Better late than never!

These past few months have be action packed for me. Here is what I have been up to.

****My Cousin Sarah returned home from Louisiana, where she was attending college. She had a get together at my Grandma's house for her return home. Sarah even made everyone delicious food she loved while in Louisiana (which we loved too), it was so fun! We are glad she is home in Danville again.

Me, Sarah & Natalie at the party

That night consisted of a game our family has been playing for years. We like to call it the 'tile game' & you will find us playing it at most family gatherings!

Kirsten, Natalie, Sarah & I playing a round that night.

****Ken's sister graduated from Law School a few months ago. She worked so hard, and we are all so proud of her. She is now working in San Francisco at a firm named Shook Hardy & Bacon. Way to go Ashley!

Jarrett, Ashley, Me & Ken out celebrating the night she graduated.

****In June, we went camping at Salt Springs for Shawn's birthday. We went with a group of 8 people and had the best time. We love camping & were happy to spend Shawn's birthday with him!

Ken and I

Hanging around the campsite

....and playing in the river!

****One of my best friends, Joey, turned 21 so a group of us went to Las Vegas to celebrate in July. We had a great time (despite the weather being 114(!!) we stayed inside most of the time)

Walking the strip at night (was a little cooler than daytime)

Ken and I outside the Venetian

We made it to the Bellagio water show, which is a must see!

On the rooftop of Pure nightclub (my favorite club in Vegas!)

****In August we headed to Maui with Ken's family. We had a great time, and made lots of memories. We stayed super close to the water, it was complete relaxation vacation.

Ken and I on the lawn outside the house

Me, doing a touristy pic :)

We tried paddle-boarding...(although it may look easy, it was extremely difficult. I bailed off the board numerous times)...but we ended up loving the experience and got better with more practice!

Of course windsurfing! (the reason why they take this vacation)

We got to see beautiful sunsets almost every night

Went to yummy restaurants

Ate lots of snow-cones! YUM!

..and spent a lot of quality time together! :)

****My cousins, Sarah & Jessie along with Nat and I have started this new event we like to call 'Bridges Date'. We try (as often as we can) to go to Bridges and spend time together, chatting and laughing. It is so fun and since we go for happy hour and everything is about half price. Can't beat that!

On the patio at Bridges: Me, Sarah, Jessie & Nat

****And of course, I have been spending the rest of my time hanging out with my favorite person ever, my sister!

That is what I have been up to. For now, it is back to school and work. Halloween is right around the corner & I am getting WAY excited! :)

Sammy-Susa

Our wonderful kitty Sam, who we call Sammy-Susa, has been diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago. The vet said it is very serious and he would only have a few weeks to live. We were very very sad because we went through this about a year about with our dog Aimee. But our little Sammy has been doing great! We switched to wet food so he could eat and we are giving him lots of hugs, kisses, back rubs and of course lots of Cat-Nip!

Sam is an indoor cat, and his goal in life is to 'escape'. So these past few weeks we have been letting him roam around our front and back yard. He is in heaven!

He naps in the sun for hours each day (with the supervision of one of us!)

I made Sam a deluxe bed in front of my window, for his 'inside time'. He gets to lay there and look at the neighborhood cats walking around....

...with a blanket over him when it's cold out of course!

But his favorite past time...staring at birdies in the trees.

One day he will catch one of them...he is determined!

He is resting (a lot) and doing great. He is getting lots of love and attention. I think he is a happy kitty!

Lounging on top of the shed

But I think Sammy would like less paparazzi (me) following him around constantly!

He gets his picture taken a lot and he is getting sick of it! I mean look at that face...grr

Sammy has to get a Morphine patch on his foot to help control the pain. For the first day the patch is on he has to have gauze wrapped around it to make sure it sticks to his little foot. We take it off the second day since he doesn't like it. This is what Sam does the first day when it is on.

That is why we love him so much!

Rubber Ducky You're The One....

.....Lou does not think bath time is fun!

This weekend Lou got a bath and haircut. Although his face looks oh-so-sad, Lou actually likes baths. He even falls asleep sometimes (don't tell anyone, he likes the attention, and putting on the 'sad pup face'). The pictures are too funny to pass up and not blog! Enjoy....

