Now You're My Whole Life...

Have a Cupcake....

2011-12-01T18:03:00.001-08:00

Fun Facts About Dr. Le
1. He likes Surprising People
2. He Keeps Up His End of the Bargain
3. He is Good Under Pressure

My OB, Dr. Duc Le who we like to refer to as "Dr. Lee Lee" told me at my 8 week appointment that we would be able to find out the gender of our little bun in the oven "at my 20-week appointment which would be in downtown Houston." Now, like I have mentioned in previous posts, Dr. Le has delivered babies for several of my friends and he told them the gender of their babies at 18-weeks. So, wanting to make sure things were going to be fair, I called him out on it..."Ummm...a little bird told me that sometimes, for your favorite patients, you will do an ultrasounds at 18 weeks??? ^Insert cheesy smile"

I think he was slightly bugged but only because I think he enjoys making you think otherwise and then springing a big surprise on you at 18 weeks. I should have let him have his moment, but I am just way too impatient for that...and then, what if I didn't obligate him to up front and he had a really busy day on my 18 week appointment and just decided to skip surprising me?!? What would I do?

So 10 very short weeks later, Dr Le kept up his end of the bargain :) As if I don't already sound like his most high-maintenance patient ever, naturally I had a favor to ask. I handed him a cute neon green card and told him not to tell us, not to hint or make a little Duc noise or anything about the gender. I asked him to just write the gender inside the card and to seal it up so Eric and I couldn't cheat and look when we got in the car. I told him we were having a little "Gender Reveal Party" with our friends that night which I think made him a little nervous...he said that made him feel a lot of pressure to make sure he read that ultrasound properly :) He took a good look, and waited for about 10-minutes for those little legs to open up (what a patient doctor!!) and then said he was 90% sure of what he saw. He jotted it down, licked, sealed and returned the card. It was torture to hold that card for the 10 minute drive to the bakery...

The bakery opened it, read the card and whipped up some delicious cupcakes with white frosting and a mystery pink or blue filling. That night we had several of our close friends over for the big reveal and they wore their team colors and grabbed their team drink:

Okay, pause, stop reading...imagine yourself drinking pink lemonade or glacier gatorade...

Which is it?? What team are you on??

This is Team Blue: Me, Julie, Stina, Channing,

Nate, Joey, Ryan and Chelsea (weird shade of blue huh?!)

Team Pink: Eric, Sharon, Nick (weird shade of pink too), Austin,

Houston, Elaina, Aaron, Charlene, Cooper, Chloe & Amber

Eric was trying to be on Team Pink with a blue shirt so I made him wear my pink scarf, ha!

The first bite...

This is what we saw:

and the reaction...I like to high-five instead of cry :)

We were so excited biting into this little nugget of goodness and knowing that we have a sweet little girl growing inside my tum-tum. It was great having these fun friends with us to share in this sweet

moment and we only wish our friends and family back home could have joined us...

I guess that is what blogging is for though...don't you feel like you were here???

Look how excited Cooper is about the news...

maybe he imprinted on her?! Ha...J/K...

Do you see the crazed look in her eyes? I think she was on an immediate sugar high...

So pink clothes & baby bows here we come!!!!!!

Sunny in Seattle...

2011-11-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

Weekend get-aways are one of my favorite things to do! A few weeks ago Eric and I met Matt, Charisse and Bella at Eric's parents house in Seattle. We had so much fun together and did a lot in a short amount of time. Of course there is always a lot of game playing, laughing and delicious food when the Chambers get together but this trip was extra fun because of a little day trip we took to Leavenworth. This cute little German town was settled in the late 1800s and still maintains the same German architecture and charm as I am sure it did back then. ALL of the homes and buildings in the town have strict building codes and architectural guidelines to make sure the German influence here is preserved. I absolutely loved it.

The day we went was the beginning of their "Fall Festival" so it was really busy but it made it that much more fun with all the events they had going on. I feel the need to insert "cute little" every time I talk about this town...its so funny but everything there did seem kind of dainty so I guess that's where the "cute little" comes from. So anyway, they had this cute little Scandinavian band playing music in Town Square and don't worry...they were in full uniform. The only thing missing were cute little wooden clogs.

We sat in the bleachers listening to them but then they started playing the Chicken Dance and everyone got up to dance...except us. None of us love to dance so we sat there contently watching, and kind of giggling at everyone. We got a serious scolding though from some cute, not so little, German woman who was repulsed that we didn't get up to dance. "WHY DO YOU EVEN COME HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO CHICKEN DANCE?!" she yelled..."Uhm, just to come see how fast you could flap your wings," I said. Just kidding...I wish I had the guts to say that...we were all silent and kind of afraid of her.

After that it was time for ice cream...and Bella loved her some German Chocolate ice cream :)

The next days we went to the Salmon Hatchery in Issaquah which is not too far from where Craig and Karen live. I had never heard of a Hatchery before so I was clueless until we got there and talked to the most interesting salmon enthusiast tour guide, who taught me everything I'll ever need to know about Salmon.

Fun Facts About Salmon:

-All salmon die after reproducing which is called "spawning"

- Salmon are one of the few creatures that can live part of the their life
in freshwater and the other in saltwater.

-Salmon find their home waters by sense of smell which is even more keen than a dog or bear.

They also rely on ocean currents, tides and the gravitational pull of the

moon to navigate back to the water they were born so they can spawn and die.

- In Washington, pink salmon runs only occur in odd-numbered years.

-Salmon on average produce 2,500-7,000 eggs.

-Salmon can jump 2 meters into the air when swimming upstream.

I came home from this trip and talked everyones' ears off about Salmon for a week...overboard, I know.

Then, probably my favorite part of the weekend was playing "Home Run Derby"

Craig, our sneaky pitcher, switched things up on the boys though...

SURPRISE!!!

I was kind of glad he spared us girls :)

He gave it a try too... I love these shots...perfect timing!

And this is my favorite picture...I just had to throw this in!

She just melts my heart :)

Seattle was so fun and I can't wait to go back again!

Avocado in the Belly...

2011-10-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

So as we know, I am really bad about writing consistently which is why this announcement is coming so late! I attribute my blogging absence to nausea, lack of energy and overall scatterbrained-ness but now that I am 16 weeks along and out of the "mono phase of pregnancy" I am SO excited to let the world know that baby Chambers is well on his/her way! We should find out which one of those to circle in a couple weeks...if blogger had such circling capability :) We found out August 22nd that my Eggo was 6 weeks Prego and we celebrated with a giggle-fest. I was so tired of getting "no's" that when I looked down and saw those two pretty pink lines, I couldn't help but smile and stare at the pee-stick for 10 minutes straight while giggling like the hyenas in The Lion King.

We had our first appointment with Dr. Le, who was referred to me by my 10 friends whose babies he delivered in the last year...he has a pretty good track record so far :) We keep joking that he needs to give out a punch card and when you refer 10 people, you get a free delivery...his business is set for life since he tapped into the Mormon circle. At this appointment we couldn't hear the baby's heart beat yet but we saw it on the screen and couldn't believe our eyes. The baby was literally the size of a sesame seed...isn't that hard to fathom...like a little speck on a hamburger bun. We proudly brought home our ultrasound picture, copied it and sent it out to our families...who probably wondered what they were looking at because it was a dot on a black screen. That dot has now grown from the size of a sesame seed to an avocado.

Side note story about avocados...I am sure many of you have heard this but I just have to write this one down for my fore mentioned future posterity :)

I was at dinner with a girlfriend at Grimaldi's, the best pizza in the world, and she asked what I liked on my pizza. I replied and told her pepperoni was my favorite but then she asked if I liked artichokes? "GROSS- I HATE sea food," I told her...

She immediately busted up laughing at my obviously retarded blonde moment. I had eaten artichoke dip before but for some reason I just didn't connect the dots that it was a vegetable and not anchovies. Embarrassing. I can tell this story though because it gets better and makes me not look so dumb.

