A New Year...a New Nephew to Love On!

My sweet little nephew, Enoch Christian Prince, made his debut a week ago on January 14th.  He is perfect...and tiny compared to his brother and sister when they were born.  I was lucky enough to get to go to Bakersfield to meet him when he was just a day old and spend the night with him and Jen at the hospital.  I could just hold him and love on him forever!

Elijah and Elsie are so excited to have a little brother.  When Jen and Matt brought Enoch home both of them would just look at him and smile...Elijah wanted to hold him too!  They both will be a great a big brother/big sister and helpers.  Congratulations Jen & Matt!

Proud Momma and her three babies

Lovin' on their little brother

Keeping with Traditions in 2010...and Making New Traditions in 2011

In keeping with traditions, Jim and I rang in the new year with one of my best friends, Andrea, and her husband Reggie. What is great about spending New Years with them is that we don't have to do anything fancy or crazy...we are all content with going out to dinner, watching a movie, and just being in each others company and making memories. Between the four of us, there is never a dull moment and lots of laughs to be had by all. This year Andrea and I even managed to stay awake until midnight...possibly one of the first times that the guys didn't have to wake us up just in time to watch the ball fall. I couldn't think of a better way to end 2010 and begin 2011.

As I started to think about 2011, there are so many things I am already looking forward to, welcoming a new nephew in a couple of weeks, one of my best friends having her first little girl (and getting to visit them in the spring), spring training to watch the Cubs (and spend time with family), a good friend of mine getting married (and helping plan the wedding), 10 year high school reunions for both Jim and I, just to name a few. I am sure there are even more things I don't yet know about that I will look forward to throughout the year and will turn into lasting memories.

I will leave you with my list of "new years resolutions" or what I would like to accomplish in 2011. By letting my friends and family know my goals, I will be held more accountable and will have a better chance at following through. Feel free to ask me how I am doing and to keep me in check.

-Grow in my relationship with God and do daily devotionals. This morning after church I picked up "The One Year Book of Inspiration for Girlfriends...juggling Not-So-Perfect, Often-Crazy, but Gloriously Real Lives", daily devotional, so I think I am off to a good start on this.

-Run a 5K...outside. I have done the 5K loop on the treadmill at the gym but I know running outside can be a different story. Jim wants to run a 5K so we can do this together :)

-Relax More. I think it speaks for itself.

-Keep up with the blog more consistently. Every year I have the best intentions of keeping the blog updated and then over the year my posts get further and further apart. My goal is to update the blog at least once a month but I will try to add something twice a month. In our Christmas letter I mentioned the blog, hoping that it would make me more inclined to keep it updated for those who might actually check it out.

-Be more positive...regardless of the situation or circumstances.

-Not to worry about pleasing others. "Somebody will not like something I say or do today but that's okay- God and I are well pleased with me." -Ellen Miller

I am excited to see what God has in store for Jim and I this coming year!

So it's Fall...

Finally fall has arrived. Nothing says Fall like cool crisp air, leaves changing colors and warm apple cider. To experience Fall, Jim and I took an afternoon trip up to Julian, a small mountain town known for their apple orchards and amazing pies.

Our delicious caramel apple pie

Amazing Artwork...in Chalk

A couple weekends ago Jim and I, along with some friends, went downtown to Little Italy to check out Festa 2010. Festa is large Italian Festival that goes on every year and features "Gesso Italiano" (Italian chalk art). The highlight of the afternoon was walking around and seeing all the amazing artwork done in chalk on the street. The artists ranged from school children to seasoned artists. These were some of our favorites...enjoy!

Great Friends are Hard to Come by these Days...

We had great time on a Saturday morning with Andrea, Reggie and Corban at Old Poway Park. Jim was photographing their little family while I was able to just hangout and talk with Andrea in between shots. I must say that all three of them are so photogenic and Corban has the most cute and silly faces. After Jim finished taking the pictures, we headed over to the Farmers Market and then to breakfast to just hang out and talk.

Elijah & Elsie

As a gift for my sister and brother-in-law, my mom asked Jim if we would take pictures of Elijah and Elsie for the 3rd and 1st birthdays, respectively. This would be Jim's first photo shoot for JPhotography, his new business endeavor. Both kids were hams for the camera so Jim was able to get some good shots. Enjoy my nephew and niece...and Jim's work!

A Day at the Races

Although I have lived in San Diego all of my life, I had never been to the Del Mar horse races until Jim and I met up with some of his Orange County friends a couple of weeks ago. I didn't know what to expect, or how the betting worked, so once we arrived at the race tracks we walked around observing people and eaves dropping on conversations about how the betting worked. Just before the first race, Jim decided to take a shot at placing a bet. The race started and instantly the energy level was raised as everyone was intensely watching the track and cheering for their horse. Although he didn't win anything the first race, Jim went on to win five of the next six races.

After the first race, we met up with a few of Jim's friends on the inner track where we watched the rest of the races for the day until the $1MM race when we decided to call it a day. We will definitely be going to the races again next year and may even make it a family event and bring my parents, Jen, Matt and the kids. Although they too have lived in San Diego for most of their life, they have never experienced a day at the races.