Fourth of July Fun!
We got a flier in the mail for TNT Fireworks – coupon and all! Jeff’s been studying up on what he wanted to buy and couldn’t wait to go “shopping”! We went to the booth by Nob Hill run by Notre Dame High School. We set a limit to $50.. i think we went a little over our budget. But its for a good cause, right?
After we bought some fireworks we decided to go on a hike to Toro Park. Again what a beautiful day! So lucky! As we were leaving the house, Butters was saying bye to us in the window! You can see we’ve put out our flag we bought for Memorial Day weekend. Getting use of it!
We picked a weird trail that was a little steep and close to the highway. But i liked being up high and in the golden hills.
Me and my belly… looking a little plump.
Cool trees.
This one split in half!
Here are some Scottish men we found on our hike! I think they’re promotional for the Scottish Games Festival happening at the park in a few weeks.
I was reminiscing about those red, white, and blue popsicles i used to eat when i was a kid and since it was hot out i thought it’d be the perfect treat after our hike. We stopped by the local convenience store and they had some for sale! Made our mouths are purple in the end!
We got home and Jeff couldn’t wait till it got dark. He set off some fireworks while it was still a little light out as you can see! He found some glowsticks to tide-him over meanwhile.
The neighborhood behind us (ghetto neighborhood that is) always has a bunch of parties and illegal fireworks display. We took a walk to get a better view. I only got a few good photos but they put on a great show! We ran into our friend Lisa and Jeremy and their 3 kids. Jeff gave them his glowstick headband – luckily there were 3 pieces to it to break apart.
After the “show” we walked back home and did our own fireworks!
I love taking photos of fireworks with the DSLR – controlling the shutter speed – its so fun.
Fountains of light!
Starburst explosions!
This isn’t the greatest picture but it shows Butters and I are looking on from the safety of the dining room – behind the sliding glass door! I am surprised that Butter’s isn’t the least bit scared from the loud noises of the fireworks. He looks interested, doesn’t he?
Glider for the Nursery
We ordered a glider for the nursery last week and it arrive pretty quickly in a huge box (see below). Haha, its funny that Butters is in both of these pictures! Silly boy, he loves all the boxes that are coming in and out of the house with all the swings, car seats, and misc baby stuff that has been coming our way. Jeff and i put the glider together and the hardest part was putting on the dang cushions! The one for the back was too tight, and accidentally ripped the side of it! Safety pins to the rescue…
Oh yes and the ottoman is quite lovely. As you can see it barely fits in the room, but it works. Thank goodness we dont have closet doors.
Here’s an updated look at the rest of the nursery. I bought that little green mini-ottoman/storage thingie. It currently has a bunch of diapers in it that i unrolled from the 2 diaper cakes i got from my shower. Love the color!
When Patti was in town for my shower she came over and helped organize the nursery and put up decorations on the wall. We did a good job i think! Teamwork! It took a while to figure out how we were going to place everything but i am digging how it looks. Torie and Patti got me the lamp and the wall frames. The orange one is a little defective though and hangs crooked because the hole is crooked in the back! I have to find a solution to that because it will drive me bonkers!
The closet is finally somewhat organized. Diapers galore, some outfits i hung this weekend with baby hangers i bought from Target, all the toys hanging behind the glider. i think i want to get a smaller cabinet to fit below the hanging clothes so i can store stuff. I know i’ll also need to use it as a table to put some water or something when i am nursing.
Bought this Snugabunny swing for the little one a few weeks ago. Hope the baby enjoys it! It swings a little fast i think… but it had good reviews online. Right now its sitting in the office cuz there isnt any room in the nursery, It might stay here or go out the living room when the baby gets here.
36 weeks + 4 days
Weather has been getting hot and i normally wear cropped pants to work but don’t have any that fit me! So i have a few skirts that are elastic that fit OK. At my doctors appointment this past Thursday, he said that the baby has dropped and was lower than he expected it to be. So i guess that is good news. I feel fine, just hard to breathe, and get really full after eating only a few bites – it is weird to feel my stomach in my chest.
Impromptu “Date” Night
Friday night, so lazy to cook lately! So we decided to drive out to Monterey (still loving our new car i guess!) and find a restaurant to eat at. Before we left i said i wanted to eat some Korean food, so that is where we ended up – a Korean BBQ place in downtown Monterey.
When we get there the lady asks me if i am having a boy or a girl, and we tell her its a surprise and she predicts “boy” – seems to be the consensus among the general public! I wanted som Meat-Jun really bad, and didnt see it on the menu so asked for some. She gave me a weird look and then said, oh, we dont have that… only people from Hawaii ask for that! Haha, i keep forgetting is a total local thing. So i got a rice bowl with “veggies and mixture” — LOL! We laughed about that because the “mixture” contained BBQ beef. Which is fine by me but it just seems more like it would be vegetarian thing from the heading.
I love all the little dishes of pickled veggies you get when you eat at a Korean place. It was fun! Jeff ordered BBQ beef. It was really tasty!
After our meal, i insisted we go to Myo – a self-serve frozen yogurt place that has a bunch of flavors and toppings to choose from.
I always like to get some sort of sorbet and vanilla yogurt, so thats what i got. Watermelon sorbet was what they had this time, and i opted to try a little of their cookies and cream. Topped with graham crackers, some smores bits, and mini mochi! I was so excited for the mochi. This shirt i am wearing the girls from work gave me on their work trip to Chicago (HOW Design conference – couldn’t fly being in my last weeks of pregnancy!)
Can’t quite remember what Jeff got. I think the toppings included coconut and pretzels. Believe it or not, that is the smallest container they had available! You pay be weight so you can fill it as much or little as you want and you pay for what you get. But of course the bigger you bowl the more you are gonna fill it! I practically ate every last bite, but i think Jeff controlled himself better than me and knew when he was done. =)
I just found out that they are opening one in Salinas, right by our house. So excited! Love me some dessert!
