Finally!!

Nic and I FINALLY purchased a vehicle. I know...the earth shook, electricty throughout Orange County turned off, babies grew beards, and Nic and Bekka bought a car. It was a long stressfull process, but I'm so happy to report that it is finally over. Thanks to all our friends who have been so helpful and understanding to our situation...especially my friend Maria. You guys are the best!!

To help Nic's dreams come true, we purchased a new 2010 Charcoal Grey Toyota 4Runner. I have to admit...I absolutely love it!!

November 2009

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of excitement, and I wanted to take the time to document everything.

Halloween Weekend started our month out with a surprise visit from my parents. (See A Pleasant Surprise below) It was such a nice way to start out the month, and I'm still so grateful they made the trip down.

Nic then spent the first week of the month finishing up his study for the Series 6 Exam, which is the first of 3 financial tests required for his job. With my consent, he scheduled his test on the day of our two-year wedding annivesrsary. It would either be a very good evening or a very depressing evening. I'm so happy to report that it was a great evening. He passed with an 83% on a test that most people fail the first time. I am so proud of him. We finished the evening with dinner at Javier's and a quiet evening at home. It was a very special way to document the anniversary of our wedding.

This is our only picture from the day, so I had to post it. Nic has gotten good at using our car's dash to take our pictures.

November 9 marked the end of our second year of marriage. This past year has been a year of memories, and I'm grateful everyday for the opportunity I have to spend my life with my best friend. This year I ran a half marathon, Nic graduated from college and got his first job, we went to Hawaii, we met our second Niece, Alysse, my brother got engaged (finally) and we've attempted to buy a home numerous times. It has been an amazing year, and I'm so glad we have eternity to continue the fun.

Happy Anniversary Nic!

After the anniversary/test craziness, we had a friend stay with us for a week and a half. Eddie, Nic's best friend from high school, lived with us for a week and a half as he waited for his new apartment to be ready. He is moving down here to work for about a year for his company. We had so much fun with him, and we are really excited to have a familiar face join us in Southern California.

The day after he 'moved out', my family arrived to celebrate Mattingly/Baldwin Thanksgiving 2009, and the excitement continued. My Dad, Mom, Rachel, Daniel and Tanner arrived just in time to pick me up from an early day of work on Wednesday. We dropped the guys off at their hotel for naps while my Mom and Rachel helped me finish some last minute Thanksgiving shopping. When Nic got home from work, we ate pizza and had a tennis match. It was a perfect start to the weekend. We then decided it would be best to have an early night since we would be spending the entire next day at Disneyland!! We arose early and arrived just minutes after the park opened, to meet our neighbor Donna, an employee of Disney. When Donna found out we were having family in for Thanksgiving, she very generously offered to sign three of them in for free. It was awesome!

I gave both of my parents a guilt trip, letting them know that it was important they participate in every ride we rode that day, as this was a family trip to Disneyland and we would all be doing things we didn't necessarily want to do. This convinced my Dad to ride our first ride of the day: Space Mountain.

Then it was time to convince my Mom to ride our next ride of the day: Splash Mountain. To say she was terrified was an understatement. I have to admit, she was hilarious. I just love this picture of Nic and the boys.

Next up: The Haunted Mansion.

My little brothers: (I'm standing on my tip toes)

A family portrait (except for two missing siblings... we missed you Bobby and Natalie!)

Character Time:

Practicing for the Family Christmas Card:

On to California Adventures:

Mom's terror rode again in Tower of Terror :):

The after-math of the ride I rode for my mom: Grizzly Peak. It's a good thing it was 85 degrees that day and we were dry within the hour.

Back to Disneyland for fireworks and snow in Orange County. Love the face, Tanner.

Christmas at Disneyland:

We had so much fun that day and as always, we closed down the park.

The next day, we celebrated with Thanksgiving Dinner. I was nervous, as this was the first time I have ever 'hosted' a holiday dinner. My parents thankfully did the turkey, stuffing and home-made rolls. I did everything else, with the help of Rachel and my mom. It was so fun!

We were all still so tired from a full day at Disneyland, so eating Dinner was the extent of our accomplishments for the day. The rest of the day was spent watching movies and playing games...and eating even more.

Saturday was spent shopping and racing at K-1 Speedway. Us girls gave in to the begging of the guys, and we all raced. I admit, I had fun.

I'm so glad my family decided to come down to help us celebrate Thanksgiving this year. We had so much fun with them and were sad to see them go this morning. I'm just glad we'll be home in a few weeks for Christmas so we can see the rest of our family. We missed everyone and can't wait to see them soon!

Love you guys!

Just a random Tuesday

I need to take a moment to complain. Every woman is allowed time to complain every once in a while...right?!??! So to just get it out there, I HATE this weather. I hate this dry, hot, not cold weather that shouldn't be allowed to grace any part of the world on a day in NOVEMBER. It is November, one of my two favorite months of the year, and I hate the fact that I am avoiding anything that might take me outside. I'm itching my legs through my pants with pen caps, and I'm taking shallow breaths to limit my intake of the dry yuckiness. All because of the weather. Isn't it supposed to be humid down here? Just so you all know, it's supposed to be in the 80's today...Maybe I should have waited for Christmas to post my tribute to the Summer.

