it's a new year

i love entering into new years and looking back and being thankful for the last.  i love reminiscing about all that has happened in 2011..all the ups and downs, the lessons learned and exciting moments.  i feel so blessed.  i love the feeling of entering into a new year.  it means new adventures.  365 days ahead of the unknown and that is exciting to me.  there are so many adventures to be had this year and memories to be made. i feel like the Lord has a lot in store for us Hitches this year and i'm really excited to see what is to come.  i'm not really big into "new years resolutions", but i have thought of a few things i would like to do better this year..
the first is very simple.  i want to drink more water.  sounds kinda lame, but it's true! i NEVER drink enough water and i always feel so dehydrated so i want to be in a habit of drinking tons of water all the time.
i also want to get better at sending thank you cards.  there were so many times last year that i meant to send one, but just meaning to doesn't get the card sent unfortunately.
i want to love my husband better.  i love that man, a whole lot, but i want to love him even better and make sure that he always feels so loved and cherished.
i want to be better at writing on my blog because the whole point was for me to be able to look back on fun things we did, things we went though, places we went, date nights, what's going on in our hearts, pictures.. and i've been terrible.
i have many hopes for 2012 and those were just a few at the top of my list.
before i fully jump into this new year i gotta catch up on christmas really quick :)
(we need to get a real camera soon that is actually good, we have like three crappy point and shoot cameras.. so these are random pictures from my phone!)

our beautiful christmas tree

presents wrapped and sitting under the tree, waiting to be shipped to our family in nebraska!

the most adorable little kitten i found at a pet store that i tried to talk nick into letting me get.. i was unsuccessful

never a dull moment face timing with this kook of a sister i have

merry christmas brookie boo!

i had so much fun wrapping presents

family christmas toast

christmas tables cape

my mom is obsessed with having me write on her chalkboard

happy new year! 

on our way back down to san diego we stopped to see chris and shannon in fresno and he made us the most beautiful drinks with his espresso machine!

we had the best christmas up in vacaville with my family.  the theme of this christmas was perfume and apple.  nick got me a macbook pro, my parents and i got him an iPad, and my mom got the iPhone 4s and everyone got at least two bottles of perfume or cologne.. let's just say we are up to date on technology and smelling good!!  these days, the greatest christmas gift is just being able to spend it with family and i'm so thankful i got to be with them for TEN whole days.. it was amazing and refreshing.  most days mom and i lounged and shopped and dad and nick pretty much remodeled the whole house!! my husband is amazing i am blown away at the things he can do.  i can't wait to have my own house someday and see the amazing things he does to it!!
anyways, now that i'm caught up and ready to fully jump into 2012 i pray that it's a great year and that we and my family and friends are immensely blessed and i'm ready to see what adventure comes next!

and then it was december

so november flew by ridiculously fast this year..
at the beginning of the month we went to the charger game vs. green bay!  one of nick's friends treated us to an amazing day at the game.  first we got picked up from our house in a limo!  he treated us to drinks, lunch, and an amazing view of the game with plaza level seats.  whether it's baseball or football or whatever, games are always fun to go to but it's usually more fun to watch it on TV because you get the best view.. that was definitely not the case this time.. it was so great!!  it was pouring rain the whole game and freezing out, but we just put plastic bags over us and cheered on!  chargers lost.. but what's new.

the weekend before thanksgiving nick went camping with some of his friends from college and i got to spend the weekend with my sister!  brooke went on a mission trip to mexico and afterwards got dropped off in san diego.  we had sister time.. something we absolutely never get and that i wish i had more of.  we got mani/pedis, eybrows done, shopped, ate sushi, and just got to be together.  

it was perfect because then brooke, nick, chloe and i drove up to my parents house in vacaville for thanksgiving.  i love thanksgiving, and not only because of the delicious food (but my grandma's gravy is the greatest thing in the world.. i can eat it like soup).  i love it because family comes together and these days getting all of us together is a special thing, whereas just a few years ago it was the normal everyday.  i think definitely took those years for granted.  not that i didn't enjoy being with my family, but now it's something that i long for and desire. all the time.  the Lord has blessed with me with such an amazing, loving, fun, encouraging, and supportive family.  He has given me so many blessings and I have much to be thankful for.  my sweet husband is more than i could have ever asked for or dreamed of.  i feel like i absolutely don't deserve him.  he is so handsome.. he has this look in his eyes that gets me every time and his smile is just so captivating. i adore him.  he is a man after the Lord's heart and treats me like a princess.  he is such a provider, leader, lover, encourager and my best friend.

