Quick update...

So we were really productive, all weekend long!! I don't have any more pictures yet, but will have them up soon.

Justin finished his workbench by adding awesome drawers and pegboard on the wall--it looks great!

I finished painting our entire bedroom blue--it is so calming and looks brand new! I also painted the living room green. I love it! Only one room to go--the playroom will be turning yellow next weekend!

Pictures coming soon!

Our latest home improvements...

Justin and I have had a very productive weekend so far, and it is only Saturday night!!

Justin had Friday off, so we wanted to have a fun day working on stuff together. We decided to go to the 6 am boot camp instead of our usual 6:30 pm session so we could go to a movie. On our way out of the house at 5:30 in the pitch dark, somhow I ran smack into the sharp corner of our heavy door out into the garage. By the time Justin came back in after he heard the crack of my head, I was bleeding!! This picture is today, 36 hours later, with a slight bruising happening! It is actually a little more purple in real life, but it covers up nicely with eye shadow!! I can't believe I did this! Now I know--lights at 5:30 am are a good thing!!

A few weeks ago, Justin used some Christmas gift cards to finally buy some tools that he has been wanting for a long time. He has had a plan to build a new workbench for our garage and finally was able to use his new circular saw and drill today. The first picture is the original Steiner workbench from our first house. This was built with scrap wood from other houses under construction, some screws, and a hand saw--our only tool at the time!! I thought it was great, but look below at his latest creation!



It is still under construction...He still has plans to add built in drawers, and a electrical plug built in on the side. I'm so proud of him! It is a perfect workbench for him and fits perfectly in the garage. What a handy guy!


My contribution to the household updates are the following...

I've been dying to paint our bedroom, so today I got two of the four walls done. I painted it the same blue that is in our bathroom, and I love how it makes the shutters and crown moulding pop!!



Obviously, bedspread, pillows and wall decor still need to go back up, but I just thought I'd share the pretty color! More pics will come when I have finished the other two walls and the decorating.

Another project was adding drawer pulls and handles to my cupboards in the laundry room. I working on making a little "center" on the counter, and I have been painting picture frames and other cute things. I will post the finished project soon. Also, a few weeks ago, we added the shelf and hanging bar for drying clothes. I'm loving the laundry room!





Okay--that's all for now--maybe we'll do even more tomorrow!! It is so fun to work on your own house!!

Betsy's new spot

I can't seem to keep the cushions on my couch fluffed up right lately. Betsy has seemed to find her new favorite spot at the very top of the couch! It takes her about 5 minutes of pacing along the top of the couch until she finally finds the perfect spot to snuggle into--snoring contentedly!!

Can you find the Betsy??

Just right!!

Aww!! See why we love her??!!

One week later...

So we made it through our first week of Boot Camp!! I have been very sore through the week, but the pain has gotten less and less as the week went on. Honestly, the hour sessions each night are exhausting, but at the end, I really feel proud of myself. For me, it just takes someone forcing me to exercise and not give up. We are going to sign up for another 2 weeks, so we'll have a month straight of every day tough workouts!

Goal update: I have lost 2 pounds so far, and I'm hoping it will continue! Starting to feel more toned--hopefully will see results soon!

Here is a picture of us right after Day #5...

The Year of the Body

This post doesn't have any pictures yet, but I thought I would share our goals for this year. This year is going to be the "year of the body" for Justin and I. My mom came up with that term, and has influenced us all to hop on board!

We are making this year a year where we get back into better shape. Having been there before, we know how much better we feel when our clothes fit well! =) We each have some goals that we've set for ourselves, and have already been working the last week eating healthier and exercising. We also just signed up for our first "Boot Camp" class! I have a feeling that I might just die during these classes (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays from 6:30-7:30!!!) but I'm excited for what it is going to help me look and feel like!

My goals are to lose 15 pounds and tone up by March. For those of you who know the recent events in our life, you know my ultimate goal is to actually have the year of the Pregnant body!! I want to be in better shape going into a pregnancy. Justin is aiming to lose weight and get in shape as well. I'll let him post the details of his goals. All I can say is that looking back at our wedding and dating pictures when we celebrated our 5th anniversary really inspired me to make some good changes for 2008.

