Nae's Heart » Family News

Summer Vacation

Renae — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:25:03 +0000

James and I weren’t really planning on taking a vacation this summer… except for a weekend trip to Arizona to watch a baseball game. But James’ parents decided to come visit us for their vacation and we have had a great time with them. They arrived on Friday, July 23rd, and we started vacation with dinner at Yardhouse… the food was delicious.

Ruth's Spicy Tuna Roll

My parents came over that evening for dessert and just to visit.

On Saturday, we headed out to Ironwood to visit Daniel, James’ brother, who is working there for the summer. It was a nice day. We stopped at Ontario Mills Mall on the way out and also had a picnic lunch at a park…

My Love and I

We arrived at Ironwood and it was hot. I drank a whole water bottle inside the first 30 min, and probably 2 more before we left.

Hanging out at the Homestead

We were given a tour of the property by Sheriff Tom Horton. It was very nice to see how the property and ministry has grown.

Mom, Dad, and Ruth enjoying the tour but not the heat

We also saw Renae Archer, her sisters and a friend were visiting her. After our very hot, but nice, tour we headed to Victorville for dinner. Daniel joined us and we enjoyed a meal at The Original Smokehouse. They have the best blackberry lemonade I have ever tasted.

My quart of Blackberry Lemonade

After dinner we hung out a little longer and then we headed home while Daniel headed back to Ironwood.

Sunday was church and Mom and Dad joined James and I at Bethel while Ruth went to Lighthouse. It was a fun but interesting day since James and I only have a 3 seater truck and there were 4 of us…It took a little shuttling but we managed okay. We walked to Wingstop for lunch and then went to Target. For Dinner we decided Yougurtland sounded good so that is what we had.

James was able to take Monday-Wednesday off. On Monday, we went to the Ronald Reagan Museum. It was very touching and interesting.

My Love and I with Air Force One in the background

Picnic lunch at the Reagan Museum

Ruth and I

On the way home we decided to go to the Santa Monica Pier and promenade.

Mom and Dad at the 3rd St Promenade

We finished the night out with dinner at Chipotle and an adventure to find a mall! It was a day full of fun, laughing, and teasing.

Tuesday we traveled to San Diego. We drove down Pacific Coast Highway for part of the trip and then finished it out on the 5 fwy. Our first stop was the zoo…

I love this man!

We took a 40 min bus ride around to see the animals and took some really nice pictures. After getting off the bus, our first stop was the Koala’s,

He didn't want to fall

they were all sleeping so we moved on down Monkey trail to Albert’s where we enjoyed a relaxing lunch. After stuffing ourselves we headed to see the Pandas. And for those who know who he is, Brian Regan jokes were a special part of this. Our next adventure was to see the Polar Bears…

One of my favorite animals!

We also saw elephants (Ruth’s favorite animal), zebras, giraffes, bears, and many other animals… After leaving the zoo we went to the motel 6 where we were spending the night… They had very interesting bedspreads.

The interesting bedspreads

After dropping our stuff off at the Motel, we headed out to a Padres/Dodgers game…It was a good game.

Taking a chance to smile

James was able to explain the game to a family visiting from England… It was very entertaining. We stayed for the entire game and then headed back to the Motel for the night. I still have many more adventures to tell you about… And lots more pictures to share! To see pictures to this point click here

Summer Dates

Renae — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:36:39 +0000

Yesterday was the opening day for the OC Fair… Between 12 and 1 admission and parking were free and James and I are definitely about saving money. We arrived around 12:45 and the first thing on our agenda was lunch… we had corn dogs… We had a great time wandering and looking at everything. We saw the animals, the crafts, the photography, all the little vendors trying to sell their products, and we walked through the carnival area. It was really hot and a little sticky so we bought a souvenir cup for $5 and then refilled it once for $2.50. At one point we found a table and enjoyed the shade while listening to the All-American Boys Chorus. After resting we walked around a little more and looked at everything we had already seen. it is a small fair! James bought me a pair of Rainbow Sandals. We bought dinner around 4:30 so we could finish before the Peking Acrobats started their show at 5:20. For dinner I had Australian Battered Potatoes and James had a Turkey Leg. It was delicious. We watched the Peking Acrobats, which are amazing, and then headed home. It was a great day spending time together, hot and sweaty, but tons of fun.

James enjoying the Turkey Leg

My Australian Battered Potatoes

The Sandals James bought me!

My Love and I

Hope you have lots of time for fun summer dates!

My Bike

Renae — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:52:17 +0000

The Bike James got me for our anniversary

Now we both have bikes so we can go riding together! a bonus is that it is purple!