K, I'm done. Next time I post, I'll be peppy.

On a very positive note, Nic and I just celebrated our 2 year anniversary, we have an extra roommate this week while Nic's best friend gets ready to move into his new apartment down here, we are getting ready to buy a new car, I get to see Leah on Saturday, and my family is coming down next week for Disneyland, an OC Mattingly Turkey Trot and Thanksgiving. Life is good...despite the weather :).

And one more thing...I need to give a shout out to my completely adorable new niece, Alysse Jessalyn Mattingly. She is absolutely precious.

A Pleasant Surprise

Saturday morning I awoke to the smell of bacon. Yum, right? Except it took about 2 seconds for my confusion to overcome the yummy bacon smell. The smell was way too strong to be coming from a neighbor and I could feel the warm body of my husband in bed next to me. My confusion could have shortly turned to panic if Nic wasn't as calm as he was. As it turned out, not only did I wake up to a yummy breakfast of pancakes and berries, and eggs and bacon, but I woke up to the pleasant surprise of my mom and dad! They drove down late Friday night and surprised me with a visit for the weekend. I say they surprised me because Nic was in on the surprise visit, as it was his job to get out of bed at 1:30 to let them in. (I slept through the whole thing)

Nic is studying hard for the Series 6 exam, so he played with us when he could. We visited the Orange County Marketplace, drove the area scouting out Open Houses, ate dinner at PF Chengs, watched movies and ate popcorn, slept in, went to church, went to more Open Houses, walked the beaches in Laguna, ate Sprinkles Cupcakes, made the best home-made pizza ever, and watched more movies. It felt a lot like a vacation, which is totally what I've needed lately.

Thank you so much, Mom and Dad. We had a great time with you and can't wait to see you again for Thanksgiving! OC Mattingly style : ).

A Night at the Santa Monica Pier

Friday night we experienced one of the coolest things we've done in a long time: We sat on the Santa Monica Pier and watched one of our favorite movies ever...Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It was the best way I can think of to end a great Summer.

The movie started at dusk, so it was a race to get home from work and get changed in order to get there on time. We picked up my good friend Marni on the way, and the speeding began. (Fullerton to Santa Monica in Friday night rush hour traffic is not an easy feat). We got there just as Cameron was on the phone with Mr. Roonie, impersonating Mr. Peterson. "Pucker up butter-cup." (Random quotes throughout are courtesy of Nic) Free popcorn and water bottles were provided to all who came, which frankly, I was ecstatic about. (Besides parking, it was a completely free night...when does that EVER happen??) We set up on the pier and enjoyed the cool weather and relaxed atmosphere, laughing at all of our favorite lines. Then, per Nic's request, we ended the night at BJ's. (Mostly because I am a good wife and I like to make my husband happy)

"Bueller, Ferris Bueller"

You'd think we'd never seen the movie before...so focused.

"You are Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago?"
(I know, it's so dark)

A view of the Pier.

A tribute to another movie classic: "I wish I was Big"

This picture is mainly just for the memory. We had to stop at this video store called "Vidiots" to get the free tickets for the movie. It almost felt like a moment from "I want to exchange an egg." (Whoever gets that line will forever have my heart.)

Goodbye, Summer 2009

A Tribute to Summer 2009
How we will miss the sandy beaches and salty water, and the hot sun beating down on our pale skin. (No matter how many times we visited, we never kept the tan) We truly love all of the beautiful stretches of sand, but we hold a special place in our hearts for Huntington and Newport. Visions of boogie boarding and napping and brown skin will hold us until the sun is hot again. I'll hold Nic's giggles in my heart (his giggle of anticipation when walking down to the water is adorable!)and I'll dream of laying on our beach blanket while reading magazines and napping (I'm just too stubborn to completely submerge in the water).
How we will miss our tradition of searching for the nearest McDonald's to satisfy our need for $1 Vanilla cones (don't wrinkle your nose till you've tried them and please also note that they are lowfat). They are indeed the most delicious and we will both miss the creamy coolness as we licked the cones clean.

Until next summer...We promise we'll be back. Sand, Salt Water and McDonalds Ice Cream in tow.

I almost forgot!! Tuesday Continued...

One of the most important things that transpired on Tuesday was our exchange of the rental car. We couldn't have been more happy to say goodbye to that thing...it was such a boat!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Tuesday morning found us awake very early. You'd think that this would have given us ample time to get our stuff together and travel over to Honolulu to be on time to one of only two appointments for the week, but somehow, in the fashion of Nic and Bekka, we found ourselves almost late. Nic and I decided that we do better on vacation when we just go with the flow...ie: We are never going to make an appointment while on vacation again. I know, we're weird.

