Christmas in the Holy Land

Shane and I just spent 10 days in Utah! It was an fabulous Christmas and we're so glad we got to go. THANKS to Toni and Lewis for being such great hosts and helping us pay for our plane tickets!! You guys are sooo nice, and we loved being with you guys.

I didn't have my camera out a lot on the trip...but here are the few that I came away with.

We took Shane's sisters kids out for some bowling and ice cream. They are super cute kids and we were stoked to get to party with them.

I got to go snowboarding 3 DAYS!!! I have sorely missed this favorite activity of mine and it was amazing to get to ride again in the best snow on earth. I went on my own the first day, then with Shane, and then with my bro Brian! Thanks to my parents for the birthday money for my lift tickets! I can't really explain how awesome it was.

The last pic is displaying my excitement about the new surf hoodie and booties I got for Christmas!! Thanks Mom and Dad!! So excited to use them.

Other things: Shane hunted with his Dad and brother, we met our new nephew Nixon (Shane's brother's new son), went to fun family parties, visited Papa and Grandma, spent the night with grandma Juanita, got to see some very missed friends, played Kinect with the kids, and saw True Grit.

Thanks to everyone who fed us and played with us!! We love you all.

25 and Alive

First of all, I want THANK EVERYONE who gave me a shout out on my birthday! I have really great family and friends, and it felt awesome to feel the love. Thanks, you guys! I mean it.

To celebrate my 25th year on earth, my dear old friend, Dorothy Wise, organized this great outing! She took us all out to the cutest restaurant, and I got the star treatment.

It was so sweet and a very fun time. Thank you ladies!!

After blowing out my candle and receiving some radical gifts (I was blingin!), I went on a solo, sunset stand up paddle board adventure around Naples Island!

I have a new friend who lives down the street and has offered to let me borrow her board anytime! It was a perfect birthday activity. LOVED every minute of it.

Then my wonderful hubby (who surprised me with a brand new scooter helmet before I left for work!) took me out for a romantic night on the town.

We went out to eat where he presented me with this crazy awesome, super legit, chunky GOLD WATCH! I spotted this trend a while back and Shane paid attention. He's a very thoughtful gift giver and I love him a whole lot.

He topped the night off by taking me on a ferris wheel ride overlooking the ocean in beautiful, downtown Long Beach. It was awesome. My birthday was awesome.

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone! Here's to being 25!!

Whoa. I'm 25.

Holiday Harris Hotel

We recently spiffied up our apartment - mainly a new rug, a new couch and pillows, and a new TV

(thanks to Shane camping out at Wal-Mart on Black Friday!). My dearest mother has been hoping to see pictures of it. She helped me realize that we needed an Extreme Makeover - Living Room Edition. She just wants the best for her sweet, only daughter ;) Since the re-do, we've gone a little wild with having people over! It's been really fun.

So if you're in town, come on over to the Harris Hotel!

Dolphin Mania

A few months ago I bought half priced whale watching tickets (Groupon.com- sign up today!).

Last weekend we finally used them!

I surprised Shane, because surprises are always more fun.

He hadn't ever been out on the open sea (before Guam this summer), and he's a nature boy.

He was stoked. We cruised out of beautiful Dana Point...

Though we didn't see any whales, within the first ten minutes, Shane spotted a SHARK! Yep, a 5 foot black shark just creeping alongside the boat. Pretty cool. Then about 15 minutes later we landed right smack in the middle of a HUGE pod of dolphins. I mean HUGE. There were thousands of them churning the water.

The captain told us they love getting a ride from the boat current, which gave us a super close look!

We had never seen anything like it, and it was pretty amazing.

We saw 2 more pods of different types of dolphins while watching the sunset.

It was so beautiful and the perfect way to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon with your main squeeze.

This video will show you how crazy awesome that HUGE, wild pod of dolphins really was!

Check it out, especially if you have Bieber Fever.

I bet you can guess...

Yet another Justin Timberlake encounter.

Julie and I crusied to Hollywood for a taping of Lopez Tonight (TBS show hosted by George Lopez).

Julie is a fellow JT fan, so we were pretty much a couple of giddy tweens.

If I learned one thing from being in a band, it's how to schmooze.

We ended up being seated in the FRONT ROW; the best seats in the house! We were pretty excited.

Nicki Minaj, Jo Frost, and Khloe Kardashian also made appearances. Nicki was pretty dope!

Look for the JT episode on the 16th.

You may even spot two googily-eyed girls fanning themselves in the front row:)

We gave thanks!

This year our good friends, the Hulls, invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them in Redlands, California. Bryant's parents took us in like we were their own!

I decided that we needed to start the day with a hike! So we drove up early and found this cool spot. Shane was a good sport, as usual, and we bulldozed right up the mountain. It was perfect weather and there were awesome views. FUN.

Below, you'll see our 3 attempts with the camera timer. Check out that lake behind us!

After our hike, we headed to the Hull's wonderful home. The company was great and the food was delish! We really enjoyed being in the fun, family environment. A big THANK YOU to all the Hulls for having mercy on us orphans during the holidays :)

We ended our Thanksgiving weekend with a fun date to Knott's Berry Farm with our friends, Randall and Lindsay. Even though we got rained on and sick from the rides, it was a fun outing!

I have SO MANY things to be thankful for and I'm happy to celebrate a holiday that helps me focus on those things. 3 Cheers for Thanksgiving!