Many Moments of Marital Bliss

Hello Family and Friends,

Happy middle of the afternoon to you all. This will be the last time until our next vacation that I will get to write in the middle of the afternoon. As you all know, I taught summer school this year. I got to have a two week vacation. It seems like enough right now. I always think about the people who just get their two weeks during the year, as opposed to the 9 weeks or so in the summer that teachers usually get. Then again, most people don't work with kids ALL THE TIME. Lol. But I think about those year long professionals, and then feel like I should be able to hack it without the extended break that others take. Next summer Doug and I certainly will be taking advantage of all of my vacation time. Only time will tell where we will go and what we will see, but we are planning a trip to Hawaii. It's been so long since I have been back there, so I am really looking forward to it. :) I am excited for Doug to meet the family.

In my two week vacation, I probably took a good week off. The rest of the time was devoted to fixing up my classroom. I FINALLY HAVE A CLASSROOM! WOHOO! I inherited a rather NASTY, smelly, bug infested room. So I spent nearly a week cleaning it up. Now it smells good, has less bugs, and is a lovely place to be. I hope you all enjoy the pictures of the journey through my classroom. :)

Doug is hard at work studying. I am so proud of him. I need to put a little shout out to my wonderful husband right now. He is working full time and attending classes every Monday and Wednesday night until 10pm. He often has Saturday sessions as well. Last night, I had the profound discovery that I was married to superman. :) He still manages to have an amazing attitude towards life, keeps it together, and cares for me every bit as much as if he had all of the time in the world. I am blessed to be married to superman. :)

So for my last few hours off, I am going to be doing homework and home work! :) It's time to get the house one last scrub-a-dub before the year begins. Also, Jeff will be coming over for the International Street Fair. I will certainly post pictures and updates on that this weekend!

May God bless and keep you all.

Doug and Beth <><

Hello family and friends,

We both hope this finds you happy and well. Doug and I are catching up on the Olympics right now. I need to be honest when I say that I am on a little bit of Olympic overload, so I, Beth, am writing to all of you. This update is long overdue. I meant to write last Monday. Last Saturday and Sunday (Aug 16-17), we spent a wonderful weekend with Doug's side of the family. The trip was so fun. While it had to be short, the weekend was packed with memorable moments. We stayed at the Avila Hot Springs Campground. It was an intimate campground. The purpose of this weekend was not only to have fun with the family, but to also bid Kelly a warm and friendly aloha, before her big move to Iowa. Kelly, Doug's sister, received a basketball scholarship to play for an NAIA school in Iowa (I am refraining from listing the school, just in case there is some psycho out there who wants to hunt her down). I don't like to say that we said "goodbye" to Kelly, because she will be back. Kelly, we are so proud of you. We know that you will be nothing but successful in your newest adventure. Luckily, we are going to be able to see her in action in San Diego this coming December. Until then, we will have to catch the highlights on ESPN.

The weekend started very early in the morning. Jeff arrive at our house at 5am. We left the house soon after. Our road trip was nice, and pretty short. We arrived at the campsite around 9:30. The Haney's beat us there by about a minute. We saw everyone, Grandma and Grandpa Wright, The Haneys, the Calamia's, and my wonderful new family (Gayle, Rich, and Kelly). We spent half the morning camping, and then headed for Pismo Beach. The Pismo Beach area is absolutely gorgeous. I can see why my mom wants to live there. We met up with the rest of Doug's family. Most of the Wright side of the family was present. I am sure Kelly will never forget this weekend. As the newbie of the family, a lot was put into perspective for me in such a short amount of time. I have been loved, accepted, and welcomed by this family for so long. It was just awesome to be there not as Doug's girlfriend, or fiance, but as his wife! As I sat there, just chilling with the family, I was able to step outside myself and see myself as family. It is a very awesome, and somewhat indescribable feeling. I know a lot of people probably won't experience this. I can only wish this for my own baby sister, Kelly, and Jeff one day (and for all of you still waiting to experience it). I am truly blessed to have such great in-laws.

