How Do They Do It??

How do puppies make you feel so warm inside by just looking at you!?

Maximus & Zeus are my favorite doggies in the whole world... I mean, how can I resist them?

I just love them!!

Today, one of TL's buddies from work brought in his brand new St. Bernard puppy... he comes in second behind Maximus & Zeus for the most adorable pup I have seen!

TL said he was so cuddly and so sweet... let's not tell Maximus & Zeus about this picture!!

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday and these puppies bring a little joy to your day! :)

Christmas Is Over... Already!

The holidays came and went much to fast this year. 

Working full time through them, and spending as much time as possible with my amazing family has kept me busy!  I have hardly had time to get on here and write, which bums me out the most :) 

Yesterday was a fun day!  I stayed the night over at my parents house and woke up Christmas morning in the same bed I slept in growing up.  TL had to work Christmas Eve until 7am Xmas morning, so he came to my parents house strait from work.  We opened our stockings, had green eggs and ham (well, minus the ham this year) and opened our presents under the tree.  My family gave me clothes, bath mats for our house, pottery barn shelves we loved, and so many other fun things.  We were so excited to give the gifts we bought for all of them... it is just so much fun! It was especially neat to see my 8 month old nephew enjoy his first Christmas.  Santa brought  him a new little horse... it was SO cute! After many hours of opening presents and spending time together, I left for work at 2:30.  I was bummed to go, but lots of people work on Christmas... and having TL and my dad come visit me for a few hours definitely helped!

This was my parents living room on Christmas morning.  It brings back some of my favorite memories and traditions of growing up.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family!

I hope you had a very merry Christmas...

can't wait to catch up on all of your blogs!

Happy Holidays!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We thought this was so funny!  

I have seen it over the years, so we decided to make one :)

Hope you are having a fabulous Friday!

Things are so busy with Christmas a week away... hope you are enjoying the season.

Honeymoon: Interlaken, Switzerland

My favorite part of the whole trip was the 4 days we spent in Interlaken!

It is absolutely breathtaking there... huge mountains, sparkly blue lakes... the entire place looks like a postcard!

Although Switzerland is pretty expensive, we found our own ways to eat good food and explore.  Because it wasn't the peak travel season, a lot of deals were happening.

The hotel we stayed in... gorgeous views!

TL standing right in front of our hotel... that grass area behind him are where all of the parachuters land!

One of the days there, we rented this tandem bike.  We rode everywhere on it.  People would laugh as they watched us because I figured out that if I didn't pedal, he didn't notice.  So I pretty much just rode :)

We rode our bikes a few miles and came to a high ropes/ zip line place.  It was something I had to do... so we did it.

It was all explained to us in German, which we have no experience with, so they handed us the stuff, and we pretty much just hung on tight!  TL is a hundred feet up here!

It was actually pretty challenging... but SO fun! :)

Another day we rented this awesome dune buggie!!!  If you ever go there, this is a must.  It was so fun to drive, and with the pretty weather - we were able to cruise all over the place!

On a hike

Pictures from the hike... gorgeous, right!?

Instead of eating out... we went to the grocery store and purchased stuff for a picnic.  Then we drove our dune buggie around one of the lakes to find the perfect spot.

And we found one.  Just the two of us and the beautiful view.

A little side view of the buggie!

The cows were so funny... TL pulled over in the dune buggie so I could get this shot.  They all had giant bells around their neck!

Looks just like a postcard outside our buggie!

I absolutely LOVED Interlaken... it was so adventurous and fun.

If given the opportunity, this place is a must for any traveler! :)

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Winter

Rain, rain... please stay!

The rain & stormy season is here.  I have always loved the rain, the way it sounds, smells, and the way it cleans up the entire town.. it's just such a cool part of nature.  And even though it's not a white Christmas... it's still a cozy time for the holidays!

What's the weather like where you are?

pretty picture via

Christmas Shoes

Time passes so fast!  I can't believe we are already a week into December!  I hate that this month moves so quickly, because I love enjoying the time before Christmas.  It is such a warm time of year.  (Even though it is so cold in Nor Cal we had SNOW in the valley the other day!)  I love the feeling of this month - and being with family.

There is a particular Christmas song that I really think captures the feeling of Christmas.  Have you ever heard the song "Christmas Shoes"?  It was made into a movie, which I loved as well.  If you haven't, take a minute to listen to the words :)  Hope you are having a good week and enjoying the season!

I know the video is kind of cheesy - but the words are really good :)

Apple Hill Xmas Tree Hunt

I love the mountains... especially in the winter time.

Even though Apple Hill is not technically the "mountains", it's close enough for me.

36 years ago, my mom and my dad were just dating.  They decided to go together to cut down tree's for their families and they went to Indian Rock Tree Farm in Apple Hill.

Through rain, wind, snow - you name it - they kept going year after year.  They got married, had three girls... and the tradition has remained the same every year.

Needless to say, it's an exciting tradition for our family.  The family-owned tree farm is beautiful... and every year they know we are coming back again.  This year, we got FOUR trees - one for all of our houses.  It was such a fun day!

Maximus & Zeus gearing up for a cold day of running around in the mountains.  Their scarfs and Christmas tree shirts kept them warm!

The family.

The silly family.

My sisters and nephew... he will grab your face and suck on your nose.  I think it's his way of smooching.

Our little family picture.

That's our tree before it was chopped down!

My dad and his favorite little "sidekick".

What are your family holiday traditions?

The Decorations Are Up!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

The pretty trees, smells, cuddly feelings, and love.

We got all of our decorations up & decorated the tree today!

(sorry the pictures are blurry)

Our tree!  We got it from Apple Hill

(pictures of that to follow soon!)

Maximus & Zeus have their own stockings... our mantle :)

The baby tree in our kitchen!

I hope you are all finding your own ways to get into the Holiday spirit.  :)

It's a beautiful time of year!