Baby Shower

My friend Rosa from swim class wanted to throw me a baby shower and invite all of the pool ladies.  She spent weeks getting contact information for everyone and sending out an Evite.  I wasn't sure how many people would attend.  I talk to all the ladies after class but would they really take time out of their afternoon to attend a baby shower for me.  I was so surprised when we had over ten ladies show up and many more drop off gifts since they couldn't attend.  They were so generous and thoughtful. 

Swim Ladies (Rosa is to my right in pink)

 

Rosa made all of the treats. The cake was so yummy.

Chocolate Cake--how cute

 



How cute are the sugar cookies

Watermelon balls in a cute baby carriage

 



I am still surprised on how many gifts I received.

 They were so generous.

 

 

How cute is this dress with the little green jacket

 



Pink dress from Rosa.  Alexis will look so cute in it.

Swim Class

When I found out I was pregnant I joined the YMCA.  I wanted to take water aerobics classes to stay in shape.  I joined in June hoping to meet other mothers and make some friends.  I have been taking the one hour class five days a week for months and love it. I wanted to fit in so I had to buy the appropriate clothing.  The pool is outside so I need to make sure I had proper the sun protection for my face.   Allen thought the hat was funny but several of the pool ladies were very interested in where I purchased it (DSW in case you want one for yourself:).  I wanted to make sure I get the best workout possible so I had to purchase the workout gloves to add resistance in the water.  All the serious swimmers in the class wear them.  Right now you are thinking they are so cool and wish you had a pair (Amazon)  :)

Have I made any friends you ask?  After class I usually sit out by the pool for 20-30 minutes to get some vitamin D (on everything but my face...thanks to my awesome hat).  During this time I have made some friends.  Of course they are all retired ladies in their late sixties and early seventies.  But they are all so nice to chat with and since they are free during the day it has been nice to get together with them to tour a museum or go to lunch.  I have enjoyed my swim sessions and will miss them when is too cold to swim outside. 

Sun hat and water gloves

7 Months

I can't believe I am in my third trimester.  Seven months started on Saturday.  So far I am feeling good but can feel the changes.  I am having trouble tying my shoes so I usually wear flip flops unless I am going out with Allen and he can tie my shoes:)  I can feel the difference when Alexis has the hiccups and when she is just kicking me.  Only three more months until we can see her...can't wait:)

Lake Arrowhead

It was very sad for us to say goodbye to our vacation home in Lake Arrowhead.  28261 Arbon Lane was a very special place for us for five years.  When we first purchased the home it was only 1 1/2 hours from Irvine.  We went almost every weekend for a year.  The best thing about the home is that is was new and we really didn't have anything we needed to do when we were there.  There were no errands to run, no bills to pay...it was so relaxing.  We loved sitting on the back deck with a glass of wine, looking at the trees and watching the sunset.  We enjoyed having friends and family visit us over the years.  We really loved Thanksgiving and Christmas in Lake Arrowhead...it almost always snowed. It was so magical.  Over the years we took many, many pictures. Below are just some of the highlights. 

2009, Inspection Day at the House with Trevor

 Wine Tasting 2011.  Having too much fun. Joan & Allen

 Wine Tasting 2011.  Ernie, Gary, Jessica, Jean, Michelle & Dan

 

 

Art and Wine Festival 2010, Allen, Jessica, Michelle & Dan. This is what happens when you ask a drunk person to take your picture.

Art and Wine Festival 2012. Jessica & Allen

First time snowed in for a few days.  January 2010
 

Our favorite tree off the back deck.  Amazing sunsets in Lake Arrowhead
 

Christmas 2011.  Playing games with Diane, Nancy, Rich, Allen & Trevor

 

Christmas 2012

 

 

Thanksgiving 2011

 

Thanksgiving 2012

 

 

Celebrating Danielle's 30th Birthday in 2009 with Debbie, Greg, Allen & Danielle

Infant Care Class

Allen and I took our first baby class last night.  It was at the hospital with four other couples.  In two and a half hours we learned all we will need to care for an infant:)  We learned how to change her diaper, wrap her up in a blanket and give her a bath.  We were able to use a doll for practice.  The nurse who led the class we very helpful and answered a ton of questions.  One of the couples is having triplets. She is at 19 weeks and already looked so uncomfortable.  I kept thinking about what happens when they start moving around and kicking. Alexis is only one baby and can really kick hard at 26 weeks.

We are looking forward to the other four classes/tours we have scheduled.  It seems a bit overwhelming now but I know after a few weeks we will be doing all of these things without thinking about them. 

Dad

We were in Las Vegas last week to get things ready to sell our place. My Dad lives in Prescott, AZ. We were able to meet half way between Vegas and Prescott over the weekend and have lunch. It was great to see him and catch up.  I must note he is wearing ASU colors ...he went to the U of A and I went to ASU.  I know in his heart he loves ASU:)  Love you Dad, thanks for making the drive.

24 Weeks (6 Months)

Trying to take more pictures while I am pregnant.  Here I am at 6 months (two weeks ago).  I am using an app called CineMama to make a movies of my belly over my pregnancy.  Allen takes 2-3 pictures of me every week.  At the end we will have a movie with music showing how I changed.  Pretty cool. 

 

Wine Making...Step One

One of my going away gifts from my Otis staff was a gift certificate from Water2Wine.  It is a winery in Houston that has wine tastings, wine classes and a wine making section.  We decided to try making wine...28 bottles to be exact.  The first step is to try their wine....Allen was such a great sport trying each wine to make sure we would enjoy it. 

We were getting 28 bottles so he really made sure we would like all aspects of the wine...from the taste to the smell.



While Allen was selecting the wine for us I was busy tasting their water.  As you can see I drank half a glass so it was pretty good.

After we chose the wine we wanted to make we went into another room to start making it.  We added a bunch of things to this large bucket and had to stir for a long time. 

Doesn't look that great right now but it is supposed to turn into yummy wine.

They were very busy and at one point we thought they forgot about us. So we took some more pictures of us having fun:)

 

 

 

 

The next step is to design our label and then bottle the wine. Should be complete by the end of September.  Stay tuned for the next blog on Wine Making....Step Two

Allen's First Day of Work

Allen finally started at Hess today!!!  It has been a long journey but we made it.  I am so proud of him.  His office is on the top floor with all of the executives. Very cool.

We are moving forward on relocating to  Houston.  We have scheduled our trip to Las Vegas to put our house on the market.  We are meeting with a realtor in Houston and have narrowed down the development where we want to live.  Very exciting:)