So then I go home... my girlfriend comes along and when we walk through the door I see my sister, Laura. Now surely Laura can confirm that our family just didn't eat artichokes...so I ask her, "Laura, do you know what an artichoke is??" Her prompt and decisive answer was"Uhh yeah (like in a DUH tone)...You use them to make guacamole!" Haa Haa Haa...and that pretty much sums up the Case Girls for ya :)

So naturally every time I read on babycenter.com that our baby is now the size of an avocado, this is the story that comes to mind. Now our ultrasound pictures are looking MUCH more baby-like and we have been able to hear the heart-beat. Here is a little clip:

I love having Eric come to all the appointments with me...it is so cute to see how excited he gets, especially during ultrasounds :) Anyone who knows Eric knows how much he loves kids and what a great dad he is going to be. Speaking of dads...have you seen this video: Dad Life. I could literally watch it 100 times...oh wait, I probably already have.

Anyway, we are so excited for our next appointment where we will learn if this is a little girl or boy avocado!

UT/BYU Game in Austin

2011-09-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Roooaaaadddtrriiiippp!!!

I was so excited to find out I would be going to my (so sad to admit this...) first college football game SLASH first BYU sporting event, when the Cougs were scheduled to play UT. I was mostly excited because Eric bought me a cute retro BYU shirt and even more excited when I bought him one to match mine, ha ha. I know I'm so gay...

I was also really excited about this game because it was in Austin and we had never been there yet. We decided to make a day of the roadtrip and stop at a few national treasures along the way:

First National Treasure (or Municipal Treasure at least) was the San Marcos Outlets, home to Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Banana, JCrew and many more outlets. We spent a couple hours here wishing we had everything in sight and settling for a few work shirts for Eric and cute sweater from the Crew for me. Such a good start to the day...

Second National Treasure: The quaint little town of Gruene (pronounced [Gr-eeeeee/ n] like the color, not [Grew- eeee/n] like I mistakenly thought and was quickly reprimanded for by a local. My sweet friend Kelly told me about this delicious restaurant called Gristmill that I swear had the most outrageously delicious onion rings you've ever had. Warning: Your mouth WILL water when you see thee forementioned onion ring below.

Stop drooling...thats gross...

When we pulled into Austin later that day, naturally my eyes were peeled for all the hippies I had been told about. I saw one dude/girl (??) riding a bike in a bathingsuit but that was about the weirdest thing I saw. I actually immediately loved the city and kinda of ~~secretly~~ wished Houston was more like Austin. It was just so clean and urban feeling. I loved it.

Later that night we went to a fireside put on by the BYU football team where the players shared their testimonies and told their stories of how they came to play at Brigham Young. It was a really neat experience...even from the 2nd to last row on the stage past the basketball court where we sat...it was P-A-C-K-E-D! I am glad so many people came to hear what they had to say though...especially all the young kids who really look up to these players.

After the fireside we went to a delicious little gelato place called Tao where I learned what true love was. For those of you that know me, I am not a big ice cream/gelato fan...mostly beacuse it rips my stomach to shreds...sorry for the overshare. But not this time. "Salted Carmel..." (...insert: "Please") were the words that came out of my mouth as I handed the cashier that five dollar bill...and after the first bite, I realized I should have handed her a one hundred dollar bill. Oh my heck...I have never and will never have gelato this yummy again. It was literally thee most perfect combination of savory and sweet. You would think it was designed specifically morsel by morsel for my tastebuds by Chef Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen himself. Wait!?! Maybe it really was...maybe there was a hidden camera and I was a guest star on their show without even knowing it...maybe it will air on next weeks episode?? Lets all watch and see...

The next morning Eric and I woke up bright and early and headed to the State Capital building. Fun fact: this is the largest state capital in the Nation...naturally...the whole "everything's bigger in Texas" phrase right...

It was really neat though...we went on a little tour and learned a lot of random info that might come in handy someday if I am ever on "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?"

After the State Capital we went and picked up our dear friend Ashley who made the trip to Austin from Arizona just to see us...oh and maybe the game :) She is die hard folks. I have a thing or two about football to learn from her. You may also recognize her from the Mormon Bachelorette...she is kind of a big deal!! It was fun to see her and catch up...it had been way way too long. We all went to the BYU tailgate party where we also ran into our friend Mike which was such a fun surprise.

After the tailgate, it was time for the big show, the big HOT show. It was sizzling hot that day so naturally, my first move was to get this lime/banana/strawberry/watermelow icee AND nachos. Nachos are one of my favorite things about sporting events...especially when it is a baseball game...nachos definitely breathe some life into the Houston Astros games...not that the Cougars need the help!

My hair felt like a sweaty wet lion's mane on my neck and I definitely forgot to bring a hair tie...and Eric wouldn't let me borrow his (j/k) so I had to get creative. Thank goodness the icee straw wrapper was plastic and not paper. It was my lucky day. This saved me the rest of the game :)

I am so glad we came to this game...although we ~~lost~~ didn't win. It was SO much fun and I loved being there with Eric who was just in Heaven on Earth to be back in that blue shirt cheering on his Alma Mater. We had a blast in such a short amount of time and I wished we could have stayed a few days longer!

I Love Summer

2011-08-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Well its been long enough since my last post that I pretty much just need to summarize the last 3 months. I cannot believe how fast this year is flying by. Its already August...are you kidding me? I guess time flies when you're having fun. Here are a few summer highlights so far:

Cruise to Belize, Honduras and Cozumel...

We had so much fun together. It was like a little second honeymoon! Probably our favorite thing about cruising has to be the food...we ate, and ate, and ate! I will say though, after having traveled on Carnival and Royal Caribbean, the food on Carnival was 10 times better. I know, surprising right?! My favorite stop was Belize. We went on an excursion cave tubing in the rainforest which was so neat. We sat in our innertubes with headlights strapped on our forehead and floated through pitch black caves using our headlights to see all the crazy old drawings on the top of the cave...definitely recommend this in case anyone is thinking about a trip to Belize.

When we got back, Eric had to go work offshore on an oil rig for two weeks (something he had to do off and on for 5 months.) It was awful to have him gone so much, but my sweet sister-in-law, Charisse, and her beautiful baby, Bella, came to Houston to keep me company. Is she not the cutest baby ever?! Bella and Sadie hit it off right away :)

Reese and I had so much fun, eating...doing crafts...(I think we went to Joanne's like 9 times in 5 days, ha ha) and watching all of our favorite flicks, including Elf like 5 times in a row. "Thats Shocking"...right Reese?

I am so glad she was able to come and it made me wish she lived closer...she is the BEST.

For the last year or so I have been a leader for the 8-11 year old girls in our ward which I have absolutely loved! I have had so much fun getting to know them and do fun things together. I was recently asked to start working with the 14 & 15 year old girls in Young Womens though so I am going to really miss these cute girls. Katie...I guess you're going to have to find someone else to get the gum out of your hair now...ha ha...

One night after a dinner double date with Chelsea and Nate...we were stumped for something to do afterwards...so we went to Wal-Mart to walk around...so fun right? No, but it became really fun when we realized toilet paper was on sale which led us to our next festivity...

This took us right back to the glory days. I think Julie and Nick still have a little piece stuck in their tree :)

My next visitor this summer was...drum roll please...Mrs. Katie Nelson!!!

We had the best time just doing what best friends do...crafts, eating Mac N' Cheese shapes, Goodwill ...hunting for hidden treasures, shopping...a lot, eating...a lot, and watching fabulous re-runs of How I Met Your Mother (the funnies show ever, might I add.)

This pic was taken at Town Center where we went to watch the Sugar Land Idol competition...I wish I had a picture of when Katie got on stage and belted out a familiar Whitney Houston tune, I Will Always Love You. She won, and will have to return to Sugar Land for the finale competition at the end of August.

I wish that really had happened...

A few short weeks later, my birthday rolled around. It really has just been one big non-stop party summer! One of the redeeming factors about Hot, Humid, Houston is that is has a RA, Shushi Bar which is where the girls took me to eat. How cute and awesome are all these girls?! Thank you for a delicious dinner!

As if that wasn't enough, Eric coordinated with these sweet chicas to throw me a Surprise Birthday Party and I was seriously so shocked. We were on our way to "dinner" when he had to "stop by someone's house to get a manual for subbing to teach young mens the next day at church"...totally plausible right?!

The Grill Master...

