four years

Leith and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary in August. We both can't believe how fast the past 4 years have gone by. This last year has been the most eventful of all I must say. We had originally planned on going on a Mexican cruise but with the recent house purchase and Leith's new job we decided to do something a little more low key. So after doing some research we chose to spend a weekend in Temecula at the Churon Winery. It took us a little over an hour to get there and since our room wasn't ready for check in we decided to start the wine tasting. The receptionist at our hotel suggested we try a small family owned winery at the far end of the road so we took her advice and headed over there. The name of the winery was Doffo...named after the Doffo family that owns it. The owner was born and raised in Argentina. He moved from orange county to temecula with plans to retire and started a small vineyard as a hobby. Before he knew it word spread of his delicious wine and now they have a large vineyard with tasting room  in the back of their home. We had such a great time talking with the owners son that we decided to join their wine club! After Doffo we headed to the famous South Coast winery and did another tasting. By that time we were both hungry and tired so we got some lunch and headed to our room to rest before dinner. Dinner was in Old Town Temecula. We were served a delicious five course meal...my last course was a creme brule that was AMAZING! We had planned on staying to do some dancing but were so stuffed from dinner we went back to the hotel and went to bed. After 4 years we like to live it up! haha...not really. The next day we enjoyed some breakfast and headed back home. It was such a great weekend to be alone together and we were so blessed that my parents stayed with Isaiah. Here's to the next 50 years!!!!

tasting at South Coast

south coast

view from our room

out to dinner

our hotel

Leith enjoyed a root bear float at the original rootbeer company before heading home

summer 2011

so...since our blog is finally in functioning order again I can update you all on the States family activities this past summer. I won't bore you all with a million different posts filled with details so ill just list the summer highlights breifly and share some photos. This summer has gone by faster than any other yet. I still feel like we are in july! Before I know it I will have to start christmas shopping! Sit back, relax, and enjoy....

here we are at leith's internship graduation. two days before moving to orange county

Leith's cousin Linda came to visit from the east coast. we had a family bbq

Isaiah loves his new back yard although it doesnt have grass yet. He's learning how to go up the steps and down the slide...so far he's got it backwards :)

Leith gave Isaiah his first haircut

went to the orange county fair...and ate way too much!

we explored the lake down the street from our new house

grilled at the beach for dinner with our dear friend Sara and her family

went to work with daddy day! it was fun climbing on everything

spent a day at the beach club down the street from our house

but mostly Isaiah spent a whole lot of time in his diaper cuz it was way too hot outside! check out that tan!

its been a while

hello friends and family that have remained faithful to the States' blog. I apologize for not keeping you all updated in a while. It has been quite a busy past couple of months for us but now that we are somewhat settled I think I will have more time to get back into the world of blogging. Just so you all have a little update to quench your appetites (Im sure you all have better things to do than wait for me to blog :))...this is what we've been up to. We moved to our new house at the end of June once Leith finished internship. We were very sad to leave all the great friends we made in san diego but we felt that God was calling us to be closer to family. So far the house is great and we are very happy with the neighborhood and the neighbors. Leith loves his new job! He has better hours during the week now...no more 90 hr work weeks; and he gets weekends off! Its been very nice having him home more. I am a stay at home mom full time now and I must say its more exhausting than 12 hr shifts as a nurse. I miss working but its also such a blessing to be home with isaiah all the time instead of someone else watching him. Isaiah is doing great! He is almost 15 months now and he's super active. He loves playing in his backyard on his little bike and slide. He's also taken up dancing quite a bit which is always entertaining.

For some of you who may or may not know...Leith is away on a short deployment to India. His marines were sent there for some training so he is there to make sure they all come back without scrapes and bruises. Isaiah and I miss him terribly but we are grateful that he has this opportunity and we pray for his safe and quick return. Please pray for him while he is gone and pray for me while im here at home. We love you all. Stay tuned for more updates on what we have been up to this summer!