Thankful - Day #30

Today we are thankful for Family Dinner Night and Pizza Port.

We love time with our family and are so thankful for cousins and aunts who visit and inspire the whole gang to gather together.

We LOVE Pizza Port. We love pizza. We love beer. It is the perfect place for both.

It is also the perfect place to hang out and catch up. We meet there every month with Melissa's former coworkers. (It's been almost two years since our office closed and we still love to spend time together!)

I thank you could safely call Pizza Port (any of their locations) our place!

Thankful - Day #29

Today we are thankful for our in-unit washer and dryer.

We are thankful for the convenience that they offer us.

We are thankful for clean clothes and well fluffed towels.

We are thankful for the visitors that they bring over to our apartment to do laundry. 

(We're lookin' at you Kavanaghs! It's truly like our favorite thing.)

Chris is thankful to miss out on time with the craaaaazy Laundromat crowd.

Melissa kinda misses her people. 

(She's a sick one... She also loves to hang out at the DMV.)

Thankful - Day #28

Today we are thankful for puppy dog kisses. According to Chris, they are the perfect amount of gross and fun. According to Melissa, they are a wonderful source of laughter and a great distraction from the stresses of the day. According to Paco, they are a great way to dry your brother off after bath time.

Thankful - Day #27

Today we are thankful for sleep.

"The less we get of it, the more we appreciate it." - Chris

We are thankful for comfy blankets and plush pillows. We are thankful to be able to sleep in safety and warmth.

Zzzzz

Thankful - Day #26

Today we are thankful for doggie parks.

We love running free and wrestling with all of our friends.

We love going around all of the edges of the park and sniffing every single blade of grass... So many stories to smell... So many spots to mark.

We love doggie beaches too. At least Paco thinks that he will love doggie beaches once he gets to go to one... He's still little and has a lot for me to teach him.

Signed, Rico

Thankful - Day #25

Today we are thankful for hot showers to wash the desert sands off after a wonderful weekend away.

Thankful - Day #24

Today we are thankful to have been born in the United States of America.

With just a moderate amount of effort, our life is pretty sweet; We have clean water (delivered right to our house!), electricity, and a wonderfully comfy apartment.

We are thankful that we were both able to benefit from public schools and universities. We were both able to vote in the last election. We can say pretty much anything we want to. We can read anything that we want to. We can walk outside anytime we want to. Melissa doesn't even need Chris' permission to drive. We live a sweet life of lazy luxury.

Thankful - Day #23

Today we are thankful for camping adventures. We are thankful for time away to unwind and unplug. We are thankful for doggies that keep us warm in our tent. We are thankful for family and friends who keep us laughing. We are thankful for games by lantern light. We are thankful for starry skies and morning sunrises. We are thankful for French presses and s'mores.

Look out Agua Caliente... Here we come!

The pictures below are from one of our last family camping adventures.

Galley Crew

These views are what make all of the packing worth it. :-)

All of the comforts of home... if you can fit it in your tent.

Great roomies!

We love camping.

Thankful - Day #22

Today we are thankful for the Phillips family (who let us get married in their backyard). 

Photo by Lauren Natalie Photography

Photo by Lisa Conrad Photography

We are thankful for the Phillips & Gaare Thanksgiving Camping tradition.

We are thankful for friends who become family... the family you choose.

Thankful - Day #21

On this Thanksgiving eve, (one of the busiest travel days of the year) we are thankful for a car to drive around in.

Our sweet "CD Silver" Ford Focus has been faithful and true.
The dog-nose smudges on the windows remind us of our precious cargo.
The coffee spill stains scream, "Lived in!"
It's driven us here, there, and everywhere for well over 100,000 miles.
Thank you Che, the Might One!
We love you.

Now a little sumpin' sumpin' to get your toes tappin'.


We don't have a swagger wagon yet... but one day!

Thankful - Day #20

Today we are thankful for warm socks.

Chris is thankful for warm socks to protect him when it is flippin' cold at 4:30 am and he takes the dogs for a walk.

Melissa is thankful for warm socks (and long underwear) for cold nights when it gets below 73 degrees inside our apartment.

Thankful - Day #19

Today we are thankful for Hulu Plus and Roku.

You may be asking: Didn't we cover this on technology thankfulness day? Well sort of... but we love the Roku and Hulu Plus in a different much lazier way. We love cuddling together on the couch as a family and catching up on "our shows." So today we are thankful for the devices and subscriptions that let us laugh as a family at the end of a long day.

Thankful - Day #18

Today we are thankful for bicycles.

Chris rides his bike to and from work most days. We are thankful for the money that this saves us. One car household = less gas, less insurance, and NO CAR PAYMENTS. We are thankful for the extra exercise to keep Chris young and spry. We are thankful that we can be good stewards of the resources that we've been given and make a small contribution to environmental health. We are thankful that it is fun to ride your bike around, much more fun than it was to sit in traffic each and every day.

Thankful - Day #17

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."

— Frederick Douglass

Today we are thankful for books. We are thankful for the freedom that comes with being able to read. We are thankful for the New York Times in the morning. We are thankful for Book Club each month... a chance to talk about life and literature (and to eat yummy treats!) We are thankful for the fantasy of Harry Potter and the reality of Surely, You're Joking Mr. Feynman. We are thankful for bookshelves and Kindle apps full of books... and a life full of possibilities.