The highlight of my birthday had to be this candy poster Eric made me...I die laughing everytime I read it...this will for sure make your day:

Thank you sugar for making my bday so special...oh, did I mention he hung "streamers" all over our bedroom?! A.K.A...toilet paper...a poor man's streamer...it was hilarious!!

More to come...

Running...and Running...and Running...

2011-05-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this post with "I am not a runner..."

A few years ago, the book "The Secret" came out (you made have heard about it on Oprah) and everyone in my office became obsessed with it...they talked about it at work...started reading it at an office book club and even organized a movie night to watch it together when it came out. It is all about visualizing your dreams and making them a reality. One of the things the book/movie talks about is making a "dream board." This is a poster with images of the things you hope to have or accomplish, cut out of magazines or printed online and pasted on. The idea was to put your dream board up at work so you are reminded constantly everyday of what you want in life. In case you haven't read the book, I'll let you in on the big secret that the title of the book is referring to. The secret is...if you think it, it will happen. You don't have to do anything..just think it. I don't necessarily agree with the premise in the book that "all you have to do is think it and it will happen..." but I do agree that it keeps those images and goals as the forefront of your mind.

So one day at work, our office of about 300 Realtors got together and created our dream boards. My board had images of the Temple, a diamond ring, a house, a cute Labrador puppy, a baby, Kelly Ripa's body (ha- who wouldn't want that), and of course an image of someone completing a half marathon (because I am such a runner, obviously...NOT!). Why did I paste on that running picture you ask???

I asked myself that question every morning that I woke up at 6AM, double knotted the laces of my neon green Asics, and stepped out the front door to have my ears freeze in the 28 degree frigid December air. If I just had left this image off the dream board, I wouldn't have felt so obligated to complete this lofty and what seemed at the time, impossible goal. While training for months I definitely regretted taking that Elmer's Glue to the back of that half marathon picture, but now that it is all over with I am so glad I did!

About half way through my training, we found out Eric was going to be out of town for work over the week of the race. I was so bummed that he wasn't going to be able to come and cheer me on, but my sweet Mother-In Law, Karen, booked a ticket from Seattle to come be there to watch. She is the best!

We had a delicious steak dinner the night before the race...I know you're supposed to eat pasta but steak just does it for me before a long run. Then we drove to Beaumont, about 2 hours East of Houston, where the race was. We got there at about 11PM, picked up the race packet and hit the sack!

I slept great that night...and EVEN woke up on time...

I was so paranoid I was going to sleep through my alarm but my body actually woke

me up before the alarm even went off! I love when that happens!

I made sure to get a good stretch in before this little jont in the park...

Here we are...Danika and I...she was the best running buddy ever!
If it wasn't for her, I definitely would have NEVER done this on my own...

So pumped....

Here we are at mile marker 4...not hating our lives yet...

This is definitely where the "Hating Your Life" came in to play...

BUT it felt SO good...SO SO good...

The last .1 mile was lined with people on each side of the road cheering and clapping for us which felt so good and really gave us the extra boost needed to finish strong. Crossing that finish line was the greatest sense of accomplishment I have ever felt and that moment made everything leading up to this day worth it! The race was tough but the adrenaline of the environment just kept me going and made it such a fun experience. Right after we crossed the finish line we were given our medals then we headed to Chili's with Karen and Danika's family for a HUGE delicious meal.

Karen was so sweet and got me this beautiful bouquet of flowers to congratulate me...aren't they so pretty!

All in all...I would definitely recommend running a half marathon to anyone who has ever thought about or considered it. It is an amazing experience and although tough on your body, its worth the hard work and sense of accomplishment you'll feel in the end.

Please just don't ask me to do it with you because I have a hard time saying "no"

and I am satisfied being able to cross this goal off of my Bucket List...and Dream Board.

Ringing in the New Year...Maui Style!

2011-03-07T20:16:00.001-08:00

I am writing this post much after New Years (do you see a pattern in all of my posts)...but luckily I do remember everything about this very memorable vacation. Needless to say, we did a lot of flying over the holidays. We felt so bad for Scott, Lindsay, Mark, Katy & the kids who were flying in from Salt Lake and their flight was cancelled. They had to wait a whole day for another flight so they missed out on our first day in Maui. These pictures are not to rub in what you missed guys, just to make you feel like you were there...ha ha ha...

See the woman in the background? No, she is not flipping off the camera...only offering a sweet "hang loose" for this precious mother-son photo opp. Only minutes later, she turned on us and told us to leave her alone, although we were only trying to order a taco from her (highly-rated in our Maui travel book) taco stand. Luckily, we weren't alarmed. We had read the footnote in the book that warned us the service was "a little snippy." We waited patiently before ordering and I said "What would you recommend?" She glares up at me and points down to the "menu" written on a poster board where I read "Do NOT ask the cook what she recommends...everything is good." OOPS! Should have read first. I went with the "I'll take what they're having" option and quickly scurried away. It must be a rough life "hanging loose" at the beach everyday...poor lady.

This is "Lovers Beach" where we took our delicious pineapple salsa'd fish tacos and gobbled them down. The boys took a dip in the water while Charisse, Bella, Karen and I got a head-start on catching rays. Apparently, this beach is used frequently for small weddings...it was so pretty.

This is the next icon for the Chiquita Banana version of Maui Gold Pineapple...we'll call her the "Pineapple Princess" from here on...

The Salt Lake crew finally arrived the next day, so of course we hit the beach...Eric and Anna hit the waves and boogie boarded for probably 3 straight hours. She was obsessed. The bigger the wave and the more sand in her pants, the happier this little ray of sunshine was! I think Eric may have even been more excited....this is what he looked like telling us about it later:

Speaking of sand in pants...lets talk about sand in eyes, sand in ears, sand in mouth, sand in diaper...Alyssa-lou had a blast with her sand pale! Look how darling her bathing suite is...she and Anna got matching suites from "Mamo" (Grandma.)

Brothers Reunite! It is always so much fun watching these guys get together. It is so neat to see how close they all are and interesting at the same time, to watch the "little boy" in them come out. Except when they start playing "Crotch Shot Challenge." This is a game where they lay on the ground and throw tennis balls at "each other" and see who is the most accurate. The first time I met Matt and Scott they played this and it ended in tears (don't worry Scott I won't rat you out for crying.) These guys had a blast though playing football in the water and throwing passes that were caught in crashing waves. P.S. Give Mark a break...he lives in Idaho...

I'm pretty sure this is the cutest thing I saw the whole trip. Bella Boo in her diva-liscious sunglasses. Yes, please!

Dan, Anna, and well all of us, had fun burying Eric in the sand.
What is a beach day without a buried body??

Anna got a touch of pink on those pretty cheeks from her day at beach so we
decided to make her nails match...so cute.

Craig & Karen came to Maui last year for Christmas (because all of their kids were at their in-laws that year) and they had come to this neat blow hole that they took us to see. The guys all waited patiently for a big splash...

And finally it came...

We took a quick shot after he was completely drenched by the blow...

Eric found a great big hammock for us to lay in, late one afternoon.

It was the perfect place to watch the beautiful sunset...

Dan was soo enthralled with the Coy Pond at the entrance of the Marriott. He wanted to sit and watch them all day: (Note Anna's jazz dance pose...so presh.)

I just had to stick this one in...too cute!

Craig & Karen were so sweet to sign us up for some amazing excursions! One day we went out to the Molokini Crater and went snorkeling where we saw some beautiful fish and even a HUGE Sea Turtle. Now we can say we have swam with Sea Turtles...checked that off my to-do list...

Another morning we went on an excursion to watch the sun rise at the top of the Haleakala Volcano. I can't remember the exact altitude, but lets just say it was UP THERE. We woke up at about 3:45 to meet our tour bus and go pick up some peeps at other hotels, then we made the journey to the top of the Volcano which took a couple hours. Once we were there, we bundled up like no other...it was freezing! It was so worth being cold though...this was literally the prettiest sunrise I have ever, and most likely will ever, see.

Yes, those are clouds...and notice the crescent moon? So neat!

