Visiting Home

This past weekend Maury and I got to go to Fresno for a MUCH needed trip home! Before we went home we jam packed our days with friend and family to make sure we could see everyone! We flew into Sacramento on Thursday night and stayed with my parents in their RV.  They get to follow Seth and Davis baseball around and watch each game which is such a cool opportunity for them.

Friday morning we woke up bright and early and met Seth in downtown Davis at Crepeville. Amazing breakfast, I can't wait to have it again!

With my favorite boys (my dad was moving the car so he wasn't in the picture)

After breakfast my dad gave us a tour of Davis and the campus.  Then it was off to Vacaville for some wonderful outlet shopping!! One of the things I miss the most about being in Fresno is all of the shopping with my mom, it just isn't as fun without the best shopping partner! My mom and I shopped at Gucci and Juicy and my dad and Maury shopped at Nike and Under Armour.

Maury and I with our goodies

That afternoon we left Davis and drove to Fresno to see family and friends! We went straight to Pinedale and I got to surprise all of my favorite students and co-workers! Kim and Katie's screams were priceless! I was so excited to see the kids and it was great to have them just as excited to see me! Friday night we had Chili Night at Grandma and Pa's with allll of our family! It was so great to see everyone and enjoy wonderful conversations.  I can't wait to be in Fresno for good and never miss one of these get togethers. (I was talking and laughing so much I forgot to take pictures! Total bummer!)

Saturday we had lunch with all of my friends at the one and only Casa Corona. It was so wonderful to have everyone together at our favorite restaurant.  I can't remember the last time we were ALL together. Saturday night Jordana and I threw a bridal shower for Debbie Parker, soon the be Stankevich.  It was a very fun shower and great girl time.

Debbie and I

All of my best girlfriends 

Sunday morning we had breakfast with my aunt and uncle and then it was back to Davis for some baseball before coming back to Washington! The games on Friday and Saturday were rained out so we made it back to Davis in time for game number 2 on Sunday!

Me, my mom and grandma :) Triplets! 

Dinner at Bistro 33 in Downtown Davis

Family Dinner

Maury and I got back to Washington Monday night and were greeted by freezing weather. Its been snowing all morning and isn't suppose to stop until this weekend! We had a great trip home and wish it could have lasted longer.

Until next time,

Brie

The Day of Love

Happy Valentines Day everyone!! This year was a special one because not only are Maury and I newly married but this is our first Valentines Day actually together! Last year he was in Iraq and the year before that we weren't dating yet, but we talked a lot (starting to like each other) and he was out in the field for training! So to say the least, this was exciting!

Maury had to work most of the day but the first surprise of the day was that he got off work early! As soon as he got home we exchanged gifts because I couldn't wait any longer! I opened my presents first and got

A Starbucks Card

Sees Chocolate....loveee Chocolate Bordeaux

and Maury got a new Dodgers hat! 

Then we went out to dinner at a place called Fujiami which was a fantastic tepenyaki place! I'm so glad we found one we like here because I have really been missing Sakanaya! After dinner we were so excited to watch The Bachelor!! Yes thats right, Maury does like it even though he will probably deny it! We got a bottle of our new favorite wine Robert Mondavi Merlot and enjoyed a few glasses of that with some chocolate and The Bachelor! 

All together it was a great Valentines Day and I'm so lucky to know who I will spend every Valentines Day with from now on :) 

With Love,

The Turner's 

One last thing, we have noticed a lot of views on our blog but we aren't sure who is looking at it or if we want those people looking at it (haha) So we are going to make our blog private! All you have to do is push the Follow button and then you can read our blog! You don't have to make a blog to read is so FOLLOW us :) 

What To Say?!

