So far its been a pretty busy summer! I can’t believe it’s already July. Garrett’s sister Alyssa graduated from High School (CONGRATULATIONS ALYSSA!) , his mom Debbie had an amazing 50th bday bash, and we just got back from LA for a wedding (CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DEIHLS!) and Universal Studios. June was a busy, yet fun month.
Now we will be starting of July with going camping at New Melones this weekend…can’t wait!
Wow. We are long overdue for a post. It’s been about 4 months, I guess. That said, we had a great weekend last weekend. We were definitely busy.
Academy of Sciences in San Francisco
On Saturday, the Graffs, the Munozs and the St. Johns went to San Francisco to visit the California Academy of Sciences. I’d never been there before, but it was really cool. Not quite what I expected as it was mostly biological sciences, but still good.
First thing we did was tour the indoor rainforest. Definitely a cool experience with lots of butterfly, birds, bugs, and flowers…all inside of a dome. There was artificial UV light and misters to recreate the environment of the rainforest. It was a bit muggy and I think Nicole and I pretty much decided that the Amazon is a “no go” for future travels.
After that we toured the aquarium. Tons of people and felt like Disneyland. I’d say it wasn’t the best aquarium I’ve ever seen, but not too bad either. There was a good variety of fish, penguins, eels, etc.
We cut out of there around lunch time and had a picnic lunch in the park by the Academy of Sciences. It was so-so outside, but warm enough. We sat around a group of people and found that it was the regional yo-yo championships. Pretty bizarre really, but they do some crazy stuff with those things! We did not partake, but we did throw a football around and played games.
After lunch, we walked through the gardens and saw the flowers. There weren’t a lot…maybe too early in the year? Nicole went into the Japanese gardens and said it was a lot better.
Memorial Day
For Memorial Day, we went up to a park in San Ramon to hang out with friends. It was a great time and there was way better weather than what I had planned. It was potluck so we brought some sides and ate our faces off…at least I did =). I think we played about every sport that exists yesterday…squash, softball, volleyball, frisbee, football. I’m feeling it a little in the back muscles today. It was a lot of fun and good to get out and get some sun. After our party, we both relaxed and enjoyed the long weekend.
We have a ton of stuff coming up in June. Trips, graduations, birthdays, Doug’s bike race…more fun posts to follow!
Nicole and I went to Colorado this last weekend. It was a really short trip, but we enjoyed it a lot. We got to see both of my grandmas while we were there.
We left last Thursday from San Jose and flew into Denver. It was a pretty easy flight. Caught the RTD bus into Boulder where we stayed with my Grandma Eloise.
The reason for our trip was to pick up our new car. My grandma was nice enough to work out all the details for us to get her car. She wasn’t using it too much and we needed a new car. The Tacoma was starting to get a bit old and show it. I definitely miss the truck, but the new car (2006 Toyota Corolla) is pretty cool too. Definitely gets better gas mileage, but lacks the ability to carry anything and everything.
Well, our drive home was surely interesting. The plan was to drive home…18 hours straight. We figured we could do it by splitting up the driving. The factor we forgot was weather…well, and wrong turns. We headed out of Boulder around 11AM and were making good time. It was cold in Colorado, but no snow. We hit our first weather on the West border of Wyoming. Within about ten miles we experienced everything…rain, hail, sleet, and snow. Pretty weird. We moved through Utah fairly well. Intermittent rain and towards night fall we hit some fog. It was pouring in Salt Lake City. That’s where the trouble began.
It was pouring so hard that Nicole was having a hard time even seeing the lanes. We were both so focused on minding the lanes, we somehow ended up on I-84 rather than staying on I-80. Well after we got through Salt Lake and leaned back to sleep for the long overnight drive ahead of me. I woke up about an hour later and we crossed into Idaho. Idaho…hmm. Didn’t sound right but I was trying to convince myself. Well…figured out it was all bad and turned out to be a three our detour. We got to see Idaho though!
It started to snow near Nevada and so I took over driving. Then it started to REALLY snow. The flakes were seriously about 2 inches diameter. We frantically were looking for chains (I really started missing my truck at this point) and of course nobody has them at 1AM. Well, that is except for a Chevron who wanted $119 for them. Yeah right! We found a Super Walmart that was open 24 hours. I went to check that out and our chains were the only ones out of stock! I mean really?!? I drove on to Winnemucca, NV through a snow storm and fog in hope that their Walmart would have some.
At that point I was dead tired and Nicole was beyond exhausted. We called it there and stayed at a hotel. Figuring we would be home at around 6PM the next day. Big mistake.
There was a lot of snow in Tahoe and we conveniently timed it with the end of the ski day as well. We had to put chains on along the way and the traffic just crawled. Ended up home at about 9:30PM. Just barely beat our friends Ryan and Candace home (they were in LA haha). Long trip back, but overall it was fun for us. We survived our first road trip and we have a new car to show for it. Now for the DMV!
UPDATE: As requested, picture from the trip and of the new car!
We had a great Christmas!
