Real life is slowly creeping in...and I don't know how I feel about it.

Shally news...

Shane is the newest baller in town! I played lots of basketball growing up and have really missed it. I heard the guys at church played every week and finally got the guts to see if I could keep up with the boys. Shane is awesome and went with me, even though he never played b-ball (though everyone always assumes he did). Turns out it's a blast! We've played every week for 2 months now. I'm loving it and Shane is owning everyone.

Along with learning basketball, Shane's been learning how to be a property manager.

And he's doing a really fantastic job. I'm proud of my man!

Meanwhile, I've started SCHOOL again! Yikes. I only have one more GE requirement to get my bachelor's degree from BYU. So, to fulfill that requirement I'm taking college alegbra and statistics at Long Beach City College. Wish me luck! If all goes as planned I'll be a college grad in May. Woot!

And luckily we have this trusty scooter to get me around every day.

I've been cruising all across Long Beach on this baby.

"Back to life, back to reality" - En Vouge. That's a good song, I think I'll turn it on...

4 down, 4 to go

For our 4th anniversary I surprised Shane with a weekend away!

First, we enjoyed a picnic on this awesome cliff in Laguna beach:

Then this happened...

Amazing New Year's day sunset!!

After taking tons of pictures and exploring the tide pools,

we hit the streets and checked out the shops. Surprisingly rad stuff!

Then we walked down the street to stay at this beach house!! It is owned by the sweet couple I work for, Fred and Dorothy. It is such a cute place and about 4 blocks from the water!

We loved it and we're so lucky to have been able to stay there.

The next morning we hit the trails for a hike in the beautiful Laguna Wilderness Park!

The weather was unbelievable and the hike was super fun.

Happy Anniversary babe!

I think maybe, just maybe, I can safely say I made the right choice.

Ok, yeah. I did. I'm sure of it.

I love you!!

Ringing in the new decade!

Shane and I rang in the new year right.

We started out at this very fun party.

We competed in a new tradition: the Turkey Slide-Off

(I just named it that, it's a mini turkey burger making competition).

2 Categories: Presentation and Name

We were honored to take home the best name prize for our burger:

"Manos arriba.
Todos al suelo.
Ponga la hamburgesa en la bolsa."

Next we headed out on our bikes w/ these friends (Randall and Lindsey)...

To watch this!

Hip-kid daredevil Travis Pastrana (stars in the hit MTV show "Nitro Circus") broke a world record by launching his car 170 feet over the ocean onto a floating barge in downtown Long Beach. It was packed and exciting. Check out the jump here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlz5TR5V1Iw

Sam and Joe - you shoulda been there with us!!

Thanks for making our New Year's a great one, friends!! Bring on 2010!

Fa la la la la

We are SO lucky to have such good friends and to live in such an awesome place. Shane and I thank Heavenly Father for those 2 things every day.

That being said, our Christmas was great! We were invited to the annual Wise Christmas Eve party and had a grand ol' time.

By the way, I'm currently working full time for Sarah's grandparents, Fred (86) and Dorothy Wise (83). I help Dorothy around the house and run errands, and I help with household chores and the computer! They are really awesome and it's a great blessing for Shane and I. They have 4 awesome kids and 8 grandkids (they are pictured above).

The evening included a call from Santa and a run down the hall to try and catch a glimpse of him before he took off....

And a talent show! Shane and I humored the crowd with a little ditty

(we are the "musical" couple forever and ever).

The next morning we woke up to the best present ever: a video from Sam and Joe! My family moved to Guam a few months ago and have been living in a DREAM hotel! It has everything those boys could want, including a water park, scuba diving lessons, and an obstacle course!! They showed us around the place and they were soooo cute. If you'd like to watch it, and lots of other videos, they have a youtube page: youtube.com/osbornefam

Then we opened the rest of our presents! THANK YOU so much to everyone who sent us gifts and made it such a fun Christmas morning! We are so thankful for all of you and for your generosity.

Next we headed to downtown Long Beach and volunteered at a church serving a Christmas meal to the homeless. There were lots of volunteers, which was awesome to see, so Shane and I ended up mostly chatting with the people. It was really cool - we heard some crazy stories and felt the joy in the room. The people were so thankful to have a nice meal and some nice company. Many of them told me how thankful they were for us and how they could feel the good vibes. It was a great experience and we plan on doing it again!

This guy below sang some awesome songs for us. I filmed him and you can check it out on our new youtube page! youtube.com/sallyandshane

For dinner we were invited to our friends (Danielle and Kiffy) grandparents' house to enjoy the festivities! Great food, great company, and a hilarious white elephant gift exchange! Granny ended up w/ our gift - this crazy neon Neff hat! Funny. (Thanks for having us guys - we had a lot of fun!)

Overall it was a fantastic Christmas! Joy to the World.