Birthday

I turned 27 today and wasn't expecting it to be much of a party since I had to go to school and work; however, I was pleasantly surprised. Mom and I had cinnamon rolls for breakfast at the Nickell's and they were tasty. Evan is my birthday buddy because his birthday is on the 16th, just 4 days after mine. Then everyone came to Fresno with me which made the drive much more enjoyable. I still had to go to class and hand out surveys today, but then we all had lunch together. Michelle and Jonah met us back at the Nickell's to say happy birthday and visit, then it was off to work for me. But it was a good night. Everyone was in a good mood and I got to bake cheesecakes, including a mint one with a chocolate shamrock in the middle, and frost a cake that turned out looking great. Everyone wished me happy birthday and a table of regulars sang to me.

Spring Fever

We have had a beautiful week with periods of rain and sunshine. It is wonderful to have warm sunny days again.

After the Rain

After lots of rain last night and this morning, the sun came out this afternoon and I couldn't resist the opportunity.

President's Day Weekend

After Katie's wedding on Saturday, I left from Torrance to drive to Las Vegas and meet Jaime's dad, Gary, his wife, Connie, and his sister, Diane, for a visit with Jaime. Sunday we all met up and went to explore the strip. Connie and I were interested in seeing the Venetian, so we found it and went inside. They had it decorated for year of the tiger. The inside is decorated like Venice, with the canals and buildings and it was cool. We wandered around there and had dinner at an Italian restaurant, which was in a plaza with people singing opera nearby.

Here's the group: Gary, Jaime, Connie, and Diane. The canals of the Venetian, complete with gondola rides.

We had parked by the Bellagio and as we headed through the casino to catch the fountain show, we ran into a parade with tigers and a dragon. They also had these glass flowers that were beautiful. We had to wait awhile for the fountain show to start, but it was cool and worth the wait. Jaime and I bought chocolate covered fruit, which we indulged in once we got back to her room; mmmm, it was so good. The next day, Jaime's family left and we hung out mostly on the base, I got to see a little more of where she is living. Then she drove home with me because she had a couple more days off. We had a nice drive and some of it was really pretty. Believe it or not, I took this picture through the open window as we were driving on the freeway. Tuesday we got to bake together, which was especially fun now that both of us are bakers at work. Jaime came to school with me today and we hung out during my long afternoon break, then she headed back to Vegas.

Katie's Wedding

Saturday we took a trip to Torrance for Katie Cox's wedding. The Coxes are long time family friends, so Katie and I have been friends since we were born and it was exciting to get to go to her wedding. Since it was the day before Valentine's Day, Dad bought conversation hearts for his three girls and we had made conversations on the drive down, being sure to eat the ones that were unreadable. We got to Torrance early and stopped for a late lunch at Leo's. This is our favorite Mexican restaurant with the best cheese chips ever. We also went by the Rockler store and admired all the wood. The wedding was at our old church and it was fun to go back since I hadn't been there for years. Then we headed to the reception. In true Southern California style, In'n'Out catered hamburgers for dinner, so the tables were dismissed a few at a time to go out and order from the truck. We got a picture with the bride and groom: Michelle, me, Jeremy, Katie, and Heather.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Michelle and I have thoroughly enjoyed frosting heart shaped sugar cookies at work the past month and a half or so. Michelle is especially good at coming up with new designs. Here's a small selection of the most recent batch, the pictures aren't the greatest, but you'll get the idea.

Wall Photos and Updates

I finally got new pictures for my wall, something I have been wanting to do for awhile, but hadn't gotten around to. I'm excited to have them and happy with how it turned out. We are starting our 4th week at Fresno State this week and so far my classes are going pretty well. I have two classes dealing with epidemiology and human disease which have been interesting. One of my classes is online and it deals with the environment and human health, this is my first online class and I've been appreciating the format. My last class is kind of a senior project class; it is all group work and we actually implement the stuff we have been learning in other classes and create a health education program and a booth at the health fair. These are the last four classes I need to graduate, so I'm looking forward to May. Things at work are going well; my favorite thing to do right now is frost sugar cookies, especially on the rare occasions Michelle and I get to work on them together. We have hearts right now, for Valentine's Day, and they are so pretty and fun to make.