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

— Groucho Marx

Thankful - Day #16

Today we are thankful to be able to afford the simple luxuries of drive-thru fancy coffee beverages and "Friday pizza in pajamas night."

We love holiday drinks.

The boys love drive-thru adventures.

Thankful - Day #15

Today, and every single day, we are thankful for our parents who have loved us unconditionally and been our biggest cheerleaders and support systems for our entire lives.

With our parents on our wedding day.
Photo by Lauren Natalie Photography

We are thankful for parents who model loving relationships for us.

Chris' parents = married for 42 years.

Melissa's parents = married for 36 years.
Photo by Lauren Natalie Photography

We are thankful for parents who model living life to the fullest and with whom we genuinely love to spend time.

At Disneyland with Chris' parents.

Out for pre-symphony drinks with Melissa's parents.

Today on her birthday, we are particularly thankful for Chris' mom and her spunky personality.

Happy birthday, Mom!
Photo by Lauren Natalie Photography

Thankful - Day #14

Today we are thankful for music.

Chris is thankful for the music that gets him through the work day.

Melissa is thankful for the music that makes her sing scream in the car.

We are both thankful for music to dance to together in the kitchen.

This is the song that played while we danced our first dance as a married couple. :-)

Thankful - Day #13

Photo by Lisa Conrad Photography

When we were planning our wedding, we knew that we wanted it to be small. We are both blessed with loving family and wonderfully kind friends, but the choosing of our wedding party was probably the easiest decision we made concerning our wedding. We are beyond thankful for our best friends who stand beside us day in and day out and who stood beside us as we made our solemn promises to one another. 

Today we are thankful for Mike and Lauren, our besties of honor.

Dearest Lauren, 

You are my constant. You are my person. You are the one that I have to call when times are tough or when the funniest thing just happened. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your willingness to laugh or cry beside me. Thank you for being the only person that mailed me packages when I was in South Korea. Thank you for being by my side through years of ups and downs. Thank you for always having my back. Thank you for farting in the middle of New Mexico to declare our "bestiness." Thank you for being my ezer. I love you!

- Melissa

Whether it's an afternoon in Central Park...

or a surprise soccer game...

or waiting in line for our first iPhones...

this girl is my girl!
Photo by Lisa Conrad Photography

Dear Mike,

Thank you for being my best friend and my best man. You have stuck by me no matter what I do or say. I am very thankful we can go a long time without talking and just pick up right where we left off. Thank you for always being ready for an adventure. Thank you for always being willing to help first and offer questions or criticisms later. Thank you for setting an example by being a devoted husband to Lisa and a wonderful dad to Briana and Nolan. I am thankful for your friendship and I love you brother.

- Chris

Las Vegas

  

Kissing face...

Licking face...

  Today we are thankful for our people. 

Photo by Lisa Conrad Photography

Thankful - Day #12

Today we are thankful to veterans the world over. Thank you to the men and women who stand in courage and bravery to protect us. Thank you to the families who remain home and sacrifice so much.

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die."
G.K. Chesterton

Photo by Lauren Natalie Photography

Thankful - Day #11

Today we are thankful for one year of marriage!

by Lauren Natalie Photography

Dear Christopher,
I am thankful for a partner in this life who is forever patient, intensely kind, and outrageously generous. You make me laugh each and every day... and that's HOT! I am empowered by your confidence in me. I am humbled by your adoration of me. I am desperately in love with you. I watch you with the dogs and I see the most gentle of spirits within you. I cannot wait to parent alongside you. Thank you for this year and thank you for this life. Thank you for loving me so sweetly. You, my honey, are my very favorite thing. I love you forever.
- Melissa

Dear Melissa,
I am thankful for your smile, which greets me everyday when I get home. I am thankful for your kind heart, reminding me always how wonderful our life is. Your desire to help everyone you can anyway you can inspires me. I am thankful for your independence. I am thankful to have a partner in all that I do, someone there to help me and challenge me to be the best person I can be. The past year has been better than I could ever have imagined, and I look forward to many, many more. I love you.
-Chris

Thankful - Day #10

Today we are thankful for the blessing of living in San Diego, California.

We are thankful to be a short drive away from the mountains, the desert, and the ocean.

We are thankful for coastal drives.

We are thankful to be close enough to Mexico for delightful weekend getaways.

Thankful - Day #9

We are thankful for jobs that pay the billzzz

and dog sitters with mad skillzzz!

Today is payday and that means that we are ever so thankful for jobs that we enjoy and that allow us to live comfortably.

Today is also the day that we leave for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary, so we are VERY THANKFUL for dog sitters with mad skills - Petra and Pierce.

Pierce is basically Rico's best friend.

Chris and I dressed up as Petra and Pierce for Halloween...

See the above picture... we basically nailed it!

Thank you for taking care of our boys this weekend!!!!

Thankful - Day #8

Romance is an adventure on top of the Empire State Building.

Romance is celebrating the love of dear ones at a wedding.

Romance is bringing home flowers.

Romance is a quick lunch in the park in the middle of errands.

Romance is baking bread from scratch. 

Romance is surprising your wife with falafel and a dog park adventure.

We are thankful for romance in all of its forms: 

Melissa is thankful for an empty dishwasher when she wakes up. 

Chris is thankful for Star Wars lunch-boxes packed with love. 

Melissa is thankful for surprise food deliveries in the middle of the day. 

Chris is thankful for Melissa's visits to the office for an afternoon kiss.