SDG&E Power Outage

Yesterday the power went out around 3:45 pm and stayed out all night until the morning (Brandon said our fan went on around 1 in the morning). The radio was predicting it could have been out for a couple of days which was kind of scary - but we had fun with it for the night :-)

Brandon drug out the "emergency candles" which actually looked quite romantic, and then we read our books by candlelight (and book-light)  :-)

Labor Day Weekend

Dear three-day weekend-
You could not have come at a better time, nor could you have been more enjoyable. I want to say thank you for allowing me to do absolutely nothing on Saturday. I stayed in my pajamas all day - only leaving the house to get bagels with Brandon in the morning, and grab lunch with Holland and Rio. After Brandon finished painting our cabinets, we sat and read our books for hours. Sunday we took my parents to a VIP padre game. I got really great tickets from my work (Life Technologies) that included a parking spot :-) It was a nice, sunny day and the Padres actually won! Life Technologies is a sponsor of the Padres so it was pretty cool to see our advertisement on the big screen.

Padre vs. Rockies

My mom and myself

After the game on Sunday, we had a couple of friends over for dinner. Brittney is moving to Scotland in a couple of weeks to go to graduate school (she's going to St. Andrews -- the same school as Prince William and Kate!) She'll be gone for a year and it was so nice to spend some time with her. I also haven't seen Kevin in forever so I was excited he was coming as well.

Britt stayed the night and we were up until 2:00 am just talking and laughing (which is really all we do when we get together). The next morning we met Kandi for breakfast at the Potato Shack, spent some quality time at Barnes & Noble and spent more time...talking. I was sad to say good-bye but will see her in January.

To end the wonderful three-day weekend Brandon and I just went and watched the sunset and now I'm going to curl up and finish reading Sarah's Key. Has anyone else read it? I'm having a hard time putting it down!

Kitchen Mania

About a month ago, Brandon and I moved into our new place. It's a two-bedroom duplex attached to a five bedroom family house next door. They are connected by the two garages, so it's nice not to share a wall. I feel so lucky to have found this place as it has almost everything we were looking for (within our measly budget). Two bedrooms (so we can still have an office/guest room) one car garage with washer and dryer and an outdoor sink so Brandon can still do all of his projects. We have a small backyard for Lucy -- although it's pretty ugly (that will be project #2) and we have 4 parking spots!

The only negatives are:
1. It's old - the kitchen was pretty darn ugly
2. No fireplace :-(

Well, since taking the Bar Exam, Brandon has become a full-time house-wife husband extraordinaire. Since I've been working full-time and taking grad classes I feel like I have little time for much else. He's been great with cooking dinner, running our errands aannnd working to make our kitchen pretty. We had a little mishap with our camera and ALL of the before pictures got wiped out so all I have to share are the ones I had taken with my phone (but you'll get the idea).

BEFORE:

See? Pretty bad.

Eww

Hard at work

Getting closer

AFTER:

Such an old stove right?

After Brandon polished the handles we decided that we really liked them with the black!

I wasn't sure what to think when Brandon told me that he wanted to paint the cabinets black but I absolutely love them :-) It goes very well with our dining room furniture!

Summer Recap

I know, I know. I've been slacking big time in the blogging department. We've had such a busy summer and I can't believe how fast it's flown by! Is it cheating if I post a quick recap?

Summer of 2011 Recap:
-Brandon took the Bar Exam (we find out the results November 19th)
-I finished two summer classes (4 more to go before graduation)
-We moved from our beloved house on Vulcan to a cute duplex a few miles down the street
-I attended SIX baby showers (was invited to eight!) and have since had the pleasure of meeting little Rio Jolie Mason and little Colin Anders Strothman
-We welcomed our third niece - Lia Capri - into the world (10 pounds 2 oz!)
-My youngest brother graduated from high school and started college
-My cousin Gaidaa visited from Jordan and stayed with my parents for a month
-I celebrated my 28th birthday
-Brandon joined a softball team
-My in-laws visited from Tahoe for a couple of weeks

Lia Capri Barbato (6 weeks)

Palms Riviera for my 28th birthday

My sweet cousin G

Rio Jolie - the little peanut

We finally got to open (and use) all of our wedding presents!

Colin Anders Strothman

Where Brandon spent most of the summer.
(We're gonna burn all of the flashcards as soon as we get the results that he's passed)

Visits with Brandon's Dad (Grandpa Stan)

Swami's Beach

There are only three short weeks of summer left and they're going to be just as busy as the rest was. I'll be better about blogging - I promise.

Juris Doctor Graduate - Brandon Gray

The day that we have waited three long YEARS for finally came and went. My husband graduated from Law School and is now one step closer to becoming an attorney :-) The ceremony took place at Copley Symphony Hall in downtown San Diego - and it was a gorgeous venue. Watching Brandon graduate was more emotional than I thought it would be. I am continually amazed by Brandon's dedication to school - and the amount of hours he can spend locked up in his room with all of his text books. I also continually fall in love with him for that brain of his. *WARNING: Bragging ahead* In addition to receiving his Juris Doctorate, he was 1 of 5 students who received an award for graduating Summa Cum Laude - which is the highest honors you can receive (generally awarded to the top 2%). He was also the Executive Editor of the Law Review and a member of the Moot Court. Take a peek at the Law School program - if I didn't love him so much - I would be annoyed by him ;-)



(Love the last part) After the ceremony we couldn't wait to hug the new grad and take a ton a few pictures with him.



My Dad has always wanted me to go to Law School and although I didn't - I did the next best thing...I married someone that did. My Dad couldn't be more proud of Brandon.


After pictures, we went to lunch at C-Level at the harbor. It's a gorgeous restaurant right on the water. And who came by on their sail boat? Larry Richards - a really close family friend of Brandon's parents.


After lunch, Brandon took us for a tour of his campus. Here is a picture of my mom and myself in the Moot Court Room :-)


After that, it was back to the house for coffee and cupcakes and family :-) And yes, I had to throw up a few cheesy decorations.

A celebration without cupcakes, isn't a celebration at all. (As usual, I ordered these cupcakes from Alicia at Crimsoncake.com)



Andddd, of course we each wanted our photo with the graduate :-)









Kandi said hugging Brandon is the closest she'll ever be to a Law Degree.



Brandon's parents raised an amazing man!!



Way to go Shushi! You did it! I love you more than anything on earth.


NEXT: That little three day quiz called the California Bar exam. Bar prep classes started two days after graduation and will continue for the next two months. I have a feeling that this summer won't be our favorite.