December 2012 (and Halloween)

I almost forgot to mention Halloween in my previous post!  Emilee was dressed as a baby jack-o-lantern (same for me), and Matt was dressed as 'the Dude' from the movie "The Big Lebowski.  We spent the evening at our friend's home, having a BBQ and bonfire on the driveway, giving candy out to the passing trick-or-treaters.

Our friends Tony & Kristen

Brendan (Jafar) and Camille (a pirate)

Matt and part of our group by the bonfire

Kristen and me

December was a wonderfully busy month! It was our first Christmas in a real home, and getting to hang lights and decorate was really fun.  Em turned 9 months old, learned to crawl and hold her self standing all in the same month.

We went on a boat wine cruise at the Newport boat parade, and went on a Christmas light walk with friends (and to show Em all the pretty lights).

Mom and Dad joined us as well

Matt strolling Emmy along

Em and her Auntie Bug (Camille)

Christmas Eve we spent at my parent's house, where we had an amazing lamb roast dinner.  After dinner, we went to our place for dessert and a Christmas movie.

Matt and I hosted Christmas Day at our home, where my grandparents parked their RV on our driveway, and everyone came over that morning for breakfast, champagne, and gifts! Towards the evening, Matt's cousin, her husband and their baby joined us, as well as the Prophet family for dinner, cocktails, a bonfire, and games.

We were originally going to travel up to Colorado right after Christmas, but the weather turned sour on us, and we had to postpone at the last minute.  Hopefully though, we will get to reschedule in the new year!

And speaking of New Years, we spent it at my parents house with friends, food, champagne and welcoming another new and exciting year!  Can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us!

Catching Up (September - March)

It has been a long time since I last posted in Matt's and my blog!  So much has been happening, I'm afraid I can only summarize at this point to catch up.

We moved into our new apartment last September.  It's been a wonderful change!  The extra space has made a big difference.  We're much more organized, and I've had a lot of fun decorating the place.

I also flew up to Napa for one of my best friend's Bachelorette parties.  It was a limo wine tasting tour.  Being 2-3 months pregnant, I only tasted a couple different wines (just sips), but still had a great time! Plus, some of the wineries had non-alcoholic wines I could enjoy.

October we went on a camping trip to Catalina island with a group of friends.  My parents joined us, and were so generous as to drive us over on their boat.  The weather was beautiful, and we all had a great time!

November found Matt and I celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary.  We exchanged cards and went to El Torrito Grill, where we had our first official dinner date almost 7 years ago. 

We also celebrated Thanksgiving at my parent's house, and then drove up to Porterville to spend a second Thanksgiving with Matt's Aunt, Uncle and cousins.

December was more of a relaxing month.  We spent the night at my parent's house Christmas Eve, and enjoyed Christmas Day with everyone.  We also started putting Emilee's room together.  Things were beginning to get exciting as I was beginning to show my baby bump more, and starting the 3rd trimester.

January was a little busier.  We spent New Year's weekend in Wrightwood with a few friends, for our annual cabin trip.  Everyone snowboarded up at Mt. High, while my best friend Kristen and I browsed the cute village shopping.

January also found Matt, Camille, Brendan and me driving up to Novato to spend a weekend with Uncle Curt and Uncle Richard.  We took the ferry and spent a day in San Francisco as well.

February we started winding down on our travels and plans.  We spent a weekend with my Grandparents in Palm Desert, hosted a dinner party with some friends, had my baby shower for little Emilee, sold my Saturn and bought my Dad's Honda Element for our new family car!

Finally, the month we had been anxiously awaiting for - March! The first half of the month seemed to last forever!  We patiently (or not so patiently) waited for labor to start.  I was walking almost every day, dancing in our apartment, doing chores... anything to try and encourage things to start.  The due date came and went, and by the time I was one week late I had to go in for some non-stress tests to check Emilee's heartbeat and get an ultrasound.  Little did we know, I would not be leaving the hospital for the next 2 days, and would be induced that very day!

