Dodger Game

Last weekend we went down to LA and enjoyed our first major league baseball game together. We drove down early Saturday morning and had breakfast with my sister. Then we met up with some friends (and Jesse's co-worker) CJ and Wes Workman. There could not possibly be any huger fans of the LA Dodgers then these two. To put it into perspective, their wedding colors were royal blue and white!!! We had such a great time and hope to do it again!

The stadium has an incredible view of the city!

Allie and CJ

Way to go Dodgers... they finally won in the 13th inning with a walk off home run!

The 7th inning stretch!

My Baby Bump

Well, I am officially 18 weeks pregnant! I have a bulging belly (while I feel like I am popping out all over the place, I have seen nothing yet!) I am feeling better then ever (in the last 4.5 months) and love being able to feel my little one move around. Sometimes I feel like he or she is trying to push his or her way out of my uterus!!!

For those of you who are not aware, we are not finding out the sex of our baby. We took inspiration from Jesse's sister and brother-in-law and are waiting. It is killing me but will be totally worth it!

Our official due date is December 16th, so we should have a baby by Christmas!

Names, you ask... well, we don't have anything official yet. My sweet husband has come up with multiple options... if it is a boy, Terry Dactal Penner (I hope he is not serious) and if it is a girl, Daaaang Gina!!! It's so much fun and much easier to answer with these names then explain that we really haven't thought of any yet!

The baby's room is not even close to being finished... no wait, started! I have been putting it off for a while, but think it is time to crank it out while I have some good energy.

On July 21st we go in for our fetal survey ultrasound (where they count fingers and toes, check out organs...), so look for more pictures!

Our Adventures in Costa Rica

We recently returned from a wonderful trip FULL of adventures to Costa Rica. When we began planning the trip we talked with our friends Breann and Kris Cadieux about doing one last trip before we began our families. Well, as it turns out, our families began a bit sooner then our trip but we were up for the adventures any how. We invited another couple, Andrew and Denise Feil to join us as well. The other two couples were on a missions trip in San Jose (one of the largest cities in Costa Rica). We joined them for an extra week after they had completed their trip. Jesse and I headed to Jaco, a pacific coastal town known for its touristy feel. We stayed there one night before everyone joined us. The following morning we took a boat ride to Montezuma, a "hippie" town looking out to the Gulf of Nicoya. There we had many adventures including hiking, swimmning in waterfall pools, the boys jumped off of the waterfalls, rope swings, ATV riding and beautiful walks along the beach! We stayed in "Ivan's House" (look it up if you plan on going to Costa Rica!!!). We had a kitchen, hammocks, we could hear the sound of the ocean at night and a BEAUTIFUL beach view. We were only 100ft away from the main city drag. It was so awesome!!!

Jesse jumping off of a waterfall.

Jesse climbing a big rock overlooking the beautiful ocea.n

Hiking (in dresses and flip flops!!!)

On the beach!

Our boat ride to Montezuma.

The jungle was full of roots that helped us hike very easily!!! And suprisingly, very few bugs, spiders and any other scary wild life... only beautiful butterflies, birds, monkeys, geckos and lizards.

Our perfect little house!

One morning, we decided to go for a walk down the beach. We were told that there were beautiful waterfalls where the fresh water met the ocean water. We got about 1/2 a mile down the beach when I wasn't feeling well, it was hot and I felt dehydrated. Jesse and I turned around and went back to the house, laid in the hammocks and rested. Soon, Denise runs up to the house and yells, "Jesse, Breann broke her ankle!!!" We both jumped out of our slumber and gathered some items for them, ran a mile back down the beach and found Breann with a completely dislocated and fractured her ankle. She was in extreme pain. An ambulance was on its way, however, there was no real medical care for her outside of San Jose, where our trip had began. The interesting part is that she is 6 months pregnant (although she doesn't look it!), so she was without pain medicine for 10 long hours on bumpy roads. They took an ambulance to a ferry boat onto another ambulance to a hospital in San Jose.

Once at the hospital in San Jose, they gave her a spinal and put her ankle back into place. We remained in Montezuma and arraigned to have a taxi boat take us back with their luggage the next day. When we arrived, she was in much better spirits as she was more comfortable and her ankle was straight again. We felt so blessed with the medical care we received. The doctor who took care of her had trained in Texas for 2 years on foot and ankle surgery and was very helpful and most importantly spoke perfect English!!! Her OB care was amazing (and more thorough that here!) She ended up having an external fixation device placed to hold everything back together while she traveled back to the US. She was such a trooper!

When we arrived in San Jose, the Feils and us were able to stay with a missionary couple and their two children. Andrew and Denise had stayed there during the mission trip. They were so wonderful and the kids were amazing!

Jesse is getting ready to be a dad!!! Playing with Super Sawer!!!

While in San Jose, we walked around all of the streets, got to see some amazing buildings and took time to go into the Children's Museum!!! It was a special place where they have all sorts of activities! Bubbles, space, agriculture, aviation, health, dinosaurs... you name it, they had it! It would have been even better if we could read Spanish!!!

We are sitting inside of a giant mouth! They had an area where the kids could floss giant teeth and brush them with a huge toothbrush!

Walking around the streets, we ran into this lovely statue!

