Whirlwind Day

So on Tuesday the 23rd my company flew me, Lupe & Crystal down to Oakland (icky) California for an annual manager's meeting. Since I was out sick the Friday before I wasn't even told until Monday and good thing Ray was able to get the day off to stay home with Elli! I set my alarm for 3:37am and Lupe and Crystal picked me up at 4:35am to make our 6:15am flight! We got to the airport at 5:00am and got stuck in a LOOOONNNNGGGG line at security! We made it through, stopped at the restroom, bought a coffee and then heard our last call! Lupe barely made it because he had to go back to the Starbucks line (I had just stood in this long line) to get a muffin! Thank God he made the flight - he hates to fly and would most likely not do well without us there! The flight there was fine - no turbulence at all! We were definitely tired though! Once we landed we had to wait for a shuttle to the rental car. We had reserved a SUV but of course they had none! They asked Lupe if he wanted a Dodge Challenger instead and he immediately agreed without asking Crystal if she would mind - since she was in the backseat! We took one wrong turn on our way there - that was my bad since I was using the GPS on my phone but still trying to do my makeup! Once we found our exit we went to go some breakfast at Jack in the Box and walked out of there 10 minutes before we were supposed to be at the meeting! We met at Campo di Bocce in Livermore. We had a joint maintenance & manager meeting about how well the company as a whole and some accomplishments of some of the properties. We then broke up for lunch - the managers went inside and we had a nice salad, bread, chicken pasta & dessert lunch. It was really nice to be able to meet all the other managers from CA! Some awards were handed out and I got a pin for 3 years with the company! I'm almost on 4 years but that isn't until November. Then we had a speaker, Tammy Laurens, talk to us about selling on phone calls - she talked super fast but was very fun to listen to! Crystal and I both answered questions correctly after and got a cup of goodies and Starbucks card! After our meeting we all got to play Bocce together and it was a blast! Lupe, Crystal, Liz, Alianna, Brandy and I were on a team together and we won 13-6! I really enjoyed meeting everyone and did have a lot of fun! We left there at 4:00pm to make it back to the airport for our 6:50pm flight! After returning the car we made it to another long line at security. Crystal was smart and brought a change of comfy clothes and changed while we were waiting. Lupe actually met Gary Payton and got his photo taken with him - what a lucky guy! We then grabbed dinner at California Pizza Kitchen - BBQ Chicken & Roasted Garlic Chicken! Crystal and I sure smelled yummy! The flight back had some turbulence but wasn't too horrible - we were just so happy to have made it home! We were like zombies walking all the way back to the car! Going back to work on Friday was exciting to share with the team but I could hardly keep my eyes open from working a 16 hour day and being up for 20 hours!

Leaking Roof

So last week when I got off of work and was about to get into my car, I noticed water all over my steering wheel, seat and floor of my car! I checked the sunroof and the windows but couldn't figure it out. There was water dripping from the ceiling! At first I thought something was wrong with my windshield but there was inches of water sitting in the ceiling. There is about two inches of space between the ceiling and the actual metal/glass of the roof. The majority of my roof is glass but I couldn't see anything wrong on the outside. I had to pick up Elli but as soon as I moved the car a waterfall came down all over the front of the car and me! I was SOAKED! I could squeeze the ceiling material and water would come gushing out! Thank God that Angela was nice enough to come and help me wipe all the water up before my drive home! She even gave me a hug since I was crying I was so upset! Well it turns out that the sunroof's seal isn't really a tight seal and there are drains that are supposed to drain the water...apparently the drains can get clogged which causes the water to back up in the ceiling! SERIOUSLY?!?!!? This is a normal problem with Land Rovers? I really just paid that much money for a car that can leak? I was just getting to the point where I was over the hate for the car and just dealing with it - until last Wednesday. I HATE this car! All anyone has ever paid for with Land Rovers is the name - there is nothing great about this car that is worth the money they charge! Our Chevy is hands down a better car! We are on the hunt to find a sedan at this time and just rolling over our negative equity into the new loan. I just can't stand paying for something I hate! I just hope we can find a dealer to work with us and a car that we will love - since we may be going down to 1 car soon!

Elli's 1st Ever Zoo Trip

In June my cousin, his wife and their daughter all came down here to WA to visit for a week. We got to meet up for dinner one night at aunt Nancy's and it was fun to watch Elli interact with Della! They live in Alaska and we hardly ever get to see them so it's always a treat when we do!