Emilee was born on March 21st, at 12:17pm, weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz. and measuring 20 in. long.  Recovery has been a little rough, but in a matter of 2 weeks, I've been able to bounce back a great deal.  Emilee is just the sweetest little thing, and we couldn't be happier!  Parenthood is both challenging and wonderful - I am so excited to have the privilege to raise our beautiful baby girl.

(If anyone wants to read my actual labor/birth experience, it can be found on my other blog: http://sweetart-ott.blogspot.com/)

Annual Cabin Trip #3

If you have ever seen the movie, The Bucket List, you might have found it to be a sad story. On the other hand, it has a very good point... you only live once, so why not have a list of things to accomplish before kicking the bucket?

Four of our close friends from college (Tony, Kristen, Amanda & Michael) started such a Bucket List with Matt and me. One of the items, was to have an annual cabin snow trip. Our first trip was in 2009. We spent two nights in Big Bear, along with another couple. 2010, we found ourselves flying to a family friend's cabin in Tahoe, located at the Northstar Resort, for the Superbowl weekend. Needless to say, it was an amazing trip, and the six of us decided to make Tahoe our main cabin trip location!

This past weekend was our 3rd annual trip, and it was by far, the most spoiling cabin vacation yet! Kristen and Tony found round-trip plane tickets to Tahoe that were only $275 for two people! Tony's brother lent us a free parking pass at LAX (which would have been $60 for 3 nights). Amanda was able to get a coupon for a free weekend stay at Northstar, as well as free ski lift tickets!

The perks were endless on this trip. Aside from our cabin and lift tickets being free, there was a snowboard demo happening that weekend, so the boys got free board rentals! The girls and I also managed to get free snowmobile rides, and gondola tickets to ride up to the ski resort. It was all too good to be true, and we were certain something was going to go wrong with all the good luck... well, we missed a free 30 minute concert by James Blunt. haha. Ridiculous!!!

The cabin itself was absolutely amazing. It was a 2-story, 2 bedroom, 1 bath, cabin condo, with a spectacular view! The weather was gorgeous, and the snow was great. Our first night there we stocked up on groceries, and unpacked in the cabin.



(the ski resort makes the best Bloody Mary's!).


The second day (Saturday), the boys woke up early to hit the slopes. The girls and I relaxed in the cabin for a while before hitching a gondola ride up to the ski resort. We got a table inside, overlooking the slopes, where we were able to watch for the guys, and enjoy some hot drinks.

After a full day, the six of us decided to have a progressive dinner of sorts. Our first stop was at Oliver's for wine, fondue and cheese. Stop #2 was TC's Pub for a beer, hot wings and mozzarella sticks, and our final destination was The Chocolate Bar for dessert fondue, truffles, and chocolate martini's. We ended the night lounging by one of the resort fire pits, before heading back to the cabin to watch a movie in our PJ's.



Amanda, Kristen and me on the gondola

Beautiful pink sunset over Oliver's

The third day (Sunday), the boys were up early on the mountain again. The girls and I checked out a few of the surrounding areas, and were able to take a gondola straight up to the top of the mountain!

By 2pm we headed back and got food ready for the Superbowl. After the game (which we were all happy the Packers won!), we headed down to the resort village to have smores and hot coco by one of the fire pits. We wrapped up the night having steaks and watching a movie back at the cabin.

Our final day (Monday), the boys hit the slopes one last time while the girls and I browsed the village. We all met up later for gelato - despite how cold it was - and then headed to the airport for our flight home.

Overall, it was the best cabin trip yet! While I usually love getting a day of snowboarding in, it was incredibly relaxing to hang with the girls and let the boys use the free lift tickets. Definitely my favorite Bucket List item so far! We all see this trip continuing, even something we can enjoy with kids later!

