Whirlwind July and August 2010

As you may or may not be able to tell, I'm super far behind on this blog, but I still have grandiose plans of getting it all captured and up-to-date. Thus, my bullet point list blog post! Just a few quick updates from our many adventures from July and August of 2010...

• Mark's brother Brett came to visit us for a few nights and we loved having him. We were able to make a trip down to Santa Cruz for a day and go bike riding, walk around the boardwalk and beach, and even get a deep-fried Twinkie.
  

• I put together a fun bookstore date for Mark and I. We went to Barnes and Nobles and had to complete certain tasks and share things with each other, such as finding a recipe we wanted to try, finding a book we remembered from growing up and reading it to each other, finding a funny joke to share (we ended up reading Far Side), sharing a yummy treat at the bookstore cafe, telling each other "I love you" in a language we each would like to learn, finding a picture of a place we would like to travel to together, and reading love poems to each other. We had a fantastic time together and spent relatively little.
  

• Mark graduated with his MBA from San Jose State!!! I am so proud of him and his diligent efforts to get his education. He is such a hard-working guy and I love him! We were so lucky to have Mark's parents come celebrate with us for the weekend. After the graduation we drove up to San Francisco and hiked around the beautiful Muir Woods. Mark was very excited to receive the PS3 I splurged and got him as a graduation present and initiate our brand new "you are special today" red plate.
  

• We traveled to Utah for a long weekend to hang out with family. We also were able to attend a Merlin and Donna May Bowen reunion (my grandparents), held at the Simons' gorgeous cabin. Each of their daughters (i.e. my mom and aunts) shared a sweet memory of growing up. We especially loved being able to relax, hang out and play games with the Wadsworth family. Also, we were able to fit in some visits with Kevin, Rachael, and baby Ben! We sure love all of our family!
  

• Mark and I went to a Brian Reagan show. Brian Reagan is one of the funniest comedians I have ever heard. We were laughing like crazy for the entire show.
  

• We traveled down to Yorba Linda for Labor Day weekend to hang out with family. It was fun to help celebrate three birthdays; Papa, Greg, and Tyler. We love getting to see our Abbott family so often!