a few engagement shots

These were taken in Chicago this summer.

fun pics

Checking out locations for a rehearsal dinner...

Chair, maryel and sandra

Maryel got some GOOD news...:) jumping for joy!

DNC comes to Denver, and we were there!

OK so we weren't TOTALLY there, but we went down to the football stadium where the 84,000 people were gathered (not to mention those of us who were just outside) and it was awesome! The city was full of energy, and there were just people everywhere! Here are a few pics, though none turned out amazing - it was dark. :) It was just really cool to be part of something like this...


There was a street downtown that had all these flags and lights draped across it, there was also a red carpet for a celebrity party, and again, LOTS of people!



We had to get some T-shirts from the vendors!

If you watched it on TV, you probably saw these fireworks too!

Afterward we went downtown and checked out a few other things going on. This was a station for MSNBC.

They had these all over the downtown 16th street mall area, along with some live music, lots of cops, and tons of PEOPLE .

This was a side view of a stage they had set up on the street where they had some live performances.


Around a federal building they had put down all this plastic...weren't sure why, but thought i'd take a picture anyway! :)

Pete's talents

Andy's brother Pete took these amazing pictures down at the lake - WOW - i love them!

Same Dress, different party

That's right, i wore this dress to my own engagement party, then had it on again for Sandra's party...what can i say, it works! I love the dress! :) the party was SO fun, and Sandra was beautiful!

Qatami sisters

Picture i found from fourth of july with the Rosdils...Peter and Kathie!

Tahoe Party

We had a party up in Tahoe with both families! It was a lot of fun! Andy's parents and brother came out, my grandparents, brothers and sister were there also! It was great!

wedding website

Check out our wedding website for all the latest news on the wedding front!

www.theateam2008.com

party time!

Our great friends Lina, Paul, Lindsay and Chad threw us a little get together for our engagement! It was fun to get together and celelebrate!

Lina, Lindsay, Melanie and baby Malaya!

My friend Lynn from work!

Friends and Hiking

Soon after we got engaged we went to dinner with our friends Lindsay, Paul, Lina and Chad (and Malaya!) back in Denver.

We hiked the Royal Arch this last weekend - it was a great work out! pretty much steep uphill hiking for an hour - then you have a view of the great plains of colorado!

It's official!

NOVEMBER 8th, 2008!

wow, 164 days away...

But i need some help! I am having a hard time narrowing down color options...there are so many great options!! Right now we are talking about a charcoal gray with two tones of pink and a white accent...thoughts? We were thinking about sea glass blue/turqoise, but it's real hard to find, and with the kiwi green accent I wanted to do with it i'm having an even harder time! everything is BRIGHT turqoise and green...and i don't think that's totally us...we are more earth tone kinds of people...and i still want a beach twist, so i'm planning to do some white shells no matter what!

Any ideas?

wedding! wedding! wedding!

It's hard to believe i've been engaged for a week...it feels like it just happened, yet it feels like it's been so long. Not sure if that's normal? Either way, there is so much to be done, and i'm SO excited! For someone who is an event planner at heart, this is a wonderful place to be. A bit overwhelming depending on the moment, but fun nonetheless! This weekend we are finalizing our date, which we hope will be on November 8th. Our goal today is to talk to our pastor and see if he will let us fly him out to do the honors. If he can, we are all set!

The wedding is going to be at my Aunt Susie and Uncle Rick's house in Palos Verdes, California. It's not too far from Redondo/Hermosa beach, so i'm already looking into hotel accomodations in those towns (there aren't really hotels in PV). It's also only about 20 minutes south of the airport along Pacific Coast Highway, so it's easy for out of towners to get to - and gorgeous! We are so happy my aunt and uncle are letting us have our special day at their house!! it will be so cool! Start praying now that it doesn't rain!! :) We do realize a november wedding can be a bit unpredictable, but since we've been dating for three years already, we'd rather take the risk than wait until next summer!! :)

We are still going over everything just to be sure...but for now that's where we are. I looked at some wedding dresses yesterday and am starting to get a feel for what i like! SO when my mom comes out here next month i can hopefully buy that puppy! :) It is definitely surreal to be trying on a wedding dress! never done that before! So many "firsts" - i'm trying to enjoy each one!

