Guess Who's Two?

Maddux! The funny thing about Maddux's birthday is that I actually didn't realize it was her birthday until my co-worker reminded me that the puppy's were turning two (he has Maddux's sister Stella). I had to laugh at myself and then run out to get a couple of gifts and a birthday treat. Maddux definitely has her own unique personality and knows how to entertain us. I love my little pup and the time we get to spend together with Jim working out of town during the week.

Maddux and her new favorite "piglet"

This is it...my treat last year was bigger!

tired 'lil birthday girl

You are never too young to have shoe collection...

Elsie is only seven weeks old and already has a shoe collection to envy...15 pairs to be exact! A couple of weeks ago Jen and Matt came down with Elise and Elijah for Elsie's San Diego debut. In their honor, my mom and I planned a shoe themed "Sprinkle", a baby shower for the second child, so all of our friends could finally get to meet the new 'lil princess. Elsie sure is loved already by everyone...and so is Elijah!



After the "sprinkle" Jim and I stayed down at my parents for the weekend so that we could spend time with the family. I was spoiled to get to spend two weekends in a row with Jen, Matt and the kids. Once again it made me wish I lived closer so that we could see them all of the time. But since we don't, the next best thing is to hang out with them as much as we can when they are down.

I am looking forward to watching both Elise and Elijah grow up and helping Elsie to follow in her auntie's foot-steps when it comes to shoes! She is already going to be one trendy little girl with great shoe fashion...I think I'll some competition!

And still more Elsie...

Earlier this month we had a family shower for Jen and Elsie.

More Elsie!

Jim and I had a great weekend in Bakersfield meeting out little niece. She is so precious. I just want to hold her all day long...which Jen was kind of enough to let me do over the weekend we were there. Elijah is such a great big brother. He loves his little sissy. I can't wait to see them both in another week!

Four Generations

Mommy's girl

Welcome Elsie Riess Prince!

I am so excited that my niece has arrived. I can't wait to meet her next weekend. There will be more pictures to follow.

Adventures in LA

Over Labor Day weekend Jim's brother, Dan, came out to visit for a mini-vacation. Jim and Dan had a great time surfing, boogie boarding and checking out San Diego while I had to work.

I didn't want to miss out on all the fun so I took a day off of work to spend time with the boys in LA. Dan had never been to Hollywood or Beverly Hills so we thought it would make the perfect day trip. We checked out Mann's Chinese Theater, walked the "walk of stars", took pictures with Samuel L Jackson and Marilyn Monroe, and caught a sight of the Hollywood sign.




Since Jim moved out to California, he has been wanting to go the famous Pink's hot dog stand. We picked the perfect day to go...it was nice a warm as we waited in the long line for our food. In the end it was worth it to Jim and Dan.





As we continued on our way, we drove through Beverly Hills and walked Rodeo Drive. Jim was kind of enough to let me make a purchase on Rodeo Drive... a bottle of water... that was all we could afford. To add a little fun to the drive, we just started driving up into the hills with all the insanely large homes and awesome views. We pretended that we belonged there but know the reality we will never live there.




To end our LA adventure, we were lucky enough to attend a live taping of "Accidentally on Purpose", a new comedy this fall starring Jenna Elfman. I never knew how much goes into a thirty minute episode...or how much could be shot in a studio. There were nine different sets within the studio! All of the actors were very personable and interacted with the audience throughout the night. I can't wait to see the episode when it premiers...or hear our laughs!

Weekend Getaway!

A few weekends ago I decided to go up and spend the weekend with Jim in Costa Mesa. It wasn't really a getaway for him since he lives there but it was for me. It was a nice break and relaxing weekend. We were able to spend time together, including Maddux, and I got to have a sneak peak into Jim's life in the OC.

Since I brought Maddux up, we decided to take her to Central Bark, the dog park in Irvine. She did a great job, wasn't too anxious, and made some new friends. We even took her back again on Sunday after church.

Maddux loved looking out from the balcony

Saturday evening was our date night. We got dressed up and went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, P.F. Chang's.



One thing that is really important to me, if we end up eventually moving up to Orange County, is to find a church that both Jim and I like and can get involved. Jim came across a website for Rock Harbor church. He tried it out one weekend and told me he could see us going there. After going, I agree with him. Rock Harbor will be our church away from home.

Overall we had a great weekend and I was glad that I was able to save Jim from sitting in traffic since I drove up there. Believe it or not, I did not have to sit in traffic going up or coming back down!

Birthday Boy!

Elijah is becoming a big boy...he recently turned 2! I had a great weekend up in Bakersfield celebrating Elijah birthday and hanging out with my sister. I hadn't seen Jen or the baby bump in a couple of months so it was great to see her...she's only two weeks away from meeting her little girl. Since I am sure Elsie will get a lot of attention when she make her debut, the rest of this post will focus on Elijah. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you are having a bad day go see Elijah and your day will instantly get better...he is all smiles, gives the best hugs and loves to entertain.

