One talented Dad!

I have one talented Dad! One day he decides he wants to make something out of wood. The next day he is incredibly talented and making beautiful masterpieces!  He also made me an absolutely gorgeous Jewlery Box detailed with our favorite song that he used to sing to me when I was little (and still does sing to me). For some reason I can't get the picture off my computer, but as soon as I can I'll post it here! 

Christmas in Tahoe!

We spent the day after Christmas in beautiful Lake Tahoe at Eric and Genie's newly finished amazing house!! It is really incredible! Joining us was Greg's mom's side of the family! The snow was beautiful! Being with family was great we played games, had fun with a nice white elephant gift exchange, snowball fights, snowmen, snowboarding and resting in the beautiful house! I don't have all the fun pics on my camera! I'll have to get them! 

My Wedding Bouquet has been preserved!! So Amazing!!!

I have never met another person that has the wonderful privilege of having their wedding bouquet preserved. I have seen wedding bouquets that have lost all their color, the petals falling all over the dresser each time it is bumped and a smell that should not be coming from such a beautiful bouquet that brought to life the white backdrop we like to call the wedding dress. The bouquet brings the bride into the color palette chosen to represent a soothing, formal, and rich experience. Without the bouquet the bride sticks out in an unpleasant way. I loved how my bouquet smoothly tied me into the 25,ooo rose petals on the walkway and how it calmed my nerves as I stood alone before the ceremony started. 

So, it was a TREMENDOUS GIFT I RECEIVED AT CHRISTMAS FROM SUSIE-MY WEDDING BOUQUET PRESERVED AND FRAMED!! It now graces a wall in our bedroom and it brings me back to the best day of my life each day that I look at it!  

Thank you Susie for a gift that I will cherish forever!  

Christmas in Biggs

When you have a big family and don't live in the same town, you get 3 posts about Christmas! haha We always enjoy Christmas with my family and love the warmth and comfort of being home. We had a new addition to Christmas this year-Miss Mollie Byers. 

Our First Christmas Together! Christmas 2007

Greg and I live in a cute little condo in San Jose.  Although it is quite cute, it's also quite little! I had all of these grandiose ideas for decorating but when it came down to it, there just isn't enough room! We did have a beautiful tree though and enjoyed Christmas!

So if Greg were writing this... he'd say something like..."Whoa I didn't know so much went into decorating! Do you really need to buy one more thing? Tradition? We have to start traditions now? The tree looks fine, no the ornament doesn't need to be moved for the 10th time. No, you don't need handmade cards and fancy paper...pajamas on Christmas Eve? What? Did you water the tree today? Bree relax it's perfect.... "

So needless to say I was a little OCD about Christmas. I wanted everything to be perfect, traditions to be followed, new ones to begin, photos to be taken, etc. etc. etc. All is well in the Haskell home...just figuring out this whole married thing and gelling of two families : )

Erica's Birthday Tradition- Bucks 2007

Gotta love tradition! Here are this year's annual Birthday celebration pics from Buck's Lake. Happy 25th Birthday Erica! This was also Lacy's first time up at Bucks. Not much snow this year.... each year there seems to be less and less snow. We enjoyed a night at the Lodge and Lace experienced her first Tree Smacker- welcome to the club Lace!

Christmas Tree oh Christmas Tree!! Our first!

Our first Christmas Tree! The day after Thanksgiving I couldn't wait any longer so we went on quite the endeavor to find the perfect tree. As traditional as we are, we did not go out and cut our own tree. I hate the thought of cutting down trees when someone's already grown them for that purpose at a tree lot....so we're traditional but also a little tree hugger-ish!

So we sought out the perfect tree (in the wild mountains off 85 and Almaden Expressway! ha) We ended up finding the perfect tree and even some mistle toe.

We got the tree into my car and brought it home....then realized we needed a stand, bought one, then I see Greg with our kitchen scissors trying to cut off some of the branches!! What! Our kitchen scissors! haha Anyway it was a ton of fun putting it up and transforming our little condo for the Christmas season!

Barb's Wedding!

Barb and I were roommates our freshman year in Fremont dorm together at Cal Poly! She just married her high school sweetheart and I had the awesome privilege of standing by her side on her wedding day! She was absolutely beautiful! We spent the night dancing at her great reception- I had so much fun seeing all my college friends!

The baby has arrived! Miss Mollie!

Travis and Andrena had their little girl yesterday! We are so glad that she waited to come until we returned from our honeymoon. I got to see her today and I'm absolutely in love. She is so small and precious! She has completely melted my heart and I adore her! Love, her Auntie Bree

Newlyweds on our Honeymoon!

Whoever invented the honeymoon is a complete genius! Funny that the planning of the very ceremony of bringing two together as one is the one thing that draws couples apart for months and months (In our case 14 months!) Without our honeymoon I don't know how we could have jumped back into everyday life. I think we would have failed miserably. 

