Christmas 08

Christmas this year was so fun. Josh and I stayed in California this (we go to Ohio every other year to spend it with the Shoemaker side). We spent quality time with the family, and I really loved just being with Josh on Christmas morning. And as a side bonus, this was the first year that we mailed out Christmas presents to family on time!!! That's a first for me.

For the Summerhays family, there were two Christmas parties...well, technically a Christmas party and a Christmas open house. With a family as large as Josh's, any gathering turns into one big party. The first was spent five days before Christmas (my bday) at Josh's brother's house, which was so fun. We had lots of food, a salad contest, white elephant, a live nativity done by the grandchildren, and even Father Christmas came to visit. Here are some pics...









Okay, I've run out of time to post. Gotta go to work. More posting of Christmas fun to come... In the meantime, Happy New Year's Eve!

Just the Two of Us

One thing I did get pictures of is Josh's and my trip to San Francisco last weekend. We hadn't been down there in a long while, so it was fun to get back. We just shopped and rode the trolley and wandered around town. And for some reason, a favorite sight is that of the sea "oversized terd" lions, and we captured some of their proudest moments too. It was good to get away for a couple of days.

Thankful for friends

Last weekend was Thanksgiving, and there was much to be thankful for. I am married to a wonderful husband whom I love dearly. We have an awesome family; we have a roof over our heads, and we have our jobs; as well as many other blessings.

I'm grateful for major holidays b/c it unites not only families, but friends as well. This Thanksgiving, Josh and I were blessed to reunite with some of our best friends from Utah. My friend Shalee (BFF from Ohio) came out with her husband to Sacramento, and Josh's high school buddies Jeremy and Bethia visited as well. We had a good weekend just catching up, playing games, and staying up until all hours of the night like old times. Shalee has always been a breath of fresh air everytime we get together. She's so fun and uplifting; I can't help but be a little bit happier after hanging out with her. I'm lucky to have such an awesome best friend! And I'm grateful for Jeremy and Bethia, too. They're so fun to be around, and Jeremy has one of the best laughs EVER. I can't help but laugh along. So, thanks for the fun times guys!

Sorry, no pics for this, but I just wanted to give a shout out to them! Love ya!

Random Photo-Op

Love it!

Halloween Party

Last Saturday, Josh's family threw a Halloween party, which involved lots of catching up with family, good food, and a sweet costume contest. Josh and I dressed up as thugs, and won the contest! Sweet. Here are some pics. And thanks to Rose and Mandy for putting on a great party!

Awesome!

I went to Costco today to fill up the gas tank, and found a sweet surprise...the price of gas went down to $2.39 a gallon. That was amazing! I almost peed my pants, I was so excited. Luckily, no leaks! I can't remember the last time gas has been this cheap in California. And I can't believe that not too long ago, the price of gas was over $4.50. Crazy! I was expressing my glee to Josh the other day when it was $2.99, and he crushed my excitement by telling me that oil companies are rumored to cut back the supply of oil, which will make the price go up, so they can make more money. That's probably inevitable, but for now, I'm enjoying cheap gas!

Tahoe

Monday the 13th was Columbus Day, a day that only doctors and banks take off. Fortunately, I work at a doctor's office, and Josh works at a bank. Sweet! A day off together meant road trip to Lake Tahoe, and it was the perfect day to go. The skies were clear, the temperature warm, and there weren't that many people there, so we could enjoy the scenery and shops a little more.

Bored

Josh and I were just hangin' out at home the other night, and decided to have a little photo session to cope with our temporary boredom.


Ah, sweatsuit chic!


Josh is very suspicious of something...


Strike a pose!


No words...


We are trying to stay warm in front of a fireplace that's not giving off fire.

There ya have it. This is what boredom does to the Summerhays family!

Concerto!

Josh and I saw Dashboard Confessional in concert last weekend, along with Plain White T's and Panic at the Disco. Josh has had a longtime man crush on the lead singer from Dashboard and was pumped to see the band live. At first I wasn't too excited about seeing them b/c I always thought he was too whiny and dramatic (Dashboard, not Josh). But I was pleasantly surprised to witness the hilariousness that is Dashboard. He was making jokes and really having fun with the crowd. And by the end of his portion of the concert, I found myself getting a little crush on him, too. Josh is okay with this b/c they look so much alike, so he just thinks I have good taste in men. Oh, and the rest of the concert was good too. The PWTs had a good live sound, and PATD was just crazy. I'm not such a fan of PATD, but I will admit, the lead singer is very talented in music. He sang, he played the guitar, and went wild on the drums. His screamo voice could have broken glass; it definitely dented my eardrums! Anyways, it was a good night. Here are pics. Josh's sister and her beau came with us, too.

Happenings

It's been a while since I last wrote, and seeing as how this is my one hope of a journal, I should probably update it.
Actually, not a whole lot has been going on in my life. Hmmm...let's think about this for a sec. Ah, yes. Most of you should know by now that our friends, Rob Staples and Cindy Long, got married on August 2nd. We were so excited for this union! Cindy is such a darling person with an incredible amount of energy, and Rob is such a sweet guy who we haven't seen this happy in a long time. Heck, at the reception, we read the most beautiful poem written by Mr. Staples about his Mrs. Staples. It is a remarkable woman who can move a man to poetry. Good job, guys!
Here are a few pictures from their reception.








