Apple Hill

About a month ago Parker and Katie and I went up to Apple Hill to get in the fall spirit. Surprisingly I have never been there and neither had Parker. So, we enlisted Katie to take us up an give us the Grand tour.

Apple Hill is a place up in Placerville with a bunch of farms all in a row and each one offers different apple themed things and crafts. Abel's Acres was the first on the stop

Of course one of the first things we did was buy a bag of apples and get caramel apples. mmm...
We also visited a place that had apple doughnuts that were fabulous. I can't say so much for the crafts we saw. They really look like junk I remember seeing at craft fairs over 10 years ago. seriously people... toaster cozies? To complete our experience we had a picnic that I had brought. We used picnic tables at Rainbow Orchards (even though maybe we weren't supposed to :s). Katie really wanted to come to tis one because it's her mom's favorite... for some reason that we couldn't figure out once we got there. but none the less we took Katie's picture under their rainbow sign. Parker refused to take his picture there... I can't imagine why! So we took a picture by a cart of pumpkins instead. Beautiful way to welcome fall!

Four years!

Yesterday was our four year anniversary! my wonderful husband got me flowers and chocolate and grape soda! We also went to a nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory on Monday to celebrate. And I'm glad we did it then because we just found out that the Galleria is on fire today! crazy!! Anyway,Parker got me flowers for when I came home from Utah and then got me the long stem roses yesterday. I'm a lucky girl!

Babysitting in Utah

Grandma Wright got asked to babysit Tanya and Nathan Dorius's kids in Utah for a week. She asked if I wanted to come and help and since for the first time ever I pretty much have a totally open schedule I decided it would be a blast. It has been a very long time since I got to hang out with those kids and I was excited to get to know them better.

We did have a lot of fun. The kids are awesome! Here are some pic of the stuff we did with them...

We had a movie night one night and watched Princess Bride. We put invitations that were there movie ticket to get into the show. Then when they got home we gave them play money to spend at the snack bar. We had all the things you would have at the movie theater ( popcorn, hotdogs, nachos, sodas and of course lots of candy!) The kids had a good time setting up the theater for when the Woods came. Nicolene was the ticket taker and Mahri was the concessions lady. They set up the candy table downstairs so beautifully and through out the whole movie when some one got up to get candy Mahri would be there to take their money. It was great.





During one of the days we pulled Renee out of school and went to a cute little craft village place. I can't remember it's name but it was all decked out for fall and was a lot of fun.

Mikayla, Claire and Renee



Cute little stores all around!

Another night we had a spa night and I did everyone's hair while Mikayla did Oxygen facials on everyone and Madison did everyone's nails.


Claire's before picture...


Claire's during picture...

Claire's after picture...




On the last night we had a Halloween Party. I didn't get a lot of pictures but we played Ghost Face and had cider and doughnuts and caramel corn and apples and face painting and watched How to train your Dragon. It was a good time!


girls with there painted faces...

catching up... Day in San Fran

Parker and I were going to pick up Mom and Dad at the San Fransisco airport from their flight home from England. They were expected to arrive at 7pm, so we decided to make a day of it. And we ended up making a long day of it! We decided to go to a Giants game. (Surprisingly one of our favorite things to do together). We got there at 11am to get our seats and whatnot for the game that started at noon. It was shockingly warm for San Fran ( 98 degrees) but the sun was right on us the whole time.

Here's where it gets fun. We get a phone call from Dad saying that it looks like the flight is going to come later than planned. More like 9pm. We both kinda laughed thinking what we would do until then. About an hour later we get another call from Dad saying that it looks like its gonna be more like 11pm.! haha. Then we really had to figure out how to kill some time. We prayed that baseball game would take a long time. It didn't.

As we walked out of the park I noticed that I had gotten some color. New for me and my white white skin! thought it was cool and we moved on. We decided to go to our other favorite place, Muir beach. We thought we could cool down and kill some time.

We get to the beach and it is FREEZING! I think it was like 58 degrees. So literally, 15 minutes away to the coast the temp dropped that much. Fortunately, we found some blankets in the trunk (we had mom and dad's car). Also at this point I was starting to realize that the color I got was more a ferocious sunburn.

