Retro Monday!!!

I was going through my pictures today and had a little idea... from now on I will be posting random "retro" pictures for everyone to see and laugh and say "oh my goodness I was so.... (fill in the blank)" :) I LOVE old pictures. I love the memories they bring. I love how you can take one glimpse at a picture and immediately you are transported to a different time, different smells, sights, and feelings. It's truly only described as a rush of sensations. At least I think so :). Here are a few for this week... may they make you laugh and may they help you to sit wherever you are right now and think of your own old pictures, your own memories, and your own ability to relish in them all. Enjoy! 

There's something about hard earned fun!

This past Saturday we made the last trip of the summer to the race track. One of Ryan's professors from law school races a Mazda Miata, and he has been so kind to invite us along to his races this summer. Believe it or not, I really love going! There's something about the hot pavement, revving engines, and sunshine that makes me feel all American. Of course the best part of it all is the fact that I get to be there with my Ry guy... and watching him enjoy himself like a little boy in a candy shop! He works so hard and drives himself to do all the things he does right now that I feel wonderful when he gets to do something that really makes him relax and have fun. There are some late nights that he marches in the house exhausted and I just think, "I wish I could pile all the fun I could into those hardworking hands." It makes me happy to be his date on days like Saturday :)

This is us.... little love birds :)

And I liked this one because he's all macho not smiling and I'm cuddly :)

Ryan looks like he's angelic in this one :)

This is Professor Jon Myers, I think he feels like Ryan is his protege... 

And this is his little car

It's so good for me to have these memories to look back on as we go into the dreary, long winter. Closing my eyes on a rainy afternoon I will remember exactly how I felt and suddenly I will be warm again. :) May you each soak up these last days of warmth to comfort you in the cold as well! :) 

Pictures from last weekends party....

Here are the pictures I mentioned... Tiffany and Chad are on the left, then Ryan and me, then Mark and Nicole on the right.

I just loved this picture... this is so classic Bernardo. Just kinda sitting and chilling :) These three get into a lot of trouble. Ryan and Spencer are the two masterminds and Chelsea is the quiet, unexpected accomplice :) 

What are they up to now? 

Growing up is hard...

There is something inside me that appears every once in a while and sometimes I can't quite figure out why. It's this feeling that, despite how happy and confident and optimistic I am about my current place in life, I want to just crawl back in time and somehow know what it's like again to not have to "grow up". There's nothing in me that ever shunned growing up.... quite the opposite! Oh no, I was the little 3 year old going on 25 :), and I truly feel that being in the place I am right now is the culmination of just about all my dreams. But sometimes, when I stop to think about friends who have kind of disappeared, or find I have to face these scary things that all of a sudden popped up as we all traveled out of the Never Never Land of our youth, I just think about the days I spent hours dancing in my favorite sparkly dress with Meghan in our front room, while Mommy fed babies and smiled. Or afternoons climbing trees thinking the view I got with my head upside down so high up was the most magical thing in the world. I think about how simple things used to seem, how little petty arguments between friends were completely erased after a matter of time and hugs. And then I think about how fun it would be to go back to that mindset, that energy, for maybe even just an hour. Hmmm....

Then I am drawn sweetly and softly back to my life now. Right now. I got to fall in love. I got to be a bride. I get to be the loveliness that tries to make Ryan's long days fade away. I get to see the fruits of all my dreams all around me as I sit in this home I proudly make. And it's worth all the growing pains, the ones that have hurt and annoyed me so far, and the ones that I am sure will come. It's worth it because every single time I have felt like burying my head and ignoring the hard, painful thing I needed to grow through, but gone ahead and done it, I have grown stronger. So I have to understand that even though I wish sometimes my family, friends and all those I love would never change, and never have to face pain or fear, and never have to "grow up", I know that accepting this real fact of life will only make us all more beautiful and ready to face the good and the bad that we need to. 

Of course we all know that without the awkward growing up part, we would miss out on some of the best moments of our lives. Next post I will try to put some pictures of Ryan's sister Tiffany's engagement party last weekend. Wow talk about bittersweet..... we are so excited for her but her silly husband to be thinks she should move way out to Kentucky with him!!!! Sheesh! ;) 

We're Brewin' it Up!

So..... about two weeks ago, Ryan got it into his head that he was ready to tackle one of his little dreams. He was ready to brew his very own, fancy schmancy, original root beer! After work on his one and only night off of school, we made the trip down to our little brewery shop here in Folsom, and went all out! We got everything we needed and headed back home to brew. And Ryan said, "This will be fun!" And those were his very famous last words ;). I love my husband! Actually, the whole process really was fun, and we only had one close call. Wanna hear about that? Well.... :) it was after the third batch we made (yes Ryan does everything THOROUGHLY!). Ryan ran into the kitchen as we were on our way out the door to go visit the family because he wanted to grab some root beer for everyone to try. I walked into the other room for a split second and heard a heart stopping explosion. Panicked, I ran to the kitchen dreading the worst. It kinda was the worst! :( Ryan was standing, stunned, holding what was left of a shattered glass bottle. His hands were bleeding and my kitchen was completely covered in sticky, dark, root beer. It was kinda one of those moments where we both stood there for a few moments and didn't know whether to laugh or cry!! We ended up laughing :) and spending the next half hour cleaning up! We both can only guess the bottle was a fluke because all the others were fine. We are still scratching our heads at that one....

Just thought I would share these pictures and the little glimpse into what we've been up to lately..... so enjoy, and let us know if you ever need root beer, cuz' we'll brew you up a batch! :)