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 : ).