So it's been a long time since the last blog post, but thats because nothing TO exciting is going on here in Washington.  Maury has had a lot of work to do and I've been working on keeping the apartment, laundry, and dishes clean! It is quite the chore and I now have a whole new respect for my mom and all of the things she does!! :)

We are coming home SO soon and are both so excited to see everyone! I'm sure the trip is going to go by so fast, but we are going to try to soak in all of the time with our favorite people! :) Until then here are a few of our favorite wedding pictures!! :)

The one and only Dani Mac 

Uhh?! Haha My dad had to iron Maury's pants for him! Priceless!

Lakers Tickets on our honeymoon

The best family

There was a lot of dancing before the ceremony! Alex and Dani showing off some moves

Kelsey teaching us how to Duggie

My dad practicing his Duggie moves

Dancing the night away!

We have so many pictures and love each of them, it's so hard to pick favorites! 

Until next time,

Brie :)

The Great State

I know we promised the next post would have wedding pictures, but I still haven't received my disk in the mail, so hopefully later this week I will get it and be able to post some!!

Until then, I wanted to fill you in on some things I have learned since living in Washington.

1.) Rain
   It does rain here, but not nearly as much as people seem to say or think.  I know I've only been here a month, but its been December and January which you would think means cold and rain.  I've realized that yes, it does rain most days and sometimes all day, but usually that is a drizzle off and on.  Sometimes it's literally just a mist.  This does get annoying, but really people, depressing?! It's sunny and warm today! Okay, maybe not warm, but not cold!

2.)  Starbucks
  There is a Starbucks on every corner, because this is where it first started.  I love coffee so this is great expect it is impossible to find a drive-thru Starbucks!  This is actually when the rain or mist become most annoying, because you have to get out into it just to get a coffee.  With this being said, it has cut down on my Starbucks intake, which our bank account appreciates, but I will admit I am sipping on one as I write this :)

3.)  Speed Limit
  The entire I-5 through out the state is 60 mph.  This is annoying mainly because the wonderful people of Washington follow this rule very seriously and no one drives faster.  I don't think I realized how often I had a lead foot until I had to drive here.

4.) Police
   Speaking of the speed limit, the few people that do get pulled over on the freeway are pulled over by these lovely looking people.

 The blue really throws me off and the hats are just hilarious! When I see one I always think of the movie Super Troopers

5.)  Espresso
  You would think this goes along with coffee and Starbucks, but until you have been to Washington you wouldn't understand that an Espresso Shop and Starbucks are very different.  These little espresso shops are also found on every corner, expect the ladies working inside are wearing lingerie or swim suits.  Yes, you read that right, all of the girls are wearing basically nothing and its super awkward!  But don't worry ladies, if you are worried about being a girl and driving up to one, the little shops that don't have those girls are clearly marked!

Bikini Bottom Espresso

I couldn't find a picture but the stops without 'bikinis' usually have a sign on top of them that say "No Bikinis Here."  Why are there so many of these drive-thru's but you can't find a Starbucks drive-thru....hmmmmm....??

There is a long list of things I could write about that are different than California but for now I am just soaking it all in and enjoying living in another state for a year.

-Brie

My First Blog Post

Now that me and my new wife, Brieann, have finally settled in here in Washington, we've had a lot of time to ourselves. Much of this time involves quiet nights together, reading, watching TV, or playing video games. Having so much time to ourselves with few distractions has led me to do a lot of thinking, a lot of self reflection, and some looking back at where we came from, while casting thoughts towards our shared future together. It is these quiet moments of reflection I wanted to try sharing tonight.

Since our wedding on December 18th, the one constant that pops in to my head on a daily basis is thankfulness. I find myself being reminded not only daily, but sometimes hourly, how amazing of a partner I found. The peace of mind she provides me, the reassurance, and daily companionship sometimes make me wonder how I went 23 years without!

We have both agreed that it is time to get out of the military when my initial 4 year contract is over in January of 2012, and are both greatly looking forward to that date. It is the time after my getting out I find myself looking towards in these quiet moments, and I honestly can't wait. I can think of no one I would rather enter into a new phase of life with than my wife.

We love and miss everyone in Fresno! We have the most amazing group of friends and family either of us could ever have asked for. May God bless you all today!

