey is my favorite. One of the older kids, was saying all of the teachers names because he knew them all from last year. I am the new teacher and he didn't remember my name but he knew I taught the Monkey class so... Mrs. Monkey! It caught on with several of the kids, they think it's pretty funny and I am sure some of them don't have a clue what my real name is. One little girl came up to me the other day with a little bead that she had found and asked if I could hold it for her and then she said "don't lost it" I said "ok, I won't lost it!" They are sweet and innocent and they remind me what it was like to be a kid. I was saying good bye to some of the kids the other day and one of them asked me where my Mommy was. I explained to hear that I am a big girl now and I have to drive myself home. : )

more about school

2009-10-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

One good thing about working at ACS is that I get to see Josh a lot more. On meet the teacher day I made him take this picture by his sign at his classroom door. He loved me for it! ; ) We actually have lunch together everyday!

A few essential things fallowed me from my old classroom into my new classroom. One thing is a coffee cup from Starbucks. It may not look like anything special to anyone else (well maybe to Joy and Keisha) but to me it is very special. One of the moms the last few years would bring us coffee from Starbucks almost everyday. I would always get an Americano which comes really hot so they usually put it in two cups. Being the resourceful teacher that I am, I could never throw away the extra cup. It was still clean and in the classroom I could always use an extra cup to hold little things or for painting. So, one followed me to my new classroom and I just noticed the other day that is said Suzy on it... it made me a little sad but it also reminded me how she blessed us each day with a cup of coffee. It's the little things in life that count the most sometimes!

And of course... Munchichi!!!!! Everyone knows how much I love David Archuleta right!?!?! Well, I do and I loved him from the very start! When he was first on American Idol Joy and I had a huge rivalry over which David was better, she said my David looked like Munchichi! I would find these little pictures in my box at school... we all had a good laugh over Munchichi!! I still love David Archuleta and now so does Joy! ; ) Well she loves his new song at least! I even told him about the rivalry Joy and I had going with our students over him when I met him at the finale last year! Yea, I shook his hand too, just in case you didn't know!!! : )

My New Little World

2009-10-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have noticed, I have been absent from the blogging/facebook/e-mail world for about a month now. If I haven't left any comments on your blogs it's because I have been MIA. It has been a super busy few months and I just really haven't had time. I am excited to go and check them all out in the next few days as things are starting to calm down a little for me. It's also due to the fact that I no longer have my Mac : ( ok... get over it Heidi, the laptop is gone! Sad, sad! Anyway, I have a lot to blog about and one thing that some of you many not know is that I am now teaching preschool at Arcadia Christian School where Josh works. There was a position that opened up kind of last minute and I ended up getting the job about 10 days before school started. It's a whole long story that I don't have time for right now but... it's a good job at a good school and it's paying the bills. Right now, we have to take what we can get right?! It's strange being in preschool and at a whole new school but I really feel like God has brought me right where I need to be for the time being. For the most part the kids are super sweet and a lot of fun. Anyway, more details to come but for now, here are a few pictures of my new little home away from home.

I am teaching the 2.5 year old class. Yes... 2.5!!! They are the youngest ones. My class is called the Monkey's and it's a perfect name for them. I have a really small class. On my biggest day of the week I only have 3 students. Awesome!!!! : )

In September we learned the color red and circles. Sounds simple but at 2.5 it's actually a pretty big deal to master a specific color and shape.

My classroom is really little, only about 12feet by 12feet or maybe 10 by 10... little anyway!

Tara and Ian's Shower

2009-10-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

Literally hours after being in Vegas I was with Josh in Bakersfield for Ian and Tara's wedding shower. In my family, these things usually turn into a family reunion which always turns out to be fun. I hate to miss out on family fun so it was worth the quick trip home to make it there on time!

My little cousins always like to take pictures so that's why some of these are rather blurry... they were taken by a 6 year old! : )

I always end up playing with the little kids... I am some kind of a kid magnet appareled... At least this time I got my cousin Danny to hang out making paper dolls with us! It was pretty cute actually the girls loved him!

Aunt Nancy and Tara

More from the shower

2009-10-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

We are ready for...

2009-09-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

Vegas Baby!!!

2009-09-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago we went to Las Vegas for Abby's Bachelorette party. We stayed at the Luxor Hotel, the one that is shaped like a pyramid. We actually got to stay for free because the Holt family has friends that live there and they had connections. They also got us into several night clubs for free as well where we got to hang out in the VIP sections. If your going to do Vegas... that's the way to go!!

Amy, Emily and Abby

Lee and I were being very silly because it was super late at night and we were ready to go to sleep. The problem was some of the other girls were having a little trouble getting into their rooms... one girl went to sleep and locked the others out... we had to get the security guard... Hey, what's Vegas with out a little drama right?!

Look at my 3 goofy friends walking around Vegas in their huge hats! I know, I know, they are taking good care of their skin... blah blah blah... I wear my sunscreen!!! ; )

We had a delicious brunch at the Excalibur Hotel the next morning. Leanna had her first Mimosa... yummy!

We all needed some coffee after a very late night!

That night we all wore black dresses and Abby wore a white dress. We got a ton of attention walking around Vegas this way.

We went to a different night club that night and got to sit in the VIP section there as well. We really felt like movie stars!

Leanna and Heidi Love the Vegas!