Despite all of our painful adventures (for Breann), we had a fantastic and beautiful trip!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

On June 16th Jesse and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! I can't believe how fast time has gone! We have shared so many amazing memories and look forward to so many more! We were so lucky because we were both off of work and were able to spend the entire day together! Jesse woke me up and we decided to go to breakfast at a little diner in Clovis where we had our pancakes and eggs. After breakfast, we hung out for a while and went to go shopping for our upcoming trip at REI (couldn't get any better for him!). We ate a small lunch at PF Chaings enjoyed seeing Karate Kid 2. After a lovely nap (a necessity these days!) Jesse told me that we would be going to dinner that evening and that I needed to be ready at 5pm and the attire was fancy! Jesse had made reservations for us at Erna's Elderberry House in Oakurst. When we arrived, the doors were opened for us and we were greeted as Mr. and Mrs. Penner. We had a wonderful SIX course meal!!! WOW! I had to seriously pace myself! It was delicious and so very special! Our favorite course was the 6th, a dark chocolate pyramid, vanilla creme anglaise and raspberry gelee with spearmint. Lets just say we were glad that we saved a little room! It was the most beautiful day and I am so lucky to have such a thoughtful husband!

The past three months

Pregnancy... nobody tells you just how exhausting it really it! I am not almost 15 weeks and feel as though I have a bit more energy to give to the world. I have been so blessed because my sweet husband was so helpful around the house and showing immense grace when it came to meals, laundry, letting me go to sleep at 8:30 every night... and so much more. All that to say, it has been such an amazing experience.

We have been so busy with life, family and weddings!

Three weeks ago, Cherie and I were real photographers for a wedding... scary! It was rather intimidating and yet very fun! The wedding was at Holy Spirit on Friant and Champlane and the reception was in the Pantry (on the Smittcamp property). She had some great details and looked stunning! It's easy to take pictures when everyone looks so great!

In the last two weeks, we attended 2 weddings of dear friends of ours, Stacey Ridgeway (now Gerbrandt) and Becky Kruse (now Bradley). Staceys wedding was in Paso Robles on a at Robert Hall Winery overlooking a vineyard, it was simple and beautiful! Becky's Wedding was the following weekend in Fresno with the most perfect whether and coolest details (they even served ice cream as dessert!!!). We are so happy for each couple as they begin their new lives together!

The Ridgeway & Gerbrandt Wedding

Becky and Jerrod's Engagement Photos

So what's next??? Well, we are gearing up for a FUN trip to Costa Rica with two other couples, Kris and Breann Cadeaux and Andrew and Denise Feil. Breann is almost 6 months pregnant so I will definitely have a partner to relax with! We will visit Jaco which is a more built up town on the Pacific Ocean and Montezuma which is located on the peninsula and is considered a "hippy surfer town". We plan on getting some R&R!!! Look for pictures soon!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New BABY!!!

Well, as many of you may already know, Jesse and I are expecting... a baby that is! Recently, I have successfully kept three plants alive for multiple months, I have had dogs (on my own) for almost 3 years and we decided that we would give the human thing a try... We feel so blessed that the Lord has entrusted us with one of his children. We found out in Carmel, one of the most special places to us in early April. By our calculations, we were approximately 10 weeks when we told our families. This was difficult for me because at work we have X-Ray and other hazardous things that I have to steer clear from, and therefore, I needed to tell my boss and a few other people at work. This wouldn't have been a problem if I didn't have the pleasure of working with my dad. Therefore it was tell no one or tell everyone. (It is such a difficult balance of when to tell who... where... how...) Anyhow, we decided to tell people, then went to our FIRST ULTRASOUND!!! Yeah!!! We were so blessed to see our special little one's heart beating a million miles a minute right out of his or her little chest. When the technician did the measurements, sure enough 6 1/2 weeks!!!! Yes, they added an entire month to my pregnancy (as I saw it). That put us at a due date of December 22nd... Merry Baby!!!

While we were not trying for a Christmas baby, we felt like the Lord was calling us into a new season of life and didn't want to try to plan everything out to the moment, month and date that we felt like we wanted. We just wanted to rest in His timing and have a healthy baby with 10 little fingers and 10 little toes. All that to say, we are so very excited and hope for a smooth pregnancy.

So far, I have felt pretty good, I have really good days (like today) and some not so good days where I want to crawl into a hole... Saltines, crystal light and my pillow are my best friend!

For those of you who are wondering whether we are going to find out what it is, well, we are following in the footsteps of Blake and Cherie... we are going to wait! My achiever is totally curious, however, it is the one true surprise in this world!

This is how we told my sister... with a cute apron that says Auntie Lolo... for those of you who don't know she is in culinary school in Orange County.
As for the rest of our family, we used a little baby dressed in Jesse's baby clothes with a wrist band that says Baby Penner November 2010 (at the time we thought it would be November). It was really special because we got to tell both sets of Great Grandparents in person!

The fast few months

You may ask where we have been for the past few months... well, it has certainly been busy!!! We have had some great memories including the marriage of our cousin Luke and his new wife Becca. Jesse was one of the best men and I was one of her bridesmaids therefore, it has been a packed couple of months! The wedding was amazing! The weather was BEAUTIFUL... 70 degrees, sunny and spectacular! The wedding had a couple of awesome, one of a kind parts including a grand entrance for the boys on some canoes to Indiana Jones music... and nothing other then the most amazing presentation of the rings ever... the boys cleared the aisle to Mission Impossible where Jesse proceeded to take a key to Blake (now positioned at the end of the aisle handcuffed to a briefcase which holds the rings) where he un-handcuffs Blake, handcuffed his own wrist to the briefcase and walked down the aisle. It was hilarious! The most amazing moment, however was when Luke and Becca were pronounced!!! Yeah!