Who has an awesome new car? Oh yeah. . . that would be me.

So, remember that newer Previa that was supposed to last us another 6 years. . . well, it lasted 6 months. Needless to say, we were not very happy about this. Nevertheless, we need another car. So after getting our finances in order, we started looking. At first we wanted a Honda Odyssey, but to get a decent year was a bit over our price range, so we then decided to focus on Toyota Camrys or Honda Accords. But unfortunately, after searching for a couple weeks, we couldn't find anything suitable, so we (finally :) decided to take our friend's advice and hire an auto broker. Sharp Auto Brokers, to be exact. Almost immediately they had a car for us. It was a new car they had sold originally to a client back in 2001, and that client was now upgrading, and using their 2001 Honda Accord as a trade-in. PERFECT!! Just what we wanted! And so, with out further ado. . .




And here I am, looking at the beautiful sunset, until Steve says, "You should go take a drive."


Umm. . . okay!! See ya in a couple hours! :)


At least I stopped long enough to get a picture!

Photo shoot of "The Girls"

Getting pictures of Lora, Cory and myself has become quite a custom whenever our three families get together, and this time was no exception. Of course, Kevin thought it'd be hilarious to take about a BAZILLION pictures of us, because naturally, it's hard to get us be quiet and stand still long enough to get a decent one. :)

So, it took almost a dozen pictures of us doing this. . .


. . . before getting one like this.


But then it was a lot more of this. . .


. . . before getting only one more like this.


And just in case you thought we eventually settled down. . . we didn't. :)


All I can say is. . . Thank goodness for digital cameras! :)

Our Easter Egg-citment! :)

We spent Easter Sunday with our friends, the Molloys and the Nehrings, at Kevin's parents house in Auberry. It was a BEAUTIFUL spring day, so we had an awesome time playing and searching for Easter eggs outside!






And we can't forget our Easter hugs from the Dada!



I had even asked Lora if she would take a few pictures of Steve and I for our 10th anniversary. (It's not until June, but I won't be here, so I needed to have them done a bit early. :) She did a fantastic job, despite her subjects! :)





(We also had Kevin take some pictures of the "Girls", but I'll post them in the next post. )

We all had such a fun day! Thanks, Ma and Pa Nehring, for the invite! We sure love being a part of your family! :)

One year older, another year. . . nope, just older. :)

We just got back from my birthday dinner date with the Nehrings and the Molloys. We had a absolute blast, of course. Our original plan was to go to The Olive Garden for dinner, but while waiting for seats, Lora brought up Luna's Italian Restaurant, so we decided to go there instead.


And boy, am I glad we did! The food was delicious!


And the company was excellent!



Lora, Kevin, Cory and Eddie. . . Thanks for sharing my birthday with me! You guys are the best and we sure love ya!

Happy New Year, 2009!

We had a fun New Year's Eve hanging out with the Nehrings. We each made our own personal pizza for dinner, and then ice cream sundaes for dessert.




While waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square, we played a rousing game of Disney/ Pixar Monopoly!


Here's to the New Year! May it bring us all nothing but happiness!

Our stroll up Christmas Tree Lane

Tonight we joined the Nehrings and the Molloys for a leisurely walk up Christmas Tree Lane. It was opening night, and therefore only open to pedestrians, so we bundled up the kids, opened up the strollers, and headed out.


The kids had lots of fun finding each of Santa's reindeer throughout the 2 mile walk.




There were lots of really cute displays, but as a Nativity-lover, this was my favorite.


The kids even got a candy cane from Santa himself! :)


Here we all are taking advantage of a good photo-op.




At the end of the lane was this totally decked out house display! Yikes! Imagine his electricity bill!


After taking about 2 hours to reach the north end of the lane, we decided to burn off a few calories on the way back to the cars in preparation for the delicious hot chocolate and cookies that awaited us there. After 35 minutes, and a couple gallons of sweat (from me :)), we made it. And it was totally worth it! Yummy!

Thanks for all we've been given!

Our plans for Thanksgiving this year included, once again, our dear friends, the Nehrings and the Molloys. It was decided that we would meet and eat dinner at the Molloy home. Lora was genius enough to print out coloring pages, so that kept the kids busy until the food was ready to eat.



And here's the turkey!


Oops. I mean, here's the turkey. :)


It sure was yummy!

And for dessert. . . PIE!


We sure have lots to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, but the most important ones are the friends and family we got to spend the day with. :)