He really exists?!?!

Last catch-up post

This is the last one, I swear! I just forgot to post a lot of the things that we did while we were home in California.

As you know, Claude was with us until Christmas. The whole time he was home he begged and begged us to take him to this Japanese market up near Mira Mesa. So one day, we took Claude to this place so he could get all of the Japanese food that he wanted to badly.

The whole scenario was pretty funny. If you've met Claude, you will have no problem visualizing this at all. As soon as we pulled up to the place, Claude just started giggling really loudly and ran inside. After we parked, we went inside to find Claude running around with a shopping cart and yelling really loudly in Japanese "WHERE IS THE MOCHI---DO YOU SPEAK JAPANESE?" It was quite the scene! Finally Claude found his stuff, and we went to the checkout counter....where there were Japanese girls. Oh boy. Claude went crazy. Laughing, yelling, giggling, you name it. He actually spoke Japanese pretty well because the girls were able to understand him. He totally flirted with both of them and asked them if he could be friends with them on Facebook. haha.

I think I already mentioned that Claude spent Christmas morning with Seth and I at my parents house. The first day we got there we discovered that Claude and my dad were wearing very similar shirts! They might even be the same one, who knows? Anyway, this picture makes me laugh every time I see it.

While we were there my dad showed us a German luger that he had gotten from his dad. My Grandpa had served in WWII and had found this luger wrapped in a bandage that a German soldier had on his arm to try and disguise it. Dad brought out the gun and was showing it to all of us. Claude asked if he could hold it...

This is the scariest picture I have ever seen in my life. :)

Don't worry, we made sure that the safety was on and that there were no bullets in the gun. It still made me nervous!

And of course we had so much fun with our baby Fatty! He was so happy to go on walks with us!

The night Seth had to fly home to HI for work was so sad for Fatty. We followed Seth out to the car to say goodbye and Fatty just stood there at Seth's door trying to go with him. It was so hard for me to pull him away! Isn't this just the saddest picture?

So hard to look at this picture! Anyway, another thing that we did while we were home was go to the San Diego Natural History Museum at Balboa park. There happened to be an exhibit on Darwin and I just had to go! And so we did. And my nerdy-science self loved it.

And of course we stopped at all of our favorite food places, but for some reason that the only place I took a picture of was Mr. Frostie. Yummmm.

While we were home we got to hear all three Kressin boys speak during sacrament meeting at church! It was really cool, and all three of them gave great talks. It was a special day to see all of the Kressin boys on the stand together at church. I'm glad I got to be there!

We also had our 3rd year anniversary during Christmas break on Dec 28th! We took our usual trip up to Las Vegas and stayed in the Bellagio. I took my nice Canon camera with me, but I actually didn't take a single picture. It was so crowded and I didn't feel like lugging it around with me all day. I should have though, because I don't have any pictures now!

Well anyway, we had a great time. We ate some good food, shopped, and just enjoyed each other company. Seth got us tickets to see Jersey Boys, recommended by the Kantners! I hadn't heard anything about it, so I was curious to see what it was all about. We both LOVED it! The singing and acting was amazing, and it was really funny! Its crazy how many remakes of those songs you hear on the radio today. Go see it!

Seth left to go to work back in HI while I stayed in Murrieta. The last day that Seth was in San Diego he went with his mom and brother down to Tijuana to visit Concha, their old friend. She was so happy to see them and it meant a lot to her that they made the trip. I was sad that I couldn't meet her!

After Seth left, I stayed to hold the fort down for my parents while they went on a cruise for a week.

I spent a lot of time driving people places, hanging out with Fatty, and taking Jordie to her beloved Chick-Fil-A. It was a long week, but it helped out the parentals and they had a great time on their cruise (plus they brought me a Charger's bracelet and a mexican purse!). While I was home I got to hang out with my best friends Alyssa and Elizabeth who I haven't seen in FOREVER!!! I was so mad that I didn't think to take a picture of the three of us together! Argh. I did get a picture of Alyssa and I at Institute with the fabulous Sister Dowden (I miss your teaching!).

I wish this lovely lady would just move out to Hawaii to hang out with me all of the time!

Aaaaaannnndd I think that about covers it for the trip home. we had so much fun! I wish I had taken more pictures of Seth and I together. Whew! I'm just glad this whole "catch-up" thing is over.

So now to more updated issues.

I feel kinda weird posting this stuff about my life because when I see people they already know whats going on in my life. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway, so I'm here in Hawaii, getting things together for the next big move in our life--to wherever that may be!

