Googleween 2012

Matt works for Google now! I'm still a teensy bit excited about it :)

They had a big carnival for all of the employees and spouses with children. How cool is that? They had free kettle corn (SOLD), a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, horse-drawn carriage ride, tractor ride, face painting, balloon animals, and lots of other fun things. We didn't even get to it all! 

It was funny because Matt was stoked on the horses and says, "Ada! Look over there! What do you see?" And she answers excitedly, "OH! I see Minnie! And princesses!" She could have cared less about all of the activities. She was just in awe of all of these people in costumes and couldn't stop looking at all of them!

 ...

My beautiful Cinderella. Can you believe how old she looks in this picture? Not even 3 yet! She also had just woken up...the girls usually fall asleep on the drive to Mountain View.

She had to wear her Cinderella necklace (neck-iss) and we put her comfy shoes on for walking on the lawn.

I told Ada to go stand by this guy for a picture. She quickly waved at him and kept her feet planted and hand clenched onto her Papa's! The thing's head spun around, it was pretty creepy.

Papa & Ada

I didn't realize how scary that scarecrow was until I saw these pictures! Ahhh!

Excited girls, both talking a mile a minute. Ada guarded the kettle corn like her life depended on it. Smart cookie :)

Our friends The Baers were there too! Devin works at Google as well & let Matt know about the position he now has. Thanks man!! 

Sweet Lola girl (Princess Tiana) on a mission to grab my soda! Poor thing is teething and has a terrible cold. It's been a rough couple of weeks for her.

Right after this, we headed to In-n-Out for dinner. I was able to join in on a Google Hangout on my phone with my whole family to hear that my cousin Matthew and his wife KayLa are having a baby GIRL in March! :D 

So excited for them & the fun that lies ahead with a sweet baby girl!

Journal

My friend Emily has this quote from President Hinckley on her blog:

"To you women of today, who are old or young, may I suggest to you that you write, that you keep journals, that you express your thoughts on paper. Writing is a great discipline. It is a tremendous education effort. It will assist you in various ways, and you will bless the lives of many--now and in the years to come, as you put on paper some of your experiences and some of your musings."
- President Gordon B. Hinckley

I've been thinking about this blog a lot. I have been putting much more time and energy into Kara in the Kitchen and am loving the direction it is going. What I am feeling for this blog is that it will be a place for me to journal my thoughts and experiences, and chronicle the life of my family.

I am one who tries to be positive most of the time. Especially online, I feel like there is so much negativity out there that it is especially important to uplift and not be a Debbie Downer. There is definitely a balance though. I realize that on the other hand, there is the tendency to post only the pretty things online. To make your life appear perfect. Then the comparing comes in and you feel like a failure as a mother after looking at blogs of moms who are way more crafty/skinny/organized and whose kids dress way better and never have meltdowns or go to time out.

I think she was so mad because the linoleum in our kitchen made her that way. 

So, while I am a bit scared to share some things, I know that it may help someone. I also know that it will be a blessing to my children to read in the future. I will try my best to share in a way that is uplifting and informative, because the last thing I want is for people to come here and feel like they're being dumped on! I want to be more REAL though; not that I've been fake in the past...but I have censored myself for fear of judgement. Does that make sense? I just don't want to blog anymore and think, "What will so-and-so think if they read this?" I just want to be myself.

Life is messy!

The end :)

28th Birthday!

My birthday was back in April, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about it! I had SUCH an awesome birthday!

It started with waking up to my front door being heart-attacked by my awesome friends Heidi & Hannah! They even gave me a bag full of only the red and pink Starbursts because I'd mentioned those were the best. How cool is that?! Check out chunky 8-month-old Lola! And chunky me! I've definitely lost weight since then, awesome bonus of being behind on the blog :) Unless I'd gained more weight since then. 

We then headed out to Zachary's for some delicious brunch. Mike's Mess & their homemade whole wheat bread can't be beat!

My mom surprised me with the ultimate birthday cake! It's the Pink Champagne Cake from Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. Look at those gorgeous pink chocolate curls!

Can you tell I was a wee bit excited? :)

I think Ada looks like Mowgli from Jungle Book in the pic below. You know the scene where he sees the girl  for the first time? Yup :)

Ada was stoked on the pretty pink cake too.

Love my little firstborn!

So I am a planner. My husband is not. I usually plan things way ahead and it drives me crazy when there are no plans for big events like holidays or birthdays. I saw the previews for Titanic 3D months before and that it was coming out on my birthday weekend! So I made sure to tell Matt that's what I wanted to do for my birthday. My birthday was coming up and I knew he didn't have tickets. I was getting upset because I always take charge and do everything. I even complained to my mom about how frustrated I was! Boy did I eat my words later...

We DID end up going to see Titanic in 3D and it was AWESOME! I felt like I was reliving my Jr. High days because I wasn't allowed to see it when it came out in theaters. So it was fun to pretend like Matt and I were on a date to see it for the first time while my mom watched the girls. Thanks Nonnie! :) We took pictures in the photo booth and had a blast! 

Fast forward to the weekend. Matt said that he was taking me out to dinner and we were doing something after. I was so thrown off because I knew he was up to something. He was supposed to go to work but was acting so weird and would not leave me alone! He is the worst liar and cannot keep a secret, it literally kills him. It's hilarious! He drops random hints all day and looks at me weird, I should get a video of him when he knows something I don't. 

We went out to eat and I was turned, talking to the table next to us. When I turned back to face Matt, this ticket was sitting in front of me! I almost started to cry I was so excited and surprised! We were going to see ZAC BROWN BAND!!!! I felt REALLY guilty for complaining about how he never plans anything. Because he planned this. And it was INCREDIBLE :) 

See for yourself:

We had the best time! Sang and danced our little hearts out. Thank you again to my mom for watching the girls for us...I loved feeling young again, even though I'm inching closer and closer to the big 3-0. 

Here's to awesome family, good food, great music, and many more birthdays to celebrate ahead!