Sneak Peek: Engagement Pictures

We had a blast getting our pictures taken by Jake's cousin Ashley.  

We think she did a beautiful job.

Enjoy!

Love is...

... feeling nice and small next to the person who is the biggest part of your life.

July 3rd

Nothing beats an unexpected three-day weekend!  Jake and I didn't want to waste it, so we planned an impromptu trip down the coast.  We made the pretty three hour drive down hwy 101 early in the morning and got to one of my favorite beaches just in time for lunch.  Spooner's Cove at Montana de Oro State Park is a beach I discovered with Morgan and Leah back in 2006.  The rocky beach has lots of fun tide pools and a big rock plateau in the middle where you can look out over the ocean.  

We climbed up to the overlook (a little bit of a challenge with a heavy cooler) and picnicked on tuna fish sandwiches, potato salad and fruit.  

After lunch, we drove a few minutes up the coast to Morro Bay and did some kayaking around the harbor.  The bay is a natural estuary and a bird sanctuary so we saw some HUGE pelicans and even a couple harbor seals!  Jake did most of the paddling...

We beached on a little island to explore the dunes.

After we docked, we explored the Embarcadero and a little aquarium with a rescued harbor seal, a sea lion and lots of fish and crabs.  I named the seal "Creeper" because he had slimy eyes, little slits for nostrils and looked a lot like a cuter version of Voldemort.

On the way back up, we stopped in Cambria for THE BEST SEAFOOD DINNER EVER at Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill.  The restaurant had an ocean view and delicious halibut.  When we were ready to go, I tried to warn Jake about taking hwy 1, but he was up to the challenge.  The switch backs were a little ridiculous, but the view was beautiful.  Without a doubt, It was the best July 3rd ever.

I'm not so quick at catching on...

So here's the thing...

We've been engaged for more than a month and I've worn the ring every day.  I've poured over AT LEAST a million bridal magazines and I've even gone dress shopping and still...

I know it hasn't sunk it yet.  I just can't fully grasp it...

I was sitting in my cubicle (at my new job) a couple days ago and I just started tearing up.  Suddenly, I was just overwhelmed with how much I love him and how blessed I am and how wonderful a life I'm living.

So I'm thinking, when it really does sink in... when I really realize that we are actually finally getting married FOREVER... well then, I'm afraid my heart might just burst with happiness.

-Tobi

Wondering What We've Been Up To?

Here's the skinny...

We've spent a lot of the last few weeks with the Curtis' in Brentwood. It's the only place we get to eat real home-cooked meals every night and study up on their extensive movie collection. The Curtis' are all in on the wedding planning and even the boys tolerate talk of wedding dress styles and cake frosting options. Lita even got us started on our registry... what a whirlwind! At some point, all toasters look alike and placemats begin to blur together. It was a lot of fun though and we certainly felt accomplished when we finished!

Next, we drove down to Orange County to see the Richards' and got to visit with a lot of extended family and friends during a backyard BBQ. All together, we celebrated four birthdays, two graduations, an anniversary and our engagement!

Back in San Jose, we've become a bit addicted to our tech toys. We seem to be constantly figuring out new features on the iPhones Mike and Lita gave us as an engagement present. We can do everything from surf the web to get the daily surf report and send emails, text messages and digital greeting cards. On top of that, we have been working out every day with the Wii workout games ("Fit" and "Active"). They may seem like video games, but we sure are feeling the burn. What can we say? We're just geeks!

Tay and Tobes

Meet Taylor!
She's Jake's big sister and soon she's gonna be mine too!
She's a teacher, apparently likes grape popsicles and
guess what!?... she's going to be my Maid of Honor!
(that's "MOH" for those in the know...)

Engagement Celebrations

We feel so blessed to have family and friends who love us so much!  Take our engagement celebrations as an example:

We had barely finished calling the whole family when our good friends Ann Grabowski and Sarah Sterling threw us our first Engagement Party!  It was sweet sharing Milano cookies and Champagne at my little apartment.

A Toast to our Engagement!

Re-Staging the Proposal for our Guests.

Then, on Saturday night, Jake's parents (Mike and Lita) took us out to a LOVELY steak dinner at Vic Stewart's in Brentwood.  Jake's sister Taylor and her boyfriend Joe came out to celebrate and his little brother Nick even left the Junior Prom for a couple of hours to be with us.  What a fun night!  The food was great and we had a lot of fun teaching Lita about "that's what she said" jokes.

The happy couple.

Lita, Mike and Nick smile for the camera.

Joe and Taylor.  Wine much?

Showing off the ring.

Thank you and all our love to everyone who celebrated with us!