Even thought we had a lot of fun we were all VERY ready to go home the next morning!!

Tara's Shower

2009-09-05T23:09:00.000-07:00

My cousin Ian is getting married on October 4th and our family is very excited!! He is such a wonderful guy and he has been dating Tarah for several years now... I am guessing 4?!? We just love her and we are all so excited to welcome her into our family (officially)! I spent the weekend with Crazy Aunt Nancy and we went to the Shower together. I got to meet Tara's mom and friends there. It was a beautiful shower and we had a great time!!

Aunt Nancy, Tara and I

No, I didn't not bring Boo to the shower... This is Mini, she is Ian and Tara's dog as well as Boo's long lost cousin. She is smaller and her ears are floppy but other than that they look almost exactly alike!

This was all in Tara's parents backyard

The mother of the Groom an the mother of the Bride

I love this picture of Tara, isn't she just fabulous!! : )

Adam's Homecoming Party

2009-09-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

Last month my family was very excited to welcome my cousin Adam home from Iraq! He is a US Marine and he served in Iraq for about 6 months I believe. We are all very proud of him and super glad to have him home safe and sound!!!

My Aunt and Uncle hosted a huge welcome home party for Adam and they had a great turn out. People just kept coming and going, everyone was so pleased to see Adam. Believe it or not, Adam is my younger cousin and once upon a time, I was taller than him and Andy... not any more!!!

Adam's good friends hosted a Champagne Toast.

A Summer Day at Disneyland

2009-08-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

On Friday I went to Disneyland with the daycare kids. Virgie needed an extra helper so I got to have my own little group of three kids. Virgie and I kept our groups together all day and we had a great time. It's been sad not having our passes any more so it was fun getting to go. It really made me want to get a new pass... maybe around my Birthday or something. Everyone has these great yellow shirst that you can spot a mile away so that sure helps with keeping track of the little ones. Disneyland with little kids is such a different experience, they all try to convince you that they aren't afraid of the rides but then when you go on them together they hold onto you as tight as possible. At the end they say "were you scared? I wasn't scared!"

I also got to go swimming with the kids once this summer and it was so much fun to see them. They make me feel so loved!

Keish and e-bey even came and met us there for the day. It was such a fun day!

Dinner and Dane

2009-08-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Last week Leanna had us over for Dinner and Dane. We all love Dane Cook... although is comedy can be a little crude... it is also really funny!! Josh and I got to meet Dane at the American Idol Finale and we were so excited about it!! Leanna made tacos and frozen bananas. It was a delicious and entertaining evening!

There's Dane

For one reason or another I was angry with Josh at this moment, can't you tell?

That's better! Thanks Leanna, we had a great time!

Strawberry Shortcake

2009-08-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

We had Jackson and Melissa over for dinner the other night and we decided that you have to have Strawberry Shortcake at least once every summer. YUMMM!!! It must be made with Biquick and it's even better with homemade whipped cream!!! Soooo good!!!

Later we all played the Wii. Melissa and I ended up watching more than playing but what else is new?!?

Violet

2009-08-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

While French Fry was here I also got to baby sit for a friend of mine. Her name is Catharina and she is in my small group. I got to watch Violet for the whole day while Catharina went to work. It was a long day but it was also really fun. The hardest part was having 3 dogs mixed in with a baby. To escape the craziness of the dogs for part of the day, we went to visit Amy and Jackson for a play date. Violet is only about 6 months so she can't really play with Jackson yet but he is learning to share and be gentle with here. She smiles and laughs at him, it's pretty cute to watch. These pictures were taken the following Sunday at church.

Violet and her family

Josh and Jackson (that sounds funny!)

Abby's Shower

2009-08-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

For Abby's bridal shower we were all asked to dress up in our old Bridesmaid's dresses. It was such a fun idea because it gave us all an excuse to wear the dresses at least one more time. Who doesn't love an excuse to dress up? Ok, not everyone likes to but most of us do love getting dressed up so it was perfect for us. It was really fun to see all the different styles and to hear the stories of all the different weddings we each have been in.

Here's the little Bride to Be, doesn't she look stylish with her flower and shoes!?!

Thanks to my good friend Joy (who's wedding I wore this dress in) I was voted best dressed along with another girl. We tied! The other girl was actually wearing one of her mom's dresses from years ago but we all decided it was very "Sex and the City." They called it the "Best Friend Award," because if you won it meant that you had a very good friend who picked out a dress that was actually very nice. I do love this dress and I was so glad to get the chance to wear it again! Way to go Joy!!

Puppy Sitting

2009-08-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

We Puppy Sat for Dave and Andrea two weeks ago. They have a cute little French Bulldog named French Fry. I can't believe that I didn't get a picture of the 3 doggies together but maybe it was because they were constantly so busy playing that it was hard to get them all calm and together to take a picture. Buddy, our little klepto, decided that he wanted to steal French Fry's water and food bowl. He was very stealth about it and tried to take them both on different nights but when he realized he couldn't fit under the couch with them it was really not that much fun anymore. Look at the way his teeth are sticking out in the first picture, doesn't he look ferocious!

Baby Shower Cookies

2009-08-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

This week I made some cookies for a baby shower. I made them for a girl from my church who was hosting a shower for her sister. I was pretty excited about how they turned out!!! To see more pictures of these cookies go check out my Cookie Blog!!