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Our Hawaii Babymoon

The doctor said we could only travel until the 28th week, so we packed our bags and headed to Hawaii for some R&R at the end of September. The timing was perfect, Christie had just finished her busy time at work with the successful completion of another year-end audit and Shaun was about to begin another quarter-end reporting time. You can see some pictures from our trip by clicking on the picture to the right.



We spent 3 wonderful nights at the Maui Westin Spa & Resort on Kaanapali Beach. We enjoyed laying out by the pools and going for dips in the pool and ocean to cool off. We did leave the resort a few times, venturing in to Lahaina for lunch at the Hard Rock and some shopping, a drive towards Hana to experience some waterfalls (which were mostly non-existent due to the drought), and dinner at Duke's.



From Maui, we flew to Oahu to experience a different island. We stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki which was right on the water and had a great view of Diamond Head. We rented a car for 1 day and drove all around the island. We checked out Pearl Harbor, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, the North Shore, the blow hole on the east coast, and of course, the Hard Rock Cafe. We got to see some cool sea turtles up close on the North Shore. Then we went snorkeling at Hanama Bay early the next morning and Christie got to swim with a sea turtle. It was so peaceful...we still haven't gotten the underwater camera pictures developed, but we're hoping there are some good pics of the turtle.



It was an absolutely amazing vacation. We have been so fortunate to be able to travel the world and experience so many different places. Hawaii is definitely a place we will go back to. We even talked about going back with our little one in the very near future. Only time will tell if we do, but Hawaii definitely seemed like a family-friendly place. We do realize that our travel will be reduced over the next few months especially once this little one arrives, but we are super excited about our new adventure.

Who said Baby?

We did! Yep, that's right...we are turning our family of 2 in to a family of 3 (well 4 if you count the Tiki Man)! Right before we left on our Europe trip, we found out that Christie was pregnant!! After only three months of trying (TMI, we know), the stars aligned and well...you can see the little peanut below at our 10 week ultrasound. When we got back from our vacation we scheduled a doctor appointment for the 8 week mark to get everything we already knew confirmed which meant we could share our exciting news with the family.

After the 10 week ultrasound we got to see the little one and hear it's heart beat for the very first time. WOW, that was truly an amazing moment for us first time parents. With that milestone behind us, it was soon time to share the news with the rest of the world! Many of you probably heard the news either via email from one of us or by looking on facebook.

Good news spreads fast and before we knew it, it was already time to have another ultrasound at 12 weeks. This picture is quite a bit more blurry compared with the first picture but you can certainly see how much the baby has grown in just 2 weeks.

We are so excited to be starting this new adventure and can't wait to share the new FAMILY adventures with you via this blog (if we can just stay on top of it). Thanks for your love and support!

Not again?

I have found that I am not a good blogger. I can't really promise that I will get better at updating this, but hopefully I will.


We do continue to have adventures. To celebrate our third anniversary, we had a wonderful vacation in Europe this past May. We flew to London where we spent 3 amazing days exploring the city. We then flew from London to Copenhagen where we spent 1 day before boarding our ship and cruising to Stockholm Sweden (actually dropped anchor off Nynashamn), Helsinki Finland, St. Petersburg Russia, Tallinn Estonia, Gdansk Poland, and Oslo Norway before heading back to Copenhagen. It was an amazing trip and we loved seeing all the different ports. You can see some of our pictures by clicking on the Europe 2010 slideshow to the right.

Where has the time gone?

I swear we've done stuff since our Italy trip in May...my goodness I'm bad at updating this blog. Sorry, if there is anyone who actually counts on getting updates this way. Well, better late than never I guess.

We obviously had a wonderful time in Italy. But since that last update, here is a list of some of the things that kept us busy and entertained:

• Trip to Napa for some wine tasting and hot air balloon adventures
• Two weddings - congrats to Karen & Omar and Chitra & Sunil
• Camping with friends at Dogwood
• Multiple Angel and Dodger games (you do remember how we spent the evening before our wedding....right?)
• Explored the San Diego Wild Animal Park with the Millers
• Saw a few concerts including Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, and Joe Perry (but not all at the same time - although that would have been a GREAT concert)
• Enjoyed the 2009 UCLA football season from the shady side of the Rose Bowl
• Saw Spamalot and Rent (we needed a little culture)
• Spent a long weekend in Yosemite and hiked to the top of Nevada Falls
• Welcomed two beautiful nieces in to the world
• Went on a wonderful cruise to Mexico over Thanksgiving week
• Saw UCLA basketball at the Wooden Classic held at the Honda Ponda
• Trekked around Disneyland and California Adventure
• Celebrated Christmas with both families, and
• Welcomed in 2010 with a yummy fondue dinner in the comfort of our own home

Whew...was that all?? I guess when you start looking over your calendar from the past 8 months, you sure can come up with a list of things you've done. We have obviously been enjoying life and seeing and doing all that we can. I'll try to get some pictures posted here soon, so you can see some of the sights we saw.