Once the sun was up, we strapped on these hard-core helmets and rode bikes down to the base of the Volcano. It was so much fun! Just to clarify, when I say we biked, that means we sat on them and coasted the whole way down. It was effortless (bonus!) and beautiful to watch the scenery change as you came down thousands of degrees in altitude.

Again, just to clarify...this is what I mean by beautiful scenery:

I caught a small glimpse of what this guy felt: Double Rainbow.

(P.S. So worth clicking the link above.)

Needless to say, we were all a little tired after the early start we got that day...
Matt kept saying "I can't wait to get home and spoon with Eric."

Surprise!!! Reese is the best and threw a totally awesome surprise baby shower for Lindsay! It was so much fun. She went all out with games, dessert, decor and gifts. It was so fun to get to celebrate Lindsay and Scott's upcoming arrival with them since we all live so far apart. Way to be on top of things Reese!

Yet another beautiful Maui sunset...
This is the view from our condo which was just incredible!

In our Sunday Best...glad we got a big group photo! It seems like every family picture has a new face in it. This year it was Bella...next year it will be Scott and Lindsay's little girl :)

Last pic of the trip...we were so sad to say goodbye to this beautiful place!

Thank you Karen and Craig for such an amazing vacation :)

Christmas 2010 in Arizona...

2011-01-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Its always so fun to go back to AZ to visit! Eric had to work up until Christmas Eve so I went home a few days before him...it was a bummer he couldn't come sooner but it was nice to have to QT with the BFF Kate and to make the rounds visiting some other great friends and having girl chats!

I was also able to visit my friends Amanda and Marshall who just added this beautiful new addition to their sweet family, meet baby Brielle :

Below you can see my mom and sister, Laura, doing what looks like the YMCA...which they might have been. This was their first time playing "Just Dance" on the Wii and it was so entertaining watching them...

Josh, my little bro, is not so little anymore. Look at this handsome young man! I had so much fun hanging out with him over Christmas break. He is a stud Lacrosse player and I am so bummed I won't be home during his season to watch his games. Love you Joshie-mosh...and don't be embarrassed that I blogged your nick name :)

Eric finally got to town the day before Christmas Eve! We had fun hanging out with my family and went over to my Aunt's house for our annual Case Family Christmas Eve Party. Someone caught us under the mistletoe...where we spent most of the night...just kidding...but I owe this kiss to my cute little cousin Ashley for her adorable handmade mistletoe :)

Onto the White Elephant Gift Exchange...always a treat...Here are some of the highlights:

Erica got this SWEET hand-painted Apache Indian jacket...which she loved and I truly believe she will be caught wearing this around campus in Provo this winter!

Sidenote about the "Apache" clarification: About four years ago, Katie and I were driving around Arizona State's campus looking for food and she was like "Oh my gosh- there is my favorite Indian food place (pointing with excitement)" I, being niieve I guess, said "Indian food...like Apache?!?" She just busted up laughing and probably even tinkled a little bit...which I did too soon after she said, "oh my gosh...NO!...dot, not feather you idiot!" Then I realized they probably didn't have restaurants near ASU dedicated to serving frye bread. This is one of my favorite blonde moments.

Eric's White Elephant gift was this high-tech whoppy coushin that refilled with air after it was sat on. He had way too much fun with this on the plane ride home...

Onto the Annual Talent Show:

Dad and Uncle Brian rocked it on the guitar....and SURPRISE...Laura taught herself to play the guitar recently and had her big debut. She is so musically talented...I wish I had a video of this song...it was beautiful!

Christmas in Arizona was so much fun but it went way too fast...looking forward to the summer when we can go back to visit again.

Tis' The Season...

2011-01-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

I am seriously bummed that the holidays are already over but at least we have these awesome memories that I get to relive as I blog...

It was so fun to get all dressed up and go to Eric's work party at the downtown Hilton in Houston...it was a beautiful event and so fun to meet all of Eric's co-workers!

Speacial shout out to Lindsay Lund for taking our Christmas card pic this year...thank you so much...you are the best. Hopefully everyone reading this got our card...if not, please let me know because that means I don't have your address and I want to make sure to get one out to you!

Our first year putting Christmas lights up! We were one of the first ones on the block to do it, which I wish we hadn't been...if we had waiting we would have learned a valuable lesson. The trees on our street are VERY tall...there is no point putting lights along the rooftop because you really cannot see them! Next year we'll be doing things a little different...but it was so fun none the less!

Here we are topping the tree! It was fun to pull our tree out of the box and see it...we had bought it after Christmas last year super on sale so it was nice to finally get to use it!

Here we are at our Ugly Sweater party! Eric's sweater is a treasure from college that he whips out every Christmas! By the time I got around to finding an ugly sweater, all the goodwills were cleaned out...so I went the homemade route instead and glued ornaments, bells and other junk to my felt tree!

All the ugly man sweaters!

All the ugly lady sweaters!

And last but not least, Sophie and her cute Christmas bow :)

Sophie is Growing SO Fast!

2011-01-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

Sophie has really been a little dream puppy...after the first few weeks she started sleeping through the night (which made me a much more pleasant person to be around!) Here are a couple cute pictures of her over the last few months...you can see how dramatically she has changed!

Here we are giving Sophie her 1st bath! She was not a big fan of the water at first but now she loves it. Getting blow dried afterwards is still a major obstacle we are trying to get over though...she hates that part. Recently, she taught herself to turn on the bathtub faucet and drink from it, which is so cute but she hasn't learned how to turn it off afterwards so sometimes I find the water flowing on fullspeed...luckily the drain is never plugged...otherwise Sophie could single handedly flood our house!

Love this little face!!

Naptime with daddy-cakes.

Snuggling with me! Once a lapdog, always a lapdog...which is scary since she will be huge soon!

Loved those baby blues...now they are turning more greenish-yellowish...

She is a huge puppy now...and so so strong. I took her to the vet a couple days ago to get her 3rd vaccine and I couldn't even hold her still anymore. The vet just looked at me and said "I'm going to get some muscle in here..." Thanks lady...glad you think I am a whimp!

Here is a cute little clip of her either realizing she has a reflection...or thinking she made a new friend:

Installing a Ceiling Fan...

2011-01-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

I might get in trouble for this post...but it was too priceless to not share...and definitely worth any consequences that follow as a result!

We got a new fan from Lowe's a few weeks ago and Eric decided he would install it on a Saturday afternoon while I was gone staging a house for work. I left around 1:00 and he had just pulled it out of the box and gotten started as I was on my way out the door...

I returned 2 hours later to this sight:

I was like "Oh did you stop and take a break for a while?" His snippy response was something like..."no..I have been working on this for 2 hours straight...I finished it but it wouldn't work so I took it completely down so I could test the wires and make sure there was electricity to the wires, which there was, so I put it together again and it still didn't work...I just took it down and am putting it up a third time and it better freaking work now...grr."

I responded with "well you did make sure there is a light bulb in there right??

Him: "oh my gosh...I'm not retarded..."

Me: "Oh, ha ha... sorry...just trying to help..."

About 30 minutes go by, the fan is back up and I hear:

Him: "Ohhhhhhhhh Myyyyyyy Goooooosshhhhh" (So dramatically...)

Me: "What?????"

Him: "I just realized I never pulled the light chord...so I pulled it and the fan works fine!"

Me: "Well good thing you 'aren't retarded'..."

So priceless...we laughed forever about this one! I love my handy-man :)

Happy Halloween!

2011-01-11T15:37:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun on Halloween with delicious scary food, throwing up pumpkins, and friends in cute costumes...here is the proof...

The mummy dogs were so so yummy...we also had spaghetti and eyeballs, bones and blood, ghost cookies (nutter butters dipped in white chocolate with mini chocolate chips for eyes), and orange/black cake pops!

We had some really creative and hilarious costumes but unfortunately I didn't get pictures of everyone...actually, I didn't get pictures of anyone...I owe Cristina a big thank you for these:

Cristina is such a rockstar and made her and Houston's costume...
definitely putting the rest of us to shame...as this crafty lady usually does :)

Julie the Witch & Nick the Lacrosse Player...so cute!

Jack (James) n' Jill (Danika)...the best part about their costume, which is hard to see from this picture, is that Jack has a ton of blood running down his forehead from his big fall down the hill.

