Seabee Ball 2009

The Seabee Ball was on March 14th at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley.

The view was amazing! This helicopter is Reagan's "Marine One"...aka the helicopter that flew the President around.

This is Reagan's "Air Force One". They retired the plane and we actually got to tour it! That was so much fun!

This dress was backless, but we modified it. I loved the way it turned out!

I love this picture of us laughing together! We had such a fun time!

Matt and some CECOS classmates.

More classmates. This is a pretty cool picture of "Air Force One"!

Haircut

Rian desperately needed another haircut. So it went from this.....

to this.....

We are so happy with the results! We kept going back and forth, do we want to cut bangs or not, but we decided to do it and we like it so far!!

Missing Our Little Girl...

It just made sense to leave Rian down in San Diego for the week after we returned from Utah. Although we really didn't need a babysitter until Saturday, Matt's mom, dad and sister, Lauren, watched her during the week and my parents from Friday night on. Although we missed her tremendously, we figured that we will be living out of the country for the next 3 years and it would be good for all of them to spend some quality time with Rian before we move in 2 months.

So how did I spend the week while Matt was at work and I was home, alone, with no little girl to keep me busy......well, I tried to stay as busy as possible!

Tuesday afternoon-drove up from SD by myself. It was so weird not having Rian in the backseat! Gym with Matt. Made and ate a nice dinner together...weird again not getting Rian's food ready before mine :)

Wednesday-recruited some of the other wives to drive to the cliffs of Malibu and dolphin watch! We saw some...see pics below!!! Then we ate at the most yummy frozen yogurt place in Malibu (I'm still dreaming of it)! Went bowling with Matt's Command (co-workers). Went grocery shopping and made some of the best street tacos I have ever had!!



Thursday-the sun was out that day, so another wife and I went to the beaches of Malibu again. This time we saw a sea lion...see pics below!!! Then went out to dinner with a group of friends.



Friday-went with some of the ladies to the nail salon! Something I never get to do when I have Rian with me. Then Matt got off work early so we went to an early movie and then to a nice dinner!

Saturday-got all dolled up for the Ball!!!!!! Had a blast at the Seabee Ball.....post to come ;)

Sunday-spent morning blogging. And now just anxiously waiting for my mom and Rian to drive up here!

I'm not going to lie, it was nice to have some alone time just Matt and I, but gosh, we missed our little girl so so much! 5 days is a loooong time! But we talked to her everyday, several times a day on the phone and she has no idea how many hugs and kisses are coming her way once she gets here!!! Thanks to everyone who helped watch her for the week, we really appreciate your help!

Last Minute Trip to Utah

Matt's Great-Grandma, Stella Canfield Beutler, born September 15, 1907, passed away on Tuesday, March 3, 2009, at age 101. We were lucky enough to be in the States at this time so we could attend her funeral services.
Great-Grandma was very strong in her faith and had such a sweet spirit about her. I feel very lucky to have lived in Utah for the 3 years we did and really get to know her and listen to her amazing stories. Although her body was failing her, her mind was still very much there and she even had eye surgery done in her 90's so she could continue to read her scriptures and the Ensign. We truly enjoyed our time with her and, most of all, the opportunity Rian had to meet her Great-Great-Grandma :)
Here is a collage of some of her prosperity.

This just amazes me.....to this day, Eden and Stella Beutler had 4 children, 17 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, and 23 great-great-grandchildren. It puts a smile on my face to know that Stella and Eden are now reunited :)


Although we were only in Utah for a day and a half, we HAD to take the opportunity to see our very, very, good friends, Eric and Andrea, and their new little baby, adorable Maci Jane!

Hollywood Sign

...click on collage to enlarge...

Two weekends ago, we decided to head down to South Pasadena to visit our friends Drew and Lorraine. It was such a beautiful day and we had so much fun! We walked around Downtown South Pasadena, did some shopping, and ate at the Cheesecake Factory! Then they took us to the Hollywood Sign! Both Matt and I had never been there before so we had a lot of fun! We didn't actually get that close to it because it's quite a hike, but we got close enough! This was also the first time we met their adorable little boy, Warren! He is so cute and has the most amazing blue eyes! Thank you so much Drew and Lorraine! Lunch was wonderful and we had an awesome time catching up with you guys!

One more thing...while driving home we passed by a KFC. I had to get a picture of it. It is the most modern KFC I have ever seen in my life :)