And the Countdown Begins...

Derrick has been gone 1 week now. I don't understand how is gone more often and is further now than he ever was. He has been on the go the whole time doing meetings from morning till night with my papa in Russia. We try to talk as much as possible on Skype, if you don't know what that is or what it does you should get it! Derrick will meet me on the 16th in Austin, TX for my redheaded cousins wedding :), yes I have a cousin with red hair. 9 days to go and I can't wait!! We will be in Austin till sunday and then off to Salt Lake, Woo Hoo convention!!!! I have to admit I am actually looking forward to cold weather! I have been shopping like crazy to get prepared. I can't wait to see everyone in Utah! Love ya All! ~Alexa

Everything Works Out!

Romans 8:28- God works for the good of those who love him.



This bible passage is so true! You might not realize it at first, but later on you will. As you all know because of many reasons I cancelled Derrick's surprise birthday party in Salt Lake, only to find out that he will be in Russia that whole week before and after. Derrick leaves for Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan early Wednesday morning and will be out of the country until he meets me in Austin, Texas October 16th for a wedding. We will be in Austin until Sunday afternoon and then will arrive in Salt Lake City around 6pm for the week of Xango Convention!

Derrick and I miss everyone tons and are very excited to see everyon! We are both trying to find time to see everyone while we are there, but we are both going to be super busy, so if we don't see anyone before Sunday October 25th, we will be at Sunday dinner for sure!

4 Days Down...5 To Go

Derrick comes home in 5 days and I can't wait! The only way we've been able to talk is through Facebook and Email and the occasional Skype video chat. I can't wait to have him back! I miss him so much!

Alice in Wonderland

Last weekend I had a blast helping Stef create Alice's new big girl bedroom. The theme is Alice in Wonderland! Stef had an old bed that we refinished:) the room will hopefully be finished when I head up to salt lake toward the end of October. We are leaning toward the Mad Hatter Tea Party, so there will be fun and funky colors throughout. I can't wait to finish it up! Here's a preview :)

Before After

Alice Loved Her New Room!

Switch

Derrick and I have decided to switch families for a weekend! Derrick is off to Washington with my mom and I am off to Salt Lake City so spend a weekend with the Raynes's! Derrick will be departing to Washington DC today and will return to Phoenix on Sunday and I will be departing tomorrow to Salt Lake and returning to Phoenix on Monday. Derrick will be leaving the country on Wednesday with my mom to fly to Malaysia and Singapore. I am so happy that Derrick has great opportunities to travel and see the world. We are both very blessed to have such great families and to get to spend time with them!

A Shower for the Sweet Pea to Be!

I had the pleasure of planning Danielle's Baby Shower with the help of Stef and mom (Alice). It was beautiful! and we can't wait for the baby to get here!

We kept with the same colors the nursery will be. Black and white with accents of red.

I created a custom cupcake stand to fit the color scheme.

Here are the custom shower favors, custom sign in sheet and the flower arrangement that I created to match the color scheme.

The Fabulous CUPCAKES!!!

These cupcakes I baked fresh and decorated. They were a focal point for the shower.

1. Pina Colada- A coconut rum cupcake, soaked in pina colada flavoring, topped with pineapple whipped cream, shredded coconut, and sliced pinapple.

2. Vanilla- Vanilla cupcake with fresh sweet vanilla whipped cream.

3. Lemon Drop- Tart lemon cupcake topped with sweet lemon creme and a fresh lemon wedge.

4. Chocolate Overload- A rich chocolate fudge cupcake topped with a chocolate mouse and rich chocolate drizzle

5. Berrylicious- A raspberry cupcake filled with sweet berry compote topped with fresh whipped cream a raspberry or blackberry and a berry drizzle.

6. Dreamsicle- A orange cupcake soked in a fresh sweet orange juice topped with fresh vanilla whipped cream and orange garnish.

7. Nutella- A yellow cupcake filled with nutella throughout topped with nutella, fresh vanilla whipped cream, and chopped hazelnuts.

THE SETUP!

The focal point

A close up of the custom stand and cupcakes.

We served fresh lemon water and fresh cucumber water.

Here is the sign in table, coordinating with the color scheme.

Alice and Scarlet

These are the coolest pictures ever! I found this place on the side of the road and had Derrick pull over so we could take some pictures :)

3 More Days!

Melanee will be here in 3 days! Derrick and I are both getting really excited to have her here. We have been planning and cleaning since we found out she was comming out. If you don't know already, I love planning, so I have planned out our dinners for the week. Here they are for everyone to review:

Sunday
Chicken Breasts Stuffed With Feta Cheese and Sauteed Roma Tomato's
Bowtie Pasta With Vodka Sauce
Green Salad With Vinaigrette
French Bread

Monday
Go Out For Dinner.- Have Mel Pick An Option
In & Out
Deluxe
The Kitchen
Stingray, RA, Pure- Sushi


Tuesday
Roast With Tomatoes, Carrots, Celery, & Potato's
Homemade Mashed Potato's
Garlic Bread

Wednesday
Alexa's Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Homemade Mexican Rice
Homemade Guacamole and Salsa (served with chips)
Mexican Chocolate & Dulce De Leche Crepe Torte served with Cinnamon Vanilla Ice Cream
(The whole family will come over)

Thursday
Last night for Mel, so we can go out for a fun dinner!
She can pick a type, and we pick the place!

Work, Work, Work

Working has taken over! Derrick and I have been very busy at work. My office has been busy with clients and calls, and Derrick is trying to get his projects and other things done. On top of that we are both getting ready for the Xango Convention in October! Derrick has been a bit stressed about his rental situation, but thanks to the help of the GREAT Raynes family he has felt more at ease about the whole thing. We are looking forward to our first visitor, Melanee, to come out and experience the 116 degree weather and the burning sun!(I have stocked up on the SPF 85). I have been trying to clean and get food options ready!~ just 4 days left~ Other than that we haven't really done anything fun just a dinner with my cousin Renee and some fun lunches at new places. Tonight we will have a get together for my Grandma Yolie's birthday at my mom's house. We can't wait to see everyone next week!
Love, Alexa

It's All About The Food!

I LOVE food! I absolutely love finding new places to eat. I didn't really realize exactly how much I go out to eat until this weekend. Over the weekend we went to three different restaurant all located in the North Phoenix/Scottsdale..

Our first restaurant is The Kitchen, located in Scottsdale at Gainey Village

The Kitchen is a great place to go. It has all organic food,the prices are very resonable, and the atmosphere is fun.

Here is Mom and Papa.

Derrick was talking about something, but I'm not really sure what.

I don't have any idea what I was saying. My mom took these.

My mom told me to sit up straight.

Derrick and I joined a gym yesterday so I said that I would get big mussels and Derrick said the would have a big chest.

Great picture of Derrick and I!

Here is the food:






The second place is the Camelback Inn. This Inn has been around for over 60 years! It's located in North Phoenix between Camelback and Mummy Mountain.

We had brunch at Rita's.

Here is a great view of Camelback Mountain from the entrance to the resort.



Here are a few pictures of Derrick and I around the resort and at brunch:

I love this picture of my mom!


Last, but not least. Macayos! This is Derrick's Favorite! It's located in scottsdale, about one block from Derrick's house, and has great Mexican food.

My mom

My mom and I

Derrick and I.

Other than eating we really didn't do too much this weekend. We signed up for a gym membership together and rented a few movies. We can't wait for Mel to come visit us in about 2 weeks, and for us to come up for Grandpa Raynes's wedding on the 7th!

Love, Alexa