Heather's Retirement Party

Two weekends ago my Father-in-law and Sister-in-law put together a surprise retirement party for my Mother-in-law, Heather. As part of the surprise Jade and I flew out to Colorado for the party without her knowing.

The first night we hung out with family down at Daisha and Greg's to keep the secret.

The next day was the party and we all had a great time... I think Heather was surprised!

Areese with her Great-grandma Doe.

Areese with Grandpa Harry and Uncle Jade.

Areese with Grandma Heather, who can't wait to take care of her in the fall when mom has to go back to work!

On Monday we got to spend a few more precious hours with Areese before flying back to California.

Laura's White Coat Ceremony

On May 23rd Laura had her White Coat Ceremony for her Physical Therapy degree. Although I'm not exactly sure what that means, I think it's a lot like our nursing pinning was... a ceremony to mark how far you have come, to take the oath of your profession, and to mark the beginning of your (hopefully) long and prosperous career... although, you still have classes left to take, internships left to do and you still don't yet have your degree!

In any case, we were all very proud to be there to share in the moment with her and to take pictures...
Just after being "white coated"... haha

With the girls... college roommate Ashley, friend Julie, Laura, Me and current roommate Jackie.

With the boys... Ashley's fiance Eli and Jade.

Proud of you Laura... you've work hard to get here and you're almost there! Love you!

Maryland Blue Crabs!

With the help of Melinda, Matt and Sam, I was able to surprise Sarah with her all time favorite... Maryland Blue Crabs! Sarah is always telling Jade and I about how the crabs you get here aren't the same and when you order crab cakes, "they're not real crab cakes." So when Melinda mentioned she found a place in San Diego that sells fresh, live Maryland Blue Crabs we came up with a plan to surprise her fellow Marylander ;-)
We covered the table in news paper and had a real crab cookout! It was delicious! Thanks Mel for making this all possible... we gotta do it again sometime!

Easter

I was able to spend a wonderful Easter with Matt and Sarah at their house (although we are actually standing in front of their neighbor's house prior to our all adult Easter egg hunt!)
We even dyed eggs... Sarah was getting pretty creative!

Matt and Sarah had their dueling Marine camo egg v. Navy camo egg...

I was more traditional...

We had a good time, but missed Jade who was training up in North Las Vegas at Nellis Air Force base.

Where to Begin

The last month or so has been crazy busy...

... Colorado to meet the neice... Colorado to play in the snow... Colorado to play with old friends... working a temp job... taking certification classes... preparing for certification classes... looking for permanent jobs... going hiking... taking care of the house while hubby is gone... taking care of the dog while hubby is gone... taking care of the yard and the garden... and trying to find time to workout, relax and enjoy it all.

Photo Shoot

Baby Areese has been under the flash since she was born, but yesterday I had my chance at a photo shoot with her and her parents. Here are some of my favorites!

Areese KellyAnn Agho

On March 1,2011 at 1:08am Areese KellyAnn Agho was born! Of course I was sad to have missed the birth, especially since it was by a day and a half, but I am fortunate to have been able to come back and meet her today. She's something pretty special... if I do say so myself.

She's had a pretty moderate case of jaundice, but is recovering well. The doctors sent a bilirubin light to the house and sent a nurse out to check her bilirubin levels every day for the first few days they were home. I was really amazed by this, I haven't heard of anyone doing that... pretty awesome!

We even got to go on our first walk! Areese loved it! She promptly fell asleep after this picture and stayed that way for some time.

I am looking forward to spending the next few days getting to know my niece!