I've heard back from some veterinary schools....and the sad news is that so far they have been rejections (boo hoo). Except for U of Wisconsin, they said that I've made it through to their next "phase" of application processing. So that's been a downer in my life. I saw it coming because most vet students don't get in until their 2nd or 3rd year of applying and are on avg. 26 years old...but I just hoped I could be that lucky one to get into vet school on their first try, you know? Who knows...its not over yet! I must say though, getting rejection letters still hurt. ("Why don't you want me? I promise I'm awesome!")

So if I don't get in this first try, I will try again this year for next fall. To prepare for this, I have doubled my time down at the Honolulu Zoo Veterinary Clinic for experience hours and I have an interview for position as a vet technician at an animal hospital. I think that I'm a perfect candidate for that job and have more clinical experience than most applicants, so I am hopeful. I will find out soon! As of now I am dancing again at the PCC...which I can't help but feel like I have digressed in job professions (and pay!!). Oh well.

Seth is in the middle of applying for school, and we are hoping for the best! I think he will get into a great school. I'm hoping for NYU. It would fantastic to live in NY for a bit. So other than working and applying for other jobs, I have kicked by butt into gear with tons of exercise! After taking my stress management class last semester, I have been totally into yoga. I practice it every day and it just brings me to a level of relaxation and control. I love it. I also take a zumba class 3 x's a week, and I think it is awesome! It is so much fun and I look forward to it. I also have a boot camp class that almost kills me and then I keep up with my regular running schedule. Watch out people, I am getting some muscles!!!!

So thats about it. I am tired of writing long posts. This is the last of it, I promise. Only fun posts now! This weekend we have a fun date planned, so I will be sure to take pictures this time and post it!

Love, Lacey

Furry Friends

While I was home I made sure to take some nice shots of the furry members of the family. It was pretty hard to get them to pose, but some of them turned out great!

I want you to meet...

...Bear.

Bear is Seth's family dog. Her name fits her well, because she is a rottweiler beast! Well, looks like one anyway. Bear is one of the sweetest dogs you will ever meet! She is always so loving and greets me whenever I come in the door. She is the funniest food beggar. she is big enough to place her head directly on my lap, and will lie there until I give her some food. How can I resist? She is so sweet, and I love having her around. Plus no one will ever think of robbing the house after taking one good look at Bear!

This is Bear at Windansea beach. We went for a walk one day and I decided to take some pictures of her :

...Hammy.

Hammy is the king dog around the house. He holds a special place in my heart because he is the dog that I grew up with. I remember picking him out as a puppy! He is so cuddly and gentle. Hammy has always been a cuddle bug and jumps up on my lap when I'm on the couch--especially if I have some sort of blanket or cloth for him to snuggle up in! I remember as a kid if Hammy was ever missing we would always find him buried in a pile of laundry or on mom's electric blanket. Despite being such a sweet and cuddly dog, he has his natural hunting instincts. My mom has caught him with freshly-killed creatures on numerous occasions---this includes, geckos, rats, and even a bird!

Hammy is 13 years old now. His eyesight has started to go and he has been having some health problems, so I know that he won't be around much longer and that makes me sad. I feel like every time I see him will be the last. That will be a sad day, so I try to get as much time with him as I can. I must say though, that his white hair makes him look so dignified and regal! I love his white hair and I love my Hammy!

...Blitz.

This is the dog that I know the least. My family picked him up while I was in college. He is the sneaky one of the bunch and is always the little rascal to scurry over and grab the food that drops from the kitchen table first. He loves to snuggle. Whenever Seth is sitting on the couch, he always jumps up on his lap--its so cute! He is a sweet dog and was the most adorable puppy. He likes Dad the most--he is always curled up next to him. Blitz is the only wiener dog that does tricks! My little sister taught him to roll over, shake paws, and sit up for food. He is always moving and jumping around. In fact, Blitz's photo shoot was the longest because he was so jittery and jumpy and would not sit still--typical Blitz.

...Harley.

My family adopted Harley from another family. He was the last wiener dog addition to the family. At one point they had 4 wiener dogs! Harley is a little princess. No joke. This dog was spoiled (and I mead SPOILED) by his last family, so all he does is cuddle cuddle cuddle! All he wants you to do is hold him, and when you do he will fall asleep almost immediately. If you walk up to him, he will roll over instantly so you will rub his belly. He is the least aggressive wiener dog -- he will never try and get any food dropped from the kitchen table--you have to put it right in front of Harley and keep the other dogs from sniping it from him. Harley is our little softy and if he could have his way, he would just want to be held and pet all day long. In fact, he has a bed time. I can't remember what the time is, but he just passes out after a certain time in the evening and will not get up! This is my mom's little crony. He is always asleep on her lap.

I took a picture of him rolled over because that is all that he would do when I walked up to him to take a picture!

... and you all know Fatty.

