'Tis the Season

Yes, the house is decorated for this wonderful time of year. Houston and I both love Christmas so much, which makes it a ton of fun for both of us to get the house decorated inside and out. He put up all of the lights outside and of course put up the lights on the tree :) He's such a perfectionist when it comes to that but I think it's so cute! He's such a great help and I love that he loves when I decorate the inside of the house. It wouldn't be as much fun if he didn't care about me getting the inside all festive. Here are a few shots of the holiday decor from the Todd residence. We hope that all of you have a Merry Christmas and enjoy time with family and friends! We wish that we were able to spend time with all of you over the holidays but just know that we send our love!

Thanksgiving Blessings

Well this Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, we spent time with both sides of the family and really had a great time. Fortunately, Houston had the day off which was a nice change. We are so fortunate to have great families and friends who love and support us. We have a beautiful home, the best dog in the world, great jobs and of course a wonderful marriage. We truly have a lot to be thankful for in our lives.

A beautiful AZ sunset!

I just thought I would post a few gorgeous pictures from a few weeks ago of a November sunset here in AZ. We took these pictures in our neighborhood with our friends Mike and Jen. It looks like there is a huge fire behind us! Fortunately, it wasn't though :)

Happy Halloween!

This year we did not dress up in our costumes like every other year. My best friend got married on Saturday, the 25th so we were busy that whole day with wedding stuff yeah! That same night our close friends had a great Halloween party at their house but we only were able to stop by for a little while. We were so pooped from the whole days events that we were just absolutely exhausted. So we didn't end up buying any costumes since we didn't know if we were even going to be able to make it at all. However, we did carve some pumpkins to get us in the Halloween spirit! Here are some photos of Houston and I and our beautifully carved pumpkins from a few nights ago. We sat in front of the TV carving away at our master pieces and watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". You can tell by the look on his face how much he loved it when I was taking pictures of him :) We had a great time though and had a lot of laughs while we were doing it. Just another wonderful evening with my love!

San Diego Trip

Houston and I just got back from San Diego this past weekend with Dan, Ellie, Dutch and Debbie. We had such a great time! It was just what we needed to get away from our hectic schedules and have some time to relax and just be together. I can't remember the last time that Houston and I had 4 whole days together...it's definitely been a while. So we left on Friday and just kind of hung out when we got to the hotel and then got ready for dinner. We went to an amazing Mexican food restaurant in Pacific Beach! Then we came back to the hotel and drank for a little bit. Dutch went to bed soon after we got back from dinner and then Dan and Ellie came over to our room to have a little fun. Then on Saturday morning, we went and ate some breakfast and then headed to Mission Beach. Dutch got to feel the sand for the first time and they put his feet in the water, he loved it! Houston and I played catch with the football for a little bit and then we all headed up to Cane's for some drinks and appetizers. It was a perfect location to day drink. After we left there, we walked around the little roller coaster park and then headed back to the hotel for a nap. We went down to the Gaslamp District for dinner that night to some seafood restaurant that was pretty good. Sunday was the best day of them all though...Dan and Ellie had bought second row tickets for the Chargers/Patriots game, so we headed down to the stadium around 1 and set up our tailgating area. It was crazy how the parking lot turned into a little Chargers town! It was really fun though and everyone was really nice (I'm sure all of the alcohol helped with that). We did some beer bongs and bbq'd while we were there. Then we headed on into the Chargers game which was so much fun! We had a blast and they totally dominated the Patriots, so we had a lot to cheer about. We were all very sad to have to leave and head back home but we were so happy to spend some time with the Jarrett's. Dutch is such a good baby and he's always so happy. He is such a beautiful baby boy!

Oktoberfest Festival

Not only do I love Fall for the cooler weather, but there are always so many great outdoor activities going on around the valley. Houston and I along with Rachael went down to the Tempe Oktoberfest Festival on the first weekend of October and had such a great time! We drank some delicious beer, ate some funnel cake, rode a few rides, ate some brats and much more! It rained on and off but it really was a perfect temperature all night. Here are a few pictures from the night...

Fall has Arrived!

It is that time of year again when the weather finally starts cooling down and we can bring out our Fall decorations that we love so much. It truly is my favorite season of them all! You still have Christmas and New Years to look forward too :) and it's also football and volleyball season too! I just wanted to post a few photos of our home decorated for those of you who won't be able to see it this season. I hope you enjoy!

The Soon to be Mrs...

Last Saturday night was my best friend Kristen's bachelorette party. I actually planned the event with two bachelorette parties combined. Another one of her friends is getting married in October as well, so they wanted to do joint parties. We started off at Saddleranch Chop House, where all 40 women got free rounds of drinks and ate a great dinner. Both of the bachelorettes got a chance to ride the bull as well. It was pretty entertaining I might say! After we left there, we headed off to Axis Radius where one of my good friends from high school, George Preciado, hooked us up! George is one of the head bouncers there so he was able to reserve three tables for us and got us VIP access to upstairs. We danced, laughed, sang and had a great time all night. We also booked a room at the Mondrian hotel in Old Town Scottsdale so we could lay by the pool the next day. It's crazy to think that all of the events for her wedding are already here. This weekend is her bridal shower and it should be pretty awesome! Kristen's aunts have been so wonderful with helping us bridesmaids plan the shower. It is a martini theme, so everything has been geared towards that. More details to come...

"World's Greatest Dog!"

I thought I would share some pictures of the best dog a person could have. This is Bear, he is incredibly sweet, playful, spoiled and loved! He protects me when Houston is gone at work, he loves to play and swim at his gwama and gwampa's house. He loves to be around people 24-7! He loves to swim (we think he would probably win gold in swimming if dogs had olympics) and he thinks that our bed is his bed (Houston has half of the bed, then Bear has half of my half). I was so not a dog lover before we got Bear. Houston came home with him a little over two years ago and he was such an adorable little puppy. I knew he'd grow up to be a beautiful dog. We couldn't imagine our lives without him in it that's for sure. Now I know why they say that dogs are man's best friend. That couldn't be any more true in our case. He just turned two on July 2nd and he weighs about 90 lbs. This is truly our very hairy little child until the real ones come one day :) he will always be our first little baby though.

New Mexico Trip

Well one of my cousins got married last weekend on 8-8-08, so we made a little road trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico for her big day. We left early Friday morning and the wedding was that evening. We made it into Albuquerque a few hours before the wedding, went to our hotel to get ready and then off to the Sandia Resort we went. There was a really nasty storm surrounding the hotel before the wedding but luckily they got the ceremony in before it hit. It really did make for some cool pictures though and the lightning was so beautiful.
We headed home the next morning, so it really was a quick trip. She was a stunning bride and she was beeming all night long. It was so good to see her so happy and you can tell that her husband just absolutely adores her too. Houston wasn't able to come because he had his paramedic refresher course that they have to take every two years. I was bummed about that of course because he's my dancing partner! I did have a great time with my mom and brother and extended family though. My cousin Julie looked beautiful too as did the rest of the Planeta family. I don't get to see my cousins and uncles and aunts very often so it was great to be able to catch up with everyone. The newlyweds were off the day after the wedding on an Alaskan cruise, so I'm sure it was the perfect ending to their fairytale wedding.