It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

.....at least in our apartment. The day after Thanksgiving I was so excited for the Christmas season that we went out and bought a Christmas tree that day. It was quite the adventure since we were both pretty tired because we had gotten up at 3:30am to go shop the sales(something Jeff had never done so I had to take him). So we spent the day putting up the tree, decorating it with the ornaments Jeff had gotten every year from his Grandmother, and enjoying the Christmas spirit. We don't have many other Christmas decorations, but because our apartment is so small the tree brightens up the whole place and I love it!!

As you can tell I am very excited to have a Christmas Tree

Jeff playing with the decorations

Jeff decorating our tree

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Jeff's family. Everyone was able to make it out here making the Pepperman's pretty packed with 14 people (including babies and including our friends Scott and Ashley who joined us) Although, 14 is probably the smallest number I have seen for Thanksgiving ever, it was still lots of family which is my favorite part of the holidays. It was a great day with lots to be thankful for. I am so grateful to have family so near by. I am such a family person and I don't know what I would do way out here in California without Jeff's family. I am also grateful for a husband who loves me and is so good to me. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Go Bears!!!!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks and I am finally getting to blog. Saturday Nov. 22nd Jeff and I went to the Cal vs. Stanford football game with Jeff's dad Mark and his wife Debbie. They treated us to the fun day at the stadium and we are very appreciative because it was a lot of fun. Jeff has been going to the Cal football games with his family since he was very young. A tradition that Jeff has really enjoyed. It was fun to go along and cheer on the Bears who ended up winning the game. O and "we got The Axe" says Jeff.

Jeff and his Dad

Go Bears!!!

The view from the stadium. That is the San Francisco Bay bridge in the distance

Spaulding Adventures

The weekend started out at moonlight lanes where we went bowling with my co-workers. Jeff was champ of the night and I was....well... not even close. Saturday night we decided to take a swim in the pool considering that it had been a very warm day (80's). It was still a little chilly in the evening but, the pool is heated and very well I might add. It is still weird to me that it is the middle of November and it is very very warm outside. I am definitely loving it, still adjusting to how weird it is, but loving it. Sunday afternoon we decided to take a Sunday drive since the weather was still beautiful. We drove up some pretty hills that were filled with gorgeous houses. One that was just built or finishing being built looked like a castle. It was the most beautiful castle house that I have ever seen. We also found a house for you mom. It was huge, gorgeous, on a huge piece of land and surrounded by beautiful trees. O and I can't forget the golf course just down the road. It only costs a couple million but hey, free nanny right here since you would live so close to me. :) We then ventured a little more and found a great park. What triggered my interest was a very long, shiny, silver thing. As we approached it I realized that it was the longest slide I had ever seen on a playground in my life. Jeff went down it first and well, it was a good thing there was a lot of soft sand at the bottom because he flew down that thing. After seeing him fly down and recovering from a laughing attack I decided not to go down since I was wearing slippery pants and figured I would fly even faster down it and okay, I am a little bit of a scardy cat. It turned out to be a very fun adventure. This is probably my favorite thing to do with Jeff. I love to venture out to random places.

I didn't take very many picture at all but, here is the magnificent slide and Jeff making his way to the top. It doesn't look quite as big from this angle. It is actually bigger than it looks here.

One of Those Weeks

Today, being Veteran's Day, I have the day off of work. I was very excited to have the day to relax and do whatever after having one of those weeks. One of those weeks where everything seems to try and make life harder and more stressful. Well, today is not going to be quite as relaxing as I was hoping. I knew that they were doing construction on our apartment building but I didn't realize until today how noisy it is. They are literally outside my window, on my balcony, above my balcony and out side my door. They are hammering and drilling and who knows what else. I guess it made me really grateful that I work from 8-5 so I don't have to hear this all the time. Yesterday while I was at the dentist and had cavities filled and had just found out that I might need a root canal (you have to realize how much I hate and dread the dentist) I decided I can't be too stressed because things could be a whole lot worse. Things can always be worse. So it is time to just find to positive side to things. That is my goal for this week so that hopefully it won't be like last week.

Pumpkin Date

Every year I get excited to get into the Halloween festivities and carve pumpkins. We went out over the weekend and picked out the perfect pumpkins and brought them home and started to plan out what kind of a jack-o-lantern they were going to be. Then we cut out the top and started to clean then out and it was then that I questioned why I get excited to do this. It smells bad, feels nasty and seems to stick to everything and make a mess. Regardless, I kept cleaning it out and carving while Jeff continued to enjoy himself even though his pumpkin ended up being pretty rotten inside. We finished carving and we put candles in, lit them and turned out the lights and then I remembered why I get excited to carve pumpkins. It is not the actually carving that I like but the finished product. It turned out to be a fun night regardless of the slimy pumpkins.

