Baby Nephew Jett!!

Just hours old... this is seriously the youngest baby I have ever held!
The proud/tired/awesome parents Robin and Dave! Congrats, guys!
I love this little guy!
I think the baby thing might be growing on Judd!



Judd and I are finally an Aunt and an Uncle!!

Our first nephew ever... Jett David Cordova... was born at 4:01 a.m. January 2. Crazy thing was, we had just seen Robin hours earlier and she was fine! I admire how tough she was giving birth so fast, she's a trooper!

We came and visited Jett and his parents at the hospital right after church. Like I said above, I've never held a baby that young. He's absolutely handsome and he has so many doting relatives. It's so neat to watch the way a newborn takes in the world, he couldn't stop looking around, there was just so much to see.

Judd was so cute, they came to take the baby's blood, and Judd sat with him and tried to make him feel better while the rest of us were cringing. He'll be a good dad in the distant future when we decide it's our turn!

But for now, we're absolutely in love with the little guy, and now we can't wait for our niece Izzy to get here in April!

Pizza and Special Heads for Christmas

One of Bindi's many toys she opened herself...
Judd's loot
Kristen's loot
AHHHHHH!!! The Head!
Doesn't that look fantastic?
The Dads and Judd attempt to switch the pizza over to the paddle...
My Alfredo/Smoked Turkey pizza creation! Molly and Telly are working on a Loony Toons Puzzle in the background. 1,000 pieces= day long process!

This Christmas was full of toys, gag gifts, diamonds, and plenty of homemade brick-oven pizza!
Judd and I started off the morning at our place, playing Santa for our pseudo child Bindi. Yes, we're nerdy enough to actually wrap presents for her and get a kick out of her opening them. Since we just went on a trip, we didn't do any huge presents this year, but Judd's highlight was a remote-controlled helicopter, and mine was the fantastic Black Friday diamond bracelet!

We spent the rest of Christmas at Judd's family's house. We've been doing the drawing-a-couple's-name-out-of-a-box deal for the past few years as far as presents go... and Mike and Molly got us. They wrapped up the most...um...unique Grecian (or is it Roman?) head and gave it to us. We were super polite and appreciative, especially when Molly made a comment about having one herself. The act went on for awhile, finally they couldn't take it anymore and brought out our "real" presents! It was hilarious, but I think the funniest part is that there were a few people who actually thought the head was beautiful and wanted one for themselves! Even though Bindi is terrified of it, we're keeping it around... he'll make a reappearance one of these holidays! Judd keeps hiding it in places I don't expect to find it and it always creeps me out!

Christmas Dinner consisted of a variety of homemade brick-oven pizzas out of the Kidman's new backyard pizza oven! My dad came over for this part to show off his East Coast pizza skills and make the pizza as flat as possible (the best way, really!). I think one of these is in store in the distant future when we have a backyard!

Superbowl ending

Tea cups!
Judd is an insane (well, as insane as you can get!) driver at Autotopia!
Judd helping Goofy decorate!
NO LINE WHATSOEVER for the River Run! Who's crazy enough to ride something that drenches you when it's already raining? Hmmm.....
This was my favorite meal for the entire trip...Clam Chowder in a bread bowl made that day at the Sour Dough factory in California Adventure!
I've always wanted to see Disneyland at Christmas. The rain may have drenched the fireworks, but at least the castle was pretty!
View from our room on the 15th floor! That's an ice-skating rink...we watched kids biff it over and over again...
As much as I love sightseeing and doing all the fun stuff...half of what I look forward to on vacation is the relaxing!


Graduating, to me, is the equivalent to winning the Superbowl, so of course the proper way to celebrate would be to go to Disneyland!

We decided to make the trip a little weekend getaway to San Diego, with a stop in Aneheim first. The beginning of the disastrous California storms were just starting when we got there, which was kind of a blessing in disguise, because it meant there were BARELY ANY LINES at Disneyland! Seriously, we rode most of the rides by 1:00! Luckily, we found a really shady, but totally legit deal on park-hopper passes to both Disneyland and California Adventure (both parks...both of us...$110 total! You know how I love my deals!), so we were able to go back and forth between the two parks.

I was really proud of myself for not being a total wimp and riding mostly everything. I would have done California Screamin'... but the ride had been shut down most of the day...and it was pouring rain...so didn't feel like chancing it. I was scared of Splash Mountain as a kid, and since I haven't been to Disneyland since then, I decided it was time to face my childhood fear on that one! It wasn't that bad... but then again, how awful can a ride be if it has singing animals throughout it?

Judd of course, rode everything. Apparently all good rides (Space Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad, Indiana Jones, etc) were all broken the one and only time he had been to Disneyland before, so this was a much better experience for him!

The rest of San Diego was a blast, other than the rain. We stayed at the Westin that's attached to the greatest mall of all time, Horton Plaza. It was so nice to just walk a few feet away to shopping bliss.

Graduation!

Judd and I right before!!!
This picture cracks me up, it's so old-school
If we have to wear ugly gowns, at least we have hot shoes!
AAAAAHHHHHH, it's almost here!
Posing with the fam!
Awww, our UNLV news team came out to support us! We love you Studio G!
Accessories
Party afterwards at Blush in the Wynn!


Oh my gosh... it's been forever since I've posted a blog.

