clean floors, dirty paws

Though we have spent two Christmases together in the past, this is our first Christmas as a family. Because Ryan and I would be spending the actual holidays of Christmas Eve and Christmas day in Fresno, we decided to have our own Nessier family Christmas here with the kids on Wednesday. We had cheese fondue, sparkling wine, a fire, presents, and a lot of fun. Abner was in the mess of things from the beginning, big surprise, and both Lilly and Georgia made guest appearances to open their gifts and keep watch over any possible crumb that may hit the floor. After our own little Christmas celebration, we headed off to Fresno to spend Christmas Eve at the Esmays. We had so much fun watching Nolan run around with giant candy canes, eating cookies with generous amounts of sprinkles, holding new baby Reese and catching up with family we see all too rarely. Next was Christmas morning at the Lamers. I could fill a page with all the fun we had, but I will sum it up in one word, Garmin! Afte

As I mentioned in a previous post, we were without a refrigerator for about 8 days. Well, to be completely honest, we did have a refrigerator, but it was about the size of a 24 pack of beer and that is about all that was inside. I never realized how essential this appliance is to modern living. Do we chill the beer, the water or some food? Is it ok to leave almond butter out of the fridge for a week and then put it back in? Who knows, but the giant hole in our kitchen is filled, by a centimeter, and we couldn't be happier. Well, that is another lie, I would be happier if it wasn't stainless steel; quite possibly the most deceiving name for an appliance finish ever created. "STAINLESS STEEL," are you kidding me! If you are a person who lives alone and wears little white cotton gloves at all time then it may stay stainless, but if you are a somewhat normal person with dogs and a husband and FINGERPRINTS then stay away, far away from "stainless" appliances.

About a month ago an ice cream truck that I wouldn't let my child within 50 feet of moved in next door. I say "moved in" because the ice cream man lives in his questionable van in our neighbor's driveway. Allow me to share a small back story. You see, our neighbor is probably 97 years old and in the year we have lived here I have only seen her once. That one time was right when we moved in and she told us the only people she ever wanted to see in her driveway were her and my husband if he was pulling weeds. Duly noted little old lady but THERE IS A CREEPY ICE CREAM MAN IN YOUR DRIVEWAY? I have a few theories. 1: This creepy ice cream man is her son and she won't let is weird ass in her house, so she makes him live in the driveway, in his van, in the freezing cold 2: She is so old and out of touch that she doesn't even know there is a crazy ice cream man living in her driveway. LADY! CRAZY ICE CREAM MAN IN DRIVEWAY!! 3: He is not selling ice cream out of

We have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. We are healthy, happy and full of life...all 5 of us. We had a great Thanksgiving celebration with Anne's family in Salinas this year, and while we missed the Nessier clan, we look forward to seeing them all soon for Christmas. In other news, we are currently without a refridgerator and will be for about 10 days. We do have a tiny dorm room size fridge for now which is stocked with the essentials like butter, jam and soy milk. I promise to show pictures of our finally finished kitchen once the new fridge is installed this coming Saturday. Everyone take care.

It has been quite a while since our last post, but we promise to be more efficient bloggers in the months to come. A few days ago we were sitting around talking about how excited we were for Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season. We got to thinking that it would be nice to share some of what we are thankful for. Anne & Ryan The rain Stuffing Bar results Extra blankets Being able to see our breath outside A new black hoodie Boots and tights Pumpkin everything! Hot tea Impending family gatherings Our cozy home Abner Mud Rolling in the grass Tug of war Long walks Chasing the hose Sneaking under the covers to get cozy Lilly Treats Treats Her new bed Getting bacon grease mixed into her food Treats! Georgia New kitty door The Furminator Rolling in the dirt

I just wanted to let everyone know that I do have another blog. It is not currently active (I might post something soon), but if you are interested in reading it, the address is shynessisniceand.blogspot.com I must warn you though, there is quite a bit of questionable language, sarcasm and drama so reader beware!

Well, we are back from our honeymoon and to be completely honest we want to go back!! We had such a wonderful time in St. Lucia soaking up the sun and taking in the beautiful sights. It took a few hours to adjust to the resort life style, but once we got the hang of it we were set! Reading on the beach for 4 hours straight, check. Snorkeling in warm, crystal clear water, check. Back massage on the beach while drinking a double cappuccino, CHECK! Overall, the trip was more wonderful than we could have ever imagined and we are so grateful for the opportunity to go. Most of our pictures were taken with disposable cameras so there aren't any to share online, but imagine white sand, blue water, palm trees and cocktails and you get the idea. Now that we are home, Ryan is back to work for Certified Medical Testing, doing fantastic and making everyone proud and Anne is on a job hunt. No job too big or small or something like that. Haha Hope everyone, everywhere is doing well

All of the planning, worry, and work came together in the most amazing day we could have asked for. Though most of the day was a wonderful blur, we remember it as the best of our lives. Thank you to everyone who joined us on this special day and sent their love and best wishes our way. We feel truly blessed to have such wonderful and supportive friends and family. We want to let everyone know that all the pictures from the wedding are up on A.S photo studios blog and can be easily ordered online and delivered to your home. An extra special thank you to Jeff and Craig from A.S photo studios for photographing our wedding and making all the prints available online. We couldn’t have asked for a better crew. Here is a small preview of our day.

What is a bride to do 3 days before her wedding? Get last minute details in order? no...Throw a first birthday party for her puppy? of course! It has been just shy of one year since I became a proud mom to the most unique creature I named Abner. In this short year he has cheated death, more than quadrupled in weight, eaten countless mystery objects, passed enough gas to contribute to global warming, kept me up many nights snoring, caused me countless amounts of stress and brought me more joy than I ever imagined a puppy could. I have known hundreds of dogs in my life but I have never met one quite as odd as Abner. Those who know him personally know exactly what I am talking about and those who have never met him have NO idea how strange he really is. I could literally rent him out for entertainment purposes he is so weird, but I wouldn't change him for the world. He adds a certain flair to my life and makes me smile and laugh more than anyone else can. I know, I know you think