Birthdays, Motorcycles, and More!

So since the last blog we've had so much going on!

The best of which ((in my not so humble opinion!)) was my BIRTHDAY!!!! Time to brag on my amazing husband - he had the whole day planned for me and it was INCREDIBLE!!!! I was woken up with the smell of bacon in the air, kisses from my husband, and a rose. He had a string of notes with clues for my plans for my birthday, each with a rose and a present of some kind. He made a delicious breakfast and had a dozen roses on the breakfast table. I had to keep 6 month old (teething) Luna for the day but Andrew made sure my birthday was fun anyway and set-up with my friends to keep me entertained and kept the presents coming! While Andrew was at work my friend Hala took me out for my favorite... Starbucks! My friend Cheryl came over (with more Starbucks!) too! Andrew suprised me by coming home 3 hours before I expected him to spend my birthday with me! Once he got home I got a gift every 45 minutes... my big gift was a completely awesome Kitchen Aide 600 series mixer (which is the top of the line restaurant quality mixer!) Some might find that an odd gift, but I have been wanting a mixer for ages (pretty much since mine was stolen out of my storage unit) so I was STOKED! If anyone has ever questioned my domesticity, this should clear it up! My friend Tricia took me out for drinks at 5:30 and by the time I got home there were candles and rose petals leading to the house - a total of 60 red roses and 90 candles! When I walked into the house the whole place was full of candles and there were rose petals leading to where Andrew was..... Later I got to take a candlelit bubble bath while Andrew made the most wonderful dinner - bacon-wrapped filets, mashed potatoes, and garlic bread! After dinner we had cheesecake and my favorite champagne that I had been saving for my birthday (in the new champagne glasses that were a gift from my in-laws!) It really was the perfect birthday! Andrew also took me out dancing my "birthday weekend" to celebrate too :) Best. Husband. Ever. 

Also since my last post Andrew took a motorcycle safety course and got his motorcycle license! He's so excited about it and I'm super proud of him - he aced his test! He's been working 12 hour days all month so he's been incredibly busy! 

I've gotten to "christen" my new mixer and baked up a storm - sugar cookies, my Grandma's strawberry cake with homemade icing, and my masterpiece - Snickers cake! I have so enjoyed it! (But my oven has since broken for the fourth time in 2 months... really hoping our landlords will replace it this time!) We had friends over this weekend for dinner, which was a blast! I so enjoy cooking for people! 

I finished up my Servicing English Language Learners class (after investing over ten hours in my final project!) and I'm very proud to say I got another 'A', maintaining my 4.0, putting me in the top 15% of my class, and earning an invitation to the Golden Key National Honor Society! I also received clearance from Ashford to double my course load - I'll have a ton of work but it will allow me to finish in half the time (my classes will double on Sept. 26!) Which means I should officially be a teacher by 2013! I started my next class - Child and Adolescent Psychology! I should be an expert by now with as many classes (5) I've taken on the subject! Its a really heavy work load but I'm doing well with it so far and no matter how many classes I've had I still find the subject fascinating! 

Lots of great things going on in our lives right now! We have a lot coming up and a bunch of fun things to look forward to (I won't share now so it'll be a surprise later!) We're feeling really blessed - we thank God for our beautiful (slightly crazy) life everyday!

Oops.... Sorry y'all!

I'm sorry I've neglected my blogging - I swear it wasn't because I was slacking - I have been insanely busy! :) You'll have to forgive me this time! So I'm going to update you readers digest style on the past few weeks and promise to do better in the future!

We had a fantastic visit with Tristan (we were both sad to see him go.) He settled into our routine with us so smoothly - it amazes me how adaptable he is! While he was here we got him a "big boy" bike which he LOVED! Pretty much every evening Andrew and I would sit in the front yard and watch him ride up and down our street after dinner. He had fun riding our friends' son's skateboard (i.e. sitting on the skateboard and rolling down the driveway) and a Lightening McQueen car too! We also have an awesome park in our neighborhood that has 3 different sets of playground equipment and a water section that we enjoyed going to visit regularly. For some special Tristan and Emmy time I took him to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie while Andrew was at work one day - very sentimental for me since I was totally in love with Pooh as a child and Tristan really liked the movie (its about Eeyore losing his tale and trying to find a new one - every time one of the new tails didn't work Tristans would whisper "ohhhh no!") He cracked me up "shushing" the little girl that was talking in front of us! The second weekend he was here we took Tristan to the Sacramento Zoo which was a blast - we got to feed giraffes! We went early in the morning so we got to see several of the animals being fed. Its a smaller zoo but has a lot of exhibits and lots of big cats. His last weekend we took him to Bounce U (a gym that has all the big inflatable bounce toys) which he loved. His days here with us were filled with picnics, painting, playing, and as much fun and love possible! While Andrew was at work Tristan would ask me throughout the day "Dad, work?" and "Dad, home?" and as soon as Andrew would walk through the back door Tristan would run for his hug and ask Andrew how was work (well, translated from some mumbling followed by the word work...) When I had to do school work I would build Tristan a huge fort that took up half our living room for him to play in so I could focus and get some work done (although the frequent interruptions of "Emmy watch!" and "no, Emmy, play!" were hard to resist!) We spent our afternoons playing together as a family followed by dinner and more playing together! My favorite part of the day, though, was bedtime story! I have fond memories of my parents reading to me every night and Andrew and I feel its important that Tristan get to have that too (at least during the only times we get a say so) Every night Andrew and I would curl up in Tristan's room and read to him (well, I would read and Andrew and Tristan would listen - Andrew insists that my animated voices were much more entertaining) Tristan's favorite book was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Goodnight Moon. He took to "reading" to us too - flipping through the book and pointing out pictures or remembering key words from where we read to him - he liked to grab his books and sit beside me and "work" while I was doing school work too, which cracked me up! Our time with Tristan flew by so quickly and it was all too soon that Mom 2 was here to take Tristan back to TN. However, they got a "bonus" day here when the cargo door on their plane caused so many delays that they missed all connecting flights out of Dallas and we had to go get them and they had to try again (successfully) the next day! Being a step-parent and having to deal with some of the challenges and nonsense that comes from having to deal with another set of parents is hard but when that sweet little boy loves on you and smiles at you none of that matters anymore - its all worth it. 

Also during that time I finished up my first class with Ashford University - and I'm very proud to say that I got an 'A'! I've almost completed my second class - Servicing English Language Learners (basically, I'm learning how to diagnose learning disorders and how to help students in my class that aren't proficient in English and creating lesson plans to accomodate both.) One more week of hard work (in this class) and then I'm on to the next two! I can't wait to finish up this degree and go from being the student to being the teacher! 

Andrew has been working 12 hour days since Tristan left so I've had a lot of free time on my hands (and my house is eerily quiet!) I'm a very "crafty" person - I love projects and creating things. So, to fill the extra time that I have when I'm not busy with school I've started a new hobby that I'm really enjoying - painting and etching wine glasses (and 1 wine bottle!) 

Another exciting land-mark - Andrew quit smoking and has been cigarette free for 6 weeks! WOO so proud of him! 

We had so many pictures from Tristan's visit that I don't really have room to share them all (and they are all adorable) so instead I will post a like to the Facebook albums: 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150710396195282.707354.551460281&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150722865500282.711761.551460281

I think that sums up whats been up with us lately! I PROMISE I will do better at keeping the blog updated :)