It's about time...

After almost two months, I decided it was probably time to update the blog. So tonight I went to town and think I've done a pretty good job at summing up the last couple of months. Enjoy!

**Jim is loving his new job and apartment up in Costa Mesa. It is fun to think that we have a "second" home outside of San Diego that we can escape to on the weekends :) It's not as cool as having a second "vacation" home in Hawaii or in the mountains but it is the O.C. **

Busy, Busy, Busy Weekend

I've found since Jim started working in Costa Mesa that our weekends seem to fill up quickly... from running errands, taking Maddux out to play, celebrating birthdays, to just relaxing and spending time together. I make sure not to take advantage of our time together since our week together has gone from seven days to two. Still, there is a lot to do in those two days and I think we have been doing a pretty good job balancing everything. This past weekend was no exception.

Thanks to Viv and Roxy, we had another spontaneous play date at Balboa Park Dog Park Saturday morning. It has been fun finding all of the new dog spots around San Diego. The early morning play date was followed by my friend's son's 1st birthday party. Jim was such a good sport accompanying me to the birthday without a single complaint even though he didn't really know anyone there before going. It's the little things like this that make me appreciate him more and more.



Later in the day we met up with Andrea and Reggie to celebrate Andrea's 26th birthday at Red Robin. Red Robin burgers are her favorite. Like usual, we had a great time hanging out and talking. Andrea is an awesome person and friend. I just love her! Happy Birthday!

I can never get enough of Elijah!

My mom and dad had Elijah last week and were kind enough to invite me to stay with them for the week so that I could spend some time with him too. Even though I haven't been able to spend as much time with him as I would have liked to over the past few months, he still knows and loves his auntie jac. The minute he saw me ha came running over with his arms wide open and the biggest smile. He sure know how to give hugs :) I looked forward to this routine everyday when I got home from work. Elijah sure was spoiled between me, grandma and grandpa.

My mom and I took Elijah to the beach for the first time. We started out on the board walk with a carousel ride. He loved watching all the people, rolling around in the sand and splashing in the ocean.





The next day Elijah and I spent the evening with Andrea, Reggie and Corban. It is quite entertaining to watch a one year and two year old runaround and play with each other. It was nice to gt to hangout with Andrea. Some day our kids will get to have play dates but for now I'll just have to steal Elijah for them. I never knew that blanket would create so much joy, laughs and fun. Elijah and Corban must have played under the blanket for like twenty minutes.

The time I spent with Elijah makes me miss him even more. I love my little nephew. Can't wait to see him this weekend for his 2nd birthday!

Girls Weekend Getaway

Last weekend my small group girls and I had a girls weekend. We had been planning the trip for a few months and decided to go to the OC. This was before Jim had taken the position in Costa Mesa. We stayed at the Hilton which was less than a mile away from Jim's. The girls were kind of enough to let me spend some time with Jim Friday night since otherwise I wouldn't have been able to see him for two weeks. I had a great time checking out his new place, grabbing dinner and just hanging out. I met up with the girls later that night and from there it was all girls weekend. We did what girls do best...shopping, laying out at the pool, eating and girl talk. I had an awesome time with the girls and getting to know better.

Fun afternoon at the beach!

A few weeks ago Jim and I stayed with my parents at their timeshare just north of us. We are lucky enough to have an awesome friend, Vivian, who loves Maddux and takes her when we go out of town. It doesn't hurt that Viv is Roxy's, Maddux's best friend, mom. I called Viv to pick up Maddux on our way back home and found out they were getting ready to head down to dog beach in Coronado so Jim and I decided to meet them there.


It ended up being a fun, spontaneous afternoon. Maddux and Roxy had a blast playing in the water and chasing eachother around. They both were sooo tired and but looked so happy. We ended the afternoon eating some great bar-b-que at the ferry landing and walking along the bay.

I guess we get spoiled living in San Diego.

Cheers to a New Job!

Jim recently interviewed for a new position with AAA and was offered and accepted the position on Thursday. He will be helping roll out a new claims program in Southern California. This will be a great experience and opportunity for him to grow both professionally and personally.

The only downside to the new position is that it is at the corporate offices in Costa Mesa. Jim will be living in Orange County during the week and coming home to San Diego on the weekends and possibly a night a week... this way he won't have to experience the San Diego to LA commute too often.

Although Maddux and I will miss him during the week and will have to adjust a little bit, there is no better time than now for him to take advantage of this opportunity. I believe the whole thing has been a God thing and I am excited to see what he will accomplish in his new role and where it will lead him.