It's been really hard for me to not have him with me in HI. When I was home, he would always flop down and sleep at my feet. At night, after everyone went to bed, he would come into my room with me and sit at the end of my bed while I was on my computer. I would have let him sleep in my room, but his snoring is so loud that there is no way that I could handle it! Now that I am back in HI, I miss leaning over the bed and seeing this face sitting there. He is such good company and is a missing part of our family in HI. Only a few more months before we get to take him with us to wherever we move to.

Sitting at the end of my bed:

I love these dogs so much! They are all an important part of my family. It was really important to me to have a good picture of each of them. I miss them while I'm in HI. Only a few more months until I get to see them again--and hopefully add a new one when we move to [wherever]!

An oldie.

I found this old pic when I was updating my external hard drive today:

I just about squealed! Isn't this the most adorable dog ever? I just want to snuggle with this puppy!!

Too bad he looks nothing like that now...

..A face only a mother could love....who knows how many types of microscopic organisms exist on that face!

But I do love that face. I just don't want to snuggle with it.

That was a quick post! Now I'm off to yoga class!

"Lacey-proof"

The act of "Lacey-proofing" something, is what Seth does to prevent me from eating his food.

I've started to notice this over the 3 years we've been married. It's pretty funny.

When we first got married, he was nice and let me eat his food [after I had finished mine, of course], but now he has found ways to keep me away! Kind of like how companies keep birds from perching on their buildings by putting spiky guards on the edge:

An example is Diet Coke. I loooove Diet Coke! In order to prevent me from drinking his Diet Coke, he will get the Diet Coke Lime flavor, which I think tastes like some sort of detergent. It works....when he leaves one in the fridge...I never touch it.

Another one is ketchup! This is Seth's best weapon. I detest ketchup. If Seth wants me to stay away from his food, he will douse it in ketchup! Ewwww. He does this all the time on his french fries. If he ever gets some fries I know I have a limited amount of time to snag some before he finds the ketchup.

His last weapon of defense: mayonnaise. uggggghhh. Gross. Seth doesn't really care for mayonnaise, but he will put it on his sandwich if he is hungry and doesn't want me to eat any of it!

The bottom line is that Seth has evolved to eat foods that I don't like so he is sure that he can finish it without me picking at it like a hungry vulture.

Isn't it sad that things have resorted to this? haha. Its a pretty funny joke between us, and Seth has now coined the phrase "Lacey-proofing the food."

I guess I could just solve the problem by not eating his food [in addition to my food]. I can't help it...I'm a hungry gal!

The Dog Whisperer.

No, I'm not talking about Cesar Millan.

Meet my littlest sister Jordan. The dogs just flock to her.

[Baloo looks creeeeeepy in this pic]

Christmas--a little late?

Ok, on to the next "Catch-up" post!

Christmas.

We spent Christmas morning at my house in Murrieta. Claude was with us, so you can imagine the fun that we had!

He started out the event with a hula dance, and borrowed my mom's ipu. Baloo didn't like the noise that it was making and attacked Claude during his dance. The funniest thing, was that while Baloo was barking and jumping and getting all crazy on him, Claude still kept dancing! It kept us laughing for a while.

Claude then thought it would be a good idea to eat some hot wings.

Consequence:

Spicy? haha.

Opening presents was fun! We all got some pretty sweet stuff. I took pictures, but I don't think my family would want me to post pictures of what they look like at 8am. hehe. Oh, except for this one---- this was my favorite. It totally captures the moment:

Paaahahaa it makes me laugh everytime! My dad had a mountain-man-christmas. This was him getting a hiking GPS from all of us. My dad loves to go on long hikes and this portable GPS lets him know where he is going. Here's him with all of his hiking stuff, including a new hiking hat and a bunch of other little tools and gadgets:

**and check out Harley, my mom's little crony, all curled up on her lap! That dog is so spoiled.

The dogs also had a bunch of fun tromping all over the wrapping paper and bows:

And Claude got a new shirt:

After that, Seth and I packed up and headed to the Parmas for Christmas dinner.

The whole extended family was there and we got to see them open up their presents! My favorite was uncle Mike's, who posed for a picture in it:

Little Luci checking out the action. I remember when he was Nonnie's christmas present!

And who could forget Sam's crazy hula hooping? haha.

Dinner was delicious. Tamales!

Little Sofi asked me to take a picture of her, and I told her to give me a nice smile. This is what I got:

Sadly I don't have any pictures of Seth and myself. I guess I just never asked anyone to take one for me! Oh well. I kind of did that a lot this vacation. I'll have to remember to squeeze some ones of us in next time.

Anyway, Christmas was great! We had such a fun time with our families [and Claude of course!]. I hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Fatty!

Fatty got some new rings for Christmas.

Check out the action. I think he likes them.