Grandpa Don's

On our way back from Cali we stopped at my dad's in Mesquite for dinner. After that long drive we needed a break from being in the car! It's no secret that Sasha loves animals and that she is a total ham. Here are some examples. . . .

Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas this year. I feel very blessed to be where I am in life and that includes all those that I am surrounded by.

California Love

Here are some highlights from our recent trip to California. We spent most of the week in Carlsbad in a great place right on the beach. Then we went up to DisneyLand for a day! We met up with our friends the Perkins' and the Naccaratto's. We only hit about five rides, but it was still a fun day. More crowded than we thought it would be, but it was still fun. It was great to see the park all decorated for Christmas. One thing you can always count on with Disney- they go all out. No detail is ignored, they think of everything!

Our friends the Perkins'. They live in San Diego and met up with us for the day.

The castle looked so cool all lit up and sparkly! I wish I could get my house to look like that at Christmas, that would be awesome!

Our friends the Naccaratto's. They live in LA and also met up with us for the day.

I took this picture inside It's a Small World. They had it all decorated for Christmas , it was so cool!
We got to meet Mickey! Sasha was asleep when we went into Mickey's House so we woke her up just before we got in there to meet him. I think if she would have been more awake she would have looked happier in this picture. Her favorite cartoon to watch in the morning is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. After we got our picture and were leaving she reached out and touched Mickey's hand and waved goodbye to him. It was so cute!

This was on our first ride- Winnie The Pooh. Sasha had her hands up the whole time, not sure how she felt about it all. After we did the Haunted Mansion she loosened up and by the time we got to Small World, she was having a blast!

This was dinner one night in La Jolla. A great restaurant called Burgundy.

Playing on the beach in Carlsbad. Sasha loves the beach!

She didn't really like the freezing cold water, but she laughed anyway. :)

Love this picture.

Hanging out at the hotel in St. George.

Eating some ice cream. She picked up on how to eat an ice cream cone real quick!

Family portrait at the beach!

Job Update

Yes, I have a job! I actually got the offer a little bit ago, but we've been on vacation so I wasn't able to post. :S So, I will be working for a company called Fiserv. Most of you have no idea what company that is or what they do, but at least I won't have to explain that I work for Fidelity-not-Fidelity-Investments-but-a-different-Fidelity-that-does-banking-technology-stuff anymore. Fiserv is actually a competitor (the biggest) of my old company and they do pretty much the same stuff, just more of it. I'll be doing a little bit of sales but mostly supporting salespeople that do what I used to do . . . you know, extensive traveling, meeting with clients, meeting sales quota's, etc. I will be traveling much, much less, just to the occasional conference or user group meeting. I can work in the office or work from home, which is a very nice thing. It is a pay cut from what I used to get, but should hopefully be a stress cut as well so I don't mind. :) I start on January 4th and I'm excited. It will be great to have a new challenge and meet new people. I still miss a lot of my old co-workers, but hopefully they will still be nice to me, even though I'm "working for the enemy."

Happy 1st Birthday Sasha!

Someone at the party told me that if I keep up this level of party for my daughter, by her 18th birthday I'll be speaking to them all from the front of an airplane saying "Okay everyone, thank you for coming to Sasha's birthday party. Please buckle up and settle into the first class cabin. We'll be landing in Europe in about 17 hours." I didn't think I went that overboard! You be the judge. I had a great time putting everything together and I think it turned out to be pretty fun.

I love this banner! I think it will be used for many birthdays to come!

My friend Lindsay W. made the delicious cake and cupcakes. I made the cute little pics on my cricut. I am so in love with these! I had to save some for the scrapbook. :) (If you click on the Bombolo Creations button on the right side of my blog it will take you to her blog. She makes some amazing cakes!!)
My flat-top cake pops.

Before the "destruction"I had hoped that she would dive in and make a huge mess of this cake, splattering it all over the walls, the floor, herself. No. Instead my daughter starts to pick the white frosting snowflakes off the top of the cake . . .

I finally had to dig her hands in there myself and it still didn't get that messy.

She got lots of great presents from her friends and family. Thanks everyone!

Grandma DeEtte gave Sasha her first piece of luggage. I love it!

Just about everyone at the party.

Thanks to everyone that came. My little girl sure is loved!

Ride 'Em Cowgirl!

Grandma Lilly gave Sasha this adorable rocking horse and she loves to ride it!

I just love this face!

Major cuteness

This is about the messiest my kid gets. It's totally my fault that I will probably never have one of those pictures where she is covered from head to fingers in food because for some reason it just drives me crazy! But we were having fun and she did get a little messy . . . and she's getting to be such a ham! She gets the camera now and I can get her to smile pretty good for me. I love it!