Meet Sparky!

So let's just say that I have the best in-laws ever!  Their two Siamese cats (Max and Sugar) had a kitty who was the only surviving one of three in the litter.  Sad!  Anyway, this kitty is the cutest thing ever and he is so cuddly.  Every time I go over to my in-laws, the kitty snuggles and sleeps for about two hours on me.  Let's just say, he loves me and Brett.  Well, Tonya and Tasha (Brett's Mom and Sister) decided they were going to keep the kitty in the family and so Brett and I are the lucky parents of this little kitty.  We've decided his name is Sparky and we are in love with him!  He also has a great personality being very playful and a little rowdy!  We won't be bringing him back to the homestead until after Thanksgiving since we will be in St. George visiting my side of the family.  I can't wait to bring him home!
And just on a side note, I'm still holding out for a Scottish Terrier! :)

Cute little Sparky sleeping

Still sleeping and ended up like this

Hockey!

Last night, Brett and I were invited to go to the LA Kings game with a couple of Brett's coworkers, Tyler and Santiago. I hadn't been to a hockey game since I was a little girl (I believe) so I was pretty excited.  At the Staples Center the Kings were playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  It was an very excited game filled with over time and sudden death.  The Kings lost, but the game was still so much fun.  I would have to say the highlights for me were the almost brawl fights and Bailey the mascot (and we all know how much Brett loves a mascot)!

There's Bailey

This was quite the delight and surprise to Brett!

iPhone 4GS

I just want to write how happy I am to finally have my new iPhone!  It finally arrived after 19 agonizing days!  Here's to you Steve Jobs!

Dislocated Rib

For the last two and a half weeks I have had a really irritating cough.  When I went to the doctor, they told me it was an "acute respiratory infection" and would last another 2-4 weeks.  Dang!  Anyway, it stinks because whenever I exercise, teach dance, eat, sleep, and wake up (pretty much everything), I tend to have one of those coughing attacks where you feel like your whole lung is going to come out.
Well...this morning I woke up with one of my extreme coughing attacks when all of a sudden I felt my rib "pop" in my back.  Immediately, I felt the pain shoot to a 10 and I yelled.  It hurt to stand, walk, sit, eat, etc.  Yes folks, I dislocated my rib due to the trauma of coughing.  I went to the chiropractor in an emergency state and luckily they took me in.  Dr. Bryant, agreed with me that my rib was out of place and popped it back into place (but it was really painful).  I was told I couldn't pick up anything or twist my body which resulted in me finding a sub to teach for me tonight.
I'm still in a lot of pain, because I'm still coughing and the rib continues to stretch out the muscle which is causing the inflammation.  I can't wait to go back on Wednesday for another adjustment.  I pray that no one ever has to experience a dislocated rib!

Murder Mystery Dinner

On Saturday night, Brett and I hosted a murder mystery dinner with some fabulous company.  We were characters in the 1970's all under investigation for the murder of Jackie.
We had:
Jordan as John Revolting
Becca as Diana Rush
Jason as Andy Warthog
Allison as Gloria Steneim
Brett as Bruce Leap
Me as Lyza M
Bryce as Sunny
Charlotte as Share

I'm not going to tell you the outcome of the game, but we all had a great time playing the parts.  We even had a fabulous Cafe Rio Pork Salad dinner (cooked by me).  Overall, the night was a success and we look forward to next year.

The Crew minus Charlotte who was totally looking like Share!

Thanks to Becca for the rest of the pictures!

"Diana and John"

"Andy and Gloria"

"Lyza and Bruce"

Character Pose

6 Months!

This past Saturday, Brett and I celebrated six months of being married.  We (well I) figured it was an important milestone as newlyweds to celebrate. :)  Brett and I began our day by driving to Covina and going to the Covina Trading Post where we purchased a beautiful chocolate-colored table and chairs.  We are so excited because we really needed a new table.  My Grandma and Grandpa Wilson had given us their 40 year old oak table and chairs (a beautiful set), but the bottom had a pedestal and the table kept tipping over.  Brett and I decided that we would treat ourselves to a new table.  Plus with a party we are hosting this weekend, we thought this was a perfect time.  (The table came tonight...exciting!)
After, we stopped at IKEA in West Covina to use a gift card from our wedding.  We weren't sure if we would find anything, but we did.  We found a black-brown entertainment center set that has bookcases and a bridge.  We were so excited and have been putting it together the last couple of days.
That night, Brett and I went to Long Beach to go to a Dinner and Flamenco show at Cafe Sevilla.  This was great, because I didn't have a chance to see any Flamenco in Barcelona (This is why Brett is so great).  We saw Flamenco and ate paella.  I love paella...probably my favorite Spanish dish.  The paella was heaven with chicken, seafood, meat, veggies, and rice and the flamenco was AMAZING too!  I love all types of dance (ballet being #1 of course), but Flamenco is one of those dances that is not shy and so fun to watch.  There were two women and a man.  The man's footwork was so cool.  He was going so fast and the guitarist was keeping up with him as if they were having a little competition..
At the end of the day and after all the exciting stuff we bought and saw, the most important person/event is Brett.  I love him and am so grateful to have him as my husband.  I feel that we have learned and grown so much together as husband and wife in the last six months.  Think of how much we will keep learning in an eternity.  Boy, how did I get so lucky?! :)