As we were in the midst of breath-taking Pismo, we cruised along a pier. There were certainly some wonderful picture moments. My favorite was when Doug braved the aggressive seals/sea lions for some pictures. After the adventures on the pier, we headed to downtown Pismo, and enjoyed Mo's BBQ. Some of the family got some clam chowder. The day was cool, the city bustled ever so slightly, and the family was in good spirits. It truly was such a memorable, and essentially perfect. We had no worries, and good company. To top this all off, Rich treated us to my favorite treat- ICE CREAM. If you look at the picture immediately to the right, you can see a family picture. Looking at this picture has really been a moment of pride and joy for me. It's one of those moments that you realize you are permanent in a family. :) Doug's family took a picture in front of this same ice cream shop years ago. This time his wife got to be in the picture. :) I love it. Even though a person can spend most of their life away from the LOVE OF THEIR LIFE, it doesn't matter the time apart, because the time together truly does breath new life, excitement, and joy. I am proud to be married to Doug. I am proud to be permanent in his family. Wow..... God is good. :)

When we got back from Pismo, a lot of us headed to the mineral pool. Our campground was located on a natural hot spring. Even after a wash, my swimsuit still has a bit of the sulfer smell lingering. The evening proved to be relaxing, and a bit nostalgic. Doug built the biggest fire we had seen in a long time. The family sat around the area, some just chatting, others playing chess. Dusk fell as quickly as the dawn came. Stomachs growled, and we headed all of a couple hundred feet away to Mama's Meatballs. The campground had an uncovered treasure trove- a great Italian restaurant. The entire family headed down for a night of wonderful food, wine, and toasts to Kelly. On the way down, all of the girls took a picture with their beaded flower rings (from downtown Pismo). This classic shot will probably be repeated nearly a year from now as all if these ladies will be heading to Vegas to celebrate Kelly's big 21 and Meg's bday! Yet again, another moment where I experienced BEING a part of the family. I hope you all enjoy the picture.

Dinner was incredibly sweet. We fit all 17 of us on a long table. The family shared tears, toasts, and what Rich would call "Roasts." Really though, there were few roasts, because Kelly is just that loved.

It is an awesome reality to know that your family is there for you. Not all people have the comforting knowledge. I know that Kelly walk away from the family, just like Jeff & Doug did, because she knows she will walk back successful, a different woman, independent, but still incredibly loved by her family. I am happy to say that I have seen a foreshadowing of it with my own family. Julia went away five years ago now. She has blossomed immensely, and there will never be a moment where my parent, (Doug,) or myself won't love her every bit as much as the moment she was born. So as it is often hardest to let go of the baby, it is equally as easy to see them grow.

I know this entry has been super long. If you haven't had the change to visit the Pismo Beach area, it is a must sea! The town has really built itself up, so the next time I'd like to go is during off-season (and hopefully Doug and I can go with my mom too :)). Back to the Olympics. The "Redeem Team" is currently taking a beating on Argentina. Go USA!

God's richest blessings to you all.

Doug and Beth <><

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings from Palm Springs! Doug and I went (or are currently on) our first vacation together since the wedding/honeymoon. WOW! What a breath of fresh air. Like most of you hard working people out there, we have been going to the grind, non-stop since we graduated college. While our honeymoon was AMAZING, we were so tired from the preparation, anticipation, and implementation of the wedding, that we pretty much crashed. That is not to say that we aren't exhausted now, but there is something so refreshing about being here!

I, Beth, spent that last week in San Diego. Now, when one thinks San Diego, I am sure the thought of seeing friends, enjoying the scenery, and eating lots of wonderful food comes to mind. No, this trip was not like that for me. I went on my first "business trip." Obviously, teachers are not in the corporate world, so this came in the form of the AVID Summer Institute conference. It was a week long conference. There were valuable moments that definitely contributed to my professional growth, but I left the area exhausted, EATEN ALIVE BY BUGS (yes, my hotel had bugs, and I left with 9 bug bits... GROSS HUH! DONT EVER STAY AT THE TOWN AND COUNTRY IN HOTEL CIRCLE... GROSS). I spent my first week away from Doug. :( Now, I won't go on this rant of complaining (because I did learn a lot and it is just wasting space), but on Friday 8-8-08, I took the trek back to the OC. When I got home, I expected to see a house that was a little bit messy (Doug is not a slob, but he did have the opportunity to go back to his bachelor days for a week.... and he is BUSY!).... as I walked in, I saw a perfectly immaculate house. I was so happy. I LOVE A CLEAN HOUSE! :) Then as I looked to the right I noticed a sign. Then to the right of that were a dozen gorgeous pink roses! Can you imagine my excitement to return to that! Soon after, Doug was able to come home for his lunch break, so I was in HEAVEN! Doug and I definitely stand by the thought that absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. THANK GOD we are back together again!

