Mt. Madonna Birthday Camping

Jase and I went camping with some good friends last weekend at Mt. Madonna. We had never been there before and really liked it. It's super easy to get to and was nice and cool - even though it's just west of Gilroy. They had reservations available fairly last-minute and the park is really well kept. (gooutsideandplay.org for info)

Here are some photos from the weekend:

Right before the trip, we bought a gigantic tent from Target for half off. It's from Eddie Bauer and called "Mammoth" (definitely an appropriate name!)







We had a little issue with our air mattress. Apparently, AeroBeds cannot be blown up with a regular battery-operated pump... It needs to be plugged in. So we had to take it to the bathroom, plug it in, and fit it (barely!) through the tent door! LOL. Here is Zak and Jason carrying it back.



On the left you can see Zak and Sarah's awesome screen tent covering the picnic table (we're so getting one of those!!) and their tent on the right.



Ashley and I. :)



Ashley & Kevin making breakfast Saturday morning.



Jase & I when he gave me my birthday gift and cards. <3



Football time!





We went hiking Saturday afternoon and saw tons of banana slugs.



*Mmm* Saturday night dinner. Grill, Zak, grill!!



What's camping without a campfire??





How cool is this?!?! Sarah made me a brownie cake for my birthday!! :) I can't believe I didn't get a single photo of her (she took quite a few of these photos and we forgot to get her in FRONT of the camera.) There is one with her in the background, though.. Where's Waldo..er..Sarah?



One more tent shot before leaving on Sunday. *hehe*

Just a quick check-in.

I'm in the midst of week 3 of this summer quarter (only 6 weeks long). So, I am halfway done and starting to feel the stress and rush to not fall behind. I'm taking two classes.

The good news? I will definitely have my business degree and executive assistant certificate by Winter Quarter!

In other news, we've recently lost a family member. :( Jason's Great Aunt Carol passed away this month and we attended her funeral service 2 days ago. She was an absolutely wonderful woman and is already dearly missed by all of us.

Here is her obituary in the San Jose Mercury News: http://tinyurl.com/2u6zbn

I guess that's all I have to update at the moment. Until next time!

We met Mark Smith!!! (Smitty of San Jose Sharks fame!)

Yesterday (Saturday 7/7/7), Jason, Zak, Sarah, and I went to see Mark Smith's band, 'The Vinyl Trees' play at Borders in Santana Row. We'd never heard any of his music, so we weren't sure what to expect. I was VERY pleasantly surprised! It was only him playing (his other 2 band-mates couldn't make it), but he was great! Definitely good at multi-tasking. *lol* He played three digiredoos (SP!!), a harmonica, two guitars, a bass box thingy he tapped his foot on in place of drums, and he sang all the lyrics.





Admittedly, I was a bit (okay, okay, REALLY) star-struck. I've really been idolizing these hockey players lately! During the show I sat next to his girlfriend and her friends who seemed very nice. After the show, Smitty stuck around to sign autographs and take photos. I told him I'm a fan and that it was my first time hearing his music (and that I liked it.) We took a photo and he signed our CD booklet. He was super nice and appreciative that we came out to see him.

Happy 4th of July!

Jason & I had a great 4th of July. We went over to Zak & Sarah's in the early afternoon and ate delicious BBQ, went swimming, watched a movie, and just relaxed. Soooo nice!! Then we all headed down to Morgan Hill and picked up Mike and Ioana on the way. The fireworks were fun and there weren't TOO many people crowed in.

Mike & Ioana



Jase & I



Zak & Sarah



Fireworks!

Jason's 24th Birthday Celebrations

On the day of Jason's birthday, we went to Benihana with some friends and Jason's mom. That night, a bunch of his good friends stopped by our home and we all played a large game of Scene It (in which Jason's team, of course, were crowned champions!)

Jase and his special drink. :)


Daniel, Jason, Daniel's wife Isabel (also my hair stylist :)


Jason & Mike


Blowing out his candle!


A couple days later, we went bowling with Jason, myself, Justin, Thomas, Tim & Cindy.

Cindy strikes a pose.


Thomas & Justin


Tim




Jase


On Saturday, we had dinner with Jason's Dad, step-mom, sister, brother, and aunt at Chevys! It was great to have everyone together, especially his Aunt Sid!

He donned his sister's sunglasses and let his inner Elton John out:



Finally, on Sunday, we celebrated with my parents at Menara, a Moroccan restaurant in downtown San Jose. They had a special belly dancing show and they made him join in since he was celebrating a birthday!

Like how my mom wrapped his gift (signed hockey puck)? :)






Jason shakin' it.






_________________________________________

For gifts, Jason got a ton of DVDs, moolah, a sharks jersey, a signed sharks Cheechoo puck, a sharks license plate frame, sharks key chain, and a couple books. :)

Meeting baby Sarah!

Our dear friends, Adam & Heather, adopted their first bundle of joy 4 months ago and Jason and I finally got to meet her! We went with my family to Grass Valley (where Adam & Heather live) for the weekend.

Road Trip in the minivan we rented.







Heather & I


Sarah! She is so beautiful and I love her SOO much already. :)








Caught a giggle!

Beachy time!

On Memorial Day, Cindy, Justin, Jase, Zack, Tim, and I headed over to Seascape Resort (yes, where we got married!) to lay out at the beach. Fun times were had by all.

Justin's doggie, Bella.


Tim


Cindy


Cindy's bro, Zack.


Justin


Jase & I

Massive updates are in order!

I am WAY overdue for some updates. They're going to be coming at you pretty fast and might be out of order, but oh well. Here they come anyway.

I caved! My new crocs.

Some of my friends have converted me to being a croc-lover. I didn't go for the full-on classic (beach) croc, but did get the Mary Janes in black. I'm hoping to also get a pair of their sandals before summer hits full swing.

Anyway, they're not too bad, right? They are SUPER SUPER comfy (which is why I got them.)





And a quick update: Last weekend was Nest Fest 2007 (camping with a bunch of married couples friends.) Photos soon to follow!

This week I am pretty busy with school. I have a couple quizzes, projects, and a midterm to finish before Friday when Jase and I are going to Groveland for a weekend away.