WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!!I am the luckiest girl in the whole world! Fidel surprised me with a hot air balloon ride on both of our days off! I'll blog more about it later, believe me, but I just wanted to show the basics so I can start calling all of you guys to show you and surprise you!This is before he proposed, you can see the bottom of the basket and the ground from hundreds of feet in the air! I was pretty happy in this picture but not as happy as...

AFTER HE PROPOSED!!! WOO!!! I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!

KISSING MY FIANCE!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!

Every picture from here on will absolutely have my ring in it! No matter how awkward it may look!

After the balloon ride we went to a brunch at a cafe in Napa, it was included in the balloon ride and our place setting was the picture they took of our balloon and of us before we took off. They popped open some champagne(aka sparkling cider) for the newly engaged couple, too!

CHEERS TO THE ACTUAL CHAVEZ FAMILY!

Fidel, I love you so much fiance! You have no idea how happy you have made me! I can't believe how sweet and romantic you are, and still can't believe how blessed I am to have found you. I can't wait to spend the rest of my eternity with you, my love! You are my everything! I am so inlove with you, and so inlove with my perfect, gorgeous, indescribable ring!! :)

Can't Believe I found him at Armijo!

Who would have thunk that my most amazing accomplishment would be from Armijo High School? Not getting my diploma, but snagging the most perfect man in the world!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BABY. Thank you for everything...for being you and for making me a better me. I am more inlove with you everyday, you never cease to amaze me. I am so lucky to call you mine and ONLY MINE! I love you Fidel!

Miss you Jess!

so this little lady is one of my favorite people in the world... She's the baby of the family and for some reason she thinks she's allowed to grow up and have her own life! In January she moved off to college, and since I'm such a good, protective big sister, I wanted to make sure she got there safe and settled, so I'm the one who dropped her off safely at her dorm room, and helped her find her classes, and had to find something to do while she was in class, but don't worry it wasn't THAT hard since...I WAS IN HAWAII!!


I got to spend a whole week in Hawaii with my favorite little sister in the world!

We had so much fun...Jess is one of the funniest people you will ever meet! It was bitter sweet because well, for 1.. I was in Hawaii, and it was absolutely gorgeous, but 2..we weren't just on vacation together, I had to say good bye to my roommate, my baby sister, my best friend...

Here we are at Kailua...my favorite beach! It was so freakin pretty and just what you imagine when you think of Hawaii. And also Kailua is my favorite because of the macademia pancakes! Mmmmm...


Here are my crazy Hawaii friends: Christina, Megan and Tiffanie! If you go to Hawaii, you want to hang out with these girls, trust me!

We had Subway on this little pier and watched fireworks at Waikiki! So pretty! These girls were the best tour guides ever! I love you girls and miss you!

Tiffanie works for the Submarine Tours and got us on free! It was so fun, we felt like VIPs!

So this is Christina, or Bo. Her brother and I were always on the same team in P.E. freshman year and when Bo came the next year, we were on the same softball team and instantly got along! Mostly doing movie quotes, making fun of people and making up dances...carpenter, toilet paper...which, by the way we still do in clubs! lol Bo is the best, she is hilarious and so much fun! Love you Bo! Miss you! I also miss my jeans that got ripped in Hawaii...I don't remember how though. I might have had too much diet coke and fallen...it's such a blur! lol


Speaking of the P.E. teams freshman year, Tiffanie was also always on our team! Tiffanie is so sweet and so freakin cool! She and Bo were definitely two of my absolute favorite people from Armijo! I'm really not just saying that! I love these girls! Is it a coincidence that a good majority of my favorite people are all Hawaii? Absolutely not! I'm going back there soon! To visit or to live depends on Fidel...just waiting! lol Thanks for all the fun Tiff!

Somewhere in the midst of all the fun, I did find time to think about my hunny waiting for me at home, though. I just stumbled on this heart in the sand that happened to have our initials in it! It was crazy! Okay fine, I did it, and the only reason I'm admitting it is because it really did take skill to do! And I also went shopping (obviously!) and bought this shirt to wear to the airport for Fidel. It didn't have quite the effect I thought it would because he didn't recognize me until I passed him..he said I was so tan! lol Thanks babe!

So that mostly sums up my trip to Hawaii, fun with friends and my baby sister. I miss you so much Jess! I wish you were still here, but I am so proud of you! I look up to you even though you're younger and shorter than me! Even tho you look taller in this pic, not sure how that happened! You're the best! We definitely have a sisterly bond because every time I'm missing you so much, you call me and make me happy. Every time I think about you falling on my mattress at 4 in the morning, you think about it too! So think about that right now and call me so we can laugh about it..."WHY ME?!" lol I love you so much Jeggie! Plan a trip here soon or plan a trip for me there! Good luck with finding a place to live, and I'd appreciate the same luck! Thanks for the memories! Love you!

