I'm Head Over Heels

Oh my goodness....where to even begin! Yesterday, Lisa brought in some Christmas themed candy for her candy bowl for the office to enjoy. I guess I don't pay much attention to the holiday themed candy because yesterday was the first day that I saw candy cane Hershey kisses. Super cute and very festive!Well, I stayed away from the bowl for most of the morning but when I finally gave in I was unstoppable. One kiss turned into two, which somehow turned into ten. I was addicted from first sight...who can resist the cute "kiss" shape, the silver foil paper with the perfectly placed red swirls and the right amount of paper sticking out of the top. Myself, along with the majority of the office, helped themselves to Lisa's candy bowl throughout the day and when we locked up for the evening, there were only a handful of kisses left. I couldn't let the bowl be empty for the rest of the week, especially since I was partly responsible, so I had to go and buy one two bags of the yummy kisses.
Have you tried the Candy Cane Hershey kisses? No? Then what are you doing still on the computer reading my blog?? Go, go as fast as you can to the closest store and grab a bag or two! Trust me...you won't be disappointed!

Tree, Lights and Ornaments....OH MY!

This weekend we took down all of our fall decorations and we put up all our Christmas decorations. We have made it our little tradition to start the Christmas festivities the day after Thanksgiving. We made some hot cocoa, blared the Christmas music and became Christmas obsessed for a good part of the morning on Friday. We got a package from my mom on Friday and she sent the boys (including Jason) the cutest ornaments! I got a few ornaments too but they go along with the theme of the tree. I have a feeling next year we will have more than one tree...it's time to separate their ornaments from the main tree.



Our apartment is ready for the Christmas season...all the Christmas decorations make the house so warm and inviting. There is nothing better than plugging in the tree and enjoying an evening with my little family. I'm so excited for the next few weeks...I love this time of year! This year will be extra special because we will be flying back to Missouri for some interviews and we'll be able to spend Christmas with my side of the family. Something about the holidays in Missouri, my family, snow, baking filled days and a fire in the fireplace makes me get REALLY, REALLY excited!

I'm Thankful

With today being Thanksgiving, I'm face-to-face with all the many blessings that I've been given throughout the year. I try my best to be thankful throughout the year, some weeks are better than others, and that's something that I'm trying to work on. Thanksgiving is a day though were it's a little easier to realize how fortunate our family is.

I'm so thankful for my faith and the love of Jesus

I'm so thankful for my husband and his never-ending love

I'm so thankful for my family

I'm so thankful for my family that I married into

I'm so thankful for my two fur babies

I'm so thankful for my job and the opportunity to change lives

Happy Thanksgiving! Let's all try to get better at giving thanks more than once a year! Hope everyone has a great day with their families, football and all the yummy Thanksgiving food!

Exploring Californa With The Besties, Part 2

We spent ALL day on Sunday watching football, eating pizza (boys) and sushi (girls) and then we topped it off by watching Harry Potter during the early showing at the theatre. It was nice to just hang out at the house...I didn't realize how much we had to talk and laugh about.

Early Monday morning, we packed the car up with snacks and our cameras and headed to the coast. We wanted to show Andy and Alissa the elephant seals in San Simeon, Hearst Castle, Morro Bay and a few of the wineries in Paso Robles. On our way out of town we stopped and posed in front of one of many 'famous' oil fields. Gotta love Bakersfield!!

About two hours later, we could start to see the ocean. The view of Morro Bay and the San Simeon area was so beautiful...there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We couldn't have asked for a better day!

If you look closely in the above picture, you can see a few of the beached elephant seals sunning on the sand. After we saw all the elephant seals possible, we headed up further north to Ragged Point. Ragged Point is one of the prettiest look out restaurants along the coast. The restaurant is on the edge of a cliff along the Pacific ocean with some of the prettiest landscaping.

After lunch and a few poses, we headed to wine country in Paso Robles. It was so beautiful...the vineyards were so full of color!

We had such an amazing time with Andy and Alissa during their trip out to California. I still can't believe that we met via a fan page on Facebook for Jason's medical school. Once we got to the island for Jason's school, we hit it off immediately. They will always be our 'besties'...we are crossing our fingers for a little closer residencies to them so we can hang out more than twice a year!

