Merry Christmas!

We had a very nice and relaxing Christmas morning in the Justice household. Matt, Heidi and the kids didn't come over until about 11:30 so we slept in, had a nice breakfast, and even played a few games before the craziness began! Once they got there, the party quickly started!


Here's Brad posing with our most awesome present, a new laptop! Whoo hoo!


Matt & Heidi's kids got a Wii and a bunch of games which is awesome! Matt did a great job at building the anticipation so this is just before they opened it, and the reaction was really cute.


Here's me posing in my new coat from Brad - thanks babe, great pick!


Here's Dad J. getting ready to open one the the presents from Brad and I. He just looks so excited, right?


Here is Matt & Heidi with their big gift this year. They also got a new surround sound system which means they must have quite the setup for movies at their house now!


The picture of Brad and I is just ok, but check out Blake's face - he looks like a ghost.... creepy! :o)


The big presents always seem to be so exciting and Luke had the biggest one so all the kids were anxious to help him open it.


Here's Jeff opening one of his presents. This is before we had to move him away from the present opening area because he thought all the kids toys were supposed to be for him and he didn't like that they were touching anything! :o)


Here's Mom J. opening up her new coat.


Brad with one of his new games!



Christmas this year was so much fun and we were so grateful that we were able to spend it in California with such great people! :o)

Fun times in sunny CA!

Brad, Blake, Jeff & Ella


They look alike, don't they?


Look at my cute little house!


One of the few times either Brad or I were able to hold Wyatt - he's way too busy for such time wasting!


Ella and her finished house. She even had Santa on the roof!


Blake and his finished house! Looks so good . . . and very healthy.


Blake and Luke working on their houses. Luke was so busy I couldn't even get him to look up at the camera.


Brad creating his masterpiece. I think he went a little crazy squirting that red frosting.


Cute little Wyatt!


Luke continuing his hard work, still so busy that he wouldn't look at the camera!


Blake, Luke & Grandma! Luke getting closer to looking, but this time it's just in the wrong direction! :o)


Dad J. and his new little baby.




Smile Jeff!


Brad and I were lucky enough to go back and visit the San Diego temple while we were there. This is the first time we have been back since the wedding, and it was just as beautiful as I remembered it!












Since we got to CA the Sunday after Brad's birthday, we celebrated again. This time we got the real treats though courtesy of Mom and Dad J. - Lobster and Steak! And of course, Brad's favorite chocolate cake (yes, it's the same kind of cake we had just three days earlier, but Brad can never get enough!).




I don't think I've ever seen a picture of Jeff with his eyes open - he hates the flash, but the pictures are still cute none-the-less!


Brad's nap - dreaming of which presents are his!

Happy Birthday Brad! - Dec. 17th

Brad has a little problem keeping his eyes open when we take pictures, so before taking it I said, "Brad be sure to keep your eyes open" and this is what we got. :o)


Lilly was excited over the small fire which was a result from several lit candles atop Brad's cake.


Look at the smoke that was captured in the picture! ha ha


Here's the party squad - Steven, Anita & Lilly visiting from Las Cruses, and Stephanie. We had a fun night of games and dessert!


Happy Birthday Brad! I love you lots! :o)

Puerto Rico pictures...... finally!

October 16th through the 20th we had the awesome opportunity to spend time in Puerto Rico with some great people! Several of Brad's co-workers were there including Anita and Steven who were the perfect traveling buddies for us on this adventure! It was such a beautiful place and we got there just as the hurricane passed over the island so the timing was perfect! It was rather humid, as my fluffy hair can attest, but we spent virtually all day every day in swimming suits and tank tops ready for a good swim at a moment's notice.

The Hotel & Hanging Out

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton and it was by far the nicest place I've ever stayed. The glass gates at the back of the hotel opened out onto the beach where we spent a lot of time! The last night of the trip we had a delicious dinner catered to the group right out on the beach and it was such a fun experience!

Oct 17th - The Spanish Fort & San Juan

Friday morning the boys had to go to a business meeting so Anita and I spent the morning on a nice walk along the beach. We were so busy talking that we didn't realize how far we wondered away from the hotel until our hubbies called us trying to track us down! We spent a couple hours playing at the beach and then left on our first excursion of the trip. It started with a long and exhausting tour of the Bacardi rum factory (unfortunately we couldn't opt out of this, it was a packaged deal), but because of the free drink samples we were surrounded by very happy and excited people! After the Bacardi tour we went to a really cool old Spanish fort. Unfortunately, because of the unnecessary extended stay at Bacardi, we didn't have as much time at the fort as we would have liked, but it was still fun exploring the tunnels and taking pictures. Then we finished the day with a nice walk around downtown San Juan where we stopped at the tourist shops and bought a few souveniers.

Oct 18th - Sailing and Snorkeling

Bright and early Saturday morning we left on our day of sailing and snorkeling! We sailed to a couple different areas of the Carribbean where we were able to snorkel and see a lot of beautiful fish! Once I saw the eel though, I had to get out and get out quick! Despite the constant lathering of the sunscreen, we all managed to get sunburned out there though which kind of put a damper on the rest of the trip, but we came prepared with good ol' aloe so we survived! We had a blast but we were exhausted on our way back to the hotel and several of us fell asleep on the bus!

Oct 19th - The Rainforest

Sunday was definitely the coolest experience for me because it was something I have never experienced before. We were able to spend the day touring the rainforest and it was absolutely beautiful! We found many creatures along the way and Brad even managed to slip off the trail and cut his toe! We had so much fun though and we were able to get some awesome landscape pictures to show just how beautiful it is there!

Overall we had an amazing trip and I would definitely recommend Puerto Rico to anyone planning a nice vacation! Thanks Steven and Anita for hanging out with us - it was so much fun getting to know you guys better! My biggest thanks though goes to Brad for working so hard and getting us on this trip! I'm so proud of you and love the many memories we continue to make as we are experiencing life together! I love you and I'm so grateful to be your wife! :o)

Balloon Fiesta!!!

We love the balloon fiesta and we were so excited to go on day one of the week long fiesta! The weather was absolutely perfect and quite warm this year compared to years past! We were up really early that morning, but it was well worth it once we got there and enjoyed our breakfast burritos, hot cocoa, and plenty of beautiful balloons! For those of you who have been to the fiesta, the pictures just don't do it any justice and you really can't enjoy how beautiful it really is unless you're there in person, but I can't help myself and always end of taking plenty of pictures anyway. Thanks to Chad, Annie, and Lydia for coming along with us, we had a blast!

Our Very Own Balloon Ride!

With all the fun of the balloon fiesta, I thought it would be fun to post some pictures from the balloon ride that Brad and I went on back in 2006. He had a coworker who owned the balloon so they invited us along one day and we took them up on the offer! It was a little freaky at first, but overall the experience was a great one and we got some awesome views of Rio Rancho and the west side of Albuquerque! I have to say I would do this again anytime!