       Our honeymoon was incredible! It provided the space to rest, relax, have fun, experience adventure, and spend time together for the first time as husband and wife. We had so much fun hanging out together, suntanning, reading, snorkeling, 4-wheeling, biking, swimming with sharks, and laughing. I'm so thankful that we took 10 days away to regroup and learn how to be a new family. In the Bible the honeymoon lasted for a whole year- wouldn't that be sweet! 

Bora Bora Overwater Bungalow

(This was not our view... our view went straight out to the ocean without another bungalow blocking an inch of sight!)


If you ever go to Bora Bora or Tahiti you must stay in an Overwater Bungalow. They are incredibly expensive at about a grand a night but it is worth it! At least once in your lifetime. When we arrived in Bora Bora we had to boat to our hotel, from there we walked on very lengthy docks to get out to our Overwater Bungalow. It was breathtaking! We were in awe! The view that surrounded us was the most beautiful teal, clear water ever! We had a glass bottom coffee table that opened up to feed the fish! 

Bora Bora and the French Polynesian delicacies!

Lobster Ravioli (one of the only familiar items on the menu) and Greg with his traditional steak (of some sort) with a bleu cheese dressing (the only option available at EVERY restaurant! haha)

View from lunch one day. You can canoe across to that little tiny island and eat lunch out there too. 
Last dinner of our honeymoon at a very ritzy beautiful restaurant! I want my house/outdoor living space (in my dream home) to look like this!

View from lunch one day- breathtaking

The food was quite interesting on our honeymoon. 

MORNING 1

-No coffee in the room. What?! No big deal, we're not that hungry but we'll go to the buffet and grab  light breakfast and some coffee.

-Breakfast Buffet $67 PER PERSON! We had NO idea! We got the bill and thought, "Wow Oh my gosh! We just had the most expensive wedding possible and there's no way we can afford that all week-can't imagine what dinner will be!! We're going to lose a LOT of weight in the next 5 days. " (Because the remaining 5 days in Bora Bora all our food was paid for already.)

Lunch 1- No more of that $130 for breakfast. So we rented bikes for $12 from the concierge and headed down to the local market to grab some food. (Which mind you almost nothing was refrigerated or familiar! Yikes! So we bought: a tiny thing of Skippy Peanut Butter (all they had was chocolate flavored Nutella- yack!) I brought our own Starbucks coffee so we grabbed some filters, white bread (yack again) and that's it.  No coffee pot in the room so you probably thinking what do we need the filters for? Well we heated water and held the filter over a cup and drank our fresh brewed coffee ghetto style! It took teamwork to hold the filter and pour H20 at the same time : ) That was our breakfast (and sometimes lunch for the next 5 days : ) 

Dinner-Awesome!

 You have to take a boat to go to a restaurant. To eat dinner we had to make a reservation at the concierge and then the chef- yes the chef! Would come pick us up as well as a few other couples and that is all who was at the restaurant that evening. The chef and maybe one other waitress would take our drink and food order, cook the meal, we would all eat and then wait for the other couples to finish. Then we would all leave together after a few hours. 

Our Wedding September 2, 2007

Here is our Wedding Album on a digital show if you would like to see it! 

Click Here to watch it!

http://www.ablakephotography.com/slideshows/haskellalbum/

We had the most amazing wedding ever! One could not have asked for a more beautiful location, gorgeous flowers, amazing people, and just an absolutely perfect day!! Our photographer Ashley Blake from A. Blake Photography was phenomenal, our caterer was precise, my brother made beautiful wrought iron vases that looked like our candelabras! Susie and Sarah did the flowers (with the help of Lacy) my dad coordinated the day of transportation of all the decor and so much more! Greg's parents put on our rehearsal dinner. We had Chico Strings quartet grace us with beautiful music.... so much more... More pictures to come!

Yikes!! Wedding is almost here!! And I haven't even been home to plan!

Okay I'm starting to get a little nervous.... I've been gone since...well almost the entire summer!

I just got home from a 5 week Assignment in San Diego

Then went to Woodleaf for a week of camp

Then had my bachlorette party in Livermore

6am morning after my bachlorette on the 18th I flew to Canada on a Sea Plane to visit Becca at Beyond Malibu 

Then had my bridal shower in Chico

Moved into our new condo (Thanks mom for helping me!)

And I'm getting married in less than two weeks....who planned all of this traveling?!

Bridal Shower

My Aunt Toni threw me a great bridal shower! I definitely was showered with a lot of love, gifts, and laughter! My family was there, Greg's family was incredible-they drove up and back in one day, my girlfriends and extended family friends!  I loved every minute of it! Thank you Aunt Toni and Sarah!