i could just go on and on about him.

i am also so thankful for my sweet pup.  chloe is such a crazy little bundle of joy.. and she does just that, she brings me so much joy!! i'm kind of obsessed with her.  she is my precious baby, until i have a real one, and then maybe she'll become a dog. 
BUT more than anything else, i am thankful for a loving Savior.  i am thankful that Jesus would die on the cross for me and take all my sins, washing me clean.  i am thankful for His unconditional love and the fact that He will never give up on me and that He is constantly pursuing me.  I am so overwhelmed and humbled by the Lord!

pink champagne in the most amazing glass my mom got from greece.. i can't find them anywhere here!!

the thanksgiving table

aaaaand i think that is just about it!
now it's december 1st so it want to say..
Merry Christmas!!

it's officially the Christmas season.. bring on Amy Grant Christmas music and my noel scented candle... all we need now is weather below 80 degrees!! 

hume lake

this past weekend i got to smell the crisp mountain air.. there is truly nothing like being up at hume.  since brooke is in joshua and had this weekend off (and i haven't seen her since june) and my parents just got back from italy & greece, we decided that we would meet up on the mountain and spend some sweet time together.  i must really love my family to drive 14 hours round trip to be together for less than 48 hours!  being up there where i have spent so much of my life, with family, was so good for my soul and even though we left so tired, we were so refreshed.

i loved getting to spend time with my sister and seeing her life up on the hill and in the building where i spent the same nine intense months.  we got to meet her friends and i am so excited about the community of solid kids she has around her. 

when we left on sunday it was so weird to me that we were leaving and she was staying there.  something about it still doesn't seem right.. she's the baby!  i don't think it's hit me yet that she doesn't live at home anymore.  baby girl is growing up!  spending time with my family isn't what it used to be.  i have always loved being with my family but as we get older the time we have together is so much more precious.  as brooke and i have gotten older my relationship with her has changed and the same with my parents.. and i love it.  i love that my sister, who for most of my life was annoying to me, is now one of my very best friends and is actually cooler than me.  how does that happen? haha.  and my parents who used to be my authority, not my friends, are suddenly my best friends.
i have been blessed with one incredible family.  and as family is always evolving and changing, i am so thankful for the little family i have with nick.

Gods presence at hume is evident and indescribable.
He is good and you can guarantee that He will meet you there.

amen.

first class day at the races

we made it back from our 25 hour road trip at 10:30 am on friday morning.
we got home, unpacked, went for a run and got ready because we had a big and fun day ahead of us.  the family that i work for invited us to go to the del mar horse races with them.  i had never been so i have been so excited to go.  and let me tell you, this is not your typical day at the races, they are friends with owners of horses with lots of hook ups.  it just so happened that their friend wasn't able to come and gave them their owners box for us to use!
it was so much fun and nick go so into the races and betting on the horses and actually made $50!  after the races we went to the brigantine for dinner.. love that place.
ed and kathie treated us to an amazing day and we feel so blessed by them!!

summer adventures

this summer has flown by so fast but has been amazing!! i am so blessed with a job that allows me to enjoy my summer and do fun stuff.. seriously, it's the best thing ever.
madison and i have gone ice skating, to the fair, shopping, to the beach, to the movies, legoland & the water park, and on the in between days we soak up the sun by the pool and play games.  

the newly renovated theatre on coronado.. we saw cars 2 :)

NYC.. out of legos

i love spending time with madison and her friends.. her youthful spirit is so refreshing and takes me right back to high school and makes me reminisce about fun times with my old best friends.  it's crazy to me how quickly life changes after high school and how friends come and go.  almost on a daily basis madison and her friend haley will be in the car with me and all of a sudden then will start laughing so hard that they can't even breathe and even though i have no idea what they're laughing about, it makes me smile.  i don't know how to describe it, i just love it.
last week madison went to a week long overnight horse camp so i was left with a week with no agenda.  completely unplanned, nick and i jumped in the car and roadtripped to nebraska to spend time with his family & meet our new niece. NO ONE knew we were coming. i just love surprising people.

beautiful arizona sunset

utah

long open roads of nebraska

so peaceful

colorado

terrible picture.. but me and my new niece Josalea Kate!!

 it took us 23 hours to get there and 25 to get home.. what an adventure.
i am so thankful for the quality time nick and i had together during the drive!!
i'm loving this summer!!