But no complaints on where we were headed...Nic and I spent the next 3 hours on a boat out on the ocean, parasailing. It was fabulous! I am so happy that I can say that now, because I was definitely not able to say it at the time. I admit, I was terrified. I feel awful because Nic was so worried about me, he didn't get to enjoy it as much as he would have. Here's the thing: I'm not afraid of heights, I'm afraid of the Ocean. Actually, I'm terrified of the Ocean. It's big and dark and cold and full of the unknown. I don't like the unknown. So the entire time we were up there, I was freaking out that the wind was going to suddenly stop and we were going to drop straight into the water. Poor Nic, huh?




After Parasailing we spent some time exploring the Ala Moana Center. It's across the street from the harbor and we were ready for some food. The food court in the mall had a wide variety of food from across the world. Lucky for me, I got to have Thai food while Nic had a boring sandwich (He never agrees to go to Thai with me). We both admit that we spent way too long there. Nic spent a lot of time in Hawaiian Island Creations, a dream come true for him, and I decided it would be a great opportunity to search for a new bathing suit. Unfortunately, no luck there. I took the hint and we left to make the drive back to our hotel. But before left, we ended the afternoon with an ice cream sandwich the size Nic's head.



Tuesday ended with a swim in the beach and in our resort pool. We even opted to skip dinner - our desire to stay in the water over came everything else. All in all, we had another great day.

Happy Friday

Nic's response to the after-effects of my upcoming Root Canal this afternoon...
Nic - 'Well, depending on how you feel tonight, we can either stay home and watch movies, or do something else'
Me - 'What's something else?'
Nic - 'I don't know, we could go Putt or something.'
I love how he gave the option to go swing a golf club like it wasn't a completey calculated response. :)

LAME

1 : having a body part and especially a limb so disabled as to impair freedom of movement
2 : lacking needful or desirable substance :
3 : slang : not being in the know :

So I'm not sure which of these definitions defines me right now...but I know I'm at least one of them. Looks like number 2. Because I know that I am LAME for not continuing to blog Hawaii. So I am making a goal (that's right, I'm putting it out there to the Public)...I will finish it by Sunday. Then I will feel like I can move forward with my life and continue to blog about other things without feeling the guilt of not finishing our amazing vacation.

Just a side-note...the piddly excuse for my absenteeism was a sinus infection. A really horrible, debilitating sinus infection that spread to my chest and gave me a cough for a week after the infection was supposedly over.

Monday, June 1, 2009

As I ended my previous post, I provided a preview of the first thing I saw as I woke up on Monday morning. Nic opened up the curtains just as I opened my eyes; it was the perfect start to our first full day in Hawaii.

We loaded into our boat of a rental car (the Chrysler 300 Touring that we were so wonderfully up-graded to) and were on the road by 8:00 am.
Our first stop: The Dole Plantation



I know it was a very tourist-y thing to do, but it was actually really interesting! And the pineapple was delicious. We even went on the Plantation Garden Tour, led by an ancient little philipino man who was followed around by a black cat and who lectured us for 5 minutes after the tour about the dangers of cross-walking.

The following is the pineapple deliciousness that Nic gobbled up in 8 minutes flat. (It was a very hot day, hence the beginning of the soup-like consistancy)



Our next stop: Haleiwa on the North Shore
Here we were exposed to our first 'local' spot. We pretended that we fit in, although we were still very pale at this point and I don't think we fooled anyone. We walked the main street in town, shopped extensivley in a very cool surf shop called Surf and Sea (Nic didn't want to leave) and ate a very yummy lunch of sandwiches from a highly recommended local spot. It was at Surf and Sea where we decided to have our try at kayaking. It was so much 'fun' trying to coordinate with each other enough to not hit the other with the oar :). Really, it was a very cool experience, as neither of us have ever kayaked in the ocean before.

We then jumped into the car and continued on our way up the coast. Our next stop was Sunset Beach, which hosts some of the islands most famous surfing. Even though it isn't surf season, the current and under-tow were VERY strong and it was so much fun getting into the water and feeling the pull.

We don't know any of these people, it is just one of our shots of this particular beach.

Our next stop was a small local bakery which came very highly recommended from our friend Paul (who was previously a local). Ted's Bakery in Sunset Beach supplied the yummiest Chocolate Haupia Pie we've ever had. Of course it was the first and only we've ever had, but still. You might be wondering how good a peice of pie could be. Just trust me...it was delicious.

Next on our agenda was a quick stop at Shark's Cove. Our plan was to snorkel, but those who know me know I'm not the most naturaly inclined person in the water and I knew I would have to work up to something like this. It was definitely out of my comfort zone. We did end up going back though, so you will see some pictures of this very cool spot on Friday.

We ended the day in our new favorite place on the Earth: Waimea Bay. I could not get enough of this beach. The sand was beautiful and soft, the water was clear, and the scenery was beautiful. Nic took the following picture to remind himself that I do swim in the ocean when I can see more than just seaweed.

Just as we started the day with the sunrise, we ended our day with the sunset. As the sun was slipping down through the clouds, we packed up and headed back to our temporary home in Ko Olina.

We ended the night once again in our resort pools and lagoon. A perfect ending to a perfect day.