Shane putting setting up our new Christmas Tree

My Baby is growing. I'm 20 weeks now!

Out little angel!

Selling our Place

Living Room

Second bedroom or office

Kitchen

I am trying to get the word out that we have our townhome for sale (by owner). If you know of anyone interested could you please have them email me at odykes9@hotmail.com . I have put a little description below. We are not moving far when we sell. We are planning on staying local.

This is a 2 bed/1 bathroom townhome for sale by owner. It also has a one car attached garage. It was built in 1995. We are the second owners. When we moved in 2 years ago we made a lot of changes and updates to the place. We added granite countertops in the kitchen and bath, fresh paint, installed a sitting bar area (granite), brush nickel pendant lights, and other minor updates. We are considering selling it fully furnished as a negotiable option. Please email odykes9@hotmail.com or call 206-354-1694 with any questions or to arrange a time to see it in person. We love this place but are selling because we have our second child on the way. It could also be a great investment as a rental. It is walking distance to Starbucks, Lake Wilderness, and the gym. It has easy access to highways 169 and 18.Asking Price-$225,000.

My Dad's Retirement

My dad had his last shift at the fire department Thursday through Friday morning. Since it was his last night at the department we suprised him with friends and pie. It was honoring to see how many people showed up for my dad. Some of his friends that were not on shift that night stopped by to see him. So, as we left I was wondering if he was going to have a nice night without any calls. Well, at 3:30 am they got a call of a fully engulfed house fire. They worked on this house until 6:30 am. Many probably don't know but it is rare to go to a fire let alone a big one. King 5 news was there and they ended up interviewing him. What a way to end your 33 years of service. Dad, I love you and you will never know how proud I am of you!

He showed the guests some of his equipment.

Some of the friends who showed up.

Amy's Bachelorette Party

It's been fun seeing Katie and Sarah more. They are the nicest sisters and so fun to talk with.
The Girls!

I picked Amy up and surprised her with decorations on my car!

She was a good sport!

I can't wait for her wedding this weekend. I feel honored to be one of her bridesmaids!

Shane is a groomsmen! I'm excited to walk down the aisle with him again!

Coming this Spring!

Many of you have already heard our good news! If you haven't, we are happy to share that we are pregnant. We are actually 3 months along. Below are some pictures from our first doctor's appointment. I had figured in my head if we calculated our dates right I thought our due date would be on our 2 year anniversary. Well, after our first ultrasound our doctor said our official due date is May 12th!!! Yes, that is our anniversary. We feel very blessed. People at work have started telling me that I am showing! Yeah, now I have the best excuse for my tummy! I can tell it is getting bigger but it is fun to know that other people can tell now too. Shane is soooo excited. He comes home with baby clothes. He really is the sweeter one out of the two of us. However, I was looking at one little item he brought home and it was for a preemie. He told me he got it on sale. I doubt we will have a preemie probably more like a jumbo. Tyson is really excited too. It is really cute because he asks me questions about the baby all the time. We are planning on waiting to find out the sex of our baby. We want the big suprise. For the first 2 months I kept thinking that I knew it was going to be a girl. Now, I am leaning towards boy. Whatever we have we don't really care. Please pray for a healthy baby. Blessings, Olivia and Shane



Shane patiently waiting for our first ultrasound.

I'm waiting too!

Didn't mean to put to put more pictures of me up they just uploaded that way.

We are so excited!!!

Gabbi and Brett's Wedding

With Amy and Jenette. For those of you that don't know Amy is next! I am so happy for her and Markus. Gabbi really did look like a princess! I bet she is off enjoying Maui right now. She is in such an exciting place. They just bought a home and she is going to be teaching high school next year.
The Bridemaids and Flower Girls
Regina was the wedding coordinator
Actually Katie is next. Her and Matt are getting married in August in Hawaii!

Here is a picture of the sun! It has been so smoky. We have been close to the california fires. One morning our car was covered with ash and it smelled like we were at a camp fire! This is Shane's teammate and friend Scott Navarro. He hasn't played professional baseball in four years. He just tried out for the team and they added him on the roster. He's a great guy and will be a big help to the pitching staff.
Tyson and Shane got new bats. They were both so excited. I like Shane's new bat too. He went 3 for 5 with two doubles the first night he had it. A coach on his team has his own bat business. It is Sandlot stiks.
So, this morning I opened the front door and this is what I saw. Everyone has fallen in love with Coconut. I come home on Thursday. Shane will be heading up to Canada. Coconut will be making the trip with me to Maple Valley! LOL!
We usually go to Starbucks every morning for coffee and to get online.