Hopefully in 2010 I will be better at updating this blog.

Ciao Bella! We loved Italy!

We recently celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary by spending 10 fabulous days in Italy! We had such an amazing time enjoying the sights, the food, and the gelato!

We started our trip in Rome and visited most of the "must-see" places there. We walked the city and saw Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Colosseum, Forum and everything in between. We spent quite a bit of time in Vatican City checking out the museum, St. Peter's Basilica, and climbing the Dome.

Here we are at the Colosseum

The next stop was Florence. We took in most of the sites in town including the Ponte Vechio, Academia with The David, Uffizi, the Duomo where we climbed all 430 something stairs to the top, and all the magnificent piazzas and pizzas! While in Florence, we took a bike ride through the Chianti/Tuscan countryside and enjoyed some wine tasting at Castello Popiano and a lovely Italian lunch.

Sunset over the Arno (behind us is the Ponte Vecchio)

Our last stop was Venice. We decided this was a perfect last stop to our Italian adventure since it seemed to be a slower paced city. We enjoyed St. Mark's square, our Grand Canal cruise, visiting Murano, riding the vaporetto, the peaceful gondola ride, canal side dining, and just strolling down small streets and finding little canals everywhere.

Standing on the Rialto bridge overlooking the Grand Canal

We posted a ton more pictures on our picasa website. We have separate albums for our time in Rome, Florence, and Venice. We hope you enjoy!

Adventures at Sea World

We finally made it to Sea World with Shannon, Michael, Kiersten, and Brodie. Kiersten has been wanting to show us around for some time now but we had never figured out a date to go. We originally thought she would show us around the zoo or the Wild Animal Park, but she insisted that she "likes Shamu Rocks!" So Sea World it was!


We had a great day exploring the different habitats and checking out the rays, penguins, polar bears, manatees, sharks, fish, Shamu...the list goes on and on. Kiersten definitely knew her way around and made sure that we saw the dolphin show, pet show, and Sea Lion & Walrus show with Biff.


We made it through the day and over to the Shamu stadium for Shamu Rocks. The music came on and Kiersten was singing along to "I love rock and roll" but then fell asleep before the real show started. SO cute!

Here we are in the polar bear cave with Kiersten.

You can check out some of the pictures in the slide show to the right.

We need to make plans to go again because we bought fun passes - 1 day pass that gets you in through December 31. More fun is sure to be had at Sea World before the year is over!

Arizona Spring Training

We took a mini vacation and headed to Arizona to catch a few Spring Training baseball games. We saw a couple in 2007 when we were out in Florida, but now this year both of our teams were in Arizona. On this trip we were able to see both the Angels and the Dodgers. Our friends, Chris and Abby, joined us as we took in the sun, the games, and some good food!


Here are just a few pictures from the trip. If you would like to see more, check out the slide show to the right. (Sorry for the strange formatting in this post - the way we uploaded the pictures was weird and we couldn't get rid of the big spaces).

Picture as we drove into Arizona.

Our first baseball game was at the Angel's Tempe Diablo Stadium. We got to the stadium around 10:30 so we could check out the team practicing.

Checking out the city at dusk - watching to planes come in to Phoenix.

Enjoying the Cubs game.

Enjoying wine at Bar Bianco. The wait to eat at Pizza Bianco was 4 hours and after 2 hours of drinking wine and eating appetizers, we decided they weren't actually lying about the time.

Checking out the new Dodger stadium. Camelback Ranch in Glendale.

The sunset on the drive home.

Thanksgiving Adventures in Maryland & DC

Now that it's almost Christmas, we thought it was time to update the blog with what we did for Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving we headed off to Maryland to visit Christie's sister and brother in-law, Jenn & Tony. They live in Annapolis, MD which served as our headquarters as we explored the area. We don't want to bore you with too much detail, but if you'd like to view more pictures from our trip, there is a slide show just to the right.

Day 1 - We explored Annapolis by foot. We walked around some of the old State buildings as we made our way to the US Naval Academy. Jenn & Tony both went there so we had the best tour guides you could have. We walked along the water before checking out the new indoor athletic complex, Bankroft Hall, and then heading towards the Chapel where we went into the Crypt of John Paul Jones.