Continuing Christmas Spirit

It's a bit late I know, but I wanted to post a picture of my mini Christmas tree. I have enjoyed my tree all season and even though the other decorations had to come down on Saturday, I plan to leave my little tree up for awhile longer. It is still green and healthy and makes me happy.

Flat 8

I thought it would be impossible, but all 7 of us from flat 8 got together last night. This was the first time all of us were able to get together since leaving London, and not because we haven't been trying. It was the one year anniversary of our arrival in England and a goodbye party for the Brants, who are moving to Stockton. We caught up on what everyone's been doing, but spent most of the time remembering stories from our time in London and cracking ourselves up. Here's the group: Jen, Juan, Alicia, me, Ashley, Charity, and Darrin. Although I now miss them again, it was wonderful to see everyone and share an enjoyable evening.

Happy Arrival in London Day

One year ago today I landed at the Heathrow airport with 19 fellow CSU Fresno students to begin 12 weeks of studying in London. That first day was brutal and exciting. We arrived early in the morning after a 10 hour flight during which I hardly slept at all. It took 45 minutes to drive to the Sienna Building, where we would be living, then we had to get all of our stuff unloaded and into our flats. Our teachers gave us a tour of our new neighborhood and we walked down Hatton Garden, along Farrington to the tube stop, over to the Chancery Lane tube stop, past Boots, the bank, Sainsbury, and the many jewelry stores that lined our street. The first day was the only time I ate at Eat, which had grab and go type sandwiches and snacks. The excitement, nervousness, and lack of sleep made for an interesting mix as we tried to take in as much as possible and learn everyone's names. The hardest part of the day was the afternoon as we tried to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime in order to be rid of the jet lag as soon as possible. This was made more difficult because we had to listen to Stewie, our property manager, tell us the do's and don't's of living in our flats. Then our teachers both said something too. I lasted until about 7 or 8:00 that first night. This picture is actually from the next day when my flat went out to explore. I have many great memories from those 12 weeks and my wonderful flatmates.

Christmas

Christmas was relaxed at the Chandler house this year. We started the day off at with our church's traditional Christmas morning service. Then we returned home to finish wrapping presents and have a quiet afternoon. The Nickells and Trevinos arrived for dinner, then we opened presents. The kids sang "Jingle Bells" in front of the tree to get things started. This was a tradition that Dad and Mom started when we were little. Michelle and I got new pjs. The kids excited about a train set from Grandpa and Grandma, which they got to play with while the rest of us finished opening gifts. I drew a picture of the three kids for Isaac and Heather. We even managed to finish the day with something unusual in Central California: a white Christmas!

Catching Up

I'm behind on my blog. In order to get up to date, I've decided to give you a quick rundown with photos. I hope you enjoy! Evan made name cards for everyone for our Thanksgiving dinner.

The family at Thanksgiving.

Chandler family tradition: Christmas tree hunting the day after Thanksgiving.

Uncle Jonah bought popcorn and instantly became the most popular person.

Smelling the trees. Isaac was interviewed for the news! Loading up the trees. Face painting at Bless Fest.

Family picture taking for our Christmas card, this was a challenge with 10 people, but it turned out well. The COS dance show. I was in the day tap class and we danced to Michael Jackson songs. Making gingerbread houses with graham crackers. The finished village: my house, Heather's, Michelle's, and Evan and Micah's. That's a brief overview of what's been going on the past few weeks. An important event that was not photographed was the end of the semester! This was a tough semester for me and I'm so thankful it is over. Also, I have been getting to do more baking at work, which I enjoy. That's it for now, I hope all of you are enjoying the season and are ready for Christmas!