To my littlest sis...

Happy Birthday Jan, Jan! I was reading a birthday note today from Lindsey to you and it mentioned that the day you were born you were the perfect addition to our family and honestly I couldn't agree with her more. You have brought so much joy to all of us throughout the past 19 years! When I was 10 I couldn't think of anything better or more fun then having a cute little sister to dress up and love on and now that I'm 29 I can't think of anything better than getting to spend "sister time" with you and being a part of your life. We are all so lucky to have a little sister like you in our lives; I love you to pieces and hope you are having a wonderful birthday in New York (lucky girl)!

10 favs....

1. I love your personality ~ you are so sweet and fun loving, yet VERY strong.

2. You are such a giving person; devoting your time as a mentor and helping friends or charity's ~ at 19 to give people back and enrich other peoples lives the way that you do is an amazing trait.

3. Your "smarts"

4. Your ability to roll stuff off your back; you are so forgiving and have this ability to let things go - something I wish I could do.

5. You are so genuine and loving

6. Your beauty

7. I love your motivation and determination ~ you set your sights on something and figure out how to accomplish it, you are always striving for something and I have no doubt that this will lead to all of your successes.

8. You are loved by all: All of our friends love you and love having you around, mom and dad's friends love to steel you for a day, it's been that way since you were little!

9. Your independence and your desire to figure things out for yourself and create your own path

10. I love you and everything about you! Honestly, having sisters is one of the best experiences I have ever had and I feel so lucky to have 2! I love that all 4 of us "kids" get to share together, laugh together and learn from each other every day. You are such an important part of our family and so special to me.

Happy Birthday Angie!!!

Gosh these are some old pictures ~ I am too lazy to get on my other computer to find some more recent ones!! However, I do actually love them - they bring back many fun and happy memories! Happy 29th Birthday Angie...enjoy your last year of being "twenty-something"!!!! I love you and couldn't ask for a better friend and sister-in-law!

My favorite things about Angie:

1. She is SO determined and such a "go-getter"

2. She works her butt off and is great at anything she does

3. She is a great friend and mom!

4. I love her for being who she is; what you see is what you get.

5. She is a clean freak ~ love it!!!

6. She is such and easy person to be around, she has such a warm and inviting personality!

7. She has totally taken to motherhood; she just had Oliver 9 months ago and she is a fabulous "mommy", she is fit for the job!

8. She is a great wife and friend to Matt!

9. She is so easy to talk to ~ whether it be a long day at work, a question, the need to vent, or share a laugh, she is always one of my favorite people to call!

10. I am so grateful for all of her years of friendship; from the time I started dating Jeremy she welcomed me with open arms and became a great friend and confidant. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful sister in law and friend in my life!

Santa Cruz & Father's Day

Jeremy and I just got back from a great weekend on the coast; Edward Jones had their annual conference/retreat for all of their FA's and this year it happened to be in Santa Cruz (and on Father's Day)! It was so nice for Jeremy and I to have the opportunity to go and sit through 3 days worth of meetings, dinners and social hours. This has been such a tough year for Jeremy making the transition into the Financial world with the economy going through such tough times and his decision to join Edward Jones has challenged him in many ways. It was really great to meet all of the families throughout our region and I know that as tough as it is on poor Jeremy he has made a good choice and joined a good/solid team of people. Each and every spouse and veteran FA was so gracious to us and offered support to both Jeremy and I as we go through this whole process, it really is amazing to me that everyone in our region is so giving, helpful and interested in our success; it is very encouraging to be a part of this group of people and have their help as Jeremy is newer to this whole venture. Edward Jones as a whole is a very traditional company with their old fashioned values on marriage and moral obligations; it totally cracks me up that they haven't changed their tune in the 21st century, but I must say as funny as it all is to me I find it kind of refreshing that a company as large as they are can still have such a traditional core in this day and age. All-in-all it was a wonderful weekend and we were able to take a lot of things away from it.

