Fri...Saturday Photo Dump

So Gil had off yesterday and I completely forgot that it was Friday. I feel like we spent the whole day eating and I am not sure why that is. We also spent the day doing Christmas activities, like wrapping presents. We put some presents under the tree when we were done but I had to take them back this morning because Aubrie thought she was allowed to open them. Today we are making popcorn and cranberry garland...hopefully Kai doesn't try to eat it off the tree. As of this week our Christmas shopping is completely done; next up is to clean the guest room and get our Christmas cards out.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Advent Calendar

Or as Gil is calling it, "The Christmas Countdown Calendar."

I finished it just in time. We started our first activity last night which was to start our Christmas puzzle (which is one of my favorite holiday activities.)

I wouldn't consider myself the craftiest person but I think it turned out really well. I got the idea for the calendar here. I used theirs as a general guide then went to craft stores to find things that would help decorate it. I ended up using envelopes as my pockets, (sealing them then cutting the shorter end to open it) scrapbook paper to decorate along with Christmas theme stickers.

Our activities include things like, drive to see Christmas lights, have a picnic in front of the Christmas tree, make Christmas cookies, watch a Christmas movie and have homemade popcorn, take a toy to Toys for Tots and make popcorn and cranberry garland, to name just a few.

I look forward to the years to come as our family grows and we create wonderful Christmas memories and traditions each and every day of December.

Happy December!

Rock Climbing in Joshua Tree

Gil and I decided for Christmas we would buy rock climbing gear. We bought it early and got the chance today to take it all for a test run.

One of the Marines Gil works with climbs all the time and his wife loves kids; so we all headed to JTNP today to do a bit of climbing. Alan taught us all we needed to know and more while Monica watched Aubrie.

Aubrie took to Monica like a fish in water. It was amazing. She had a blast playing in the sand and watching Mommy and Daddy climb.

I managed to get 3 climbs in and Gil got 4 in. His last run I was able to get a little on film. He isn't happy with it though because he falls at the end. I think it is still a cool video and gives everyone an idea of what we were climbing. We definitely got beat up but it was amazing how rewarding it is! At times you get stuck and think you can't do it or that your body isn't capable of moving a certain way, then you finally find a route and once you get past that tough spot you feel so proud and amazed that you were able to do it. I can't wait for our next time out but look forward to my hands healing in the mean time.

We had a blast and are so thankful to Alan and Monica for helping us learn this new hobby. We look forward to our next time out with them. Next time we are going to pack a picnic and make a whole day of it.

Pictures should be coming in the next few days.

Aubrie's First Steps and Other Happenings

October 31st while skyping with Grandma Desroches, Aubrie took her first step! It wasn't on purpose and she had no idea that she did it but either way I was proud of her. I am excited that our family can still take part in these big milestones even though they live across the country.

She has been pulling herself up and walking along furniture for what seems like months now. About 1 week before her first step she started letting go of the furniture and standing on her own. She is so proud of herself when she does this. She now will stand on her own give you a big smile and start clapping her hands. She could not be happier standing on her own and expects nothing but full on excitement from us when she does.

This week she has taken two steps to turn herself in a half circle and finally while skyping (but this time with Grandma & Grandpa Terry) she took TWO steps towards the iPad, with quite a bit of purpose.

Also in October I took Aubrie to Joshua Tree National Park (JTN Park) to take a few 1 year photos. This was the first time I was trying to get some real professional looking photos of Aubrie. It was quite a challenge and children are definitely hard to photograph but I think we got a few good ones.

Aubrie also got to help carve her first pumpkin. She enjoyed eating it a little more than pulling out the guts.

New weekly post coming this Friday. See you then!

Birthday Surprise!

So imagine being 3 months pregnant, asleep for an hour when you get a phone call from a friend (3 days before your birthday) asking you to come to your front door because she has something for you.

That is exactly what happened to me last month. I was thoroughly confused but crawled out of bed and headed to the door. I opened and and guess who was there!?

None other than my Momma!

Apparently this trip had been planned since last October! It ended up working out well cause not only was Gil gone but my Dad is in Germany so we got to keep each other company and celebrate my 25th birthday.

We really didn't do much. She helped/did a lot of the cleaning of my house which was very helpful and my house has never looked better. She helped deal with a housing situation we have been working on for a while now and we went out and celebrate my birthday with a few friends.

She got to meet a new friend of mine and get to know my friends a little better over dinner.

We started my birthday with a few presents and then went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Framaggio's. My friends, Meredith, Pat, Genevieve & Lane joined us for dinner and we had a great time. After dinner we stopped by our favorite frozen yogurt place, YoGurt Momma's as dessert. It was a really great night and I got some great gifts from my friends.

Sadly the next day I got a really bad headache which didn't go away before my mom left so we just spend the time taking Kai on walks and hanging out in the sun outback.

It was a really great time and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect gift for my birthday. It will be a birthday to remember for sure!

This is a picture of my mom and I on my birthday after dinner

Lastly I would like to announce a new blog I have created just for Baby D. So if you are interested, check it out. I will try and be good about updating it. http://baby-desroches.blogspot.com

Hope you are all doing well. Come back later this week because we will be announcing the sex of our baby!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and an exciting New Year celebration! We have had family visiting since December 15th and the whole family was here for Christmas. My parents left first and my brother and sister-in-law left shortly after to go on their honeymoon in Kauai. Now it is just the Desroches' left and we enjoyed a nice dinner in Waikiki for New Year's. Here is a family photo from Christmas morning.