Captain America (Nate) and Cat Woman (Chelsea)...
Parents of a new born baby, Sadie, by day and fighting evil by night...

Had you been here, which pumpkin would you have voted for? Please tell me the puking pumpkin? So gross...but definitely the winner!

All the ladies in a prom style stair pic!

Eric and I were Dorothy & The Cowardly Lion...Sophie was going to be Todo but she would have been way too scared around all the new people her first day in a new home.

We had so much fun and hope to make this an annual thing! Plan ahead people to be in town for this next year...yes all you Phoenix people...I am talking to YOU!

Meet Sophie Chambers

2011-01-11T15:03:00.001-08:00

Sophie Chambers
D.O.B. September 27th, 2010

Sophie has been an anticipated addition to our family since the day Eric and I got married. He thought I was kidding when he asked "will you marry me?" and I said "if we can get a puppy!" Okay, that didn't really happen but Eric's ear has been talked off for the last 365 days about how bad I wanted to get one. He finally caved...and decided to get one for me for our 1 year anniversary. We had big plans to go to San Antonio for our anniversary weekend but we found out we could pick Sophie up a week early (she was only 5 weeks old) so we cancelled our trip, picked her up and spent the day playing with her!

She was so cute and cuddely the whole way home! We were instantly inlove with her. She was so little...I was really surprised we were able to take her home at such a young age but I was really excited that the breeder let us! Her favorite thing to do though for the first few weeks was SLEEP...and sleep she did....

Only during the day though...at night she woke up every 2 hours and had to play in the backyard to get tired again before going back to bed. It was a rough few weeks...I would stumble into the office around noon each day and looked like I had been punched in both eyes. It was a sleepless first few weeks, but now I know exactly what to expect when we have a newborn baby someday!

We have had so much fun with her...teaching her how to be on the leash, how to sit, lay down and rollover. It is crazy how fast she has grown but also fun to see her personality really come out. I will update again soon with more pictures!

Adventures in Kitchenland...

2010-12-26T16:01:00.000-08:00

Tamra finally "let" me do a blog post, but she gave me the topic, which is a boring topic, so sorry for the boring blog post...

Word to the wise....Do not buy a fixer-upper. We bought a house that was pretty much move in ready, and then we spent the next 3 months changing everything about the house to fit our "needs". The first and largest project was re-doing the kitchen, mainly the cabinets. Here is a before picture...

We did it right when we moved in so we were kitchenless for 3 months. The wonderful people who lived in 3207 before us had one layer of wallpaper, then paint, then another layer of wall paper, then more paint on top of that layer, so when we wen to use the wallpaper remover, it did not work. We ended up pulling off pieces the size of a dime, one-by-one. This was the most tedious process ever as shown below:

Once we finally got the wallpaper stripped, we then sanded down the cabinets, primed them, and painted them a cream color. The grunt work was my job. Anything that took no thought or artistic talent was my responsibility. In other words, I did the wallpaper stripping and priming, then Tamra got to work and painted and then distressed the cabinets. I did my best not to mess it up.

While distressing, our friend Nate came over...he was completely perplexed at why we would go to all of this effort just to make something look older. This comes from the same man that painted his bathroom dark blue and put up glow in the dark stars while his wife was out of town. (I have to admit, it is fun to pee in that bathroom). I think Nate would have liked our the K12 apartment on Condo Row with George of the Jungle and his monkey friends painted on the wall.

Finally after 3 months of tedious work, we finally finished the kitchen so we could move on to painting the rest of the house! Here are a couple "after" pictures...

We're so glad this project is over with but we absolutely love how it turned out!

We Bought a House!

2010-12-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

We moved to Texas in the beginning on June but had started looking for houses in Houston long before we moved. The fun thing about the houses here versus the houses in AZ is that they are all different, no streets with 25 houses that look the same! These homes here just have so much character and I love that they are all brick!

Eric and I had found an apartment to move in to while we looked for a house. We looked everyday but there wasn't anything that really jumped out to us. Then one morning, I got a call from Eric at 6AM (he was already at work) and he woke me up to tell me all about this house that had just come on the market. I said "cool, I will look at it when I wake up" but no, he made me get up and look at it right then. I am glad he did, I was completely in love the minute I saw it. The only problem was that I was waiting for my Texas Real Estate License to be mailed to me. I had finished all the classes and tests but we just had to wait for the official document before we could walk through the house.

A week passed and each day we cringed at the thought that someone else would make an offer before we could. Seven days after the house went active on the MLS, I finally received my license. We walked through the home, loved it, and made an offer the next day. Four other couples had said they were going to make offers, but I guess we were the first ones and we got it!

I will never forget the phone call I got from the other agent, Susan, when she said those magical words..."the sellers have agreed to the terms of your offer, congratulations." I shrieked a loud shriek in my cubicle at work and felt so overcome with excitement! Then so overcome with that feeling of "holy crap when the heck are we getting ourselves into..." ha ha ha....

We felt a lot more of 'that kind' of feeling as we signed the 3000 loan documents, basically signing our life away...

Then we went back to being SUPER excited again and couldn't wait to get moved in. We closed on September 2nd but then the sellers leased the home back from us for a week...so we moved in on September 11th.

Thanks to our awesome Elders Quorum, we were literally moved out of our apartment and into the new house in 42 minutes flat. What a crew! I only wish they had eaten more of the Shipley's Donuts we got for them...cause I definitely ended up finishing them off. I felt like I earned it though...pointing the men to which room things went in...so tough.

More pictures to come of what all we have done to the house...lots of little projects in the works!

Reunion Trip to L.A.

2010-11-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

This post is way past overdue but in September, Eric and I went to L.A. to see all of his college friends. They do a reunion trip every year in a different location, which I think is SO neat. How many friends keep up traditions like this?! I think this was the 4th annual trip! They are such a tight knit group and I am so excited to be a part of it now.

We got to L.A. on a Friday Morning where our friends Tyson and Heather picked us up and drove us right into Hollywood, somewhere I have never been and always wanted to go! We got to see the Hollywood sign, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the Hollywood Hands. Naturally, Eric and I were asked to leave our hand prints, so look for them next time you walk down Hollywood Boulevard...

Other famous hands near ours...

After Hollywood Boulevard we headed down to the Santa Monica pier where Eric & Tyson felt it was necessary to blow bubbles on the Ferris Wheel. Heather and I were thoroughly entertained by this, however the best part was that the teenage girl operating the ride seemed positive that this bubble blowing duo were "partners." See picture below...can you blame her?!

The highlight of our trip to L.A. can be summed up by this next picture. While we were walking on the pier we saw a sweet little Vietnamese man pushing a cart for his traveling business which was sculpting! The pictures on his cart showed the subjects he was sculpting and the end result sculpture. These pictures were absolutely amazing...so much detail. Literally sculpted replica's of the person. We were SO impressed and HAD to have them made.

You will notice in this picture that the sculptures look NOTHING like us, except maybe my hair. We literally look like OLD people...he sculpted these massive bags under our eyes that I later tried to smooth out with my fingers. I was almost insulted by the sculptures...like sir, do we really like 80 years old to you? ha ha... anyway...we figured out this little man's scam. Spend 10 hours on the amazing pictures he posted on his cart to draw people in, then spend 10 minutes sculpting new customers and rip them off. He used a mold on us to create the face...so me, Eric, Tyson and Heather all look the exact same except for our hair. I even had to ask the little man to add Eric's dimple...the only redeeming factor to his sculpture! Anyway, it was hilarious and probably the best $15 we ever spent because of what a funny memory this was!

The next day, the rest of the crew arrived at Tyson and Heather's house. We spent the day basking the sun at the freezing cold beach where only the brave boys dared to get in the water. Us ladies sat and watched all cozy in our hoodies and blankets. Heather and I "peppered" (passed the volleyball back and forth for those not familiar with the term) for a while which was seriously so great. It had been far too long since I had touched a volleyball. Then later, we all went to Ruby's Diner and enjoyed some yummy hamburgers and shakes!