So now I've shared my goals, and you all can keep me accountable!! Who knows, maybe you'll join us for the "Year of the Body"!!

Justin's 27th birthday

An early morning birthday picture!!

Justin turned 27 on December 21st, and we had some good friends celebrate with us. Our friend Amy wrote a great blog all about it with pictures, so I'm going to attempt to just link it here instead of remake it!

Click here to read her blog...

Our 5th Anniversary

For our 5th anniversary, Justin took me to the Gaylord Texan, an awesome resort right near the DFW airport. We had such a great time--it felt like we were there for days, and it was only one night! We got the special spa package, which included spa robes, massage oil, and a couples massage! What a wonderful surprise! He had also arranged for there to be rose petals on the bed, but the hotel forgot--bummer! We also had room service twice!
Below are some pictures of our time there...

This is the inside of the atrium--got this one off the website to show you how cool it is!

Justin being silly--it was all decorated so beautifully!


The view from our window

On Monday, before we had to leave for California, we went to see Ice. They do it every year at the Gaylord, and it is absolutely amazing! It is a whole exhibit hall full of rooms of ice sculptures! Chinese artists come in and carve these, and they are there from November through January. You are given a huge parka to wear, since it is all kept at 9 degrees! We had so much fun!

In line--couldn't seem to get both our faces in the picture!


All ice!!!

Waiting in line for one of the three ice slides...wow--I'm fast!

On our actual anniversary on the 27th, Mom and Dad and Aaron and Kristen surprised us with cards and a bottle of champagne--how nice!

Mom even decorated an anniversary tree for us! She decorated it with the bows that we had on the pews in our chapel!
Our official anniversary picture...

We're still silly, even after 5 years!

I'm looking forward to at least 65 years more!!

December 2007

Justin and I had a lot of fun decorating our house this year. We finally have a house that isn't too tall to put Christmas lights up on the house! Justin and I went all out with the big lights, and the house looked gorgeous--for about a week. For some reason, the fuses on the lights on the house kept blowing, so for the rest of the month, we just had beautiful yard lights! Oh well!!

Here are the pictures of our Christmas decorations...

Betsy got some Christmas decorations too!

Inside the house...

Outside the house...

Christmas 2007

What a wonderful Christmas!! We spent Christmas 2007 in California at my parents new house. What a great week!

We had a little bit of a rough start, though...Aaron and Kristen flew from DC to Dallas, where we met them to fly the last leg to Fresno together.

This is us looking exhausted waiting for our plane in the airport...


The trip to Fresno seemed a little long, but right as we were about to land (literally 2 minutes away with landing gear down) the pilot came on and said that the fog had just dropped in and we couldn't land. We had to fly to San Jose to refuel, and we sat there for about 45 minutes, refueling and hoping that we would be able to try the landing again in Fresno. We ended up not being able to take off, so we rented a car (a Taurus with 4 adults and 7 bags!!!) and Justin drove us the 3 1/2 hours home. We finally made it about 2:30, thanks to a great GPS navigation system! Mom and Dad were glad that we were there, even though they were mad that we drove through the fog! We just wanted to be home for Christmas!


The rest of the week was full of relaxing, eating, shopping, and a lot of laughing. Below are some of the crazy pictures of the week that went way too fast!







On Thursday, we had a marathon meal night. Every time Aaron and I come home, we always want to eat all of our old favorites. So, we went restaurant hopping, and brought home a buffet of three of our favorite restaurants: Chinese, Japanese , and Mexican!! Needless to say, we were stuffed, but it was delicious! Below are the pictures of us eating Wah's chinese noodles. This is our typical method of eating them, except it is usually on the way home in the car! (Which we did with the first box--we just had to let Justin and Kristen officially become part of the family!)

Our ode to Lady and the Tramp!



Playing Apples to Apples.


On Friday we drove up to Oakland to visit Gram--we had so much fun taking her to lunch and opening presents.



Simba the orange-nosed reindeer.

November 2007

We spent a long Thanksgiving weekend with Justin's parents in Tulsa. Joy, Ryan and Ryley were able to come from Denver. What a fun time we had eating yummy food, playing Gene's new train game, and just relaxing!!

Steiner family Christmas picture...


Our little family

Auntie Aly and Ryley...

Ryley and Betsy--had to post, even though it isn't the best picture!