We stayed there while Parker taunted the birds with sour cream and onion Pringles. Which I'm assuming are not good for the wildlife. We stayed until we could take the cold anymore and went to Pier 39 for a while. Mostly boring but... it killed time.

Then we found this really yummy Italian place. And we told the waitress to take her time, no rush! haha. Of course she and the kitchen were prompt! After we decided to find a sit down desert place. I can't believe we found one but it was of course in the Castro district. ( Gay town). We looked very out of place as a straight couple there. Parker realized that he was sticking out like a sore thumb with his Nascar hat on:) It was really yummy! and a good way to use up time.

At that point it was finally time to pick up mom and dad and we had successfully killed 12 hours in San Fran.

By the time I got home the sunburn was so painful I could hardly touch the sheets in bed... We had to take a picture.... haha.




And I had to get a picture of Parker and his perfect tan that he got with no sunburn at all. Can I also mention that it is 3 weeks later and my arms are still red not tan.

New addition to the Family

Our giant bulky TV finally gave out!

We debated a little bit as to what to do and we decided that after this baby comes we will definitely not be able to afford a new TV and it was now or never. We were tricky with our finances and did it. We found something that met Parker's standards and was surprising on sale for 300 dollars less than we had planned! How lucky was that!

We bought a 46'' Samsung TV, which is glorious in comparison to the 52'' monster we had before. It's big but it looks like it was made to fit inside a home not an arena. We love it and I'm glad we did it. ( Cannot believe I'm saying that!) It can do all kinds of tricks our other one couldn't do.

Parker insisted that the first thing we watch on it be manly so we compromised and watched the Simpsons. It was epic!

Don't laugh but I started another Blog!

I decided to keep a pregnancy journal and I'm gonna do it in blog form. How modern of me right? I have the link on the side bar if you care to take a peek.

www.pregocandice.blogspot.com

first 8 weeks...

I think that I am seriously lucky! I really haven't had all of the horrible side effects of pregnancy. All I have is extreme fatigue and I get a little nauseous after meals but for the most part it has been no problem!

I do take at least one nap a day. I usually wake up exhausted and I can't wait to get back into bed. It was ok at first but now it's just getting old! Luckily I have the best husband in the world who is very understanding because I am useless!

It is mostly smells that make me nauseous. I will be starving and then the smell of the meal makes me sick and I have to force myself to start eating it. I have discovered that if I keep sipping on Ginger Ale it helps a lot!





And I don't care what anyone says I can tell that I'm showing. I'll admit it's not a lot but it is enough to make all my clothes uncomfortable. So that's nice! I know I'm fat but it's different.

I am excited for all the different steps to come... really start showing, finding out what it is, feeling it kick and of course I really cant wait for him or her to get here!

Oh names... here are the names we are looking in to... We place a disclaimer that they could change at anytime... we still have 7 months to decide. As of right now if it's a boy we are sure that he will be named Patton Anthony Humes. and If it's a girl we can't stop arguing but we are thinking about the names Alice or Annie and middle names are still up for debate. I, of course, have the perfect middle names but Parker is a stinker and hates all names apparently. :) We are open to ideas but will have no problem telling you if we hate it! haha

Baby time!

I am super excited to be pregnant but now the REAL waiting game begins. I have been waiting almost 4 years for this so I feel totally ready minus the baby stuff I need to get. I won't get stuff til I know what it is though. I will find out in November. We are already battling out baby names. I go for my first ultrasound on the 25th. I will definitely post pictures!

Revamping the Ol' blog

So, I am learning slowly but surely how to do all this blog stuff. I have loved blogs in this style for a long time. It's just clean and easy to read and I love it. Hope you enjoy it. I did decide to keep the Idea Fairy the same though because it needs a little more fun!

A strange new planet called Nordstroms

I started my new job today! I am now working for Philosophy as a "specialist" that goes from place to place helping at different Philosophy counters. Well, today was at Nordstroms at Arden Fair Mall. We were really busy the first half of the day and the second half I pretty much stood there for four hours in heels. Here is what I observed...