A Wonderful Visit

Matt and I went to a piano concert last weekend.  It's an annual thing that Michael Seller's puts on in his home after a busy year of concerts around the country, and teaching.  He is an amazing pianist, and can play classical music from Beethoven to Chopin - by heart!!! Patricia (Matt's adopted Aunt Pat) introduced us to Micheal two years ago when she brought us to one of his concerts.  It is a mind-blowing experience to see him perform! (you can check out his website to see for yourself: http://www.michaelsellerspianist.com)

Anyway, as is tradition... after the concert, Michael, Patricia (Aunt Pat), Matt and I went to The Cheesecake Factory.  We are a quirky group to behold I'm sure.  Matt and I are the young married couple... we probably look like Michael's kids... while Patricia looks like our Grandma.  Well anyway, Patricia is a Godly woman - I've never met anyone with so much physical pain and misfortune in their life, and yet so optimistic, full of spirit, and bubbly! She is truly an amazing woman. Michael is an artist - very proper, with a quaint home - full of pictures and a giant piano.  He is blunt with a sort of dry sense of humor.  It is absolutely hilarious when Michael and Patricia talk sometimes...

(driving to The Cheesecake Factory)

Patricia: "I just LOVE palm trees!  They are one of my favorite trees here in Hollywood! Oh they are just so magnificent! Michael don't you love living in an area with so many palm trees?"

Michael: "I hate them."

(everyone in the car busts up laughing) 

Patricia: "Oh!... but do you like living here in Hollywood then?"

Michael: "Yes... I just ignore the trees."

When we are not discussing Michael's remarkable piano skills, or religion (a popular topic for us), many conversations bounce around with all of our different opinions and beliefs. This last visit we talked about our wedding and showed our album - since Patricia couldn't make it due to her health.  It was a wonderful visit indeed - I'm sure we will look back on these visits in the future and smile. :-)

Our Trip To Monterey!

Memorial Day weekend Matt and I drove up to Monterey to visit our friends Nick and Katie!

Despite the 5-6 hour drive, it seems like no matter how many times you've driven it... you forget how relaxing and fun it can be. Beautiful scenery, CD marathons, random rest stops, and some of the most wonderful discussions! It's amazing how much can be said when you are stuck in a car for that long. :-) Thinking of names we like for kids (for later!), discussing life's events, dreaming up future vacations, talking about how hungry we are and where we will stop next, wondering what things will be like in 10 years, etc.

Once we got to Nick and Katie's, it was a weekend chalk-full of fun, relaxation, great food and wine!! Our first night there, we tried 3 kinds of wine, and had home-made pizza! It was absolutely amazing! Matt and I also got introduced to the show "Dexter". It's disturbingly addictive to watch... and a little gross, haha. We'll probably stick to watching "The Biggest Loser"... but it's neat to finally see what all the hype is about with that show! (Picture: Nick and Matt doing the dishes)

The second day, Katie and I spent time catching up while shopping, getting coffee, and browsing books at Borders. Nick and Matt caught up playing video games, throwing the football, and watching TV. We always seem to split off for a day when when we visit to get our girl-time & guy-time in. Katie and I have known each other since 3rd grade, and Nick and Matt have known each other since 5th grade... and since we barely get to see each other, it's nice to get that one-on-one time with an old friend. :-)

The third day, the four of us went to Calvary Chapel for church. The message was really great - their Pastor went over a story in 1 Samuel, which was neat since I had just read that story on my own a week before.

Afterward when we got out, the weather had warmed up into the 70's, and was so beautiful out! We decided then to head over to Canary Row and then the wharf and have clam chowder for lunch. You really can't beat fresh-made clam chowder!

Our last night there the boys BBQ'ed steak... and oh my goodness... it just melted in your mouth - it was so good!!! And all they seasoned it with was salt! Amazing!

The picture below is of the boys, having wine and cigars while prepping the BBQ (they are too cute!). Matt and I don't have a BBQ yet, and so this night was a real treat!

Overall, it was the most relaxing weekend we've had in a long while! And even though the drive home took 7 and 1/2 hours with traffic... you can't beat time spent with great friends!