Our 2nd Anniversary

Renae — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:45:29 +0000

Yesterday James and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary… I am so thankful for the wonderful husband God gave me. James is wonderful and a great provider. He loves the Lord and wants to grow in the Him. James also loves me and is a great protector. I love him very much and I am praying the Lord will give us many more years together and that they will be just as fun as the last 2…
So for our anniversary we watched a sweet movie, walked through the Irvine Spectrum, and had a quiet dinner at home and enjoyed a wonderful peach cobbler that James made… we finished the night playing some cards games with an earthquake. It was a nice day just the 2 of us!
Today we continued the fun of just us… We did some grocery shopping. We were running out of food at our house. Then we went and got our rings cleaned. Our next errand was basic things at Target and while we were there James bought me a bike… He already had one so now I can ride with him. We spent a little bit of time at home and then went to dinner at Maggiano’s… It was delicious. We then walked around South Coast Plaza for some exercise. We stopped to look at the Fossil store and James bought me a new watch band. I feel so loved and when I told him that I didn’t have a gift for him he said it was okay he was saving for an iPad so I didn’t need to spend the money on him. We are finishing today with time at home…
I am more in love James then I was when I married him… I am looking forward to what the next year holds and to what the Lord teaches us.

SUMMER!

Renae — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:32:16 +0000

It is almost summer and I can feel it… Only a handful of days left for school and then the fun in the sun begins. Swimming, the beach, evening walks, vacation, family, and friends are all apart of what makes summer fun. James and I don’t have any plans for vacation yet, but we will be traveling somewhere I am sure. Our 2nd anniversary is on June 14th and that is definitely cause for celebration… Also Daniel, James’ brother, will be working at Ironwood so we will probably take some trips out to spend time with him. James’ parents will also be visiting from San Francisco so we will have some fun times.
James will be working at the school and church this summer and I am not really sure what I will be doing. I might get a part time job, but I would really like to be able to grow in the Lord and spend time with some of the ladies in the church. James and I have also talked about starting a family… there is nothing to tell yet, but I could be pregnant within the next year. That is all I am saying on the subject…
Life is good here in the OC…

Sunburned

Renae — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:26:47 +0000

So on Saturday James and I went to the beach to reserve a fire pit for a school bonfire. I should know better than to spend any time in the sun without sunscreen on but I was trying to even out a slight burn that I had gotten on my feet. So I put sunscreen on my legs and face. I was wearing sweatshirt so I didn’t need to put any on my arms and I didn’t put any on my feet thinking that I would put it on later. Well I laid down to take a nap and completely forgot to put on sunscreen. This was not a smart thing to forget as I now have the most beautiful red feet. They hurt so bad. I stayed home from church yesterday because there was no way I was going to wear shoes. Ibuprofen and aloe vera have been my best friends. I am at work today but I am wearing flip flops. My feet still hurt really bad but life goes on.

One Busy Week

Renae — Sat, 01 May 2010 19:40:15 +0000

Sorry I haven’t gotten to blog much about my Cruise… This week was insanely busy. It all started on the Saturday right after the cruise… James and I took Rebekah to the airport at 7:15 am. We came back home and I went back to bed until 10 am. I got up and started cleaning the house for the next set of guests which were scheduled to arrive at 4:00 that afternoon. Ruth drove down from SF to start off her graduation week with us… She stayed with us all week and left to drive home this morning. On Tuesday evening Mom and Dad Ashton flew in and stayed with us through Wednesday night. On Wednesday morning, Ruth graduated from college. James and I took the day off and spent the day with family… Thursday Ruth did her own thing hanging out with friends and going to church at Lighthouse. Friday was our day to spend time with Ruth. We took her to get a gluten-free cupcake and then out to dinner. Ruth left this morning and I need to do laundry. It was a fun but busy week.

My First Cruise

Renae — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:27:00 +0000

Well… I just got back from my very first cruise. It was a ton of fun and I had a wonderful time… I went with my sister, Rebekah and my mom. I had no clue that my sister was coming and I screamed loudly when she walked into my house. She was my birthday present from my parents. We have so many memories and funny stories. We went with about 50 ladies from Lighthouse Baptist Church. The cruise went to Catalina and Ensenada… We left Monday April 19th from the Port of Long Beach and arrived back in Long Beach on April 23rd. We went to Catalina on Tuesday and Ensenada on Wednesday, had a fun day at sea on Thursday. I will write another post in the next few days about some of the stories but if you would like to see pics click here

Blogging while traveling

Renae — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:25:48 +0000

so here I am on my way home from SF and I find myself able to blog while in the truck. I can do this because James got me an iPhone for my birthday. I was not expecting it and was very surprised. It is nice to be able to blog while we are on the road because it gives me something to do. Let’s see I also had my hair cut and highlighted this was paid for by my in-laws. We went to dinner at pf chang’s and then had s’mores instead of birthday cake. Ruth gave me a book and I enjoyed the day with family. I will be having a birthday dinner with my parents this next week. I had a great week and feel refreshed and ready to go back to work.
hope you all had a great week

Spring Break

Renae — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:38:36 +0000

Well, it has begun… A week away. We left on Easter Sunday after the morning service and heading up to San Francisco. We arrived amidst rain and wind but got a very warm welcome from family. We didn’t stay up too late since we were tired from the drive. We had a relaxing family day on Monday with a trip to Build-a-Bear so Melissa could make a bear. It was mine and James’ present to her. We also went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and then came back home to do some yard work and take naps. I stayed in the house and listened for Melissa to wake up since I am allergic to most thing nature. The evening was fun. We had the Allen’s and Bennicoff’s over for dinner and fellowship. Our plans for today are to go to the Oakland Zoo and just enjoy being with the family… It is really good to see all of them!

See Pictures here