Classy Tennis Weekend

Since moving to Long Beach, Shane and I have taken up tennis. We're not very good, but we have a lot of fun. Shane decided to take it to the next level and start following the pros. Every year there is a big tournament in Palm Springs, and it wasn't really a question in Shane's mind if we were going to be there!

We knew when we got there that we weren't at some crazy concert:

The first day we were lucky enough to see THIS guy up close!! Rafael Nadal.

I would say he's the David Beckham of Tennis, but better at tennis than Beckham is at soccer.

Plus he's the star of the newest Shakira video. Sooooo legit.

We were there waiting for him after the match! Pretty cool.

We stayed ALL night!

The next morning it was back to the stands for some even bigger, better matches.

Palm Springs was giving us some major sunshine.

We got to watch Andy Roddick, the #1 American with the fastest serve in tennis.

We spotted his swim suit model wife, Brooklyn Decker, in the stands.

After a few hours, Shane looks down, sees his sunburned thighs, laughs, and says, "Totally worth it."

I have to say, we had a really fun weekend. To top it all off- we were featured on the kiss cam! And no- Shane didn't give me a cute couple kind of kiss. It was more like the cookie monster attacking some chocolate chip cookies.

That's my man.

Until next year!!

Lewis, Toni, and Mike...not who you think.

This past weekend we enjoyed a visit from these 3!

Shane's parents, Lewis and Toni, and Toni's sister Mike came down from Lehi, Utah to have some snow-free fun! This was their first visit to see our place in Long Beach and we were excited to have them!

We all decided our first day must be spent at the happiest place on earth:)

(A big thanks to Toni for making 5 quilts for the "give a day, get a day" promotion and getting everyone in free!)

We were SO stoked that they brought back Captain EO!

We ran straight to the theater to see MJ in all his 1985 dancing, singing glory.

Next, it was time for some extreme riding. Toni and Mike meant business!

We soaked in the sun walking the park, enjoying the awesome So Cal weather.

A special thanks to Toni's mom Billie for making me this super cute flower headband!

She is one hip grandma! I was very impressed and excited about it.

Isn't my husband SO stinking cute!? Man oh man...

Smiling faces on the trolley back to the car. A good sign that we had a blast!

Saturday we headed to the awesome local aquarium! We spent all afternoon checking out the crazy sea life.

Downtown Long Beach. Flowers in the winter.

Next we grabbed lunch at Ruby's, located at the end of the Seal Beach pier. Tasty and fun!

Sunday, Sarah and Bryant invited us over for a post-church lunch!

We were happy to be able to introduce everyone and do some chatting. Thanks Sarah and Bryant!!

Next, we strolled along the canals of Naples Island, taking in the beauty of the water, boats, flowers, and homes.

When we got home, we knew we couldn't end the weekend without a few rousing games of Rummikub!

Overall, a great weekend!

Lewis, Toni and Mike: Thanks a ton for coming out to visit! We loved having you!

Grass Sledding on The Wings of Love

My sister-in-law Morgan's family lives about 30 minutes south of us, and when her parents go out of town they hire Kirsti or I to come hang out with their kids!

This past weekend I felt like a kid again. Here's what we did:

Some of my favorite memories as a kid was playing in the rain. So, I took the kids on a bike ride to their school play ground in the middle of a total down pour. Totally awesome.

Then, the neighbors happened to have a grass sled, and since it was very wet the conditions were perfect for some extreme grass sledding! We were doing backwards triple decker's within a few runs. Super fun.

After a trip to the batting cage and a few more trips to the park, I decided the ultimate kid weekend wouldn't be complete without watching a movie in an awesome living room fort!

But I have to say, I was super excited to get home to my man.

We had lots of time to get cozy together because the Bachelor finale was a whopping 3 hours long!

Amidst all the controversy and Tenly lovers, here's the conclusion we came to:

Tenly and Jake were just way too much alike. Jake loves Vienna's craziness and young personality because he needs that in his life. Vienna loves Jake's calmness and and needs that secure feeling he gives her.

It just works better; they balance each other out.

However, we still think there is a very small chance these two will last long.

Personally, there weren't very many girls this season we loved, but we think Ali will make a decent Bachelorette.

The end.