I think moving and settling into your first home must be a year long process. This morning (Saturday) we started cleaning out the storage unit we STILL have 5 months after moving in. It's definitely not free, so I have been itching to get rid of it. We had to borrow Annie's car to transport things (she has a nice, big Honda CR-V) -- we took a car full to Goodwill, another car full of trash and also transported some items back to our garage. Tomorrow Allen will finish the job while I am at a friend's baby shower. We plan to sell a few items on ebay and the rest will need to find a home somewhere...probably the garage. It is amazing that we have practically grown out of our first house already! To have such a problem is a sign that we have definitely been blessed in our 5 years together.

This past weekend was our 5 year anniversary -- hard to believe how time flies! We decided to go to a resort in Palm Desert, the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa (http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/PSPSR).

We arrived late Thursday evening and I met with a client Friday morning while Allen went to the pool (which also meant we expensed part of the trip!). After grabbing lunch, we spent a relaxing afternoon at the spa. I had a massage and facial and Allen got a massage. It was the best massage I have ever gotten. She worked tediously on the knots in my upper back until I felt the muscles release - it was incredible! By the time we were finished with our pampering, it was dinner time and we had 6:45 reservation at Ruth's Chris Steak House (thanks to a gift card from Dad). We do not eat a lot of red meat at our house, but we do enjoy a good steak once or twice a year. It has sort of become tradition to have steak on our anniversary because Allen booked our first anniversary dinner at a great steak house in Dallas. At the time it was simply because he was looking for a really great, classy place. However, since then, it has been steak each year. This year was just as good as always. We even enjoyed creme brulee "on the house" as it was our anniversary. We were so stuffed that we basically rolled out of the restaurant back to the hotel.

Since the first night was on GW, we used Allen's Marriott points to cover the next 2 nights. I failed to mention in the beginning that, due to Allen's "gold" member status, we were upgraded to an executive suite upon check-in. It was awesome! Most of our trip was paid for, providing me much piece of mind as expenses are much greater these days with a mortgage.

The rest of our trip was spent at the pool, at the gym and visiting shops around the Palm Desert/Rancho Mirage area. We ate too much, got a lot of sun and really enjoyed time together.

On Friday, Allen and I both took the day off to spend some time together. He had been out of town and then I left the morning after he returned, then we had one day together before he took off again. So, we went to The Grove in Hollywood. It is basically a shopping/dining sanctuary within Hollywood. I say "sanctuary" because if you know anything about Hollywood, it really isn't a glamous place. The Grove is set next to the CBS studios and consumes about a square city block within which no cars are allowed, you walk everywhere.

We saw The Devil Wears Prada, a movie I have been dying to see for some time. It is no longer playing at most theaters, so I was excited that it was still playing at The Grove. We did some shopping, then headed back into West Hollywood to have dinner at Zeke's BBQ. We'd had a big lunch and I was not interested in a big dinner, but Allen insisted that we eat at Zeke's, so I made him at least wait until after 7:00 so I would have some type of appetite. It was pretty good - no Rendevous, of course, but not too bad! We hit up Target on the way home, barely able to move after such a yummy dinner. If all crazy weeks end up with this kind of time together, I could do this on a more regular basis. :) Good thing, because I think that given Allen's fall travel schedule, I don't really have a choice!


Saturday I spent with Annie as Allen had gone to a college fair. She is going to be a Junior (Education/Liberal Arts major) and the girl still does not own a laundry basket. How does that work? We spent the afternoon running errands and big sister bought her a few "needed" items, including that laundry basket.

Annie is going to be a Campus Ministry intern this year, so she will be gone on her retreat this coming week. I get lucky in that Allen does not leave again until early September. We will have another great weekend together this coming weekend as it will be our 5th anniversary! Plans are slightly up in the air as my mom may have her gallbladder removed this week, so we will see how we spend our 5th. I should know more after her doctor appt tomorrow afternoon as to whether I need to be there or not and that will determine whether we go to Napa/Sonoma Wine Country in Northern CA or to Palm Desert down here. Either way, I am looking forward to it!

Okay, so these are WAY over due, but here are some great pics from Oregon!

WINDSURFING

Katie, ever the animal lover, discovered that Hood River is home to several Alpaca farms. They look like mini llamas but seem to have better temperments. Their fleece is super soft, almost like cashmere, and is used to make some beautiful things. Mom bought a great pagmina that I intend to borrow....

Y'all can ask Allen about his mentos and diet coke experiment... He had this idea and it got bigger and bigger... I think he spent about $20 on "ingredients" for his experiment. Chad gave him more encouragement than did I, but it was pretty cool..

FOURTH OF JULY FUN!!

The super cute kids are my cousin Chris's kids. These are 2 of the 4. He spent a year in Iraq with the Army, so we are glad he is now home safe with his family.

We also went to a Lavendar farm. It wasn't that great, but I got some good hand cream. Allen thinks it stinks. I guess aromatherapy can be an acquired taste. I like to put it on in public just to harass him.