The next day we had a BBQ at Tyson and Heather's beautiful home! You're probably wondering if Eric and I were in a fight since we're the only ones not sitting next to each other...ha ha...no, we weren't. What you can't see is that Charisse is holding baby Isabella who I was completely attached at the hip to the whole day. This was my first time meeting her and I immediately started tearing up when I got to hold this precious little baby girl! She is a beauty!

That night we left the crew to go stay at Matt and Charisse's new home, which is so nice! They completely gutted and remodeled the house so it was fun to see that all of their hard work paid off. Below you can see the basketball and tennis courts in their backyard! J/K...this is at Reese's parents house. We had so much fun being with them though and seeing the new parents snuggle their beautiful daughter! The next day we had fun eating In & Out (a California MUST) and laying by the pool at Charisse's parents house. I wish we could have stayed there for a week longer, we already miss them so much!

Overall, we had a magical trip and we're already counting down the days til' next years reunion. Where will it be we wonder?! Stay tuned...

Road Trip to New Orleans

2010-11-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

Who knew New Orleans is only 4 hours away from Houston...that really put into perspective exactly how far away from Phoenix we live now! Eric and I decided to take a little weekend road trip down to New Orleans and it just so happened to be the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina the day we got there. There were dozens of news reporters there doing stories about what the city is like now, 5 years after the horrible destruction Katrina caused. It was a little surreal for me to be there after seeing the pictures my dad took in 2005 when he was in New Orleans working with FEMA, helping to rescue people from their flooded homes. After seeing the terrible pictures of dead bodies floating in the flooded street and families forced to sleep on freeway overpasses, I was excited to see the progress that has been made to the city and how the sweet french ambiance has been restored.

Rue Bourbon was definitely the low point of the trip, ha ha...we thought if we walked down during the day that it wouldn't be so bad! We quickly realized we were wrong when we saw half naked girls soliciting themselves everywhere. Trust us...don't waste your time walking down this street! We quickly skiddaddled and felt like we had seen hell on earth, fo real.

So pretty, huh! This picture was taken about .2 seconds before it started horrendously pouring rain...it was perfect timing! We then started sprinting for cover as the raindrops were the size of....

B E I G N E T S !!

Okay, here is the highlight of our trip: CAFE DU MONDE. Their Beignets are the yummiest thing I have ever consumed. This is a must for anyone who takes a trip to New Orleans. They are the most delicious, deep fried donuts covered in powdered sugar, likely laced with cocaine (because I have been seething for them since we left!) Don't worry...we licked this plate of powdered sugar completely clean.

Another trip highlight was the plantation home tour we took at Oak Alley Plantation.
The oak trees were like nothing we had ever seen before. They were amazing! I think they said the trees are about 300 years old. The inside of the home is so neat too. It was fun to hear the stories on the tour about the generations of families who have lived there!

One of the other neat things we did in New Orleans was just hopping on the Trolly and riding it around the city. It was awesome to see all the old southern homes...I swear I saw the one where Benjamin Button was filmed! The last day we were there we were scheduled to go on a swamp tour, where we would have supposedly been able to ride up close to alligators and other scary swamp creatures, but the weather was muy terrible. It was raining beignets again, so they cancelled the tour and we decided to just head home. On the way home we decided to stop at the old cemetary where Double Jeopardy was filmed. Ironically, I had just watched that movie on TV the night before we drove down so I was ultra excited to see where it all went down, but because of the rain, I just looked from the car window. I think the old above ground graves are so interesting though.

Also on the way home, conveniently, was an outlet mall :) We finished up our vay-cay with a little Bananna action and then made it back home before dinner time. All in a days work.

Lets Party Like its Nineteen Eighty-Two....

2010-08-16T14:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Aaron...Pac-Man Themed, Eighties Party: Fabulous...

I couldn't find spandex pants in Eric's size...sorry hunny!

Eric rocked it as the party mixologist on DJ Hero...
(kind of...he played on the "Easy" setting...cheater!!)

Everyone was dressed to impress...well, almost everyone...
there were a couple who were dressed to disturb- j/k Rob & Houston!

So much fun! We hope Aaron had a fabulous birthday!

Adventures in Texas...

2010-08-11T08:16:00.001-07:00

So I guess we're Texans now...

We left Arizona on May 29th and took two days to drive to Houston. Once we got here, we shacked up at the Marriott....then switched hotels about 15 times in a period of three weeks. Why would we do this you wonder??? Well...

-Because the Comfort Suites Inn was having a deal where if you stay at their hotel twice, but not consecutively, you receive a Chili's gift card. (We did this twice!)

- Because the Marriott had a special...if you stayed there twice, not consecutively, you got one night for free!

These are just a couple of the many *specials* that Eric couldn't justify missing out on, which I am grateful for now, but I wasn't the best trooper at the time. It was kind of a pain to pack up and then unpack every other day...but one of the benefits of staying at so many different hotels is that we got to check out different areas of Houston. We went up to the Spring/Woodlands area for a couple of days which is beautiful...we would love to live up there someday if it wasn't an hour from Eric's office! While we were there we were able to go to the Houston Temple...which is very pretty!

Another day we went down to Galveston and went to an oil rig museum which was really interesting! Eric learned a lot about the oil & gas industry from our little field trip which prepped him for starting his job!

The folks at the Museum put us right to work...it was brutal work drilling oil wells all day!

We also spent a day at Nasa which was really great. Something we will definitely take anyone who comes to visit, to do! It was neat to go see the old control room, the Nasa campus, and their testing center where they go through their simulations! It was great to meet the astronauts from Apollo Seven...

And Apollo Four...but we couldn't figure out what they were looking at...

We were really glad we got to Houston and had lots of time to sight see and play before Eric started work. Eventually...he had to go though and he really enjoyed his first day at BHP Biliton.

How cute huh?! They sent him home with a fantastic gift basket (which I thoroughly enjoyed after eating fast food for a couple weeks straight during the move.) It was a really nice gesture!

We were also invited to go to an Astros baseball game with a group from his office. It was a really fun night. Lots and lots of nachos (which we all know is my favorite part about sporting events!) It was really nice to meet the people that Eric will be working with and get to know them. I left there feeling kind of retarded though...most of the people there were Geologists who had their Bachelors, Masters, and at least one Ph. D...yikes! Go geologists!

One day the following week while Eric was at work, I had a consultation to see if I was a candidate for Lasik. Sadly, I am not...I am basically way too blind for it. One of the tests though in the process, was where they poured these numbing and dilating drops into my eye. This is what happened:

Here is a test: what color are my eyes naturally? Oh wait, you can't tell because my pupil expanded to cover almost my entire iris. After they shipped me off, they expected me to wear these "sunglasses" on the way home:

Pretty sweet huh?! I seriously could not even see with my pupils dilated this much. It was a very scary drive home! Everything was SO blurry...it seriously made me appreciate my eye sight when it finally came back 4-5 hours later.

A few days later...

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me!
We had to move into our apartment on my actual birthday so we celebrated the day before :) Eric planned such a fabulous day! My #1 request was to go walk through model homes- because I just love to do that! Then we went and purchased a few Jcrew treasures (displayed above) and ate a yummy dinner! That night we went back to the hotel, which to my surprise Eric had whipped out his surprise skills and decorated it to the nines with steamers, balloons, party poppers, and silly string! This is when he also gave me my birthday gift which was a sewing machine, something I have really really been wanting. Props to the husband!

The next morning the movers showed up bright and early and we spent the entire day at the apartment with them- but we were excited to have a fun night out and eat a delicious dinner! Thanks Meradith and Jason for the Ruths Chris gift card...it was quite the birthday delight. You can never go wrong with sizzling hot butter on steak and creme brulee!

Celebratory Cruise

2010-08-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

We figured the best way to celebrate Eric's graduation was to go on a cruise with some of our fabulous friends from the MBA program! We did the Carnival Splendor ship which cruised from LA to Puerto Villarta, Mazatlan, then Cabo San Lucas! It was 7 days of utter bliss!

Here is the crew- Eric & I, Ryan & Melissa, Kristy & Dave, and Tanner & Dani. We wish that everyone from the program would have come...we missed the rest of the group! In efforts to get the whole clan together for a cruise down the road, I will tempt you with all of the fun you missed!

