Company Photos

A few weeks ago, Green Valley met at Ragle Park in Sebastopol for some long awaited company photos. The best part was seeing a lot of the employees who don't work in the office and seeing all of the dogs together. Here are some of my favorite images...

My sweet friend and best administrative employee ever, Shannon...

One employeee hi-jacked my camera to take a picture of the girls of the office...

Meet one of our employees adorable daughter...isn't she precious?

Liz with Shadow and Matilda...

The little sister to the cutie two photos previously...

Shannon and Sean, another married set of GVCE co-workers...

And the even more adorable family photo with the two girls...

Shasta meeting Tag, a big boy black lab...it made me realize how tiny she really is.

The boys of GVCE...

You will see more of Sean ans Shannon on the photography blog later this weekend and more of this fabulous photo location in a few weeks for the Straub's family photos. Hope everyone if having a great weekend.

Whooohoooo! Guess Where I Am Going...

To visit Mickey Mouse again! The whole Morelli clan is heading down in three weeks :)

I heart Disneyland. We used to go every other year while growing up. It was our family vacation spot. We would stay at a hotel across the street from the resort and plan our day around naps and meals. We only got to eat at the park once or twice during the trip, that was just the way that my family was back then. (And most families did the same back in the 80's and 90's.) I didn't even know about eating with the characters until I was an adult. With frequent trips, we were able to really experience everything in the park, including playing checkers on Tom Sawyer's island and air hockey in the arcade.

In high school (this was when the park was going through the big transformation and Indiana Jones opened), our class went down for grad night when the park is closed for high school graduates. Wow. That was a night to remember. While other classmates were enjoying "special" brownies and popping pills, our group of sevens were engrossed with doing each others makeup and deciding on our "fake" names for the night. (I think the Bri was Tori and Meredith was Kami, but I cannot remember any others.) That was just how we rolled, in our own world, happily enjoying each moment.

Damon took me to Disneyland to celebrate my birthday in August of 2005. It was two weeks before we were engaged and my first time staying at a Disneyland resort. I had so much fun sharing Disneyland with Damon, I never realized how romantic it can be. You can see a quick recap of that trip here.

Last year, I had the opportunity to go to Disneyland twice. The first with Damon, Kris, Leana, Tyler and Ryanne. It was so much fun sharing the experience with Tyler and Ryanne, who both had their first experience at the resort. There are lots of blog posts about that trip here, here, here, here and here . If you have a few moments, check them out, they are a fun trip down memory lane. I love seeing how much Ryanne changed in the last 18 months.

Then, because I just couldn't get enough, I decided to join the Straub family on their family vacation in December. Mostly because I love those boys and, secondly, because I wanted to see the park decorated for Christmas. Again, lots and lots of blog posts here, here, here, here and here.

I love that my blog spans so many eras of my life. And because all blogs are better with photos and to reward you for reading my rant of a post, here is a picture of my Damon with little Miss Shasta. Damon is on his big hunting trip of the year and has been gone since last Friday. His girls miss him at home, but we are enjoying our girl time.

A Day in Coronado

These are the final pictures from the San Diego trip, to be honest, I didn't take that many. I do have another post about the trip, but not related to the family activities and pictures from that are on my small camera, which Damon has packed for hunting.

On Saturday we decided to drive down to Coronado and show my parents Hotel Del Coronado. It brought back lots of memories, Damon and I spent several nights at the hotel two years ago while he was at a land development conference. You can read more about that here, here, and here .

We decided to visit the same Mexican restaurant we ate at with Alicia and Geoff. It was just as good as last time. Then we walked about the hotel taking in all the sights, the architecture and the beauty of the area. I also snapped a few pictures of Alicia and Geoff, head over to the photography blog.

This was the best self portrait that my lens on my camera could handle...at least Alicia and Geoff look cute!

There was a great map of the area in a real estate company window.

A neat display of sand art in the middle of the road.

This is the view of the ocean from Alicia and Geoff's driveway...talk about spoiled!

Number 33: Completed

Over the weekend I finally finished a book that I started back in April 2008. Cannot believe that it took me that long, but I got distracted. By photography books, by real estate books and by the game called life. Actually, I am on my second copy of the same book. My dear friend Michelle knew how sad I was that I left it on the plane coming home from Disneyland so she bought me a new one to make me smile. I heard about "A New Earth" from Oprah (didn't we all) and she kept talking about her "ah-ha" moment. So, I decided I needed to figure out what that meant. I started reading a few pages, but just couldn't get into it. After some life and mind altering courses of actions in April of this year, I could think of no better time to restart the book. The words came at the right time, and then that game of life came crashing down and closed the pages for awhile. Although I toted the book with me in my Green Valley tote bag every week day looking for a quite lunch hour to catch up, it didn't happen. Until this past week. Again, I was in need of some deep thinking, and guidance along the way. And along that path, I finished number 33 on my list.

Here are my two favorites quotes (there are some great metaphors, but they are too long for me to type!):

"Although the body is very intelligent, it cannot tell the difference between an actual situation and a thought. It reacts to every thought as if it were a reality. It doesn't know it is just a thought. To the body, a worrisome, fearful thought means "I am in danger" and it responds accordingly, even though you may be lying in a warm bed at night. The heart beats faster, muscles contract, breathing becomes rapid. There is a buildup of energy, but since the danger is only a mental fiction, the energy has no outlet. Part of it is fed back to the mind and generates even more anxious thoughts. The rest of the energy turns toxic and interferes with the harmonious functioning of the body."

"Nothing ever happened in the past that can prevent you from being present now, and if the past cannot prevent you from being present now, what power does it have?"

MM Photography Blog

Just a reminder to check my photography blog as well...there have been quite a few updates over there recently and more are planned!

http://mamphotography.squarespace.com/

As always, thank you for your support.

Alicia's Birthday Dinner

After spending an hour emailing and calling everyone under the sun (my mom had a checklist with everyone's names and numbers) we headed over to Geoff and Theresa's for Alicia's birthday dinner. But, first, it was time to tell Theresa if she was going to have another grandson or her first granddaughter. They gave her a bottle of champagne in a blue bag (to throw her off) with a big pink bow around the champagne itself. Theresa's reaction was just priceless...

We all studied the photos of their baby to check all the fingers and toes...

Then it was time for Geoff's dad to come home, he got to see the "Its a Girl" banner on the front door...

Caden was a little upset about getting a girl cousin, he apparantley changed his mind and decided that he wanted a boy cousin, but a hot piece of pizza solved his worries!

Caden had a toy birthday cake that sang to Alicia, he was so proud of himself for carrying it outside.

Baby brother Saxon also got in on the action...

Then it was time for the real candles and Caden sang the birthday song with all of his might...

And his mom's heart was touched by his cuteness...

Kristin and Chris, Geoff's sister and brother-in-law...

Geoff's little Italian grandma...she is adorable all the time, but especially when she busts out the italian language.

A peaceful San Diego evening...

The boys playing around inside while Alicia opened her birthday gifts..

More pictures of Caden and Saxon coming on the photography blog later tonight!