Manny & Dani Wedding

My cousin got married a few months ago, and it is high time that I post the pictures!

Matthew showing off the shot glass wedding favors

mmm Vino.  Thanks Uncle Bryan

And now I  present for the first time -- Mr & Mrs Manny Morales!!  Woo hoo

They all partied to Black Eyed Peas (I think). Very fun!

First dance.  How sweet.

We added a little bling to our centerpiece

My beautiful cousin Bryley & I

Danielle forced Davis to be in the garter toss. I think he's pouting

Not pouting, but no luck!

Mexico in May

I realized that I never shared pictures from our last trip to Mexico.  And thanks to Darren for all of these.  There are many many more.  But I don't have the stamina to sort through them now!  I think this trip was back in May... it was with our church, Go.

With my best co-worker :)  Doing what we love together!

Our little church (or at least those of us who came to Mexico)

A few lofthouses, including part of one that we built.  And Geeski's truck

Putting on the roofcap, Matt & Lonnie directing me from below (I had to use my nail starter to quickly get the nails through the cap)

Hopefully I will be able to update while we are down there during these next few weeks.  Love you all!

Disneyland with the Rents in May

My Dad posted these pictures in Picasa about a month or two ago.  It is high time that I share them with you!  Back in May, we went to Disneyland for my Dad's birthday.  Here are a few pictures from that day!

[and yes, looking at these pictures does make me miss my hair. :( I guess it will grow out soon enough!]

We ran into my Dad's old student (he was a college / high school pastor) / family friend and her husband and daughter.  It was so fun to see them!

Dad wanted a pic of he and Mom at the Tiki Room.  I think this turned out quite cute!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

The 3 of us, after Indiana Jones.  We were missing Matthew and Davis :(

Finally got the picture!

This is supposed to be like a pic that Davis and I took, years ago!

Have a great Monday!

Mornings in Mexico

When in Mexico, I somehow manage to get up early on Saturday and have an incredibly pleasant attitude. I am up at the dining hall around 5:30 or 5:45 to help cook breakfast and I greet everyone with a smile. I should really try and get a picture of this (because those who know me, know I am NOT a morning person!). Then we all go about our days, usually building a lofthouse.

But Sunday mornings. Those are a different story entirely. Last Sunday-in-Mexico (or SIM, as I call it), we left the Ranch at 4:30 am. I didn't sleep well the night before, so I was nauseus from the lack of sleep. Needless to say, I was probably a bit cranky until I got some sleep in the car. Usually on a Sunday we just kinda pack up and leave. If we do hang around, I usually look a little something like this:


Hmmm. I have a feeling that I am going to need an attitude check before August.

What I am loving today!

I have never done one of these things I love posts -- so today is a time to start! It all started because I wanted to show off my bright yellow nail polist. Sadly, it's not super bright in the pic. But I hope you enjoy a bit of what is going on in my life!

My nail polish -- and the signs to my craft room / office!

Iron-on Vinyl -- excited to start up my new business!

New crochet books (loving that I sold old textbooks to Amazon for store credit)

One finished blanket, which I love, and one almost finished blanket!

An almost completed Crochet Every Day pattern planning calendar -- not sure why it's crooked!

New dvds (more amazon credit! woo hoo!)

Orange Pumpkins

Red tomatoes

What I am hating today... this is the current temp in my house. Should I run the A/C? haha

What are you loving today? I would love to hear!

Mexico in August

This post has been a long time coming. In fact, the first draft is from June 13th -- which I am leaving below. Matt and I will be living in Mexico for the month of August. My company has graciously given me the time off, and not fired me! Praise the Lord. But yet, pretty intense, I know. What will we be doing? Well we are staying at the Hands of Mercy Ranch outside of Ensenada. [Oh yeah and if you are a creepy house break-in-er stalker, we have people staying at our house --- so don't even think about it] Anywho. We will be living in the Van Nesses house, but possibly in a lofthouse for part of the time.

This will let us know what they do down there during the week and how things work. Matt will probably be doing construction type things around the ranch and I am not entirely sure what I will do. I know I will be hanging out with Jen (she's the full time teacher down there) and Sue and Sara Lee (when they get back). I will probably get some crocheting done and work on my Spanish (looks like it is time for me to create a username on Matthew's Rosetta Stone... ugh!). I also want to do some other things that we have not had time to do when we only go during weekends. I am in need of some yummy ice cream! And I hope we can find those natural hot springs at the beach!

Please be praying for us during August. We are looking for wisdom about the future as well!

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Original Post from June 14th:

So the Van Nesses will possibly be gone for the month of August. Hands of Mercy is thinking about having us move down there for the month. That's huge. And exciting. It would most likely require me leaving my job. That is a major change. I am praying. Trying to hear the Lord. Matt wants to go. I want to go. But is it for selfish reasons? Is it just so that I can get away from my job -- which I do not like at times?

A trip to Lewiston, Idaho (and Clarkston, Washington)

I may be a month late, but at least I am posting pictures, right? Well anywho, last month, my bro's baseball team made it to the NAIA College World Series. Matt and I had a little spare change sitting around (okay fine it was our tax return) and decided to make the trek, this just may have been his last baseball outing -- which is really weird. This trip was a lot of firsts for us, including our first flight further than NorCal together, first rental car, first college baseball world series, etc. My parents went last year, and I think they enjoyed showing us the place. I had every intention of posting my mom's wonderful emails, but was just too pooped to do it. She just needs to start her own blog. It would be good, promise.

Okay, so this is the fab 4. haha Not really, but it was fun sitting in the stands with these 3 wonderful people.
Mama, My Mom, and I at the River. 3 generations. I love it. But don't mind my squinting! haha
Me and my Bro. As always, I am super proud of him. And I miss him! (come visit please!)
Genny & Mom. 2 moms -- in their son's jerseys. How cute, right? I know...
That my lil bro warming up. He doesn't bat tho, so yeah.. haha I stole a few of these pics from my mom, by the way. Thanks mom!
We spent time with my dad's cousin, Brian, his wife Debbie and their son Jimmy from Haiti (they finally got him after the earthquake). They drove 3 hours each way to visit with us! Their daughter just finished playing at the softball world series in Kansas or something.
The 5 of us after the last game (that we saw). Such a wonderful experience!
Me and the hubs in the stands. Aren't we just the cutest ever? haha This makes me miss my long hair though!
See the woodland / river creature in the picture below? I can't remember what we finally decided it was. Some animal thingie.
High fives after a win!

And there you have it. A few pics from our time in Idaho & Washington. It was very spontaneous for us, which is definitely not the norm, but it was wonderful. If you want to see what we ate, check out my post at Newly Wife. Mom, I will try to get these up on Fbook soon, I swear! haha

Home Improvements

Just a few pictures of the house - from day 1. And some major thanks that we owe to people. As I find more pictures of the work days. I will try to post them here. You can see the knife "fooded" to the stove, as the hubs says. And the last picture is our first night in the house -- our bed in the living room, because our room still needed texturing & paint on the ceiling. Oh how much better the house is since then! Thanks to everyone who helped.