Jeff concentrating very hard on carving his detailed pumpkin

Me trying not to be too grossed out by the slime and smell

If you look closely you can see Jeff's eyes through the eyes of his pumpkin

I love the way they light up! It is kind of hard to tell but that is an owl sitting on the jack-o-lanterns head. Jeff of course did that one. He is a lot better at carving than I am.

A Quick Trip

On Saturday October 18, 2008 our good friend Jeff Taylor married Sydney Wellen and we were fortunate to be able to attend. They were married in the D.C. temple. Yep, we flew Friday to Maryland and flew back on Sunday. A very quick trip, but VERY worth it. Saturday morning we attended the sealing at the gorgeous D.C. temple and then headed to the reception on the bay. Then Jeff and the other groomsmen changed into their tuxedos and took pictures for a very long time in the wind and cold outside (although it was cold it was still gorgeous out by the water) while I tried to stay warm inside the tent and visited with some friends. Then they had a beautiful ring ceremony outside since the brides family are not members of the church. Everyone was freezing but it was all really sweet and very beautiful. Then we all headed into the tent for dinner and a very fun reception! Congrats Jeff and Sydney!! We had such a great time catching up with friends and having a blast together and of course being able to be there for Jeff and Sydney and their day! We are so happy for them. I was also reminded of how beautiful Maryland is and how much I love it there! I just wish it wasn't so far away!

The Bride and Groom just after they were married.
Congratulations!!

Us at the gorgeous D.C. temple! I love that temple!

This is where they had the ring ceremony. It was so pretty, cold but pretty.

The groom and Jeff doing what they do

The groom (Jeff) and my husband (Jeff aka "Coach")

Some good friends that we were able to catch up with. What a blast!

Jeff and Becky at the reception

My hubby showing off his moves (he is doing "the worm") I caught him at this perfect angle, totally by accident. I was quite impressed with his moves and my photography. We had a blast dancing all night!

The Decorations

So I had a request to put pictures of my new decorations in my home up on my blog since that is probably the only way they could see my place since we live far from each other. Anyway, here are some of the decorations I made and put up on the walls. I also finally put pictures up on the walls too but I thought that it would be pointless to posts pictures of those. So, here are the little details I put up that took a lot of work and thought. I want to hang something little on the nobs but I can't think of what to hang there that would look good and not over do it. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them!

They look a lot better when you see the whole room and you can see the detail on them. But I really like how it all turned out. I added a little fall touch with the pumpkins and am excited to add a Christmas touch around that time.

From Apartment to Home

Since we got married a year and a half ago I have been wanting to decorate our home and make our house(more like our apartment) into a home. Well, it took about a year and a half to do so. It isn't anything glamorous but, there are now some pretty things hanging on the walls. Although.... considering how much thought and time that got put into them maybe they are pretty glamorous after all. I always had something, a picture and/or calender, hanging in every place we have lived but never felt like I could really do much else since we moved every 2-4 months. Now that we are here for awhile and I had the help of Janessa's great designer skills and paints, we have something to look at other than the blank walls surrounding the apartment and it feels more like a home.

What a Week

Last week Jeff and I were in Utah visiting my family and wow, what a packed full week. I don't think we could have fit one more activity or event in that week, in fact there were a few more things I would have like to do that I wasn't able to. None the less it was a great week. We had so much fun. The main reason we went on this trip was for Kaden, who was sealed to my parents that Saturday. What a wonderful event. The kids were all dressed in white and attented the sealing and they all looked like angels. Kaden you are such a sweetheart and we love you. It was also Grandma Murray's 90th birthday! wow! She is such an amazing and kind hearted Grandma. I was great being able to see her and visit with her a little while we were there. I was also able to see and visit with Grandma and Grandpa Thompson. I wish that opportunity was more available because it was so fun to see them and I would love to be able to do more with them. To add to the week there was lots and lots of crafts to do (thanks to Janessa for coming up with the decorating ideas for my house and for supply most of the materials. I am so excited to have cute decorations for my house). There was also shopping, soccer games, the playground, haircuts, the fall festival, ping pong, games and more games, learning to make peach jam and peach salsa, Janessa's birthday party, playing with the kids, babies and nieces and nephews, golfing for Jeff and my Dad, watching West Wing, a family picture and visting with family. Almost the whole family was there for a least a few days which was a lot of fun. I love being with my family and sad that it doesn't happen as often as I would like. I miss them all very much but grateful for those times we do get to together and make some great memories. I took a lot of pictures(of course) but here are just a few. Well, maybe more than a few.

My fingers were orange for the next couple days from peeling and cutting so many peaches.hehe

Mom and Janessa pouring away. We spent almost a whole day making peach jam and salsa and still had almost a whole box of peaches left. We over estimated how many peaches we needed.

