Weekend Update: Low Key

Since our weekend pretty much started on Friday with Jay's surgery, it was pretty low-key compared to the last few. I'm going to do a separate post on the surgery, but here's the run-down on everything else!

Friday night after I finished up some work and Jay took a little nap, we headed over to the Sanocki's house to celebrate Raelyn's 11th birthday. The birthday girl made her very own signs for the event:

The night included Guitar Hero/Rock Band video game stuff, a neighborhood-wide scavenger hunt, and all the kids got to decorate their own cakes! Birthday girl is bottom left of this pic sporting her sparkly tiara:
Saturday was Valentine's Day, so I made Jay dinner. The dinner he made me last year was pretty darn good, so I had a lot to live up to and was glad to have received good reviews. (To have your Nebraskan husband tell you you cooked a steak perfect is no small feat!) The recipe I made was Steak with Parmesan Butter, Balsamic Glaze and Arugula. I also made a side of roasted tomatoes. After dinner, we enjoyed some out-of-the-box brownies (I know, how unlike me!) and a movie before heading to bed early.

Sunday we went up to the Maxham house for their 2nd Annual Daytona 500 party. You couldn't miss the house if you tried!
It was nice to spend time with friends and enjoy junk food all day! Jay was lucky - they even had non-alcoholic beers for him to drink since he was still on some strong medication from the surgery!

Ok...on to post about the patient :)

Love.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Weekend Update: Friends!

We just came off from another busy Davis weekend.

Friday after work, Kelley stopped over and enjoyed some black bean hummus that Jay made for us. It was a really tasty and healthy treat! It was also a treat to have Kelley stop by and visit... even though I couldn't convince her to have a beer with me :)

Saturday we headed over to the dance studio. This time we had a double lesson - so an hour and a half of salsa and west coast swing. Jay was being really hard on himself learning some of the new moves, but I think he did great! We do need to practice more though...never can seem to squeeze in enough time during the work week.

After dancing, we headed up to the NW valley to see Myla and her new house. Both house & owner look great! We went out to grab a bite to eat, chatted for a long while and then headed south to Glendale's Chocolate Affaire with Jeff, Tara and Alistair. If you have never been to downtown Glendale, you are missing out! It has the cutest little main street strip (Glendale & 58th Ave area) filled with shops and restaurants. We browsed the booths and taste-tested lots of delicious chocolately treats before heading to Haus Murphy for beer and German food! Come to find out, they are going to be featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" - one of our favorite Food Network TV shows on February 23rd. Make sure you tune in to watch!

Jeff & Tara

Drinking like the Germans do!

Alistair was not happy when we told him he couldn't drink the beer!

Sunday we got up early to visit Kiera and Joe and see their new place. It's a really cute house and right near another nice downtown in the area - downtown Gilbert. It was Kiera's due date, so to celebrate we had breakfast at The Farmhouse. It did not disappoint! Still no baby as of yet, but hopefully we'll meet the little one sometime this week?? We're in suspense and can't wait to find out if it's a girl or a boy!

Boys doing "Blue Steel"

After breakfast I took a nap while Jay spent some time visiting the Sanocki's. I also managed to get some much needed cleaning in and admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it! I know, what's wrong with me?! We wrapped up the weekend by going to dinner with the Sanocki's and then came home to watch the movie "Holes" that Jay had recorded earlier in the day.

As I'm sure you can tell by now, we have been keeping really busy lately. It's becoming more and more frequent that we have these jam-packed weekends, so we made a vow to make April as plan-free as possible. That is, except for the weekend that my sister Stacy visits. She's hoping to come in April but we haven't set a date yet. Other than that, April = Lockdown Month!

This Friday (yes, Friday the 13th...my superstitious self can't stand that it's this day!), Jay has surgery to remove 2 ganglion cysts from his wrist. Though it's a minor outpatient surgery, I will be taking him in and then working from home in order to make sure my hubby is ok! The doctors are putting him under for the procedure so he's sure to be a bit loopy afterwards. I'll definitely post about it after it's all done. Who wants before & after pictures?! The good thing about the surgery is that Jay will not be able to fly for a while. He'll still be working in the office, but no 16-hour days flying until he's healed!! Woohoo! I think we're both equally happy about that part.

Weekend Update

We had a busy weekend and unfortunately have no pictures to prove it! Jay has been working super hard these past few weeks, so we decided that Saturday was going to be our day to spend some quality time together before he had to head out of town for his currency training. 

We started the day off with a delicious breakfast followed by our dance lesson. We both agreed that it was nice dancing on the weekend when we were both awake and not coming off a full day's work. Gourmet pizza next door to the dance studio followed. We have been talking about going to the place next door for a while and finally gave it a shot. It was very tasty! After a few errands, we headed home to relax for a bit before heading out to a surprise date that Jay had planned. He told me to get dressed up but not where we were going. I was excited and surprised to end up handing our keys to the valet at Mastro's City Hall Steakhouse in Scottsdale!

We each enjoyed a drink at the bar while waiting for our reservation. I noticed that they had homemade orange-infused vodka on the bar & asked for them to whip something up for me with it. The bartender made me a delicious cosmopolitan - the best part being that it was poured over dry ice so it bubbled & smoked like a witches potion! It was really cool and very cold!

We shared tuna tartar for an appetizer which was really good. I'm not usually a seafood person but I knew that I'd enjoy this dish. I had the bone-in filet (medium rare of course) while Jay had the rack of lamb. Both melted in our mouths! We had their signature warm butter cake with ice cream and homemade whipped cream for dessert which did not disappoint. We highly recommend Mastro's for anyone in the area planning a date night!

