Fun Times Back Home in PA

April 20th, I headed to the San Francisco International Airport to catch my cross-country flight home to Pennsylvania.  The trip began at 4:30am catching the Monterey Air Bus to the airport and after stops in Denver and Chicago, I finally made it to Pittsburgh at midnight - and then finally home to Hopwood at nearly 2am - on my birthday!  I stayed in PA for 10 days and enjoyed every single minute of my time spent with my Mom and Nana and was even lucky enough to see my in-laws, Mike, Sally, and sister Megan and a couple sweet friends, Anna and Keli.  What a trip!  I've always loved my trips home but now living so far away, I cherish these moments even more.

I made sure to leave Justin totally prepared for his 10 days living as a bachelor.  This was the freezer when I left - and this isn't even the half of it!

Nana and me on my 27th birthday!

Celebrating my 27th birthday with my Mom!

The afternoon of my 27th birthday, we headed to Lexington, KY for a fun weekend of horse races.  Keeneland has become somewhat of a tradition in our family - we love going to the Bluegrass State and really enjoy going to the races to bet on the beautiful horses.  We attended Keeneland on April 22, an unfortunately gloomy, rainy day.  We made the most of it though - not even the rain could dampen the amount of fun we have when we're together!  

We met several famous jockeys in a benefit for the Disabled Jockey Fund, including Pat Day and Chris McCarron (above).

My amazing Mom and Nana.

Mom and me :)

Nana and me :)

15 week baby bump picture taken at Keeneland!

The Three Musketeers

We made it back to Hopwood in time to celebrate Easter and Mom's birthday!  We enjoyed a morning of worship, Easter basket opening (Justin had even mailed me one to Hopwood - he's so cute!), and a delicious Easter brunch buffet at The Waterfront in Morgantown with the Kirkpatrick's.  The only thing missing?  My sweet husband who had to stay behind and go to school.  Boo!

My Nana, me, my Mom, Sally, Megan, and Mike after Easter Brunch.

Mom's birthday!

I was lucky enough to get to meet my sweet friend, Anna Carrier, for lunch one day while in Morgantown.  She and I grew up together and hadn't seen each other in a really long time.  We acted as if no time had passed and talked for hours while enjoying Mexican cuisine at Rio.  She was even sweet enough to bring me some of her delicious cupcakes from her new business, The Cupcakerie!  For all of you friends from Morgantown reading this, do yourself a favor and indulge in her cupcakes - delish!  :)

I always consider myself lucky when I am home during the monthly Birthday Club luncheon.  My Nana belongs to this fun group and I love when I can join in on the good company, fun conversation, and yummy food.  This month, we were celebrating Mrs. Young's birthday! 

And this is what was waiting for me when I returned home late on April 30.  After another day of all day travel (Pittsburgh to Phoenix to LA to San Francisco) I was surprised by the spread that Justin had waiting at the dining room table.  A Henckles knife set, a brown and lime green Coach handbag to match my diaper bag, a blue and white Coach handbag, accessories for my laptop, a dozen red roses, and a cake!  Goodness I have a thoughtful husband.  I missed him so much and it felt great to be back at our "home sweet home" together after a fun trip to PA.  :)

Fun Evening Out

This evening Justin and I celebrated a little early birthday dinner at Benihana Japanese Steakhouse.  I had been craving Japanese for a month or so and I am a member of the "Chef's Table" e-mail list for Benihana and for my birthday, they sent me a $30 gift certificate.  We thought it was the perfect time to use it - to fulfill my craving AND celebrate my 27th!  We had the most wonderful time and they made my birthday SO very special.  As if $30 wasn't enough, they brought me a dessert of my choice, sang to me, made me a balloon hat, and took our picture, printed it, and put it in a frame for us to take home with us!  Our meal was phenomenal and we had a fun time meeting the other people sitting at our table - a couple from South Africa, a couple from Australia, and a mother and son from Sacramento.  We arrived strangers and left as friends.  What a fun night! 

Before dinner :)

14 weeks!

Love my lover boy!

So embarrassed when they brought out drums and tambourines and sang to me!

The picture they took of us!

Fun evening with my hubby!

love him :)

Play Time

Every evening Justin and I put away Elle's toys and every morning, like clockwork, she drags them back out again.  This morning she enjoyed a fun little play time while I was cooking.  Hope this puts a smile on your face!

111th Submarine Birthday Ball

This past weekend we celebrated the 111th birthday of the submarine.  All across the world, U.S. Navy bases celebrated this big day with a formal ball.  Justin had a big part in the planning process because he is the treasurer of the National Submarine League for Northern California - and by default I got to help too.  All of the hard work paid off and by Saturday evening, we had decorated the ballroom in Herrman Hall beautifully.  We had over 130 people in attendance - both new and old submariners, Admirals, Chiefs, you name it.  Justin was the newest qualified submariner in attendance (May 2009) so he was awarded the position of cutting the cake with the longest qualified submariner (1949)!!  It was a very neat honor and as always I am such a proud wife of my husband's accomplishments.  Happy Birthday to the submarine! 

Justin helping to cut the cake!

Justin with Admiral Conner, the guest speaker for the event.

The girls!  Lizzie, Christina, Molly, and me.

Our handsome Lieutenants!  Greg, David, Justin, and Sam.

Prom pose!

Loving my sweet husband.

Viva Las Vegas!