But that's because I've been frantically finishing final assignments, studying for those last exams, and preparing for COLLEGE GRADUATION!

I graduated from UNLV last Tuesday, and the whole thing was a whirlwind, so I'll just post some pictures of some highlights!

It's so crazy to know I'm finally done. 5 years...2 universities...1 really crappy technical career school stint...all wrapped up in a ugly tomato-red gown, ridiculously long ceremony and an expensive piece of paper. But it was so worth it. I made some friends I'll have for life, was taught by some of best and caring mentors, and have had some amazing experiences. I really loved going to school, and I would love to someday come back and perhaps teach at a university level.

I know I've said it on this blog before, but I do need to acknowledge how awesome my husband is for supporting me in this. He knew it was my goal to graduate, and he made a lot of sacrifices to make that happen. I want to be just as supportive now that he is going back and getting his degree.

So with that really expensive piece of paper, and all the knowledge, challenges, and experiences I've had, I'm ready to take on the world and see what's next!

Black Friday...

The shopaholic/consumer in me says Black Friday is the best day of the year. Growing up in my house, Thanksgiving was spent with my mom pouring over ads while watching the Macy's Parade and mapping out the best game plan for the morning. We would determine who had the best doorbusters, who was giving away free stuff, where the on-demand ticket items were, and so on.

Early...and I mean EARLY... the next morning, we would get all bundled up and go stand in the lines. I would get sent to one department store and my mom would take over the other. Part of the game plan was to run into the store, grab the free item and doorbusters, pay, then run into the other store and meet up. We seriously have a shelf full of our JCPenney's snow globes! It was the perfect mother and daughter bonding experience.
This year, my mom wasn't able to go. I wasn't sure if I really even wanted to get up early, especially since I had work that day.

But then I saw this bracelet in a JCPenney ad...

2 CT. Diamond. Silver.
Door buster sale for $99, down from almost $700.

I'm not even really a fine jewelery kind of person, but I've wanted a diamond bracelet ever since our honeymoon in the Caribbean, where the diamond industry is huge. I saw them everywhere there... but we figured we should probably use our money at the time to eat shrimp every night instead.

For any other deal, I would have happily gone down myself to the store at 4 in the morning... but this is a romantic gift, so I figured Judd should be the one to buy it for me.

So being the romantic dude he is, Judd accompanied me to JC Penney before the crack of dawn. We found the one outside door with 5 people in front of it instead of 500, which was also conveniently located by the jewelery department. At 4 a.m. sharp, the doors opened and we flew in. We were the first ones in the jewelery department, and there it was!

Once the bracelet was purchased, Judd realized there are HUGE advantages to waking up this early on Black Friday. He couldn't believe the major sales and how cheap everything was, particularly a remote-control helicopter he'd been eyeing for awhile (Oh Judd and his toys...)! It really is a rush to see everything you've wanted for a quarter of the price...

Don't worry, we're not completely selfish. We got almost everyone covered that day as far as gifts go.

I know it's best to be frugal, but I honestly believe it's perfectly okay to spoil yourself every now and then. It doesn't have to be huge or extreme, but it's good to be good to yourself. And if you give to others in the process, the better! And what better way to do it when everything is cheaper anyway?

Rest in Peace, Little Cousin

When I was younger, I always wondered why I didn't have more cousins than I could count like a lot of my friends did. I was shocked that there were people out there who didn't even know all their cousins' names. For me, it was easy. I had 3 cousins total for most of my childhood, plus another that came along in my teens. We joked that we got a new cousin every decade and it was somewhat true.

The Alworth family couldn't have been more thrilled to find out several months ago that a new cousin was on the way. My uncle Cameron and his girlfriend Berit were expecting. November 11, Anderson Montgomery Alworth was born. He had our nose, our chubby cheeks, and our dark hair. He was one of us...

A few short days later... November 25... he left this world, all too shortly.

I'm sad I didn't get to meet the little cousin I have waited years for, as he lived across the country. I'm feel terrible that I couldn't go with the rest of my family to his service tomorrow. My brothers and I donated a floral arrangement, but I wish there was more I could do. I love my extended family and wish I could be there just for support.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't believe in a life after this. It's such a tragic and hopeless thought to think that little Anderson was here and gone without a purpose. His life has brought people together and strengthened family bonds. There is another baby out there who lives because they received Anderson's heart. I hope there is a day when we will all be with this little baby.

Robin's Baby Shower!

Robin's baby shower for our first little nephew Jett (it's still Jett, right?) was Saturday!

It was the first time I've had any involvement in planning a baby shower. I did games and made sure I didn't include the poopy chocolate diaper game. Judd's height was as always helpful for hanging stuff up. We got Jett a little baby bath/basket.

Robin looked fabulous in a non-maternity dress. I hope I look that awesome preggo someday!

Molly made this really good cheesy vegetable soup we ate with bread bowls. Recipe please, thank you! I have a ton of it in my fridge and have been eating it all day, it's so yummy!

I'm thinking maybe next time around, I could maybe possibly potentionally be preggo with my sisters-in-law. I think it would be fun to have a pregnant friend to go through it with. My mother in law asked me to promise it. No guarentees there, but after seeing how fun baby stuff can be, I'm open to it! Of course, after Judd graduates and I get my fill in as a producer!

Anyways, congrats to Robin and our nephew! We can't wait to meet him!