Probably the highlight of the cruise was Zip Lining in Puerto Vallarta. It was absolutely beautiful flying through the lush, green mountains. Terrifying at times...but so fun! I think at one point we were about 300 feet up! Good thing we had these extremely fashionable helmets on just in case!

So we almost had a little run in with the law in Puerto Vallarta:

After Zip Lining we had some time before we had to board the ship, so we decided to get some beach time in! On our way back to the ship we stopped at a local grocery store for some water and snacks to take back with us. We all loaded up on food and sun screen and drinks, paid for our things, and left the store. While we walked out of the store, the buzzer went off, alarming the grocery store staff that they were being robbed (so they thought.) We continued to walk away from the store heading back to the ship and some cute little Hispanic lady was shouting at another worker in the store to go after us (so I assume- it was in Spanish.) So naturally, someone started tailing us. He never approached us, but he did follow us for about 10 minutes...(he was trying to be so sneaky like he was a secret spy or something) then he just turned around eventually to go back. He probably realized 8 to 1 wouldn't be a fair fight. So much hype...and for nothing. I was hoping for a huge Spanish speaking brawl among the grocery store worker and all the Spanish speaking RM's! Needless to say...we did carry out an investigation with a proper line up... I will leave it up to you to decide who the "guilty" party is.

In the guilty party's defense- we did see him check out and pay for his water bottle...so I feel comfortable not reporting him to the Policia.

I would definitely go back to Puerto Vallarta if we had the chance! We didn't get very much time there...we wish we could have stayed for a couple days! Another place we wish we could have spent more time was Cabo. I think in total we were only there for about 6 hours. We found a great resort on the beach that let us use their towels and pool. Here we are 20 feet from the ocean and all of us girls sat and sunbathed poolside. So much cleaner!! We did mosey down to the beach to watch the boys play a little "wave football" which was pretty amusing! We also managed to get a group pic. Yes, Eric and Dani coordinated matching their suites for the cabo day! So embarrassing...ha ha ha....

While on an "at sea day" we all found things to do to keep us busy! Dave entered himself into the cruise ping-pong contest where he had to complete with several middle-aged men who were likely engineers, and probably spent the last 15 months practicing for this contest. It seemed as though this contest was almost the reason some of these men even came on the cruise. His competition was fierce...I don't think I saw one smile during the whole tournament....but I definitely saw tears and Dave crushed all of their dreams. He rocked it...despite the odds, he pulled in a SILVER MEDAL...2nd place...not too shabby Dave!

The best part of the cruise is obviously the food. Gourmet, delicious morsels that you couldn't get enough of. I think on average we would each order 3 separate entrees for dinner every night...and at least 2 desserts! The big joke was that with all the delicious entree options...I would order Mac n' Cheese every night...just 3 entrees of Mac n' Cheese and I was in Heaven! It was fun to get dressed up every night though and going to a big fancy meal!

We miss these sunsets and can't wait to cruise again- hopefully with more of you...and soon!!

Eric's MBA Graduation Day...

2010-07-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Eric!! The last 2 years paid off...just like that, you are done! I am sure looking back the years flew by but you have so many great memories and friends you made along the way that will always bring you back to this great time of your life. I didn't meet Eric until the middle of his first year, so apparently I missed seeing the most difficult part, but he was still always reading 100 pages a night, and studying for hours...I can only imagine how awesome this day must feel, to know that is all behind you!

There was such a great group of guys in Eric's class and they are all so close. I was quickly introduced to all of them and their wives as we would get together almost every weekend for "Grill & Chill's" ha ha.

And here are all the wives! Woo Woo...

It was so fun to spend the weekend with Karen & Craig in Arizona. We did lots of fun things...ate...showed them around ASU...ate...went to the Botanical Gardens...ate...went to the movies...and ate! It couldn't have been better. I know they are so proud of Eric :)

And here we are! Yay...I have my husband back now! No more late study nights or summers apart because of Internships! Congratulations Sugar! I am so excited for you and proud of everything you have accomplished!

Saying Goodbye to the Desert...

2010-07-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

We decided to do one last hike before we moved from Arizona since there are no mountains, or hills, and bumps in Houston...it is as flat as can be. I'm glad Tyler and Christine could come too...it was our last hang-out before they left for San Francisco too! We drove way out to East Mesa...and they kept driving East. It was a great hike...probably only 2-3 miles...with gorgeous views of the Superstition Mountains!

Good-bye cacti and hello 14 inches of rain in July in Houston...gotta love hurricane season!

Easter Weekend...

2010-07-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend was so much fun! We loved our family rendezvous! Dan and Anna were the cutest things I have ever seen with their cute Bunny Ears. Nice find Katy! They were so excited all weekend to dye eggs...and they made some fancy ones!

This picture is so presh. Dan and Anna play so well together. I can't wait to see little Lyssa-Lou (and now baby Ella) be able to join them on Easter Egg Hunts!

Look...there is baby Ella...right in Charisse's belly! Easter Weekend was the perfect opportunity for a baby shower. Reese's mom and sisters did such a great job of planning the shower...cutest ever location-it was at Four Chairs Furniture in Utah. I seriously wanted to pack up that store and drive it home with me! It was such a fun day though...she got so many cute gifts and it was great to get some girl time in with our mother/sister-in-laws!

Chambers 2010 Fun Family Photo! We almost got everyone looking at the camera...major accomplishment!

I was so glad Erica was able to come spend the day with us too! It is so convenient that she is right in Utah too! It is the perfect, central local! Love you sister!

Chambers Olympics

2010-07-29T13:27:00.001-07:00

This is definitely going to be a new tradition! Thank you to the Mortley's and the Farnsworth's for participating! So I have no clue where the idea came from but the Olympics were going on and we decided to host our own Olympics! We came up with some really random "events" but they were all super fun...

The first event was rubber-band shooting. We set up our coffee table with three different colors of army men. Each team had their own color. It was a free-for-all to see who was the last team to have their army men standing. Apparently, this is an old "Chamber's Past Time."

Wii- Olympics was the next event. We did the 100 meter sprint, trampoline, and shot put. I just remember Amanda being a rock star at the trampoline. She jumped higher than anyone!

Building card houses was probably the toughest event. Poor Tyler and Christine built the Taj-Mahal of card houses but in a swift second, the three story wonder came crashing down :(

NERTS a.k.a HECK a.k.a RACE THE DEVIL... (so many different names for this card game) is where Christine and Tyler made their come back. Christine is so fast at this game that I just gave up so I could watch in awe at how quick she is!

Closing Ceremonies...yes, medals and all!

In 3rd Place, Our Bronze Winners...Christine and Tyler Farnsworth! If only the big, bad wolf hadn't blown their house down...

In 2nd Place, Our Silver Winners...Amanda & Marshall Mortley...Thanks to her trampoline skills....

No, No...I promise we didn't cheat! Woo Woo! Go went for the GOLD!

You guys will all have to fly to Houston for the next Chambers Olympics!!

Thank You Joe's Farm Grill...

2010-07-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

February 17th, 2009 was our glorious first (blind) date to dinner at Joe's Farm Grill in Gilbert, AZ. Fun memories about the night...

1. When Eric walked up to my house to pick me up for the date, he met my mom in our drive way because she had just got home from the grocery store. She was wearing her favorite- black leather pants. She loves them. In his mind he was probably like who is this Mormon mom who goes to the grocery store in black leather pants? And where is her Harley?? ha ha...Love you mom.

2.The drive to dinner was awesome... Eric knew that I was a huge fan of the Bachelor/Bachelorette...and our date happened to be during the Jason/Melissa and Molly scandal. Eric used to work with Molly at Khol's Corporate office in Milwaukee and he had so much insider info on her and her "true colors." This is when he began to melt my heart...

3. For dinner, I ordered the BBQ Chicken Pizza with no tomatoes and it was absolutely delish. WAY better than the BBQ Chicken pizza at California Pizza Kitchen for all of those who swear by that. If you haven't been to Joe's you are missing out! Eric had never been there either but his friends from school told him about it and how it was featured on the Food Network- and for good reason! Good recommendation guys!