In Front of the Old Maryland Capital Building

Walking around the US Naval Academy

Day 2 - Exploring Baltimore. We visited Fort McHenry which came under attack during the War of 1812. This is where Francis Scott Key saw the American Flag flying and wrote the Star Spangled Banner. We also took a tour of Orioles Park at Cambden Yards and went on the USS Constellation.

Day 3 - First day in Washington DC. We took the Metro in and took a tour of the Capitol Building and checked out the National Archives and a few museums including the Air & Space, Art, Natural History, and American History. The original flag that was flown at Fort McHenry has been preserved and is currently at the American history museum.

Day 4 - Second day in DC but this day we drove in to the city because we had arranged for a White House tour. The rules for that tour said you could only bring your wallet, keys, and cell phone. We wouldn't feel like tourists without our cameras, so we left those in the car and retrieved them after the White House tour. Our tour was a bit delayed because they needed to "secure the area" which we believe coincided with the President pardoning the turkey. After the tour we headed to lunch and then to the Washington Monument. We purchased tickets in advance online so that we didn't have to get to the monument super early (tickets are given out on a first-come, first-served basis and go fast). We highly recommend going online to buy them - it's only $1.50 a ticket rather than being free. We enjoyed seeing the city from way up high. After the monument we headed to Mount Vernon to see where George Washington lived. We didn't have much time to visit, but still were able to make it around most of the property which was cool.



Day 5 - We celebrated Thanksgiving by hosting some of my sister's neighbors for breakfast. We made Danish aebleskiver which was a hit. Of course we made too many so we were able to enjoy leftovers the next day as well. The rest of the day we really didn't do much - I think we were exhausted from the previous 3 days of exploring. We did make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. Dessert was triple chocolate pecan pie and apple crisp. Everything was so delicious.

Day 6 - Black Friday shopping is always a must, but this year we didn't set any alarms so that we be at the stores when they opened. We woke up leisurely, ate breakfast and then headed out around 10:00. We actually were still able to get the stuff we wanted.

Day 7 - We decided to check out the Maryland wineries. They certainly don't make California quality wines (don't we sound like wine snobs) but the ones we tasted were surprisingly good. We enjoyed the scenic drive and time together. The day ended with a great meal of "small plates" and a little more wine.




We headed back home early the next day knowing we had a great time visiting Jenn & Tony and checking out the areas around Maryland and DC.

Halloween time at Disneyland

After work on Friday, we headed to Disneyland to have a little fun - eat corn dogs, ride on a few rides, and watch the fireworks. What we didn't realize was that Friday was the first day of their Halloween time. The place was all decked out and we had fun checking it all out.

Camping Fun

We needed a little time away from our usual routine, so we headed to the mountains for some clean air and a little down time. We have found a campsite near Lake Arrowhead that we enjoy going to. It has flush toilets (a must) and we've gone there a couple times so we know which sites are better than others. It's not too far from civilization...on Friday nights you can hear the high school football game cheers if it's a home game and if we want some ice cream, there's a Rite Aid about 2 miles away. But for some reason, sleeping in a tent, sitting by a campfire, and just being is a great way for us to unwind. Here are a few pictures from this last trip. And as I write this, we are thinking about heading back in a couple of weeks before it gets too cold in the mountains.

Our super huge tent - we've actually gotten pretty good at setting it up.

This is a good view of the inside of our tent.

On a little hike down from our campsite.

Hanging out by the campfire.

Sunset through the trees.

Our raging camp fire.

Truly one of the best parts of camping...s'mores!

Summer Fun

I can't believe we haven't posted anything since our Oregon trip. We really have been keeping busy having fun around southern California. Today we are just at home watching college football games and staying cool, but here are a few pictures of our recent adventures.

Celebrating Christie's birthday at Five Crowns in Corona del Mar.

Trying out the new ride at California Adventure. This is now one of our favorite rides.

We also checked out the Finding Nemo submarine ride at Disneyland. Glad we went on the ride but also glad we didn't wait 2 hours.

Dodger Game on a hot Sunday afternoon.

Enjoying the last summer concert at the Mission in San Juan Capistrano. We had fun listening to the Fab 4 - a Beatles tribute band.

Enjoying Labor Day at the first UCLA football game of the 2008 season. UCLA took on Tennessee at the Rose Bowl and won, 27 to 24. It was an awesome game.

Sunset at the Rose Bowl.

Just like us, Tiki is also trying to stay cool and taking a lick of his first ice cube.