Cliff Hanger: The next blog post will have our professional wedding pictures! Until then you can enjoy this picture...

-Maury

The First Snow

I wanted to start by saying Maury asked if he could write the next blog and I said yes, but he has been so busy and not feeling well, I decided I would update one more time and then he can do the NEXT one! :)

Last night we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to return a few duplicate wedding gifts and as we were driving Maury said "is that snow?!"  I looked out the car window a little more closely and could see a tiny bit of snow falling.  This has happened one other time since I've been here, but it only lasted a few minutes and none of it stuck so I didn't want to get my hopes up.  We went into Bed Bath and Beyond and shopped around getting a few essentials and then decided to go back to the apartment and watch the Lakers game.  We walked outside to SNOW...like real snow!! It was sticking and coming down pretty well! I tried to take pictures but since there wasn't much yet it was basically impossible.  We got back to the apartment and turned on the game, I heated up Pa's chili we had from the night before and we just relaxed watching the Lakers.  I completely forgot it was snowing.  Maury got up to go to the kitchen, yes we ate in the living room last night, and when he looked outside he said "Oh my goodness, it's really snowing!" I jumped up and ran outside on our balcony and got SO excited! The ground was completely covered and all of the cars looked white! I got my rain boots on, my jacket and my camera and ran downstairs to take pictures!! (We live on the 3rd floor) It was exciting for me to be in the snow when it was actually snowing for the first time.  I didn't even realize how cold it was until we got back into the apartment! So here are a few pictures I snapped from our first real snow here in Washington since we've been here!

Our view from the 3rd floor

:)

I loved being out in the middle of it all

Maury's truck was quickly being covered

My foot prints on the side walk. I was very fascinated!

Maury was such a good sport for coming outside with me.  He really wasn't feel well and fell asleep on the couch about 10 minutes after we got back inside.  Thanks for coming outside with me babe :) 

I was very happy to be covered in snow :) 

I also wanted to tell everyone that reads this, Maury and I bought plane tickets last night to come home in February! I don't know if I want to post dates and plans on here, but call or text us and we will fill you in :) We can't wait to see everyone in a month!!!

-Brie

Our Wedding Day

I don't even know where to begin when I think about or talk about our wedding day! It was such a special day that was 383 days in the making.  There was so much effort and work put into it and the day was over so quickly.  I got to marry my best friend and couldn't be happier with the way the day turned out. I want to give a very special thank you to my amazing parents who made the whole experience even possible.  My mom was so patient and helpful with the planning.  I can't tell you how many flea markets, salvation army's and yard sales she went to to find the perfect candle sticks for center pieces! My mom is amazing and if you give her a mission she will complete it with 110% effort! I am so grateful for all of her help in making our wedding day perfect! My dad was so helpful in keeping me on my toes with lists of things that needed to be done and making sure things were getting done the way I wanted them.  My dad always made sure I was happy and things were going smoothly and always said "if somethings not right, I'll fix it, just tell me."  Just him saying that made everything better! And to my wonderful husband who let me do whatever I wanted with the wedding planning and supported me in all of the decisions I had to make.  Most of the planning was done over Skype while he was in Iraq, but when he was in Fresno he drove me around town to wedding meetings and patiently helped me make decisions!  I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life and I am so excited to see where this new life experience takes us!

                                                       The best parents I could ever ask for :)

                                                                Father Daughter Dance

                                                      The most wonderful women in my life

                                       My beautiful girls- Kelsey, Kelly, Alex, Dani and Debbie

                                 Maury's Groomsmen- Rene Roy, Seth, Jordan, Ross and Eric

                                                              Sand pouring and communion

                                                                             First Kiss :)

                                                         The Batty Family- Enough Said :)

                                 The best girlfriends a girl could ever ask for!! I love you girls!!
                                                   MJ, Sarah, Jordie, Dani, Kelly and Ashley


Many many more to come later!!

-Brie