I am so grateful to have had Jay to myself for the whole day. The past few weeks have been pretty rough for us trying to find time to spend together. He never fails to amaze me - 16 hour days and still comes home with a smile on his face!

Sunday after dropping my love off at the airport, Kelley and I headed to the FBR Open. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it attracts the largest crowds on the PGA Tour and is famous for the 16th hole where fans break free from the "golf clap" and cheer/boo/jeer at the players. There are bleachers completely around the hole filled with people doing the wave, etc. It's a great time! Might I add that we enjoyed free valet parking and clubhouse (vip) tickets thanks to my boss! The clubhouse had *real* bathrooms (no porta potties for us!), a huge selection of free food, free drinks, and a great view of the 18th hole. It was a beautiful day so we really enjoyed the time in the sunshine. 

16th Hole - photo courtesy of phoenixopen.com

The Super Bowl was next. Kelley and I headed over to Ryan's house to watch the game. Jeff, Tara, Kathy and Alistair came and brought spinach dip along with delicious pulled pork that they had smoked all night. It was way better than a pizza! Kelley made a 7 layer dip that was a huge hit as well. Though the Cardinals didn't win, it was a great game and such a nice time with friends. We all missed Jay but I at least kept in touch with him via text message throughout the game. He comes home tomorrow night & I can't wait! 

Weekend Update: Twice as Nice!

Jay and I spent this past weekend in Kansas City in order to celebrate our nephew's first birthday. Jay's parents came over from Colorado, and his cousin and his fiancee live in the area, so it was great to see everyone and celebrate together.

The last time we saw Xander and Liam was on our wedding day. It's amazing how much changes in just 5 months! They are now like little men - smiling and giggling like crazy and almost walking. Their improved mobility and attention spans allowed us to read books together, play with toys and just goof off (this picture below is proof of the goofing off part!).

Liam and Jay bonded right away. Liam is a climber, very smiley and very loving! Todd and May think that between the two boys, Liam is most like Jay. Uh oh! We better watch out!

Here I am with Xander. Xander is just as smiley and loving as Liam though he's more of a climb under than over type. He is probably the one that is closest to walking though I do think that they are both going to be there very soon!

Of course the boys had to devour a cake to celebrate their first birthday! They weren't quite sure what the big deal was and were more interested in playing with the cake than eating it. Regardless, it was pretty cute watching them make a mess!

We love this photo of proud mom May and the boys having a good laugh together!

Besides the great time with family, we got to enjoy a dusting of snow on Friday night! We haven't seen it yet this year, so it was a nice treat.

Just another 6 weeks or so until we see the family again - this time it will be in Colorado!

New Suede Shoes

In preparation for our wedding day, Jay and I decided to take a few dancing lessons. We only had time for 3 short lessons before we headed to Vermont, but really enjoyed the time learning something new together. We had enough fun together that before we left, we signed up for a few more lessons to enjoy after we returned. 

In the rush of traveling and preparing for the wedding day we barely practiced, but I was so happy to have photos of us at least looking like we knew what we were doing! Here is a short video that Jeff & Tara captured of our first dance. Its funny looking back. I could critique our steps and speed, etc. all day, but one thing that I can't help but see is that we are both smiling and having a great time:

We have enjoyed learning the waltz, east coast & west coast swings, salsa, rumba, cha cha, and tango. Our instructor complimented us on how fast we pick things up (I'll give credit to Jay on this - his lead is what helps me remember!) and after six post-wedding lessons, we were admitted into their "Bronze" program for more intense training. Now don't get me wrong...we are in no shape to go out there and tear up the dance floor, but we are at least learning each dance on a deeper level. And in order to get to this level, we needed dancing shoes! Check them out: 

The reason that dancing shoes are so important is because they have a special suede sole that allows you to "feel the floor" better. I know it sounds odd, but man do they make a huge difference! I no longer trip or slide (as much) and am able to really feel confident about my steps. 

We have been going to lessons once a week since the wedding and look forward to that hour we have learning together. We both feel that taking the time to enjoy this hobby is an important part of our married life. It is something for just the two of us - something that is not watching tv, running errands or eating out. And someday, when we are old(er) and grey(er), we will kick butt on the dance floor during our children's weddings!

Happy New Year!

Jay and I spent New Year's Eve day with Tara & baby Alistair while Jeff was at work. We had a great time - made his baby dedication invitations, went shopping at Babies R Us, and grocery shopped for dinner that night. 

Alistair & Jay bonding

Later in the day we all went over to Kiera & Joe's for a nice dinner. I was so impressed with the table that Kiera had already set! It was beautiful - I'm sure her wedding planning experience was behind the creativity on this!! Everyone brought something to share and all the food was amazing!

Beautiful table

Me & my super cute husband. 

Jay had to work that night, so we took this pic around 10 before he had to leave (which is when Jeff was leaving work and on his way over to join us)!

Jeff & Tara celebrate 2009!

This is how I brought in the new year. Alistair was sleeping on me for over an hour! I didn't want to move!

McNeill Family

Jeff, Tara & Alistair stayed over at our place that night & we woke up and had a yummy Jay-made breakfast together while lounging on the couch watching football! Alistair was comfy upstairs on the guest bed. 

We hope that all of you had a very special New Year's celebration and that 2009 brings smiles, wonderful memories, health and happiness!