What happened to July??

I know, I know, I said I was going to be better about keeping this this current but in my defense, we have had a CRAZY couple of months and yes, July flew right on by without a post to save my life. So, here goes a condensed month's recap.

July 4th: Got together at Auntie Belle's house in American Canyon, DJ and Mariella hosted a bbq and got all the folks together. Ronnie and Mike were up from Socal so it was nice to catch up and see them since we don't get to do that very often. Randy came by sans Jaime & Ben but we got to hear all about Ben. The babies were all there too...Logan, Isabella and Alexis. They have all gotten so big and are just so YUMMY!! I'll post pics later. Apart from the homies, we also met some of DJ's and Mariella's co-workers and family who were all so cool and fun! The guys spent most of the day playing drinking games (flip cup, what?) and the ladies hung out in and out of the house, it was a great way to spend the day. We didn't even have to go very far to see some fireworks. American Canyon's firework display was right behind Auntie's backyard!! So cool! Evan LOVED it!! He sat high on Ed's shoulder and kept saying, "WOW!!" Too cute! Again, pics to come later. The party kept on keeping on into the early morning hours. Mariella introduced me to this WONDERFUL massage chair where Evan and I both fell asleep on. It was heaven!! After an hour's nap for me, I put Evan down and rejoined the party. The boys thought it would be a good idea to stair surf which led to a crazy pile of guys falling down the stairs. Hilarious! Ed and I decided after watching their 3rd attempt that it was time to go home.

Here are the cutie twins and their awesome parentals. =)

Cutie pie Logan is in the left pic with Christine & Oli, the middle one has Mike and Oli and the one on the right has Christine, sleeping Logan, Randy and Mike. I heart them! =)

July 8th: EXCITING NEWS~After months of house hunting, our efforts finally paid off and we got the keys to our new home in Dublin. We had talked about moving for a very long time and looked at A LOT of places but found that we were always drawn to the Pleasanton/Tri-Valley area. Maybe because that's really where it all started for us so it was a good place to come back to and settle in for awhile. We love our neighborhood, location and city. We are just excited to be able to give Evan a good place to call home and a great community to grow, explore and learn from.

This is a shot of the front of the house taken by our realtor at the time of purchase. I can't tell you just how happy we are to be living here. The house has everything we want and was totally move in ready. Green Valley was a wonderful home to start our lives together but we can see ourselves staying here for a VERY long time!

July 12th: Packin' it up and headin' out! Ed and I had been slowly packing up Green Valley and decided to make the move to Dublin in one shot. With the help of Scott, Jay, Tim & Vern, we had enough man power to make the transition to Dublin in one trip. It was exhausting but the guys did a great job!! =)

July 14th: I left for a week long training in Austin, TX. It was a nice break/mini vacay for me to unwind and not have to do a single thing other than attend classes. I met some really great people from the different VAs across the nation and got to check out a couple of places around Austin. The weather wasn't all that bad either!! =)

July 19th: We celebrated Scott and Jay's birthday at Tim and Mariam's house. It was a sleepover so we were totally excited and looking forward to it. Everyone came out and we played poker, drank, talked babies/work/cooking, drank, watched Atonement, drank and discussed future business plans. Its always a good time when you're around great people! =) Here are some pics of the festivities. **The yummy strawberry cake was made with love by Letitia...Chef Letitia! ;)**(Clockwise): Here we have Evan checkin' out the key, a friendly game of poker, the hosts Tim and Mariam with Chef Letitia, and Todd with Ed and Evan. =) We have to include some pics of the yummy food!!! (Clockwise): There's Jay waiting to get some grub, the yummy birthday cake for Jay and Scotty, posing before blowing out the candles, and a group shot of Scott, Letitia and Christine. =) And there just HAS TO be pics of the fabulous and beautiful girls!! Hello! =) On the left we have Mariam with baby Akramy (in her belly), Letitia and Lilian. On the right, its me with Lilian! I heart her!! =)

The remainder of July was spent unpacking (which we did in a week) and hosting family and friends over. We still have a few random boxes but we're taking care of those a little at a time. The move has been great for Ed's commute since we have a BART line 2 mins from the house so now it only takes him 45 mins door to door and hardly any driving at all. As for my commute, I went from a 15 minute drive to 45 mins, which means I lose an hour of sleep but I guess its ok. I'm working on getting transferred closer (either Walnut Creek or Oakland) but considering that I work for the govt, this could take awhile. What a great month!! =)