New decorations in the house

Today I framed one of our engagement photos and hung it up on the wall where previously there was a sculpture that belongs to the owners of the house. For those of you who have been over, the very manly ceramic bust (artwork?) is off the wall and packed away.

Molly had this particular shot of us enlarged. I like how the colors of the sunset are captured and the foreground is dominated by our rings (yes, I have an engagement as well, lucky guy I know!) as you can just make our silhouettes out in the background. The shot was also one of our photographers favorites because he made a flyer for his biz using the photo as a background. We've had the photo in an envelope for a month but I did not notice the flyer till today. Very crafty Mr. Kassel, you do indeed have mad skills with the photo camera!

Molly and I are very excited for the big date and celebration with friends and family. And we can't wait to see how the rest of the photos will turn out. Very pleased so far. Steve

No one has cold feet in this house

I woke up today thinking "wow, it's already mid March". Time does fly as you get older, it is really quite amazing. It is wonderful and crazy that our wedding is in 6 weeks! We are getting excited and looking forward to seeing everyone on our special day. This weekend Steve has is bachelor bash. I will be participating in a 50 mile mountain bike ride (eeek!), and going to a plant sale to get tomatoes and peppers for my garden!! Woo hoo... it's garden time. Stay tuned for pictures and stories about what is shaping up to be a fun filled weekend.

The Bisc and P Kitty

It's been a month now and Preston and Magnus are getting along great. They are excellent playmates and make us laugh a lot. Here are some cute shots of them napping.

Fun in Santa Barbara

Two weeks ago Steve and I headed up to Santa Barbara to spend the weekend with his folks. Steve went early and I took the train after work on a Friday. The train is so great, I hope to use it more. We stayed a block from the ocean, it was really lovely. Steve and his folks were there waiting for me to arrive all smiles. I must say, I am about to have the coolest in-laws a gal can ask for. Tom and Marcella are so sweet and I enjoy them so much, I am blessed. On Saturday Steve and I went for a great run along the waterfront. After our run we all went to this rustic tavern on this road that was part of the Wells Fargo stage coach route. It looked like an old mining shack, it was sweet and the food was too! After lunch we headed to the local wine country to Foxen winery. It was really beautiful and reminds me of Sonoma. It astonishes me that just 2 hours north of Orange County you can be in this beautiful area. You know you are headed to Northern California when you go to Santa Barbara. It was so nice and refreshing to be out of the rush of Southern California.

Cat Nap

just laying in the sun

must be love, look at them spoon!

what momma couldn't love that face!

Christmas Cheer

Our Christmas started with Christmas eve dinner at Jay and Denise's house. This year we decided to celebrate with at Mexican Fiesta. It is amazing to watch the kids grow up, they get big so fast. They are all such great kids. It is such a blessing for me to get together every year with everyone, and I am super excited to have Steve be a part of it all. I love them all so much.

Christmas morning we woke up early and called the GP's , Ubba & Tom, Moms, Amy & Ron to send our love and hugs. Then it was time to make a nice breakfast. The Bisc was waiting for his..

Santa came for all in our house. The Bisc scored some yummy rawhide treats.

Our little Preston was a part of the action..

Steve enjoying a gift from the bisc... our dog has great taste!

We ended our day with good friends, Carol Ann, Brett, and her folks Bubba and Diane. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed some special time and laughs. Good friends and family are so meaningful, we are grateful for every moment we get to spend with them all.

P Kitty in da house!

World meet Preston or as Steve would say, "P kitty". We welcomed our 11 week old bundle of kitten love to our home yesterday. After some exploration of his new home, he got down to some snuggle and purrr time with his new momma.

Magnus is pretty excited about his new friend, they've been playing today. I am sure we will have many laughs as we watch them play and get used to one another.