A Weekend Hike to Garland Ranch
Since i didn’t get to hike on my birthday we decided to do one during the weekend. At first we decided to keep it simple and go to Toro Park which is less than 10 minutes away. But then we decided to go further away since Jeff wanted to “drive” his new car… so we said Point Lobos. While we were driving on 68 we changed out mind and said we’d go to Jack’s Peak which is on the way/inbetween Toro Park and Point Lobos. Well we get there and its closed… so we head on the Point Lobos. But when we get close, i remember we’ve been wanting to go to Garland Ranch in Carmel Valley. So off we go! Final destination! Luckily our intention was to “drive” so we had at least accomplished that goal so far!
Starting out the hike you have to cross the Carmel River. So pretty and fun!
The weather was really perfect. Not too hot, but not cold at all, though this photo looks foggy, it was a nice temperature and the sun was peaking through.
We did a little loop hike that was maybe a mile? Not very far at all.
The hike trail we were on was called Lupine Trail, so we were looking for them.. thought these were them but they actually aren’t…. Still pretty anyway. I like seeing colors pop againist the golden grass.
35 weeks + 5 days
Look like crap in this picture! But here i am… getting bigger.. . but people still say i’m “small” — WHY THANK YOU!
Showing off our 2011 VW Tiguan
We took a drive out to Toro Park to take some pictures of the new car. Jeff had it detailed in the morning by the dealership. It looks so “cute”!
Front grill. (We need new license plate holders! No need to “represent” Salinas or “promote” Cardinale Way, at least in my opinion.)
From the rear!
Open trunk. Its a bit tinier than i expected but still more room than the Subaru.
My favorite shot. Tiguan!
Interior dash is very nicely laid out. It glows red at night. We got the navigation system, seat warmers, satellite radio, bluetooth synch with phone, all the right gadgets to make Jeff happy.
Another one of our favorite features, the huge moon roof!
Nice rims!
We got a 0% financing from the dealership and will be paying this baby off for the next 5 years!
Happy Father’s Day! Kinda.
I bought Dad-to-be a book on baby raising called “Be Prepared – A Practical Handbook for New Dads”. It looks cheesy on the outside and the graphics on the inside are pretty hilarious but it’s actually a pretty informative book. I found it on Amazon and had to get it.
In the morning, i took Jeff’s Subaru in to get cleaned since it was a HOT MESS inside and out! We’re planning on trading it in for a new car here soon.
My 28th Birthday
I don’t want to turn 28! I like being 27. Haha, oh well i guess i better get used to it. Every year on my birthday i miss that “feeling” of being excited that it is your birthday. You know when you are a kid, you just get SO EXCITED for that day… well at least I did. That day always felt special. Like Christmas almost! But now that i’m “an adult” it just feels like any old other day…
For lunch at work, we went out to our “new” sushi spot in Gilroy called Sushi Omakase. I only have 1 photo and that’s of our yummy dessert, which was different sorbets wrapped in chocolate. It was so yummy, especially since it was pretty scorching outside especially in Gilory weather.
I got to open a few gifts =) I got a massage at Aqua Blue from the whole team, some bath stuff from Michelle, and some belated shower gifts from Angie and Kathy.
After work i had asked Jeff it we could go on a hike and perhaps out to dinner afterwards since it was so nice out. But when i got home, my legs were too swollen to be walking on them. Anytime its super hot they get like that – only when im pregnant though thank goodness. Jeff had got me a card and made me balloon flowers and a balloon dog. He said he did it during lunch and that when he got home they kinda unraveled so they looked a little funny. But i liked them regardless. I can hardly blow up a balloon, nevermind twist them into shapes!
Since the hike was off, we go to just go out to dinner and try out a “new” restaurant that is located at the old AJ Spurs restaurant out in Marina. My, my, was the weather COLD! Yes, foggy. Happens that way all the time. I needed a jacket! Went from high 90’s to like high 50’s! Silly coastal weather.
Well another surprise was that when we got to the restaurant, we were expecting it to be a mexican place, but instead it was a Hawaiian grill kind of place. Well that’s right up my alley!
I ordered some fish tacos.
Jeff ordered some BBQ ribs. The food was just OK, service was just OK, but i like the inside of the restaurant – i always have it is a nice building. Not too sure if i’d go back, a little expensive and like i said just OK food. But its probably hard to please me being from Hawaii. The orchid in our food was a nice touch.
Got lots of birthday wishes on Facebook of course. Everyone boding me well to my last “child-free” birthday.
New Car: VW Tiguan
On June 20th, day before my birthday, we bought a new car! Jeff had been thinking about getting once before the new baby arrives, since his old Subaru has been “smoked” in and was just getting a little worn. Plus we wanted a bigger trunk, so we thought a mini-SUV type would work well for us new parents.
We got to the dealership after work, about 6pm. The guy that helped us was very nice, not pushy, and liked to make jokes. He said we were the only people to come in ALL DAY and he had come in on “his day off” hoping to make a sale. So he was sure glad to see us, as we were willing to buy right then and there.
We ended up test driving the VW Tiguan first, then looked at the Mazda CR-7. I liked the Mazda better because it’s trunk was a lot roomier and I personally trust Japanese cars more than European. But the interior dash of the Mazda looked really weird and awkward, so we decided to go with the Tiguan and in the “luxury” edition no less! Leather seats, moon roof, navigation system, ooh la la!
See my later post for more photos of the car during daylight.
This is the old Subaru Legacy sedan that Jeff traded in for. Say bye-bye.