Last weekend Justin took me to Las Vegas, NV for a fun birthday weekend celebration.  We celebrated a little early because I'll be in Lexington, KY on my actual birthday - away from Justin and Elle.  We headed to Vegas around noon on Friday and drove nine and a half hours, arriving at our beautiful resort, Loews Lake Las Vegas just in time to order some room service and get some sleep.  The next morning, Justin, Elle, and I were up bright and early thanks to the barking dog in the room next to us.  We made the most of it though, enjoying the morning sun on the gorgeous balcony overlooking beautiful Lake Las Vegas.  We had breakfast lakeside and then set out to explore the resort.  The two huge pools, cabanas, mini beach, and fun activities provided us with plenty to do.  We had the most delightful morning and we even found time to go on a nice long walk with Elle and explore the Lake Las Vegas area. 

Our little family - poolside :)

After a nap and a soak in the hot tub for Justin, it was time to get ready for the real reason we were there... to see Celine Dion.  I have loved Celine for a very long time; I'd say ever since she sang the theme song to "Beauty and the Beast".  Seeing Celine Dion in concert was something that I had always dreamed about but never ever thought I would.  This was my big birthday present from Justin for my 27th birthday and it was nothing short of amazing.  We arrived at Caesar's Palace with time to grab a bite for dinner at the Munch Bar and then headed over to the Coliseum for the show.  Celine's performance brought tears to my eyes and left us both in awe.  She is as amazing in person as she is on her CDs.  Absolutely incredible. 

Justin had a little help with enjoying the concert so much - a 46 oz. tequila mixed drink!

In front of the Coliseum - ready to see Celine!

After the show we walked around the Strip, enjoyed dessert at the Sugar Factory and headed back to the Loews around 1am.  We had the perfect evening but were happy to get back to our hotel room where the cutest puppy in the world was waiting for us and keeping the bed warm.  :)

Justin and me in front of the Bellagio fountains.

13 week picture on the Strip!

Sweet Elle :)

Sunday, we slept in, enjoyed the resort a bit more, Justin spent some time in the hot tub, and we packed up, ready to hit the road on what would be the most painful trip - ever.  We did enjoy a few stops before leaving town though; the famous Las Vegas sign, the pawn shop featured on A&E's show "Pawn Stars", and the most wonderful Williams & Sonoma Outlet Store.  We were in traffic for HOURS and what should have been no more than a nine hour trip took over eleven and a half hours!  Eeek!  We were thrilled to finally make it back to our humble abode in Pebble Beach and while we enjoyed our weekend away, it will be a long time before we make the drive back to Vegas again!  :)

Elle ready to hit the road :)

The Kirkpatrick's in Vegas!

Elle enjoying her dinner in the car - McDonald's nuggets!





  

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?

Elle and her friends Bella, Maggie, and Winston at Molly and Sam Fromille's house where we celebrated baby Quinn's dedication!  Can you tell that not one of these dogs is an "outdoor dog"?  s.p.o.i.l.e.d. :)  But we wouldn't have it any other way!

Lately...

We've been up to quite a lot lately!  Lots of fun stuff going on which keeps us super busy but it's fun to always have something to look forward to!  We're enjoying every moment of living out here in California and definitely taking advantage of fun happenings in the area. 

On March 24, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead was at Naval Postgraduate School.  He was there to speak at that weekend's graduation and the night before the NPS Foundation, which we are members of, hosted a cocktail party for him.  We thought it was a great time to get to meet Justin's "boss" and hear what we he had to say.  We were very glad that we attended, met some nice people, and thoroughly enjoyed hearing Admiral Roughead talk about the current state of the US Navy and what he sees in the future.

Justin and me with Admiral Roughead, CNO.

Then, that weekend we traveled to Berkeley, California (near San Francisco) about two hours away to Golden Gate Fields for some horse racing!  I'm flying back home at the end of April and will be going to Keeneland in Lexington, KY for the spring meet and sadly Justin won't get to come so we thought we'd take advantage of some CA horse racing and spend the day at the track.  We "almost" won every single race with our horses being in the lead till the very last second - most with a photo finish.  While we left the track in the red, we had tons of fun watching the horses race from the beautiful Turf Club overlooking the track and San Francisco cityscape.

At the Paddock at Golden Gate Fields.

This past Friday we celebrated 12 weeks in the pregnancy.  Almost officially out of the first trimester, I'm just now starting to enjoy life again and have not been so dependant on my prescription morning sickness pill.  Thank the Good Lord!  :)  Elle and I have been doing "two-a-days" running and walking down to the beach which has been such a blessing.  I promise you, seeing the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the waves crashing into the beautiful coastline is just good for one's soul.  We're looking forward to our next doctor's appointment on April 7th and of course can't wait for the "big" appointment at the end of May when we'll find out if Justin is officially out numbered in this house or if we're having a little boy!  We absolutely cannot wait! 

Still nothing to see at 12 weeks...

This evening we attended Doris Day's 87th birthday party.  If you've read articles about her recently, you'd know that she lied about her age when she first started in the business so most think she turned 88 but she's not a day over 87!  She lives in Carmel Valley and co-owns a gorgeous historic hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea, The Cypress Inn.  Each year a party is hosted for her in Carmel to celebrate her birthday.  In past years, she has been able to attend her celebration but sadly this year she was not.  She did however call in and they put her on speaker phone and she sounded fabulous.  She thanked everyone for being there, asked about all the puppies there, and told everyone many times that she loved them.  It was precious.  She is a very big animal rights activist and has her own foundation benefiting dogs.  We had a delightful evening celebrating her birthday and enjoying live music.  Laura Didier, a fellow military spouse, is in a group that travels the country with their Doris Day Tribute band.  They did a wonderful job and the evening was topped off with her beautiful rendition of "Que Sera, Sera".

At The Cypress Inn celebrating Doris Day's birthday (and enjoying a little date night!)

And I thought I'd end this blog post with a picture of our sweet little girl, Elle :) 

Have a great week!