Lou getting his first rinse...starting the 'pout look'

...there is his bath time 'sad pup face'!

Dancing in the sink! hehe

He survived! Time to get dry...

After Lou was all dry & cut, I found him sleeping like this. It was very peculiar...

...but he stayed like that for a while, so I just left him.

Probably just tired from his exhausting adventure of a bath!

Lake Del Valle

This Sunday we decided to go to Lake Del Valle. Natalie and Shawn went camping there last weekend. It is close enough to the house that it is not a far drive, but you get the feeling of vacation. It was a blast! We rented a boat, drove to a cove and played cards, fished(.....) and listened to music.

Natalie and I about to leave the dock

Shawn and Ken driving us to our cove

Isn't the lake beautiful?

Natalie and I

Shawn and Nat

The boys fishing. Shawn caught a fish, but lost it because we forgot a net!

Lounging, getting ready for summer!

See the 'funbrella' in the background...*cough* COSTCO *cough*

Nat and Shawn

I must tell the story of how I THINK we lost the fish. We got to the shore, set up the towels, chairs, umbrella, fishing pole and started playing cards. I am facing directly towards the fishing pole during our card game. (Keep in mind I get really excited when we fish)...so I'm staring at the pole through our entire game of cards. I see the pole start to jerk...*UP down UP down* I yell "FISH!!!!!"...to my surprise, everyone just stares at me and thinks I'm lying! After about 20 seconds of me yelling "FISH" and frantically pointing, they finally believe me and bolt to the pole. We were able to reel the fish in, but it got away at the last second. I think that if everyone would have believed me, we would have had fresh fish for dinner that night! Maybe next time they will listen....

Boot Scootin'....

....BOOGIE!

Brooks & Dunn came to the Shoreline Amphitheater last weekend on their Last Rodeo Tour. Ken had mentioned to me months ago that he really wanted to go. So I started making calls and got 12 of our friends together...and we boogied all night to country. It was so much fun!

Ken's co-worker has a car that they spray paint often (don't ask me why)...and they found this to be the perfect occasion to paint the hood. They painted it with the 'look-a-like' cover of Brooks & Dunn's greatest hits album. It was a HIT when we got the stadium. Everyone was loving it!

The painted car..pretty good for 20 minutes!

We were stuck in traffic for an 1 1/2 hours, waiting to park. So I found it the perfect opportunity to snap some lovely pictures.

Me, Ronnie & Bobby

Jarrett & Ashley (She just had her last day of Law School this week! Go Ashley!)

Ken & I

After a long time stuck in traffic, we finally made it. It was a great concert & it was fun to see Ken having such a good time with everyone.

Brooks & Dunn

Ken & I part 1

Ken & I part 2!

...I only wish my awesome sister would have been able to make it. (She was camping with Shawn) That would have made the concert even better!

...A video for all of those Brooks & Dunn fans..."My Maria"!

YEEHAW!

Tahoe Trip

We went to Lake Tahoe this last weekend for a short getaway to South Shore. It was so much fun to spend time with my family and the boys. We stayed in a great condo right next to the Casinos. Here are some pictures of our little trip...

The boys had to start the fire...very involved.

They also played online poker getting ready for the casinos

The girls did lots of reading (Well mainly my Mom and Sister, I don't read too much LOL)

We met Guy from 'Minute To Win It.' He told us he needed some girls like us on his show, totally made our night :)

We danced

and had a great time.

I was so happy to spend the weekend with my favorite people. Ken, Natalie & Shawn won lots of money in craps, while I won $50.00 on my favorite slot machine 'Wheel of Fortune'! I tend to stay away from craps because the crowd around the table makes me a little nervous. It was a great way to start my spring break.

One of my best friends Ian is back from the Navy. He is stationed in Japan and is back for a whole month. I have been hanging out with him a lot lately. (I will post a better picture of him smiling when I get one; he looks ridiculous, I know!)

Ian and I

School starts back up for me next week. I am going to enjoy this weekend and rest a lot. I am getting excited for my summer!

Happy April :)