So on the flip side we missed Father's Day which kind of sucked for the both of us, but of course we have great dad's who were totally understanding! So for my dad I want to wish him a Happy, Happy Father's Day! Dad I know you had a great day with Jana and Paige and I'll see you tomorrow night for dinner to celebrate! I love you and am so grateful to have such a caring, loving and wonderful father in my life! For Jerry and all of the other Father's in my life, thank you for being the men that you are to all of us "kids" (old and young) we truly appreciate our fathers and the love that you give us, we are so grateful for your presence and all that you do to enrich our lives each and everyday!

Happy Birthday Brother!!!

Happy Birthday B!!!

Last night Brad flew in for a quick visit and the whole fam went to Mikuni for a pre-birthday celebration. This is actually the only time we'll all be together to celebrate the June birthdays since Brad has to get back to San Diego and Jana is leaving for a 3 week trip to Boston and New York.

We tried our hardest to get dad to take a Sake Bomb with us, but he was adamantly against it... somebody please tell him that you are not a seasoned Sushi eater until you've tried at least one sake bomb!

So B, here are my favorite things about you:

1. You are a phenomenal athlete

2. You are TALL, love that I'm not the only giant in our family.

3. You have great style (thanks to your 3 sisters)

4. You deal so well with all of your sisters; I know this is due to the fact that you were practically raised by all of us and there have been lots of emotional roller coasters surrounding you for most of your life.

5. Love your demeanor; you are so even keel and kick back...so very "Eager" of you.

6. You are always so very polite and respectful to others

7. You can truly get along with anyone.

8. You are very family oriented

9. You have grown from the funniest little boy and quite annoying little brother into one of the best men I know.

10. I'm so grateful for you. You round out this family perfectly and you have grown up into a great individual, I am so proud of all of your accomplishments and for having the gift of such a wonderful brother in my life.

June: The Month of Birthdays - 1st up, Paige.

So June is a busy month for celebrating birthdays in this fam; all 3 of my siblings were born in June and so was Angela, meaning that between the two families we have 4 June birthdays ~ that's a lot...like Christmas in June!!! Today is Paige's birthday and I am so sad that I am not spending it with her! Katie, a very good friend of mine from college is getting married in August and we are having her bachelorette party this weekend in Tahoe. Since it's pretty much impossible to be two places at once, I am cheer-sing my sister (with a cocktail in hand) from the West Shore of Lake Tahoe and wishing her the happiest of birthdays! I promise to celebrate with you when I get back Paigey, I love you and I hope you have a fantastic time with all of your girlfriends tonight! XO

So here are my 10 favorite things about Paige:

1. She is SOOO kind hearted

2. She is extremely giving and always willing to lend a hand

3. She loves kids and is so patient and loving towards them

4. Her sense of humor and the fact that she cries (almost) every time she laughs

5. She is a total fashionista...thank God for that, she helps keep me stylish!

6. She is a loyal friend and fabulous sister

7. Her shoe fetish ~ I am super jealous that she can wear 4 inch heels without looking like an Amazon woman (I live vicariously through her in this regard ~ I swear I was shorter in another life). No seriously, if you look down at her feet she always has on the cutest shoes.

8. She is a total gym nut and has great arms, I admire her motivation and determination.

9. She has turned into a lovely adult with a great personality and has a great circle of friends.

10. She has always been there for me in times of need, laughter, celebration and love. She is a wonderful companion and friend and seriously she is a part of me, I'm just not sure what I would ever do without her.

I think I've found heaven....

Or a little piece of heaven that is. Seriously how have I never seen this website before??? I am obsessed and want every system/accessory that they have, it is pure bliss for a crazy clean freak like me. I am willing to bet that I'm the last one to catch on to this website...

www.organize.com

Crazy Lady

Have you ever felt sometimes like your life and all the stuff that keeps you busy was similar to that of a tornado; storms through, stirs up a lot of crap and leaves a mess for you to pickup once it goes away?! I kind of feel like that right now, not in a depressing way, I just feel like these past few weeks have been NUTS; I haven't had a weekend at home and being such an organized nut I just kind of feel like my life is a chaotic mess with a thousand things to do once this whirlwhind ends! I have been having a great time with all of the work, play and travels keeping me busy, but between it all and trying to visit with my husband and keep up on my home I am going a bit nuts...maybe just a bit exhausted! I can't wait for next weekend which will bring lots of peace and quiet if I have anything to say about it! :)