We are going to have a baby!

We are so excited to announce that we are going to have a baby!!! We are due December 11, 2009! We are overjoyed and so in love with our little baby already!

Looking back on the past year makes this announcement all the more spcecial. I started this blog the night before Pat's surgery last September. We did not know what was ahead for us. What was the scariest time in our lives turned into a life changing time filled with many things we least of all expected - love, learing, patience and strenght. As we become parents we have a greater apperciation for life, family and friends. We are thrilled to share our baby experiences with all of you and celebrate this new life!

The picture was taken at the 11th week ultrasound - we are in week 14 now and the baby is about the size of a lemon!

Tuesday Tasty Treats

A friend of mine is doing "Tuesday Tasty Treats" where she is going to share a recipe on her blog every Tuesday. What the heck, this will be fun. So here is my Tuesday Tasty Treat (although it is Thursday) Ha!

My Favorite Cookies - aka Blended Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies
These take some work, but are oh so good!

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 ½ cups blended oatmeal*
2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups chocolate chips (I use Nestle semi-sweet)
1 - 4 oz Hershey Bar (grated)**
optional 1 ½ cups chopped nuts (your choice)

* Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender until it looks like flour
** Buy the big 5oz Hershey Bar and put it in the fridge - a lot easier to grate when cold : )

Directions
Cream the butter and both sugars.
Add eggs and vanilla.
Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda.
Stir in chocolate chips, grated Hershey bar and nuts.
Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
(they tend to over cook so take them out, let cool and try one even if they don’t look done)

Viva Las Vegas

I spent this past weekend in Las Vegas celebrating my dear friend Michelle's end of bachelorette-hood. The weekend was meticulously planned by one awesome maid of honor - Christie you did an amazing job. We spent the weekend eating amazing food, relaxing by the Bellagio pool and we even took in a show - Cirque du Soleil Zumanity. Cirque with a sexy spin!

It was so fun to have a girls weekend. I miss hanging out with my high school friends like we did every day for so many years. If I could go back and do high school all over again I would! As the weekend came to an end, I was sad to get back to reality, but I was sure excited to get back home to my hubby.

Tilden Park Hike

On Saturday we met some friends for a hike in Tilden Park in Berkeley. It was freezing! Summer is notoriously cold in San Francisco, so when you are in the east bay you expect it to be warmer. Not on Saturday. It was foggy, windy and cold, but we had a great time anyway! Our hike was 6.5 miles long and would have had beautiful views with out the fog, but we made some detours to see some cool things like Jewel Lake. It was a fun hike...hopefully next time we won't have to wear 10 layers of clothing.

May Check Up

Another good check up! Wooohoooo!

Pat saw his doctors yesterday and everything looks good!

Kids Weekend

I just had to post this picture - Pat with two of his favorite guys!

We babysat Camryn and Connor for the weekend and had a great time! Man are we tired!

Hike for Hope

"Life does not end with a cancer diagnosis —
it actually can be the start of real living"

Yesterday, Pat came across the story of 31-year-old Ryan Krabill who was diagnosed with tongue cancer 5 years ago. He underwent a year of treatment, and now he’s doing great. He just started a 5 month adventure to follow his longtime dream of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The trail is 2,658-miles and his goal is to raise $26,580 — $10 per mile. Read his story, donate and spread the word! So amazing!

Read the article:

http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2009/05/05/news/local/6loc01_hikeforhope.txt

Follow his blog here:
http://hikeforhope2009.blogspot.com/

Donate! Even if it is only a few bucks!

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=286710&supid=169400888