Here is our most recent picture! Gary and I decided to take Charlie down to Venice Beach CA and to Universal Studios. We stayed at a studio rental three blocks from the boardwalk and the beach! We had a BLAST! This was our biggest vacation Gary and I have ever done together and it was SO well worth it! We went to Universal Studios two days in a row and let me tell you by the second day we were all just spent! So we decided to stay another day so we could just RELAX! Then we took the LONG drive home all in one day! I think we were all a little delirious by the time we did get home (10 hours later) but like I said it was a trip WELL worth it!

    So where are we now three weeks later?! Gary and I decided to do something that was completely unlike us, go back down to Venice Beach! It is SO beautiful down here! We decided to just be spontaneous and just go! We also came down to do some research on Venice, CA, only because we fell in love with it here! This visit will be a shorter one, last time we came with Charlie we stayed almost a week but our rental was only available for three nights this time. It is AWESOME here! The vibe and over all feel here is just SO different than it is in Chico. We are just waiting on God to open some doors for us!

    Gary and I have been doing the Dr. Oz way of eating for the last four months. Gary has lost over 50lbs and I have lost about 20lbs. What we have mainly done is completely cut out four legged friends, we only eat chicken, turkey and fish. We have tried to eliminate processed foods as much as possible and have increased the  amount of fruits and veggies we eat. We have also been a lot more conscious of what we drink because a lot of these “good for you” drinks have added crap in them which can either help you or cause you to gain/keep weight on.

    We hope all is well with you and your families! Remember you are blessed and you are a blessing!

It's Official!

Well it’s official! Gary and I are now engaged! :) We went to our cabin in mendocino last week for a couple of days and on the last morning he got down on one knee and asked me if I wanted to be his wife :) of course I said yes tears and all! I wish I had a picture of this beautiful blue Diamond so i could show the world!

Gary and I started a new eating plan about 3 weeks ago, we are just eating healthier and following Dr. Oz’s guidelines for a healthful waist line! Even though we went on vacation and ate seafood a couple of times Gary still managed to lose 16lbs in just 3 weeks! I have no idea how much weight I have lost but I am really excited for our new lifestyle! If we are just mindful of what we eat and drink and how much of it we do we can be successful at managing our weight!

It is getting hot here in Chico CA! Yesterday it was 90 degrees! This will be our first summer in our new place (which is only upstairs with no central heat and air)! But we are just going to do our best to cope well, LOTS of fans!

I hope all is well for everyone and as always remember you are blessed!

I know FINALLY an update!!

I know, I know it has been FOREVER since I have written! Life has been just a little crazy :) Charlie started the 1st grade this year and we are very excited with his new teacher Mr. B. It is pretty cool the teacher sends home with interactive home work. Like for example last week he had Charlie stand on one foot while he counted in 5’s and 10’s! Charlie will be seven at the end of the month which he is very much looking forward to.

    Samantha started her 10th grade year this year. She is doing All Stars cheer leading which is separate from the school. She loves it and is doing well. As most 15 year old teenage girls she has a ton of friend’s and always seems to keep busy!

    I also started school a couple of weeks ago. FINALLY got all of my classes figured out! I am taking Nutrition Diet Therapy and Read III. My Read teacher likes me a lot and I have an A in her class on 100% of my assignments(I aced her previous class a year ago.) In my Nutrition class I am doing ok but more like a C :)

    Gary and I took the kids to Great Grandma’s house last month. We took them to the beach for the day and we all got sunburned except for Samantha. We had a lot of fun and it was great seeing and spending some  time with my family :)

    Gary and I have been together for 2 ½ years this month! We are planning another get away to our cabin over thanks giving break. We are VERY much looking forward to a vacation as it has been over a year since we have went away by ourselves.

    To all of my family on the east coast and the south I wish you the best and I hope and pray you and yours are safe!

This is the newest member of our family! His name is Chuck Norris (a name the humane society gave him). We like to call him Chuckers! He fits right in with our family! He’s just over a year old and we are happy to call him our own!

    


     Gary and I had a very quiet thanksgiving. We just had my in-laws over for dinner. The kids went on a cruise with their Mom and my family all went to Rohnert Park to celebrate at my Aunt’s house.

    We are VERY much looking forward to spending my birthday at the coast in Mendocino! We are counting down the days!!

As always be blessed!!

Welcome Fall!

Well fall is here in Chico!! I know our family is SO glad that the weather is cooling down and the rain is FINALLY here!

 Charlie started soccer about a month ago and he loves it! Gary and I go every Saturday and watch him practice. It’s great observing him learn how to work as a team and follow instructions. He also loves Kindergarten. It’s kind of funny because Gary and I have been able to spell things out that we did not want him to hear but now he comes home with new words and he recognizes words, I guess that will teach us:)


 

Samantha is doing well in high school. She is on the Chico High cheer leading squad and that keeps her really busy. She is also taking some college prep classes so with that cheer leading and all of her friends she is a typical 14 year old girl :)

 

Gary and I are about to celebrate out 19 month anniversary. I know I know its kind of silly to celebrate every month but we do :) I told Gary that after our 2 year anniversary we stop celebrating every month :) In two months and two days we go to the coast for my birthday! We CANT wait !

 

As always be blessed!

Well summer’s moving right along here in Chico! Charlie and Samantha start school on the 11th and they are very excited! We went to Charlie’s orientation for kinder garden and Samantha’s orientation for her first year of high school yesterday.  Charlie is incredibly happy to start school with the “big” kids. Samantha is on the JV cheer leading squad and of course like any other 14 year old has a TON of friends and a very chaotic life :)

Gary and I have recently bought Dr. Oz’s book YOU on a diet and we have started adopting the VERY healthy advice in it! Gary and I have both dropped 21lbs. within just the last 2-3 months. Most of it has been through just watching portion control and making sure we have HEALTHY food to munch on instead of grabbing what ever is available. We are starting his two week detox plan this Sunday and according to Dr. Oz we can lose two inches off of our waist! But Gary and mine’s main focus is to get healthy not skinny!

Gary and I will be celebrating our 17 month anniversary (woo hoo :)) here in a couple of weeks. And we are counting down the days when we go to the coast back to our Forrest Suite for my birthday at the end of December.

As always BE BLESSED!!

Summer is Here!

Well it's HOT here in Chico CA! And it's only going to get hotter! Well I finished school! I managed to get an A in my college study skills class, a B in my Gender Communication and a C in my health class! I've got about two and a half months til I start school again!

Samantha graduated from the 8th grade and is really excited about starting high school. She will be doing cheer leading and is going to cheer leading camp this summer.  Charlie starts kinder garden at the beginning of August and he is eager to go to the big boys school. He just finished T-ball and started his first Karate class this week.

Gary and I are doing GREAT! We will celebrate our 15 month anniversary here in a couple of days! I know I know who celebrates the months (hehee) well  we do! We are VERY much looking forward to going to the Mendocino for my birthday in December. We are going back to our Forest Suite that we celebrated our one year anniversary at.  Life is AWESOME!