On Christmas Eve, we went to church at Cornerstone for service. It was really great, everyone did a great job (I was hungry though). After service, we went to the St. John family house and had a really nice dinner. Presents and playing with our new gifts followed. We got some good stuff =) We spent the night over at my parents house on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Day, we woke up at had breakfast and opened stocking gifts. We headed back home to clean up after that because we planned to go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. SOLD OUT! Disappointment followed. However, Nicole and I decided to go home and have out Christmas time together. I made fillets and Nicole made mashed potatoes and salad. We even had wine like adults. Pretty cool!
On the 26th, we went to Twaine Harte, CA up in the mountains. Cheree’s parents rented a cabin and a bunch of us went up to stay. It was really great. It had snowed not long before we went up so it was really pretty and there was fresh snow. We even had to use chains on the Munoz’s car to keep from slipping. Fun times.
On the 27th, Cheree, some of her family, and I went up to Dodgeridge to snowboard and ski. I had never been up there before and I was actually pretty happy with it. The runs are a little shorter than the mountains in Tahoe, but it had nice snow. Seemed like there were a lot of people there though that loved to share a comment when people fell below the lift…not that I would ever deal with that ;-). Anyways, Marcos and Nicole stayed back and played Crash Bandicoot and made a rockin’ snowman.
Yes, that is a beer can and a (fake) cigar.
The 28th, Cheree, Marco, Nicole, and I went sledding. We though about doing the big track the masses had made, but decided to make our own. Let’s just say many tired climbs up the hill, spills and the bottom, and soaking shoes later, we had a blast. Probably one of the major highlights of the trip for me. That night we went to Black Oak Casino to play “Games People Play”. Needless to say, after a round of bowling and some Black Jack, they sent us away in an armored truck shuttle with my $65 winnings.
All in all it was a great weekend, a great holiday, and a great first Christmas with my new wife. I kinda love her =)
Last weekend we went to “Engage” at Cornerstone and enjoyed singing worship and Christmas songs. The choir sounded great, and it was a good time to get into the true spirit of Christmas. After we went driving around looking at Christmas lights-one of my favorite things to do this time of year….aside from watching Christmas Vacation=)
We drove down Candy Cane Lane in Pleasanton, and as always they had some amazing lights!
The one right above was my favorite! This weekend we plan to go to Deacon Dave’s and check out what’s in store there this year.
So far, this first holiday season together has been great. We have had good times with friends and family, and we are able to start our own traditions. Hopefully this will be one of them! We love all of you and hope you are enjoying this time of year as much as we are!
This last weekend our friends threw a Christmas Party. We all busted out our AWESOME Christmas sweaters, made gingerbread houses (boys vs. girls, the boys beat us…which is weird because I didn’t realize they were so…good at decorating….), had a White Elephant gift exchange, and played a little Guitar Hero. Check out our pictures, because our sweaters were pretty sweet!
Now back to the gingerbread houses…I feel like the girls got cheated…because ours was WAY better….
Here’s the guys house…
And here’s the girls house….
Now which one do YOU think is the best????
I want to take a second to publicly announce and congratulate Nicole on her promotion to the Finance Office at Cornerstone. Today is her first day in the new position and we are both really excited for what is to come. She has her own desk and extension and all that jazz. I know she is excited about what is to come and we are both feeling blessed that God has made the opening available and chosen her to fill it. I’m sure there will be more about her job to come in the future.
Congratulations, Nicole. I’m proud of you!
These few days off have been relaxing and fun for us as our first Thanksgiving married. On Thursday we were able to spend Thanksgiving with my mom’s side of family at my aunt’s house. We had good food, the guys played some poker, and just had some quality time with everyone.
On Friday we went over to Garrett’s parents house for games and dinner. We had fun playing Partini and Catch Phrase. Friday night was the time I wait for all year…time to decorate for Christmas! We picked out our decorations and a tree over this last week. Then that night we turned on the Christmas tunes, with hot chocolate and a fire, set it all up, and our house is now transformed for the Christmas season.
This time of year is always my favorite. It’s a great time to spend with family, friends and to reflect on what God has blessed us with. This year we are thankful for our marriage, for time with our families, for our amazing friends, and just the little everyday blessings that God showers on us.
Nicole and I had a great time last night at the Valley Pregnancy Center Gala. It was hosted at the Palm Event Center over by Ruby Hills. We were a bit out of our element since there were a lot of older people, but we knew some other people from Cornerstone and from around the Tri-Valley.
I personally was really struck about the reality of abortion in our country (and world). There were several families that came forward to express their thanks to Barbara Saba and the pregnancy center for helping them heal post-abortion, preventing them from having an abortion, and several kids thanking them for helping their parents avoid abortion. It was a very powerful presentation and a great celebration of the 20 years that the center has been opened.
Nicole and I really enjoyed it though as well because it was our date night. We got to dress up and have a nice dinner. We just really liked being out and being able to support such a great foundation.
Nicole and I hosted our first get together at our house last weekend. It was a lot of fun. We ate appetizers, unhealthy food, and made mixed drinks. Nicole was the chief mixologist and made most of us Lava Flows (she was missing Hawaii).
We also played a few games and just hung out. It was cool to have friends over, but we definitely realized that our townhouse isn’t too large. We rearranged a lot of the furniture so people could actually sit in a circle. No matter though, we had a good time.
Ben and Tiffany’s son, James, came and hung out too. I love that kid, but as you can see…he got the best of me.
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