ZOO DAY

I had been dying to go to the Zoo for the last several months and the stars aligned and we finally went! Richard and I hadn't gone in over 6+ years so Sea Lion Cove and the African exhibit were new to us and they definitely did not disappoint! The weather was unusually perfect and Carter was just as cute and excited as we anticipated. When Richard and I went to the San Diego Zoo I just remember thinking that we took way too many pictures of the animals that looking back, I don't really care about. So this time I made sure we got lots of family pictures in addition to the (probably) hundreds of animal pictures Richard got ;)

^^The petting zoo was his favorite part for obvious reasons

We're really trying to teach him to "be soft" and not pull hair. This cow was very patient :|

Constant "oooh"s all day. So cute.

THIS FACE.

Best zoo worker ever...she was too sweet.

Probably the most unflattering picture of me of all time.....but feeding a giraffe has always been on my bucket list so I feel obligated to include these.

Oh, just kidding...this is the most unflattering picture.

So we totally ran into my sister and her kids! Wasn't planned or anything! We need to call each other more Pam!

 

We love him.

One of his favorite animals of the day. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

My thoughts on the reptile exhibit...

Until next time Fresno Chaffee :)

Last Day of College!

I am officially a Fresno State graduate!! Since I finished during the fall semester, I will need to wait until Spring (I think May?) to walk. I could have walked before this last semester but I feel like that is jumping the gun a little bit. Hopefully then Richard will be done at that time as well and we will be able to walk together.

My last week of school was pretty chill. Three out of my four classes had major senior projects (instead of a traditional scantron final) that were due a week or so before finals so our "final" consisted of a potluck! I was not quite as lucky in my information systems class. (Read: 100 question comprehensive exam)   
       
   
However! In my other two classes, my final assignment consisted of.....Santa hat brownies! Haha

The final class/potluck for my MKTG 188 class (aka the most demanding class I've ever taken) was surprisingly tear jerking. The professor has always told us that he thinks of his students as his own kids which is why he is so hard on us. He truly wants to see us grow and succeed and will push us to our limits until we do so. His wife passed away from cancer about 3 years ago and he has been kind of decluttering his house ever since. He will bring in magazines, books, knick-knacks, etc to the classroom and give them away to students throughout the semester. The last day of class he did an "awards ceremony" of sorts and gave away a bunch of little gifts to students who were the most improved, most likely to ____, and so forth.

He then proceeded to pull out this old Where's Waldo book out of his box and started talking about how he had read it to all of his kids (who are now kind of distant from him) as well as all of his grand kids. Through tears, he recounted some of his experiences with the book and how it brought him so many wonderful memories but that he wanted to "give it to the next generation" and then proceeded to hand me the book! I could not even believe it, it was the sweetest thing ever. I tried to get him to sign it but he just said it wouldn't be right. I promised him it would take center stage in the nursery and I plan to e-mail him a picture once I get it set up!

We also did a gift exchange with other students in the class and this girl Alicia got me this adorable miniature stocking as well as a necklace with the March birthstone! I could have just broke down right then and there but  I somehow managed to hold it together :)

All in all, I was pretty unceremonious about finishing school. I honestly can say that I learned more while working than I did from any of my classes. School was great and I am glad that I finished but I am just more excited to be able to focus on being a better employee, wife and mother :)

...However, I DID celebrate by indulge in this entire pint of gelato

No regrets! Thanks for the recommendation Steve :)

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

So this 4th of July was kind of a buzz-kill. Rich & I had plans to go deep sea fishing but being the accountant in training he CANCELLED PLANS THE DAY BEFORE and said that we were too poor to go. I know you're probably like, "Wow, first world problems much?" But we both work 2 jobs not because we HAVE to (we can pay our bills just fine) but because we like to work hard so we can play hard too. And save too, I guess. I just didn't get that memo. So plan B was to go shooting with one of his friends. I was super pumped..I remember doing this for mutual back in the day and I felt super gangster. I even proceeded to go to Wal-Mart and buy a whole bunch of sodas and a Justin Bieber poster for target practice. 