~Christmas time with my Boy~

Christmas is the best time of year and while Christmas in New York is one of my favorite things in this world, it's certainly good to be home with family and my boy for the holiday season! I haven't lived near Fidel for Christmas time since 2003! That's a long time! So to sum up I am so happy! (happier with a ring on my finger, but WHATEVER!) So it's Christmas work party time! So here's work party number 1!Not only was this Fidel's Christmas work party, but it was also a big night for him! It was his graduation from the apprenticeship program! He is now a big important journeyman!! Makin the big bucks! Woo bayba! He graduated the four year program a little early, my smart, hard-workin lil man! He was definitely cheered for the loudest out of the other 12 graduates. He got an award and a skill saw! (which his friend, Josh, displays a little more proudly than him!) We sat with Josh and his fun wife Melissa and also two of Fidel's friends from high school, Matt and Johnny! It was so much fun!

The party was at Rancho Solano Golf Course and it was beautiful! It didn't hurt that I was wrapped around a handsome man in a suit, oh how I love a man in a suit! Especially this one!The end of the night! AKA Not lookin so good! Fidel got sick of his tie, so I gave him a break from it! Yeah, don't worry, I won't do that too much more! lol
Well I thought the picture above was the end of the night, but then we got home and decided to have cheesecake and cuddle by the fire! Perfect end to a perfect night! I love this boy!

Party Number 2!

We had yet another excuse to dress up! Love it!

My Party was at the Double Tree in Sacramento; also very pretty!

A few of the paint folk! (The cool ones anyway! Just kidding! Kind of :)

You know I will not attend an event or a...Wednesday without at least one self portrait of me and Fidel! You might be sick of them, but I actually still enjoy them!

Good times!

I love Christmas!

Okay you really can't see these pictures very well at all, but we were watching Monday night football when we heard a siren outside, so mom looked out the window and saw that it was our very own friend, Santa Clause!! On a fire truck with his reindeer! It was so freakin cute! I know Santa is not the reason for the season, but I think he is a secret way to tell people to be loving and giving like Christ. They really have nothing to do with each other, but it did make me stop and think about Christmas, and how happy everything about it makes me, but even events like this remind me of Christ and how he is the greatest gift we could ever receive! I love him, and that's why I love celebrating(hopefully unselfishly) his birth! I love my life and my family and friends that are also my most precious gifts!

Happy Birthday Stocky!!

Remember when I used to always come for Thanksgiving!? I'll try to come eat with you guys next Thanksgiving okay? Some of these pictures are from a WHILE ago! Hope you like them! Love you, Stock!

Happy Birthday Stockton! You're such an awesome nephew so I hope you had an awesome birthday! You make me laugh so much! Just take a look at these pictures and you'll know why! I hope you liked my back up vocals to Grandma Wendy's singing! Fidel and I want to come back to visit you soon because we had so much fun! I miss you and love you, Stock! Hope you had a great 7th birthday!! You're so old! I can't believe it! Talk to you soon!

Love, Aunt Nan

~Just Our Spare Time~

So our friend, David, just got back from serving our country in Iraq for 7 months. (Thank you so much for your service David! We all appreciate you and what you have been doing for us!) So I talked to David on Friday night for the first time in months, he asked me what me and Fidel were doing the next day and we were just hanging out, so I was like "Nothing! We're gonna hang out with you now!" And he was like "Okay, do you have something fancy to wear?" And then I was like, "Oh, tomorrow? Yeah I think I'm busy tomorrow!" But it didn't work, he didn't believe me, so outta nowhere Fidel and I went to his Marine Ball with him and his adorable wife, Ashley! It was so much fun, though, so I'm so glad David didn't take my excuse!

Good times with the Braithwaites!
On our way to the ball! (I decided to not wear so much makeup on a daily basis, cause when I try to be fancy, I really look the same as I do every other day of the week! I would hate for that to happen on my wedding day! No, I'm not engaged, btw!)
We decided we definitely should not take the professional pictures when neither of us are in uniform, so here are our pictures of the two of us at the ball! At least we got a marine flag in a pic! (it's just a lil bit smaller than the ones in the professional pictures!)
The boys, obviously having a good time!
Fidel doesn't wear a tie too often, so when he does, you better believe I take advantage of it!