The first four months of 2015 have been a whirlwind of work and personal obligations with a jam-packed social calendar. I don’t think we’ve had a weekend “off” to lounge around and enjoy doing nothing since the first weekend in February! With all that’s been happening it’s been a LONG time between posts and we have much to cover.

Starting in early February we welcomed a slew of visitors… one after another. First we welcomed our friend Thomas, visiting from Germany. He made our place his home base while he explored LA and ventured to beach each day to surf. A week into Thomas’ stay Mathieu came to LA to escape the freezing winter in Montreal. We also got to see another Berlin friend, Artjom, who was spending a few months working in LA. Overlapping with the Berlin boys’ visits we got to see Nate for a few nights when he journeyed out west from Chicago.

In the midst of all our visitors we also had the opportunity to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day this year fell on a Saturday and Dave told me he wanted to take charge of the planning. He surprised me with a fabulous mini-break just a couple miles down the road in Redondo Beach. The day of love began with homemade french toast for breakfast followed by couples massages. After the pampering we drove down to Culver City and spent the afternoon touring the Museum of Jurassic Technology. A really funky and unique spot with exhibits fully immersed in the bizarre. That evening we indulged in some delicious BBQ in Marina del Rey, before retiring to Portofino Hotel for the night. The next day we spent lounging at Manhattan Beach, hanging out by the pool and enjoying some tasty seafood at Captain Kidd’s before another relaxing evening at the Portofino. The next weekend we helped Maddie ring in her 24th birthday with games and Max City at her swanky new apartment.

After a week driving around AZ, Vegas and CA our international friends made it back to LA and we had an extra day with them before they flew out. A few days after saying good bye we celebrated Dave’s 30th Birthday with a seafood dinner and drinks in WEHO. I surprised him with 30 balloons and 30 of my favorite things about him. I also booked a quick weekend getaway at a beachfront hotel down in Oceanside. We spent the weekend rotating between the beach and the rooftop pool before hitting up the Stone Brewery in Escondito for a tour, a tasting and some dinner on the way home.

Mid- March we spent a long weekend in Arizona at Gina’s house catching a few spring training games and cheering on the Dodgers. We drove out on Thursday afternoon and saw games at the Mariner’s stadium, Dodger’s stadium and Giant’s stadium. It was a quick trip, but the weather was great and we had a lot of fun checking out the different complexes and teams.

The day after we returned from AZ it was time for our second rush of visitors- this time the ladies. First we welcomed Jamie (out from Chicago) and hosted her for about a week while she was doing research in the area. The So Cal weather didn’t disappoint and she got to spend some quality time by the pool and lounging in our hammock. A few days after Jamie departed Emily and Lea flew out for a mini-Logger reunion. We did a lot of eating and laughing and even made it out to brunch with another former 2214 roommate, Lauren. The weekend with them flew by, but will get to see them again soon in Wyoming when we celebrate Emily’s nuptials this summer!

The onslaught of visitors departed and all the sudden it was April. I’ve said this before, but April is hell month for admissions professionals. This April was especially overwhelming given the recent turnover of staff in our office. I won’t go into the tedious details, but I’ll say it was pretty stressful and I had a serious countdown to May 1st on my calendar. Luckily, I only had to travel one weekend because I was manning everything on campus so I did get a few days rest in between the crazy weeks. My one weekend away was up in the PNW- so I got to have breakfast with Jessie in Portland and dinner with Jen, Paul and baby Aerin in Seattle. Seeing friends always makes work travel more enjoyable:)

The other weekends in April were spent celebrating Easter in Sierra Madre and attending the LA Times Book Festival. We got up early Easter morning for the traditional Sunrise Service in Wilderness Park then had breakfast in downtown Monrovia. From there we spent the morning wandering through Descanso Gardens and the afternoon playing games and eating ham in the backyard. At the Book Festival we had the opportunity to see Malcolm Gladwell speak and received signed copies of his book, David and Goliath. We also saw an interview with Al Michaels and LA Times sports reporter, Chris Erskine. And since the madness of April has died down we’ve been able to make it to a Dodger’s game, enjoy some time with friends and just hang out together.

We loved welcoming all our visitors even though our quarters are a little cramped and space is soon to be at an even greater premium when we welcome a permanent guest in September of 2015!  In the midst of all that’s been happening this year the biggest and best news yet is a new addition to the Chebuske family due to arrive in September of 2015!

We have a lot to learn and do before Baby C. arrives, but we couldn’t be happier and can’t wait to meet the new addition♥

Until next time…Daverian+1