**Alissa took all the pictures with her WONDERFUL camera. We were on a mission to get a Christmas card picture this weekend. I think it's safe to say that we were successful...a little too successful! Do they make Christmas cards with 10-12 slots for pictures??

Exploring California With The Besties, Part 1

Andy and Alissa, our besties from the island, came to visit the Conway's this weekend. They wanted a break from the cold Michigan weather so they booked a flight out to sunny California. Little did they know that they were bringing some of Michigan's cold weather with them. Don't worry...we didn't let the cooler weather stop us. We explored as much as we could for the few days they were here.

Once they landed into LAX, we headed to explore a few of the big things in Los Angeles. First on the list...the Hollywood sign and Hollywood Blvd. There is so much to see and so many tourist spots so, of course, we had to go exploring.
After we explored a few main spots, we headed home to Bakersfield. Jason got off work at a decent time so we decided to head to a hockey game. We love cheap entertainment!
The next morning we were out the door bright and early. We had a full day of fun planned. We have been having some beautiful and warm weather the past few weeks so we knew the Sequoias would be beautiful. Our Michigan friends brought the cooler, rainy weather with them so we were hoping we would make it to the top of the 5,000 foot mountain without any rain/snow delays.The weather was a little rainy but the sights were more beautiful than we could have imagined. I think the rain washed all the dust off the trees...the colors were beautiful! We just HAD to stop and take pictures! It was too pretty not to stop and try out a few poses!After we took a few pictures, we continued on our drive up the mountain. We were excited once we got to the "Trail of 100 Giants" turnoff because the road was still open. I was so happy...it was closed the last time we tried to get in due to snow. About 6 miles up the road we started seeing a little slush and snow on the side of the road and then BAM, a full on winter storm. We made it until the Nissan wouldn't make it anymore and then we got out and explored the area. We had to push the car out of the snow a bit to get it turned around, then we turned on the flashers and abandoned the car to get up close and personal with the snow! I may or may not have thrown a snowball right at Jason's window and then leaned in to make fun of his snowball filled window.Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the "Trail of 100 Giants" because of the snow. If we would have had better shoes on, then we would have hiked the remaining 2-3 miles to the start of the trail. It was such a crazy experience...one second we are in the middle of wet, rainy, fall weather and the next we were in 6 inches of snow! I'd say that we had a pretty successful first few days with our friends. Stay tuned for part 2 of our adventures!

What We've Been Up To

Thanks to some great programs, Jason has been gone for a week doing residency interviews. We've missed him so much but we (the boys and me) were determined not to just sit around and do nothing. So this is what we've been up to....

Organizing his ties on his much needed birthday present, Tie-Go-AroundNappingRelaxing in the steam room at the spaNapping

Walking along the beach with some great companyNapping

I think it's safe to say that we are well rested and ready to see Jason tonight! He flight was suppose to get into LA around 9:00pm but he finished up his interview day early and was able to hop on an earlier flight. I'm hoping the traffic isn't too bad right after work so he can get home to his family. We've missed him so much...surprised?

For A Special 'Mama'

Mama you taught me to do the right thing

So now you have to let your baby fly

You've given me everything that I will need

To make it throught this crazy thing called life

And I know you watch me grow up and you want whats best for me

And I think I found the answer to your prayers

And he is good, so good

He treats your little girl like a real man should

He is good, so good, he makes promises he keeps

No he's never gonna leave

So don't you worry about me

Don't worry about me

Mama there's no way you're gonna lose me

And giving me away is not goodbye

As you watch me walk down to my future, I hope tears of joy are in your eyes

Cuz he is good, so good

And he treats your little girl like a real man should

He is good, so good, he makes promises he keeps

No he's never gonna leave

So don't you worry about me

Don't worry about me

And as I watch my baby grow up, I'll only want whats best for her

And I'll hope she'll find the answers to my prayers

And that she'll say

He is good, so good

And he treats your little girl like a real man should

He is good, so good, he makes promises he keeps

No he's never gonna leave

So don't you worry about me

Don't worry about me

I just love Carrie Underwood's new song "Mama's Song"...it's perfect! I don't think it's any secret how special my mom is to me. She's more than I could ask for in a strong, supportive person for me to look up to. I love looking back at our wedding pictures and seeing how happy and perfect our day was.