Janessa you could have your own food channel with that pose

They are all looking different directions but at least they are almost all smiling

Us girls at Grandma Murray's birthday party

Kaden and Jeff taking a nap after a busy day Saturday

Sweet Kaden loved the swings

Cute Kayla and her Grandpa

Jeff bonded with Kaden while we were there. Thanks Jeff for helping out with the kids so much!

One Down....12 To Go

Jeff just finished his first quarter of Chiropractic school. Yeah Jeff!!! I am so proud of you for how hard you have worked. He has loved school and I know it is just going to get harder but at the same time it is just going to get more and more enjoyable as he learns more and more. (though at times it has been very stressful and hectic). It has been an adjustment for the both of us to have Jeff going to school full time and me working full time in a new place. Luckily we have Jeff's family near by. That has made it a lot easier to adjust here. A lot of thanks to them for being there for us. Again, Congratulations Jeff for getting through your first quarter, I am so proud of you!

Santa Cruz

Once upon a time when Jeff and I were dating and I came to California for the first time, we went to a beach in Santa Cruz. We took a picnic lunch and walked on the beach. To make this great day together even more cheesy, Jeff carved our name into the rock wall on the beach. More than 2 years later we decided to check that same place out and see if our names were still there. So Saturday night we drove out to Santa Cruz and walked out onto the same beach. Well, we didn't get there as early as we wanted to and the sun was about to go down. We were able to see okay but not well enough to make out the hundred of different names on the wall to find ours. Plus the tide was higher this time so it made it harder to find it since we were in jeans and shoes being that it gets pretty chilly in the evening. Even though we didn't find it we still walked down the warf and ate a restaurant over looking the ocean. It wasn't as good as we expected, not that it was fancy or anything. If anything it was trying to be fancy. But it was still fun to get out and we still had a lot of fun.

Santa Cruz beach boardwalk

Jeff and Becky on the warf (isn't it so pretty with all the lights reflecting on the water)

Hanging out with my best friend

Something we both really enjoy about where we live is the pool and barbeque grill. Tonight Jeff swam and then we had bbq hot dogs and enjoyed the nice weather here. Jeff goes swimming almost everyday for a good workout and I join him once in awhile. I go to the hot tub more than the pool. It is so nice to be able to go down to the hot tub after an exhausting day of work. Jeff started swimming during the Olympics (I guess it inspired him or something) and now it is his favorite way to workout. We also really like to bbq so we make pretty good use of the grills by the pool.

Jeff and Becky waiting for the hot dogs to be done

The beautiful pool

Labor day

Jeff and I were both excited to have a day off of work/school. We spent the morning at the beach (a definite plus about California) with our friends Amber and Tyler and their cute little boy Moroni. Jeff and Tyler put on their wet suits and grabbed their surf boards and headed into the ocean while Amber, Moroni and I played on the beach and watched the boys surf. Definitely something we should do more often. We don't make it out to the beach as often as we would like but, I think we are going to try and make more time for it because it was a lot of fun.

Jeff coming in from an okay surf. The water was really crowed being Labor day and Jeff is still learning but all the same enjoying this new hobby.

Jeff and Moroni. Moroni took an immediate liking to Jeff.

Summer 2008

Summer is almost over. It has been very busy but fun summer. We started out by going to Disney land for a week for our 1st anniversary. It was so nice to get away and enjoy not worrying about work or school or finding an apartment or anything for the both of us. We were able to meet up with my best girlfriend Bre and her husband Luke for a day at Disneyland. It was so much fun to see them and catch up. The next week we spent at Graeagle with Jeff's family. A week in a cabin relaxing, going to the pool, hiking and bbqing every night made for a fabulous vacation. O and I can't forget, golfing! Jeff went twice a day the whole week. I went twice. Mid July we finally were able to get into our own apartment. Yeah! We are so excited to finally be in one place for at least 3 years after moving 5 times in just over a year. We LOVE our apartment which is literally right next to Jeff's school. Jeff is almost finished with his 1st quarter which he is thoroughly enjoying (minus the tests) :) I am working as a tutor for children with autism and loving it. well, that's been our summer.

Some amazing fireworks!!!

Us in front of one of our favorite rides. I think we went on it 3 or 4 times and never waited more than 20 mins! We were masters at timing things just right!

Bre and I soaking wet after a thrilling ride of Splash Mountain

Can't you tell how scared we are to go on Indiana Jones?

Me golfing for the first time in my life. It was actually pretty fun. I was really sore the next day, but fun.

Jeff showing you the drinking fountain oh sorry I mean waterfall in the distance. It wasn't exactly all that we thought it was going to be.

Jeff, Me and Nephew Dallin swimming, something we did often that week

Jeff relaxing on the hamick on the front porch of the cabin

About Time

I thought it was about time to start a blog. It looks like a great way to journal and let family and friends know what's going on in our life. Hopefully I will be better at it than journaling. So here it goes. Enjoy!