New Backyard & New Vision!

Home Depot has now officially been added on as one of my favorite stores! It seriously IS the Toys R' Us for grown-ups, haha!

Matt and I began the grueling process of fixing up our apartment backyard. Why did we wait so long? Well... it's hard to put money into something you don't own, but over time, not being able to BBQ or entertain in the backyard outgrew the fact that we only rent the space.

Now let me tell you the history of the backyard. When we first moved in, we had a tree right outside our sliding glass door. One random day, we came home to find that the tree had been cut down - we guessed this was to prevent further damage to the backyard wall and fence. It was kind of sad, since it was a nice shade tree, and the only nice part of our backyard.

Now the other side of the yard was absolutely awful. The entire area was a dirt patch full of weeds, a tree stump that refused to stop growing, you could tell that grass had once been there, and worst of all... it smelled like dog pee.

A couple of months ago we finally had the property manager take out the growing stump, and so began our work! I spent a day trying to level out the backyard dirt to the best of my ability. Once that was done, Matt and I went to Home Depot to price out and look at pavers. We found some we liked, and started laying them out.

And... the FINAL PRODUCT!

We then finished the rest of the backyard by planting a garden, and getting our first BBQ! The garden has Gerbera Daisies, carrots, tomatoes, chilies, rosemary and basil planted. Now we're just keeping our fingers crossed that everything grows! :)

Aside from the backyard, we have a bit of other news! Matt finally was able to get laser eye surgery last Friday! The whole thing went really well, and his latest eye-exam said he now has 20/20 vision! It is incredibly exciting, since he has worn glasses since he was a kid. We can only thank God for all these blessings!

What's also exciting is that we will be driving up to northern California next weekend for Sarah and Joe's wedding. It's going to be wonderful!

Summer Flies By!

Summer always seems to fly by! And August was no exception, it was definitely an exciting and busy month for us.

We started the month going to the Harvest Crusade held at the Angel Stadium. Neither of us had ever been, and we wanted to experience it together. It was really a neat experience!

The following day was my Godson's 2nd birthday party. I can't believe the little guy is already 2! The theme of the birthday was a summer favorite - Pool Party! Besides the pool of course, there was a giant water slide I got the guts to go on - and so I got to enjoy being a kid myself for a bit. :-) Big props to Sarah, Bonnie, and the rest of the family for throwing a wonderful birthday party for Logan!

The following weekend, Matt and I joined my parents, Camille and friends on a boating trip to Catalina! We went to celebrate Lauren's 21st birthday and my 24th. We managed to squeeze 7 people on my parent's boat. (below is a picture taken from the other side of the island)

We had the boat moored at the Isthmus, so we walked from one side of the island to the other, and other than hanging out on land, we lounged on the boat.

Overall, it was a great trip! Very relaxing, and a wonderful mini-vacation.

The Monday we got home, Matt had to leave for a bachelor party (he's a groomsman in our friends' wedding), and so for my actual birthday, I had a relaxing family dinner at my parent's house. :-)

The weekend after that (I'm telling you, it's been non-stop! haha), we had a double date with our friends Steph and PJ, followed by an outdoor movie picnic the next night with Tony and Kristen. We had a blast that weekend. It's hard to beat good friends and good food. :-)

Finally, this last weekend in August, I got to celebrate Katie's Bachelorette party and Bridal Shower!

I have a funny feeling that this fall is going to fly by as well... 3 weddings, holidays, Matt's and my 1st Anniversary... looking forward to it all!!

Together and Apart

This past weekend was pretty fun! Aside from the busyness, it was a realization on how a married couple can be one, yet on various levels of being apart.

To start, Matt and I spent Friday on our own with friends.  I spent the day at Disneyland with a couple of my closest girlfriends, while Matt spent time with a couple of his buddies for the evening.  We each got home later that night, and talked about our day before going to sleep.  We both enjoyed sharing about our day apart, and admitted that we started to miss each other towards the end.  It reminded me of the phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder".  It also reminded me of when we were dating in college. We would spend one day together, and the next apart... time apart makes you appreciate the time you do have together.  Sometimes this is true with work days as well.  You work the entire day, and look forward to the evening with your sweetie - but there's something different when you spend your free time apart.  I must say, that even while I was physically apart from Matt and having fun with my friends, he was definitely on my mind everywhere I went - even in conversation when I caught myself say "we" more than "I".

Saturday we spent the day at my parents' house... yet doing our own things.  I helped my mom with her jewelry show she was hosting, while Matt spent the day working on his mustang's brakes with my dad and friend Justin.  So even though we were in the same location, we were each doing our own thing.  I truly enjoyed getting to spend time with my mom, sister, and the ladies that came and went... but I loved knowing in the back of my mind that my husband was just around the corner.  As a couple, you go many places together, and I realized that being one in marriage, doesn't always mean being attached at the hip.

Sunday we spent the morning at church and had brunch with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. Afterward, Matt and I went home and did chores.  We each had our respective chores... I scoured the sinks, and he checked car oil, I dusted, he vacuumed, I cleaned out for Goodwill, and he cleaned out the dishwasher, I cooked, and he did the dishes. We spent the entire day together, but we had our separate things to do.  I realized that sometimes the things that we do differently, are the things that help make us a better team.

Overall, I think we're getting this marriage thing down. :-)