In other not so recent news...Josh and I have been on this Bocci Ball kick lately. Josh and I would always play with his sister's set, and we felt badly about always borrowing it, so Josh finally bought a set for us. Now, this is a game that can be played in any field you can find, BUT there just happens to be a stellar bocci ball court just down the street from where we live. Awesome! We've had the pleasure of introducing this game to some friends of ours. Here are some pics of one game with our friends, Jessica, Matt, and even their son Dax got into it!



Josh, showin' them the ropes. Good form, Honey!





Josh is a stickler for accuracy and the "integrity of the game," (though at least one person might disagree with that--Tyler) so he keeps a tape measurer by his side during close games. Dax got a hold of it this time, and felt that the way he could participate would be to help measure the close calls. He did a pretty good job, too!



The official winner's pose!


Okay, fast forward a few weeks. Josh and Rob felt like being one with nature, so they invited their not-so-nature-loving wives on a little camping trip to Island Lake. Don't even ask me where that it; I'm terrible with directions. Anyway, it was quite the experience. The boys hadn't been there in five years, and they didn't bring directions. The car ride was less than amusing, going twenty miles out of the way, on which the road was beyond bumpy, and poor Cindy was getting a little car sick. (Thank goodness for Tums!) When we finally made our destination, there were only a couple hours of light left...and we had to hike in a couple of miles to the campsite with all of our stuff! That made the girls quite cranky! But it was all worth it when we saw where we would be camping...on cliffs next to the most beautiful lake, second only to Lake Tahoe. And we got there just in time for sunset. Breathtaking! After setting up camp, the rest of the evening was spent relaxing around the campfire, catching up on each other's lives, and listening to Rob read a very cheesy scary story. Oh, don't forget the marshmellows! That's the best part of camping, roasting marshmellows. The next day, we decided to go on a hike around the entire lake. I think that was the most fullfilling part of the trip for me because at one point, we had to carve out our own trail to get back to the tents. I felt like a pioneer of some sort, and I was proud to actually keep up with everyone. The entire trip was so fun! We should again...in five years!












That's all for now! Peace!

A Heavenly Sight

If you're not doing anything tonight, check out of the city and look to the night sky for a spectacular meteor shower that peaks well into tonight! Here's an article I found to give more info about it.

The 2008 Perseid Meteor Shower
07.22.2008
Mark your calendar: The 2008 Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th and it should be a good show.

"The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "There should be plenty of meteors--perhaps one or two every minute."

The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates--a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle's meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."

Serious meteor hunters will begin their watch early, on Monday evening, August 11th, around 9 pm when Perseus first rises in the northeast. This is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers--meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond.
"Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors," says Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

A warm summer night. Bright meteors skipping overhead. And the peak is yet to come. What could be better?

The answer lies halfway up the southern sky: Jupiter and the gibbous Moon converge on August 11th and 12th for a close encounter in the constellation Sagittarius: sky map. It's a grand sight visible even from light-polluted cities.

For a while the beautiful Moon will interfere with the Perseids, lunar glare wiping out all but the brightest meteors. Yin-yang. The situation reverses itself at 2 am on Tuesday morning, August 12th, when the Moon sets and leaves behind a dark sky for the Perseids. The shower will surge into the darkness, peppering the sky with dozens and perhaps hundreds of meteors until dawn.
Above: The eastern sky viewed during the hours before sunrise on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008.
For maximum effect, "get away from city lights," Cooke advises. The brightest Perseids can be seen from cities, he allows, but the greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside. (Scouts, this is a good time to go camping.)
The Perseids are coming. Enjoy the show!
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Author: Dr. Tony Phillips Credit: Science@NASA
more information
NASA's Future: US Space Exploration Policy

I'm Famous!

Okay. This will only really be applicable to those of you who live in the Sacramento area, but for everyone else, still check this out. I work at a little place called Folsom Optometry Center. If you go to our website (http://www.folsomoptometry.com/), you will see ME, and my other co-workers. I'm still just posting them here, so I guess you don't have to go to the site to see me, but still check it out.

We have a plethora of fashionable sunglasses!

This very important test, called the Optomap Retinal Scan, can detect certain health issues in the eyes like Diabetes, Retinal Detachment, Macular Degeneration, and even high blood pressure. I recommend it!

And make sure to schedule your yearly eye exam with your local optometrist/ophthalmologist today!

New Do!

So, a few weeks ago, I played model for our sister, Amanda, as she took the practical part of her state board exam for cosemetology. We had so much fun, and BONUS, she passed! As a thank you from her, she offered to cut and color my hair. I jumped on that train! Here's the before.

And here's the after.

Okay, so there's not that much of a difference, especially when it comes to the cut, but I'm great with that. And there is a lot more blond in my hair than what this picture reveals, but this is the best shot I could find. Thank you, Amanda! You're the best, and congrats again!

More Redwoods Pix

Here are more pictures from our Redwoods trip. I must note, though, that the eye is the best camera, so I recommend going up there sometime to experience Mother Nature at her best.

This is at the beginning of our trek...when I was the most cheery. Neither one of us paid much attention to the signs along the trail b/c we were so caught up in the scenery. We ended up taking the Nature Trail, coming back, and starting over at the Miner's Ridge Trail, taking that to the beach, and coming back on James Irvine Trail. I just did the math, and that's 11.3 miles! Here's what we saw on the hike.

I'm so small!

So green and Secret Garden-like!

Josh caught between a stump and a hard place!

Our reward...the beach!

As you can see, absolutely no one was there.

On our way back to the hotel, we saw some elk on the side of the road. Beautiful!

They were shy and didn't want to face us, so here is a spectacular shot of elk bum!

Like I said, Mother Nature at her best!