Down with the old man, up with the new

It's the Monday after Easter and while I don't actually have an office to go to, I am still reluctant to "go" to work today. I hope everyone had a great Easter! It was bittersweet for me this year since it was the first time not celebrating with my family in North County.  But at the same time, I was able to attend an amazing church service and start some fun new traditions right here in San Dimas with the Kolbeck family.

We attended the CCV church service as we did last year. Because of the influx of people during the holiday, the services are held at Azusa Pacific University so they really make it a neat event. I volunteered during Saturday's service and couldn't wait to attend on Sunday. 

Each year they set up baptism pools and give everyone in the audience (that's hundreds of people!) a chance to give their life to Jesus, start fresh or simply recommit. John and I decided to take the plunge! Pat also wanted to make the commitment so together at the end of the service we approached the pools. The first person we came across was none other than Pastor Dane Johnson...the pastor who married us! We asked if he could also baptize us. It was an incredible experience and I'm so glad we were able to do it together as a married couple. I haven't been able to get Kenny Chesney's song "Baptism" out of my head since! God is good!

After church we headed to the Kolbeck's for some swimming, puppy playtime and family fun. Since we are all adults, we came up with our own egg hunt. We'd each filled five eggs ahead of time with anything we wanted, had a friend hide the eggs and off we went! It was so fun to be a bit competitive with each other and then see what goodies we each received. The treats ranged from chocolates and jelly beans to Chapstick and nail polish to bottles of wine. There was even a "golden" egg with $100!! 

As for John and I...the Easter bunny made a quick stop at our house too. Along with some other things, he left these adorable mason jar candle holders! I have them on our entry table for a rustic, springtime feel but hope to use them on our patio table soon.

Lexi is 6 Months Old!

Today marks Lexi's 6 month birthday! She was born exactly one week before our wedding, which is very special to us. We have had Lexi for about 3.5 months now and have been through A LOT with her. She is growing like a weed, learning everyday and always finding new things to get into.

THEN
When we first picked up Lexi, she weighed 8 pounds. She seemed to be a bit malnourished and was still learning how to use those little legs.

Her crate was massive compared to her puppy body so we had the separator in the very front. (We recently took our the separator completely since she's gotten so big!)

Her first weekend with us she got very sick and we were afraid she had something serious like Parvo, which can be deadly. Turns out she just had a tummy ache, so the doc gave us some medicine and some special food and she turned into a wild and crazy, regular puppy in no time!

NOW
Today Lexi weighs 38 pounds!!! Which means she's gained 30 pounds since we got her! The vet said she will get to be anywhere from 60-90 pounds. Wow!

Since January, Lexi has been stung by a bee and rushed to the vet, gotten spayed and had a cone on for 2 weeks, and attends obedience school every Monday. She knows how to sit, lay down, stay and come. We are still working on jumping, play biting, and "going to bed", which means going to lay down in her designated area so we can have a little bit of peace without her next to us on the couch.

She loves to spend time outside during the day and has recently discovered how fun water and sprinklers can be! She has the "zoomies" at least twice a day, which is her crazy time where she sprints around, jumps on the furniture, attacks her toys, etc. The dog trainer said this is most common at dawn and dusk. I have lots of funny videos on my YouTube channel which I posted a few weeks back.

She is in her "terrible twos" and is quite defiant. As I was writing this post, she stole a calculator from my office and was downstairs and outside before I knew it. I started out chasing her around like an idiot, but every time I would get close she would run away. It was a fun game to her. Then I returned to the patio and said, "Lexi Come!" She would get as close to me as possible and then when I reached for her she'd run away again...over and over. She was basically running laps around the yard with my calculator, most likely laughing at me. Here's the damage. Luckily, I don't need that calculator!

When Lexi is not busy getting into trouble, she is very sweet and loving. Her favorite morning routine is to get under the covers with us. When she gets too hot, she lays on top of the covers at our feet. And then finally moves to the floor where the sun shines through the window. Here she is giving morning kisses to "Daddy".

We love our little Lexi to death and look forward to the next 6 months!!

A Tribute to Mama B!

I started writing this post TWO YEARS ago!! Apparently I wanted it to be perfect and spent so much time on it that Mom's birthday came and went...twice. Oooopsy! Instead of prolonging the post, I thought I'd post it now for you all to enjoy! I love you Mama B!

It has been quite some time since I've posted, so I apologize for not keeping everyone updated. I've got LOTS of news to share but it will have to wait til another day. In honor of Mom's 50th birthday, I thought I'd post some pictures of us all through the years. I always enjoy looking back on all of our great times and how far we've all come over time. Happy Birthday to my wonderful, beautiful, amazing mother. You are strength, inspiration and the voice of reason for us all and we love you!!

Mom & I celebrating March birthdays in 2003!

LMU Softball Game - 2003

March Birthdays 2004

Mom & Dad - Christmas 2004

The Bassett Gang - 2004

BKC - Christmas 2005

Mom & Dad in San Francisco 2006

Britt's Graduation - May 2006

La Tech Fans in Fresno - 2007

Louisiana - 2007

Grams & Her Grandkiddos - Christmas 2008

M&D - Christmas Eve 2008

Bassett's go to Baylor - March 2009

Louisiana 2009

Soccer in the Snow 2009

Mom& Dad Playing on Father's Day - 2009

Kylie's Graduation - Louisiana 2009

Merry Christmas! 2009

Kylie & Ben - Christmas 2009

Camille & Britt - Christmas 2009

Flashback Friday - March (Part 2)

2009

March 2009 was full of fun.

Mama B the birthday girl!!! And her beautiful Tiffany necklace from Dad! 

Cute Little Benjamin.

The other Birthday Girl Brittany playin ball.

Candles! I love Camille's Baylor shirt.

Sweetie Pie Molly. (I think I have one of Lexi almost exactly like this!)

Molly and Bamie at softball.

Camille and I at the Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Experience. I still love the Jo Bros, by the way. Kevin has an awesome reality show with his wife: Married to Jonas!

We went to SDSU to watch Brandon Relf play baseball for BYU. Had to stop by the softball field while we were there. Remember when Uncle Brian got yelled at by Fresno State's Margie Wright while eating a hot dog at one of my games?!? 

To celebrate my 25th birthday, our group of friends decided to go to Vegas. It was one of my favorite trips. We got a 2 room suite at a Hilton vacations club off the strip and it worked out perfectly. We were all able to stay in one place and would take cheap limousine rides to our destination each night.

Lunch at the Bellagio

Samantha and I matching on night 1!

Goofy Girls. Tara, Britt, Case, Tiff, Samantha, Lauren.

A totally unplanned, uncoordinated funny pic. Now that's impressive!!

The whole gang.

 Lauren and I were matching too!

Jet Nightclub. From left, Britt, Lauren Harper, Tara, Casie, Samantha, Lauren Smith, Ashley, Margo.

Limo ride!!

Happy to have my Fat Tuesday. Look at that hat...hahah!

2010

This was the first year that John was around. We went to Tempe, Arizona for Spring Training and my birthday celebration. And made this same trip for the next two years. Sadly, this year was the first time we did not go. It just wasn't in the cards with a new puppy at home.

St. Patty's Day at The Press in Claremont. This is when I was working tons of hours so I look tired but was happy to be out of the office.

Family birthday party!!