We're engaged!!!

We're engaged!!! The short version of the story is, I went out to LA to visit some friends for the weekend and we went to a restaurant called Las Brisas for lunch on Saturday. When we arrived we went to look at my friend Shino's new car and take some pictures by the water before we went to our table (i guess it wasn't ready, or at least that was my understanding!). While taking pictures, Andy came up behind me all dressed up in a suit, tapped me on the shoulder then dropped down on his knee! The friends I was there with KNEW he was going to be there, and had coordinated the encounter! All morning they had been texting who i thought was Sandra's fiance or whoever, when part of the time they had been texting ANDY as well keeping him informed on our location! He had flown in that morning, rented a car, and planned the whole thing!


We spent the evening in Huntington beach, and my brother and sister were there with us!


I'll have more pictures soon of both of us looking at the same camera! But look how BEAUTIFUL the day was!! Nothing like a proposal on the beach - my dream location!! :)





Sandra and Maryel, those awesome, sneaky friends had been working with Andy to pull the whole thing together! What great friends! :)

san diego

We checked out the car show on Coronado Island - Andy had plenty to tell me about all the old classics and what kind of engines they had, how rare they were...etc. I don't know how he keeps all that information in his head! This car below he said was really rare and expensive!

We went to San Diego this past weekend, and had a wonderful time! Of course we didn't take many pictures...i guess we were too busy relaxing and enjoying the time by the beach!! it was cloudy on saturday, but Sunday cleared up and was beautiful! We spent some time with my sister Abbie and her boyfriend Theo, and also saw one of Andy's old coworkers! Overall it was WAY too short, but nice to be back in CA for a couple days!

Visit from Chair

Chair came to visit! we had a great time!

Denver, the CITY - believe it or not

SO, being from California all my life and then moving around the last few years, i need to get one thing cleared up for all who have never been to Denver - I think there have been many an assumption and/or belief that people living in Denver are not really living in a city (therefore we don't wear heels, designer clothes, etc). Let me please tell you, it is a city, just like any other city you've been to. Coming from someone who HAS lived in a major city (Los Angeles, Portland and now Denver) as well as a smaller town (Kings Beach, Waco), Denver is most definitely a city. It is not as large as Los Angeles and doesn't have the amazing beaches i miss so much, but it does hold the record for the most educated population per capita in the COUNTRY. That's right, there are a LOT of smart people living here. :) that's why i'm here of course! Just Kidding.
But if you have not been to Denver or spent much time learning about the city, please trust me when i say that you find everything here in Denver that you would find in any other city. There is diversity, great museums, concerts (Red Rocks is very popular!), varying socio-economic populations, nice restaurants, suburbs, great shopping, etc. Every day i wear heels, pencil skirts, makeup, and other professional attire to work - no berks, tie-died grateful dead t-shirts, or things of that nature. :) shocker huh? I wear heels at least 5 days a week these days! Of course i still slip on my flip flops every chance i get!! You can take the girl out of California, but...
So, i would like to encourage anyone who questions the type of people living in Denver to understand that there ARE some granola, small town, hippie people living in the state of Colorado - just like Every other state - and I would never trade it for California since that's my home - Denver is still, in fact, and bustling metropolis.

visit from the rosdils

Andy made friends with the neighborhood moose.


Andy's parents came to visit last weekend and we had a great time! we took a trip up to the rocky mountain national park, visited the red rocks ampitheatre, and of course experienced both 70 degree weather and snow within a 24 hour period. It is spring in denver after all! We also got to see the progress on Andy's hospital - it's amazing! He is definitely great at what he does!

Bathroom glimpse

We've been working on this bathroom for quite sometime now - feels like a second job lately - and we are nearing the end. Take a look! I think there is a blog up from a while ago with before pictures to help you get the best view of all the changes! we are happy with how it's looking!