More photos and details of the holiday season to come soon...when there is less family and more time.

Bob's Wedding

At the end of July I flew to Washington for my brother's wedding. It was a great wedding on the peaks of Mt. Baker. We were lucky enough this time to have almost the whole Everett clan together for this years wedding. The only one missing was Emily. She joined us a few days after the wedding (she was busy traveling around Europe at the time of the wedding.)

The night before the wedding family and close friends got together for rehearsal dinner at a local pub. We had some amazing fish and chips and chicken. After rehearsal my parents and I took my cousins to a great local ice cream place for desert.

Below is a picture of me with my cousins Jonathan, Katie and

Daniel.

Mom and Dad at rehearsal dinner.

The morning of the wedding was full of excitement. Lee had left a bag of bridal things at home. The wedding was taking place at Mt. Baker about an hour or so away. Everything turned out just fine though; some of Lee's amazing friends met us half way and brought the bag to us. The rest of the day went off without a hitch. While Bobby and Lee were getting married their friends were at Lee's parents house decorating for the reception. The ceremony was short and sweet over looking valley's and mountains. A friend of theirs married them.Their friends did an amazing job decorating the tables and buffet; everything was very natural and woodsy.

Their cake was nontraditional but looked great. It was so realistic.

There were delicious fresh berries to go along with the cake.

Lastly a beautiful picture of the bride and groom at the ceremony site. It was just breathtaking!

P.S. I must apologize for neglecting the blog. My plan is to try and post at least once a week. More posts to come about the trip to Washington.

One Year Anniversary!

Happy One Year Anniversary, Babe!

For Gil being gone I have to say it was a very good anniversary. Better than I would have expected.

Gil was able to call on skype and we got to video chat for the first time since he was gone and that really was the best gift ever! We were able to chat for almost 30 minutes. I couldn't stop smiling. It was so great just to see his face.

As an update: Gil is doing well. He is kept busy with work and exercise. Soon he will find out what his next job will be once he gets back home. We are both waiting anxiously to find out what it will be. Lastly, he loves and appreciates all of the mail he has received from family and friends and we would both like to thank you for all the support you have given both of us.

All in all the weekend was filled with pleasant surprises and I would like to thank all those who thought of us on our one year anniversary. Thanks for helping make it special.

Next up...Bob's wedding! I can't wait to be with all my family. I will see you in two days!

Last Week with Mom

Finally one last post on my parents visit. After Dad left, Mom and I spent most of our days walking Kai and organizing my office. Thanks to her I finally have everything filed and organized.

Here I am on the floor with Kai putting the file cabinet together. I am surround by all the other organizational bins we bought.

I couldn't let my mom come to Hawaii and not take her to the beach so this is us on our way to the beach. This was on the 4th of July and I got a call from Gil on our walk to the beach. I think we might have gotten more sun there talking to Gil than when we were laying on the beach.
Proof that Mom actually owns a bathing suit and went to the beach!
While at the beach we picked up a few more coconuts for Kai because she had just finished off her last one.
Kai with her 4th of July bow and coconut. She sure does love her coconuts. I do too! Saves so much money on toys!
I must say I am not a master of the grill quit yet but I sure did master our Kailua burgers!
Mom and I having our 4th of July meal; burgers, salad and corn on the cob. It was delicious!
Waiting for the fireworks to start. We had a great seat. Now I know for next year to get there early to get a parking spot.
Sadly Mom had to go home. Lucky us though Bob will be getting married on August 1st and the whole family will be back together. I can't wait to head out to Washington and celebrate with the family.

See many of you soon!

Help Around the House

One thing I have needed to do for a very long time is build a gate closing off the car port so the yard would be fully fenced in. My Dad was nice enough to help me build it while he was visiting. It took a little longer than we thought it would but turned out great! Below are a few pictures from the day.

Before:

Perfectly Level!

Finished Product!

Kai has enjoyed immensely the freedom that she now has! Thanks Dad!

Jimmy Buffet & Chinatown

One of the things my parents and I all wanted to do during their stay was to visit some of the great markets we have here. The first was the Kailua market right where I live and the second was the market in Chinatown. It was very large (3 different buildings) and was full of food items I had never seen. They had everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to pigs heads and brains. It was quit an experience.

Their vegetables were gorgeous! They were so vibrant and abundant.

Even though is smelled of meat and fish there were some amazing looking fish. There was just so much color throughout the market. The prices were unbeatable too!
After Chinatown we headed to Waikiki. I had been waiting until my Dad got into town to try Jimmy Buffets new restaurant, The Beachcomber. It was really neat! The whole place looks like you are under the water or sitting on the beach looking out at the beach. They have booths that were under waves and palm trees all over the place. Of course it wouldn't be a Jimmy Buffet restaurant without some great music. Each booth had a t.v. showing music videos and every night they have live music. To top it all off they had great drinks and food!
This is the dessert that all three of us shared and we still weren't able to finish it!
After lunch we walked down the main strip and took a few touristy pictures.