That plan fell through as well.

Anyways, we ended up going fishing up at Millerton. Last minute decision at 10am. We bought some cheap polls, used the bait we had on hand, got a one day license and left. The drive up there was beautiful. I'm sorta obsessed with the area. I hope Fresno starts to develop a little bit that way so that I can possibly raise my babies there. We found an awesome little spot outside of the lake itself and set off.

Gorgeous right?

My babe workin hard.

 I actually really don't like this picture of myself. My face looks extra round. HOWEVER how adorable does  Richard look? Man babe, that over the shoulder smoulder kills me. Yes please.

And the best part of this whole post?? 

I CAUGHT A FISH!

You need to know the back story to appreciate this. Rich & I went fishing...I don't know...like 5 or 6 times last summer and did I catch anything? NO. Never not once. I caught one once when I was like 13 on a boating trip with one of my friends but that didn't count. I never got a picture. But now I have proof!

The proof was hard to get too. The area we were in was pretty weed-y so I was accustomed to pulling hard on my line to get it untangled. Yet this time, the tug felt different. It was like a sharp snap so I snapped back and proceeded to real in my PRIZE! I was SUPER pumped. Richard went to go grab his phone to take a picture and he couldn't find it! He told me to go to our old spot and see if he left it there (our old spot being like 200 feet away)! I ran like crazy while he kept the fish in the water (I didn't want to kill it!) and what do you know...the phone was with him the whole time. So after sprinting around like a madwoman. I finally got this shot. No fish were harmed in the making of this blogpost. We set him free :)

Afterwards we had my family over to come swim and have a BBQ at our complex's pool. I have no idea why I didn't think to take pictures! I need to be better about that. While Richard & my dad entertained Jaron, Brooke & Bradley I proceeded to hoard baby Aylexa :).

Her mama took this picture. We tried everyttthing to wake her up. She is one persistent sleeper. But then again, "First world problems" right?

Oh and sister Pam brought a super adorable cake for Aylexa's uhh week and a half birthday? The Willis girls always find an excuse for cake! It is in our blood.

We closed our evening while watching the fireworks at Buchanan. It was beautiful. I truly love this country and for the freedoms we have and for all the sacrifices that were made on our behalf.

All in all, thanks Rich for cancelling our deep sea fishing trip. Plan C was way better.

P.S. No fish were harmed in the making of this blogpost
P.P.S. Anyone have Bieber Fever and could use a poster?

Fourth of July

So here's a shout-out to the Vatcher familys

You guys are AWESOME!

The past two Monday's we've been having FHE with them

and this past Monday turned out to be rather extreme

We went white water rafting for the 4th of July!
Can't get much more American than that ;)

Turns out Megan's dad has been doing this for years.

They go pretty frequently and they decided to be sweethearts and invite Richard & I to tag along!

The girlies

Megan riding up front

Definitely got pushed out by Megan's dad!

Sorry these pictures are totally out of order...still figuring blogs out.
We were all SO tired after the fact. And I'm pretty sure our biceps grew about 2 inches.

All in all, we highly recommend it :)

-The Rindlisbachers

PARADISE

So it was officially a month ago that we left for our honeymoon...
but it gives me an excuse to look through our pictures again :)

Not a worry in the world!

"Because words are primarily processed through conscious, analytic pathways, they are easier to resist than images that are processed through less conscious, intuitive associations." Craig R Fox

It was AMAZING to say the least.

Oh, and we still need to develop our under-water-snorkeling-pictures.
Those should be interesting!
HIGHLIGHT: While we were swimming I saw a wild stingray like 3 feet underneath me! But did I take a picture of it? Of course not....I screamed and crawled on top of Richard's back to get away from it.  I know that's a lost opportunity... but I'm too scared to even touch the petting zoo ones at the Monterrey Aquarium so do you think I would be BFFs with a WILD one? No thank you :)
Anyways, life is still good :)
I may do more than one post today...lots of catching up to do.
You're welcome Alyssa ;)