Flamenco

Our beautiful new table and chairs!

Zumba

Two weeks ago, Brett and I went to Santa Barbara so I could receive my license to teach Zumba.  It was great because I had a one day training that began at 9 a.m.  My instructor was Aileen Padilla (Zumba Educationalist) and she began the training with an hour master class.  It was such a great class and I worked my buns off.  After the class, the remainder of the training consisted of how to structure a Zumba class and working on the first four basic rhythms of the merengue, salsa, cumbia, and reggaeton.  I had a fun time and learned a lot.  They gave us a manual, dvd's, cd's, etc, to make sure that we felt supported and had the tools after we left the training.  I also joined ZIN (Zumba Instructor Network) which gives me more tools to continue my education, help market myself, and to keep my license active continually instead of just after a year.  I already have a Zumba class lined up to start at the dance studio I teach at.  It will be Monday nights at 6:30 and will start October 24.  I am also working on possibly having another class either Thursday or Friday mornings.  I'll keep everyone posted! :)

Day 15 Barcelona Again and Day 16 The Flight Home

The day we arrived back in Barcelona was sad because it mean't that we had to leave the Ruby Princess and would need to go home the next day.  I always hate leaving the cruise ships.  The ship seriously becomes like a second home.  So, after getting off the ship, we spent the morning and afternoon finding souvenirs that we had seen two weeks.  We really didn't have time to explore more of the city, but when we come back again, we will.  Around 6 p.m. that night, we had a dinner appointment with one of Brett's families from his missions.  They are a family from Peru and were so gracious to invite us over for a meal.  Brett was even more happy because they invited a lady (also from Peru) who Brett helped convert her to the Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  She was baptized hours before he left to come home from his mission.  Her story was very touching because she became inactive for six months and then decided to come back and has been so happy since.  I'm very happy for her! We had such a great time with them and their family and had a wonderful meal.

The next morning after leaving our hotel, we arrived at the Barcelona Airport.  Our plane left at 8:30 a.m. and we had stops in Amsterdam and Tennessee before we finally arrived in L.A. at 9 p.m. I admit, it was so weird to think that I woke up in Barcelona and was falling asleep in California.  Crazy!  And yes, the jet lag was coming, but was not as bad.  I was really sad to see my vacation of a lifetime, come to a close. I honestly did not want to come back to reality, but it was the greatest experience that Brett and I could have together especially before any little Campbell's come along. 

(Brett's camera stopped taking pictures, so we don't have anymore pictures)  :(

Day 14 August 19, 2011- Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monte Carlo, Monaco is the smallest city/country being only 3/4 of a mile.  Let's just say I loved Monte Carlo.  I liked all the expensive taste that was present about this city (I'll admit, I sometimes have expensive taste, but I normally keep that to myself). It was such a nice place and really fun to see all the expensive cars everywhere. I had been looking forward to Monte Carlo mainly for the Casino.  Now, I don't gamble, but I am a huge James Bond fan and Casino Royale was filmed in Monte Carlo. I just wanted to see inside the casino, but the place did not open until 2 p.m. Bummer! Before we went to the casino, we did go to Old Monaco which has the cathedral, the palace, museums, and a lot of pictures dedicated to Princess Grace Kelly.  We took a tour of the cathedral and the palace which was really neat because it provided a lot of information that I liked.

Brett was excited to see this for the next day

Monte Carlo Casino

Garden area in honor of Princess Grace Kelly

Prince Albert

Old Monaco Cathedral

Princess Grace's tomb

Prince Rainier

Old Monaco Palace

Expensive cars everywhere

What I was looking forward too!

They call me Bond, James Bond

Inside the fancy and expensive mall

Oh, it's just a ferrari