4. When we got back to my house we sat in the driveway and chatted it up for a bit while listening to some musica. I told him I loved the CD that was playing and he was like here, have it! I listened to that CD for like 3 months straight after because I loved it so much. I think he might have secretly burned the CD for the date with hopes it would secure him a 2nd date...and my hand in marriage. It worked. Hey...good taste in music is important!

So a year later...February 17th, 2010 we went back to Joe's Farm Grill for dinner to commemorate our blind date! Naturally, I ordered the BBQ Chicken pizza. We tried to get "our table" but it was taken. It felt just as special sitting somewhere else though :) ha.

All I have left to say is...Thank You Joe's Farm Grill...for making us possible!

Cancooon Honeymooon & Seattle Reception

2010-06-28T12:09:00.001-07:00

Our flight to Cancun left Arizona at about 6:15 AM the day after the wedding. We had to leave for the airport by about 3:45 AM, in order to park and get checked in an hour and a half early. Poor Eric was introduced to "Morning Tamra" very early on in our marriage...not always a pleasant experience. Luckily, I was able to hold my eyelids open just long enough to make it onto the plane where I quickly fell back to sleep on a cozy folded up sweatshirt, nestled on Eric's shoulder. We felt perfectly rested as we landed in Cancun and took a shuttle to our Hotel- the NH Riviera Cancun Resort. For those of you who have not heard of the website: www.bookit.com, you are seriously missing out. It was less than half of any other website that we looked at to book our honeymoon- just a side note. Anyway- this hotel was beautiful. It was about 2 years old and it was only at about 15% capacity while we were there so it was great to not have to wait to be seated at dinner, or have to wake up early to get out and reserve a spot by the pool! We would definitely stay at this hotel next time we vacation in Cancun!

This is where we spent most of our time...watching Spanish television of course!

Luckily we did have a few sunny days but you'll see the dark skies behind us creeping in. It only stormed bad once, which unfortunately just happened to be the day we signed up to go snorkeling out in the ocean, boo! But we did really enjoy our sunny days on the beach!

Are you curious about the skeleton face girls?!? We were definitely interested in doing some neat excursions on the H-M so we did our homework and asked around to see which things were worth doing. "Xcaret" was an amusement park that we kept hearing great reviews about so we decided to check it out. This day has become kind of the joke of the honeymoon! Let me explain... First of all, it was about $250 to get in EACH!! and it was basically a glorified zoo! We had to take a shuttle from the hotel to get to the park and they left us there for like 15 hours! We were soo tired. The shows were supposed to be one of the highlights of the amusement park, but because we went on dia de los muertos, they were all in spanish so Eric had to translate for me! It was kind of hilarious but obviously we still had a blast bec

Yes- this is a lip shaped couch we are sitting on! ha....The restaurants at the resort were one of the highlights of the honeymoon. They had an amazing Asain restaurant, steak house, and Mexican food. Being an all inclusive resort, we definitely took advantage of the all you can eat deal and rolled ourselves out of the restaurants each night. It was AMAZING food and fun to get dressed up every night!

Chichen Itza & the Cenote was by far our favorite day! The ruins were amazing. We learned so much about the structure that we were shocked to find out. Here is your fact of the day: There are little triangles that start from the top and go down the steps to the very bottom of the structure where there is a serpent head at the beginning of the stairs. As the sun hits the ruins at certain time of the day, the light is reflected and lights up the triangles. As the day progresses, all the triangles are eventually lit up and you can see the "snake/serpent" figure complete, which meant that it was mid-day/noon! Its not something that works anymore...so for all we know our tour guide made it up, but I want to believe it because that is really pretty rad!

The Cenote was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was basically an underground cave 400 feet deep filled with crystal clear fresh water! It had beautiful vines dropping in from 100 feet above which you can see in the pictures! The water was freezing but we couldn't have cared less! There was a ledge that was about 20 feet up that you could jump off of into the water which was really fun. This was my favorite excursion on the honeymoon...and I think Eric would agree!

We had such an amazing time in Cancun- unfortunately it went by way too fast! Now that we are in Houston though, we are way too close to not go back, and soon :) We left straight from the warm tropics, to freezing 30 degree Seattle for our Open House at the Chambers home. This was such a great extension of the honeymoon. It was great to spend more time with Eric's parents since it was so chaotic while they were in Phoenix for the wedding. My parents flew in to Seattle as well for the Open House so it was great opportunity for our parents to get to know each other better as well. The Reception there was beautiful...Eric's mom did such a great job with every detail and incorporated the wedding colors so beautifully! I was so glad to get to meet so many of Eric's family friends and the people he grew up with!

Luckily we had a few days in Seattle so we were able to do all the fun touristy Seattle stuff! We went down to Pike's Place Market and saw the fish stand where they throw the fish around when someone places an order. That was really neat to watch. Some of the fish had to be like 30 lbs! We had to sit on the Golden Pig, another Seattle favorite, and make our pig noses!

And last but not least- the Space Needle! So fun to go up and see the entire city! It was such a fun filled day and the perfect end to a wonderful honeymoon. We were right back to Arizona where Eric started classes that following Monday. We had so much fun opening all the wedding gifts and getting settled in to our first apartment together...a massive 600 square foot palace of a place! It was small but the perfect amount of space for just the two of us :)

"Now You're My Whole Life..."

2010-06-13T19:32:00.001-07:00

First off, we would feel extremely ungrateful if we failed to mention Mr. Paisley who wrote such a beautiful song exclusively for our wedding. Oh, you didn't know he wrote that for us? Surprise! We owe you Brad! Wait no, you owe us cause I am pretty sure its been a big hit!?

October 30th, 2009...what a day! Its already been 7 months but of course every detail is still so vivid in my mind. How about a little build up to the BIG DAY:

For the engagement story, you'll have to visit Eric's "pre-marriage" blog. It was an amazing day....surprise visit to Utah, the airplane ride, the picnic...I don't think he realized it at the time but with a day like he planned, he basically set himself up for a lifetime of having to be extremely creative to stay up to par, lucky me! Well after the big "YES!!" the ring was slipped on to my finger and the plans quickly began.

I was in Utah finishing my internship that summer, which I'll be honest, was not a very time consuming job. So, the wedding was what I worked on! It was a little frustrating trying to plan a wedding in a different state, but I was able to get some work done there then return home at the end of the summer to finalize the other details! The first order of business was engagement pics!

I know, I know...Eric INSISTED on wearing these glasses for at least one picture, and truthfully, I think this is probably his favorite picture. I owe a special thank you to Kendall Burdett for giving these glasses to Eric. (I'll get you back!) The next major project was invitations. Thank goodness for the Seinfield episode that taught us about the rat poison on the back of stamps. Needless to say, there was no licking involved. Eric was such a trooper to sit there and help put together 750 invitations...you can see that he was REALLY enjoying himself.

Everything seemed to come right together! The last major project before the wedding day was doing the caramel apples. A word from the wise to anyone thinking about dipping 400 caramel apples for a wedding favor: YOU ARE ON CRACK IF YOU FOLLOW IN MY FOOTSTEPS. This was the most time consuming project I have enrolled myself in. They turned out super cute, but it seriously took about 25 hours total to do them.I owe a huge thank you to all of you who helped make this happen :)

The week prior to the wedding was a little stressful for Eric...his last final was a few hours before our wedding dinner. He said it was a little tough to focus and study that week...but he passed the class and that is all that matters. The wedding dinner was at Patsy Grimaldi's Pizzeria which, in case you haven't tried it, is the best pizza in the world. I promise. The dinner was wonderful...it was so fun to spend some quality time with all of our friends and family that flew in for the wedding. That night Eric stayed with his family at their hotel and they played "King of the Bed," which has been a family tradition the night before each of the boys got married. In a nutshell...the boys and their dad all start on the bed together and start pushing each other off. The goal of course is for the groom to win. I know that the Marriott has had to bill the Chambers for some broken head boards in the past...it gets a little intense. I was sad to miss that sight, but I was at home with my family watching Father of the Bride, which I think should be my family's tradition because my dad is basically George Banks...so its extremely fitting!

I slept well that night actually and was ready to rock n' roll in the morning. The wedding went off without a hitch...it was the best day of my life :) Here are some pictures of the wedding day:

So, I have 7 more months to write about...Stay tuned...