So right now, I write to you from Palm Springs. Friday after Doug got off or work, we drove to my parents house. My mom and dad took us out to our FAVORITE Mexican Restaurant, Cucas. Really, we could eat GOOD Mexican food everyday. :) Thank you Mom and Dad. Orange County has NASTY food. Saturday morning we woke up at 5:30. We headed out for some morning coffee (that used to be our dates, just a year ago, when we were working on my parents backyard). Then we hung out with our parents and headed for the real desert! At first, Doug was not impressed with the Palm Springs area. Then we pulled up to our hotel! I had the opportunity to stay here before with some of my girlfriends from college, so I knew what we were getting ourselves into; however, nothing beats exploring places with the love of your life. Doug and I always have the discussion about visiting places that we have seen together as individuals, but really, it is like exploring it for the first time. :)

We arrived in P.S. just before noon and hit the pool! :) We were there for hours. Afterwards, we checked out our amazing room. They have gone through renovations since the last time I was here, and they did a great job. We had some rest relaxation, hour long massage, and relaxed in the air condition. Then, we went to a fabulous Mexican Restaurant, Las Casuelas Terrzas in downtown Palm Springs. WE WERE IN HEAVEN! Of course, we had to get our Millers, and we enjoyed them on our little balcony.

This morning Doug is checking out the gym while I write to you. We know the rest of the day will be filled with fun and relaxation. We hope that you all can find rest as well. God bless you all!

Doug and Beth<><

Hello Family and Friends,

As I pause from what I call a "housewife day", I want to share some of the progress that we have made with our little bungalow. As you know and might imagine, we don't have enough money to own our own house; however, we were blessed enough to be able to rent one! We are so spoiled to have a house be our first little place. If you remember way back to January, we told you a little bit about the house. It's one of those antiquated 1920's craftsman houses. It has all of it's original floors and craftsman features. Today I would like to share just a few spaces that we have made ours. Obviously we are limited in our decorating abilities, since it is a rental. Seriously, it is so amazing to come home to each other in this little space that we created as ours. I almost entitled this entry "your wedding gifts to work", because we truly could not have set this place up without all of your generous love and gifts. The whole concept of a wedding is pretty awesome. Doug and I got to stand before GOD, family, and friends, and commit our love and lives to each other and our precious Savior. Not only were you all there, but you so graciously gave so much to us to help get us on our feet. So I wanted to share the love of your labor and ours. We want to have so many of you over, but as you know, time slips away so quickly. So we will have you over one day, but until then, check out the house that we made into OUR HOME!

Before we moved into the dining room....

Note, we are obviously still your typical young couple who is struggling to put it all together. Our dining room won't permanently stay like this, but it will suffice for the next five years or so. I love this hand-me-down table from my parents. Doug's parents graciously offered Doug's grandmother's table, but unfortunately we live too far away!

The Dining Room AFTER we moved in.....

If you notice, we used a lot of the decorations from the wedding. We have placed some of the candle centerpieces all along the walls. Notice the beautiful picture by Jonilyn Brown. We al


The living room before.....

The Living Room After....


Many of you may remember the fun story of my first night at the place (I say my first night because Doug did not move in until March, so he was only here for half of the evening). We tried to be romantic and light a fire. We laid down a blanket, because we had no furniture, bought 5 dollar Little Caesar's Hot and Ready pizza, and got some Miller Lite. The fire was romantic until it filled the entire room with smoke filled the entire room. I went to school smelling like smoke for probably about a month!

We hope you enjoyed a look at how we are making a house OUR HOME. :) Thank you for caring about our lives. Until next time (which will probably be tomorrow)....