Kent, Breea & Della

Della and Elli playing in the yard

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa with the girls

On June 23rd Elli got to go on her 1st trip to the Zoo. My mom, dad, Grandma, Grandpa, aunt Mardel, uncle Tim, Kent, Breea and Della all went to Woodland Park Zoo for the day. I had just found the most perfect zoo outfit at Old Navy for Elli and was a little sad I wasn't able to get the day off of work to join them! Elli had a wonderful time though seeing the animals and spending time with family. At the entry to the zoo Elli made friends with a little 4 year old boy, he was so cute he gave her a kiss on the top of her head to say goodbye! She is so very social,  I love it! Since Great Grandma got a wheelchair, Elli enjoyed holding hands with her while they were strolled together. My mom of course made sure to get a lot of photos for me! She even got a photo of Elli and Della on the big hippo statue for me! My mom said that after one diaper change at the zoo she changed Elli's outfit because it was too difficult to get on and off! At least she looks cute in whatever she wears! Some of her favorite things were pushing her own stroller, the bolts in the barn, and any statue. Elli was a very good girl the whole day even without a nap - she definitely crashed out on the drive home though!

Getting ready to enter the zoo!

She made a friend at the entry gate

Enjoyed holding Great Grandma's hand

Mommy's favorite - the hippo!

Would rather walk than be in her stroller

Really liked banging on this ball

Such a big gorilla hand

Such a Grandpa's girl

Didn't want to cooperate for a photo

Another fun statue

All she wanted from the Zoo Store was a poster

A wonderful day at the zoo!

Elli's 1st Birthday

Wow have I been neglecting my blog!! I'm very sorry! Hopefully it doesn't happen again! I'm going to try and play catch up here so that I can look back in years and remember what happened. :) Let's start on Elli's Birthday!

In July we celebrated Elli's 1st Birthday! Oh what a year it has been! It has been absolutely amazing to watch her grow every single day! Each day brings something new that either we learn as parents or Elli has learned. She is an extremely animated little girl, she loves Max like he's her best friend, she is very social and will go to pretty much anyone, she is a great eater, she is very independant, she loves to dance, she loves shoes (thanks to Grandpa), she likes to figure out how things work, and she is obsessed with reading! I look forward to seeing her continue to grow & learn and become even more like Ray & I!

We had Elli's party the weekend before her actual birthday because we had a lot of other things going on in July. We had her party at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, hoping it would be a nice day and it was perfect! Ray and I dropped Elli off with auntie Jess and then got to the park at 11:00 to get a grill, tables and start setting up for the party at 2:00pm. She had a wonderful turn out of friends and family, we are extremely blessed! We served hamburgers, hot dogs and all the sides with help from Rhonda & Olga! We got Elli her own cake to eat along with a Winne the Pooh cake for all her guests. I heard the cake was great - I was too busy to have a slice! After she made a mess with her cake I took her down to the water to clean up. We then came back up and did presents - again what a blessing! Her biggest gift was from Grandpa Randy - he made her a cedar toy chest that will be part of the rest of her life! She got puzzles, books, little people house, camping chairs, toy pony, Violet (she deserves another blog), and many more toys! We had a wonderful day celebrating and were so thankful for all of those that showed up! We were a little tired that night....

She absolutely loves her hippo camping chair!

On Elli's real birthday, a Thursday, Ray and I both took the day off to spend the day with her. We met up with Jess, Steve & Isaac and went to the Woodland Park Zoo. We had a wonderful time seeing all of the animals and being with our best friends! We got to see some monkeys up close, as well as a hippo that even made a hippo noise! Of course that was my favorite! :) I think Elli's favorite part was getting to walk and push her's or Isaac's stroller!

After a long day at the zoo we had to hurry home through traffic to meet our family with dinner and cupcakes. My parents, Rhonda, Randy and Shawna all came over that evening for Subway sandwiches, I know not exciting but I haven't even mentioned that I was catering cheesecake for a wedding, so Subway was the best I could do! We had a wonderful evening enjoying Elli, watching 'Yo Gabba Gabba' and of course opening more gifts!

We truly had an amazing few days celebrating our perfect little girl! Even more crazy to think how much she has grown since her birthday! I know that her 2nd birthday will be here before we know it!