So I got my face painted at the game tonight. I'm sure I was the only adult to do so.

Posing for a picture before the game. It's been 107 degrees!

We visited a candy shop today. Everyone liked the candy shop!
We were walking in downtown Chico today and a cop pulled over abruptly and asked for Shane's I.D. He was saying it all mean. I kind of got mad because we were just walking. I said to the cop "What for?." He said he didn't need to see mine just Shane's. So, he's going on and I'm like we didn't do anything. He then asks if we just came out of the Outlaw team store. We say "yes." He then cracks a smile and said that Rory Miller put him up to it. Rory is the announcer on the radio for the team. He set us up. It was pretty good. Officer Mike is one of the host dads and he is at every game.

We are out with some of Shane's teamates (Lino Garcia, his wife Jean, and Jose Valdez).

At my Grandma's house in Compton.

We pick fresh fruit from our yard in the morning. There are also lemons, pomegranates, tomatos, grapefruit, jalapenos, mint, basil, and rosemary!

This is our new little cat. We call him/her Coconut. We still don't know if it is a boy or girl. It is the sweetest cat we have ever had. It is so gently and loves to be held and cuddled. Coconut comes to us from L.A. Read story in my blog entry below if interested.

This is us on the 4th of July. As you can see the team wore army print jerseys. They had a great fireworks show after the game.
This is my cousin Sabrina (on the right). I remember when she was just a baby. She is such a sweet girl.
Tyson getting ready to go somewhere. He has been enjoying be the bat boy. He really hustles out there. I'm proud of him for taking his job seriously.
Tyson and Shane at In and Out burger. Why are their burgers so good?

Life in the Stands

So I've had a chance to get to know some of the other players families. I had a really great time talking to them yesterday as we watched the game. One girl named Jean has a husband on the team too. He actually got drafted at 15 years old. So, he has been up and down for 8 years. So, she was telling me stories. Here and I hit it off. She really makes me laugh and she has a lot of spunk. Her husband was as far up as the AAA level. Anyways, we were talking about how it is hard to sit in the stands and be quiet when your husband makes an error and the crowd (home crowd) gets on them. She is not one to keep her mouth shut either. She said at one game she was arguing back and forth with a 12 year old boy!!! Ha!!! I really like her.
I am so glad that Shane is not a pitcher. There is so much pressure on pitchers. I was talking to the parents of one our pitchers. I asked them if they get nervous when their son is pitching. I told them at the beginning of the season when Shane went up to bat I felt as if I could throw up I was so nervous for him. The father commented "more than you can imagine." He said one game his son gave up back to back home runs. He could tell his son was beyond frustrated by his mannerisms (parents always know). He said he had to walk out of the stands. He was hanging in the shadows kind of still watching the game and then boom another home run. His grown daughter came to ask him if he was okay and he couldn't even talk. So, it just goes to show that if you are a parent, wife, or close friend or family member it is hard to be relaxed. Y0u just pray and encourage. It's all you can do. I wouldn't change it. I love being here. It is mountains and valleys. It's real and I like it.

Shane, Tyson, and I are all getting used to living out of suitcases and sleeping in different places. Tyson is traveling with Shane now as the team's batboy. They just wrapped up a road trip that included L.A., Utah, and Reno. I was down with them in L.A. When they left to the other two places I stayed for a week in L.A. at my aunt and uncles house. Last night or should I say early morning (3:00 a.m) they returned back to Chico by bus. I had driven from L.A. to Chico (about 8 hours) that day. Although, I didn't travel alone. I had a kitten with me. I adopted him from L.A. He was a stray that was hanging around. The neighbor found some teenage boys throwing it out into a busy street while filming it. Isn't that sick!!!!! So, I tried to find it's home but I couldn't so now we have a new little kitty. :) So we were all reunited this morning. Tyson is excited to be in Chico for the first time. I think I will take him swimming today while Shane gets ready for the game. If his team has an evening game at 7:00 they have to be there by 3:00 for batting practice, warm up, etc. I knew they would have to be there early but I never realized 4 hours early. It's good though so they are not rushed and get in some practice. More to come later.

Live from Somewhere

With the girls!













A pair of my earrings I created in my spare time.














Shane looks cute in his uniform



















At a fountain in Chico. It gets in the upper 90s




Shane with Tyson and our little cousins after the game!











Gabbi and I at her Bachelorette Party!