People at Nordstroms are BEAUTIFUL. The people who work there and the people who shop there. Even the lady who came by emptying the garbage had flawless make-up on. I kept looking in the mirror to see if I was sticking out like a sore thumb in my plainness. The girl who was selling Prada bags was so gorgeous that I had to keep looking at her. (hope she didn't notice) she could have been a model just off of a shoot.



I also noted the huge amounts money being spent today. I know it shouldn't be a surprised but WOW! As I stood there forever, I was facing a Juicy Couture counter with school supplies. No joke, binders, folders, water bottles, and notebooks etc. And mom's were bringing their girls in and actually buying this stuff. This stuff was behind glass. A girl pointed to a pack of spiral bound notebooks and wanted to see it. The man behind the counter took it out and carefully took the plastic wrapping off and handed it to her as if she were about to examine the crown jewels. It's a notebook people.... they are .88 cents at target right now. Crazy! I found a purse I wanted. Valentino shiny red leather with a huge bow on it! *sigh* Only 700 dollars on sale. What a bargain.

I couldn't help but to reflect on what I was wearing today. I had a shirt that was 5 dollars at Target, a dress over it that I got at Walmart for 9 dollars and shoes that I bought 5 years ago at Target for 12.99. My whole outfit today was cheaper than the cheapest thing I sold today which was a small body wash. I hope I pulled it off.




Also, Nordstroms really does have amazing customer service. Everyone is super polite and helpful, even to me who wasn't a customer. For instance, a lady had to return something and I asked a man who worked there to help her out and he acted so grateful and thrilled to be of assistance. It almost made me laugh but it also came off genuine somehow. It doesn't surprise me that people can get sucked into it.

But to be fair the customers were all really great ( believe me, I worked at Gottschalks... I could tell the difference) For instance the counter manager had a customer buy here a whole box of Godiva chocolates just because she sold her something... Weird! I also was taken back by these people who bought everything I suggested. It made me wonder if they get taken advantage of a lot because no joke I could have kept adding and they would have kept buying ( Well, I sold them a lot but it was good stuff that was just right for them! :)) Of course with the beautiful and sweet people, there were also the strange, eccentric ones too. A lady came in with make-up spackled on her face with three dogs on a leash, who were wearing more bling than she was. There were also the people who were just there to be treated well and tried on everything at every counter and didn't buy anything. Not that I'm complaining because although trashy, it's better than not being able to afford it all but buying it all on credit anyway. There were also some outrageous outfits but they got away with it because they are rich. Funny people...

Also, I should never try to wear heels again.... Ouch!

Also, If you have never been in a Nordstroms bathroom... you should go! I couldn't find the bathroom anywhere until I finally saw a sign that said, "Women's Lounge." I assumed that was it. I walked in to see a sitting room that is bigger than my family room with carpet and big couches, beautiful lighting and pictures. At first I backed out, thinking maybe it was a nursing room or something ( because there was a woman nursing in there) I looked at the sign again and went all the way in and at the back of this room was the bathrooms. Bathrooms that had doors you couldn't see right into (I hate that about public bathrooms) and good toilet paper... I know too much info but man it was nice!

Also, Philosophy rocks and I really had a blast selling it today!

I know that was a lot of rambling but I had a lot of time to think today

Us in our new/ my old house

My friend Stephanie mentioned the kitchen in my other pictures and I totally forgot that I never posted pictures of our new place! So here is the grand tour...

Kitchen which is just to your right when you come in


Over by the fridge is a door that leads to another bedroom and bathroom and this pantry which is so nice to have.



Once again we sacrificed our dining room for a computer area. We are able to put a small table in the kitchen area which is all we really need.



This is the living room which is just to your left when you walk in. Kind of bare but we are keeping things simple so it's not so much work to move again.




This is the hall bathroom...





And of course our bedroom...





And last but definitely not least is my sewing/ craft room! This room used to be my bedroom in high school actually.





Everything wasn't set up when I took these pictures but I'm afraid it hasn't gotten too much better so it is what it is! It's fun playing house for now I'm trying not to think about the fact that we will soon be back in a one bedroom apartment... which actually isn't that bad.