Officer Harvey

We went to dinner tonight at Claim Jumper with Matt's twin brother Mike and his wife, Kirstin. We just love hanging out with the two of them!! Tonight we got to celebrate Mike's new job with Costa Mesa Police Department! It has been a long process and he was offered a job today!! He starts the police academy next month. We are so proud of him!! I am hoping for an action-packed ride-along someday...

Meet Abigail!!

We think it is about time to introduce you to our beautiful Goddaughter, Abigail Elizabeth Martinez. She is just the sweetest thing. We felt so honored when our dear friends Ruben and Emily asked us to be Abigail's Godparents. Matt and I looked at each other excitedly and looked back at Ruben and Em, and without hesitation we gratefully accepted the offer! Over the past 5+ months, we have thoroughly enjoyed watching Abby grow and she shows more and more personality with each passing day! She is just delightful and a blessing for their family, and a little blessing to us also!! We love you Martinez fam!!

Go Bolts!

One step closer to the AFC Championship...We beat the Indianapolis Colts today!!! If you don't already know, Matt and I are both avid football fans. The second I moved to San Diego for college in the fall of 1998, I became a Charger fan. I never had a professional team to root for in Portland, so I easily morphed into a crazy Charger fan once I got here. Who knew I would meet and marry an even BIGGER life-long Bolt fan. Together, even just the two of us watching the game in our own living room can get pretty crazy! :) Sporting LT jerseys and respective Charger hats, this game was intense down to the end...I was pacing and jumping up and down (Matt much more calm and collected in his football recliner), although both screaming at the TV at moments, and high-fiving great plays every chance we had. Our friend Brady Radovich came over for the 2nd half (Jen was working) and he fit right into the "intenseness" of our living room :) The fact that the Chargers beat the Colts today was pretty unbelievable. The Colts are a class act team and we both kinda admit we like that team. Next week, we face the undefeated New England Patriots. I think we have had a fantastic season even winning two play-off games. So, even if we don't get past that NE team, it is okay. All I am asking for is one, just ONE lights out sack by Merriman on Tom Brady, to wipe that smirk off his face. And THAT my friends would round out a perfect season in San Diego.

New Year's Resolutions!!!

So, neither one of us have been big on New Year's resolutions in the past. We decided that the cliche' "we are going to work out and get in shape" would suit us perfectly. Matt wanted to start training for his annual Rock n' Roll marathon this June, and I just plain needed to stop being lazy and find a way to get some energy! I bought Matthew a new Ipod and an armband for working out--he was so excited! We also went to RoadRunner and both got a new pair of shoes. That is always inspiring for me when I get new comfy fabulous running shoes! My friend Kim told me that it takes 21 days to form a habit, so we are almost into the habit of eating healthier and working out!!! We also made a rule where we are only going to eat out on Friday and Saturday nights, and cook at home Sun-Thursday. That should help the finances also. We've tried this one before and always fall back into a pattern of eating out more than we should! We weighed ourselves when we started this new "us" so we will see how that changes as time goes on. So, here's the breakdown thus far:

Matthew's progress:
1. Going to the gym and lifting
2. Building up the length of his runs
3. Eating healthier!

Whitney's Progress:
1. Taking a class at the gym that thoroughly kicked my butt (still sore and going to go back)
2. Going to spin class with Kim and Karly, another butt-kicker! Photo documentation below of the girls and I in spin class!!
3. Eating healthier!

we hate the dentist

Hey everyone! So I made Matt and I appointments last week for the dentist because I figured it was ridiculous not to use our great benefits and get cleanings every 6 months. Let's just say Matt was not so thrilled about this. It was actually quite funny because I think he was a little bit mad at me, like I was trying to torture him on purpose. Low and behold, we went to the dentist TWICE in the past week (once for an initial check and x-rays, and the other for the cleaning.) While of course it sure wasn't very much fun, it was good to get checked off the list! Matt was proud because he had 0 cavities!! I Have to get an old filling changed out, but no new cavities!! PHEW. I think secretly Matt was happy to have gone and gotten the good news, instead of putting it off and wondering. Side note...we are in the car driving and he is texting me as I am driving things like "great thanks babe, I am so excited to go to the dentist" and "you really are the best babe." It was hilarious. So thankfully it will be another 6 months before we get that little postcard in the mail with a clock and a toothbrush on it, telling us it is time for another one. Oh the joy.

Christmas in San Diego

I had a first this Christmas...it was my first Christmas not in Oregon! I have to admit, it was a bit wierd to not be with my family. Not to mention missing the "Christmas-like" cold weather and woodstove fires I have known my whole life! However, Matt and I had a fantastic Christmas with my NEW family (his fam). We went to mom and step-dads for Christmas Eve and dad and stepmoms on Christmas day. We are thankful for both families!! We ate way too much good food and homemade baked goodies! We enjoyed a fabulous Christmas service at our church, Horizon Park Chapel. We got up Christmas morning and did stockings with the pups. Matt and I filled eachother's stockings...but opened them on the 24th because we were too excited to wait for santa :) Soooo...the puppies got their stocking stuffers and were very excited. We are still on vacation until January 7th and loving every minute of it!!! We got an imac computer for Christmas from Matthew's mom and Robert (AMAZING unexpected gift), and we have been setting it up, playing around with it, importing music and photos, and it is such a beautiful work of technology!!! We are Mac snobs...once you go MAC, you never go back. Oh yeah, we found a super cool antique desk for the computer at a funky furniture shop down the street...it was quite an overwhelming place with A LOT of crap and some neat treasures in the mix...like our new desk :) Hope everyone had a merry Christmas and brings in the new year with style. We are heading to Julian for some trailor camping, relaxing, and cold weather!!

more pictures from Thanksgiving

Curran and Austin let Uncle Matt bury them in leaves...so cute!






A stop on our "nature hike" for a family picture!







Austin is happy with his bowling performance! :)







Curran and I pose for a pic of ourselves






I love this picture of zoe crusin across the park...she looks so happy!







the sis and I downtown Portland...all lit up for Christmas!