Big Mama!

Today we went to Avila and walked along the beach. Ada loves being out and about & waved to everyone who walked by.

After dinner she conked out in the car. I just love how peaceful she looks while she sleeps. I was watching her and Matt said I had that mom look on my face...

Then we drove out by Sisquoc and watched a beautiful sunset! 

On our way home, I just might have made Matt throw it into reverse & pull over tonight so I could take a picture of this trailer. I was expecting Big Mama to peek through those blinds at any second and yell at me!

Mommy's 50th!

May 3rd was my mom's 50th birthday! Can you believe it?! She looks way too young to be fifty & be a grandmother.

Since it was such a monumental birthday, we knew we had to do something really special! My mom isn't the type that likes the spotlight on her though, so a big surprise party was out. We came up with the perfect solution....sneak Lindsay out for the weekend! It was SO hard to keep it a secret because I was so excited about seeing my sister. I did it though, and picked Lindsay up from the airport on Friday.

We went to my mom's house and all hid in my old bedroom. (We were joking that it felt like Christmas when we were little kids..."Can we come out yet?!") My mom saw my car and came inside, walked down the hall, and came in the room. She saw Ada, me, Sean, then Lindsay! It was so funny, she was completely caught off guard!! It took her a while to comprehend it all and realize that Lindsay really was here and not in Utah. :)

We had a wonderful weekend and went to Avila Beach, had family pictures taken, ate at the teppanyaki grill @ Hama Sato, made dinner & cake for her on Sunday, and celebrated at Nana's later. We love you Mommy!

Birth Month!

I turned 26 this month! It's crazy to think that I'm on the other side of my 20s now...closer to 30! As usual, the celebrating lasted all month.

To begin the festivities, my mom took me out to lunch and shopping in Santa Barbara. It was a perfect day!

Ada was in tow, of course :)

We ate at Stella Mare, the sweetest little French-themed restaurant. My mom saw it on Rachael Ray's show when she ate there. I had an incredible seafood sandwich with melted Gruyere on it...my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

After shopping for a while, we stopped in at Pinkberry for a yummy treat! Ada loved the taste, but the cold threw her off a bit.

The next day, my actual birthday, we went to Avila Beach. It was a beautiful 80 degrees and we got a parking spot right in front as we drove up. Talk about a perfect gift! :)

Ada loved feeling the sand in her toes.

She has no choice...as a member of this family she will grow up on the beach!

My sweet 4 month old chubbalub & I

This was her second time at the beach...relaxing like an old pro ;)

Have you noticed the delicious rolls on her arms and legs?!

The next day, we headed up to San Luis for some tri-tip sandwiches at Firestone.

Ada got lots of attention all bundled up on her Daddy!

One lady was overly excited about how adorable she is; I got a little worried. It was funny though :)

We celebrated with Nana & Bobba on the 18th, coupled with our Easter celebration.

We had the annual egghunt and Becca beat me out by $2! She always wins! Matt and I decided that we will have an army of children to dominate the egghunts in the future. Ha!

Uncle Devin delivered again this year with an amazingly terrible gift! I have to take a picture of it and post it. It's awesome.

Thank you to all who wished me a happy birthday, it has truly been an excellent one.

I have been surrounded by loved ones, in the places I love the most.

Here's to another great year of life ahead!

Ada's First Beach Day!

While Auntie Linds was in town, we went to Avila on St. Patrick's Day.

It was GORGEOUS out! The water was Arctic & took my breath away.

It's definitely still winter in the water, even though it didn't feel like it on the beach.

All is right with the world with Lindsay back in California.

I think between the baby, family, weather, & food...we've convinced her to move back!

It was neat because one year ago to the day, I told my mom I was pregnant.

Now look at what we have :)

She is not shy about smiling,

laughing,

singing,

or pouting.

We call her bi-polar baby because sometimes she will be happy as a clam,

then suddenly bust out the lower lip and turn into sad baby.

We kept cool in the shade of the umbrella.

Then Ada relaxed and took a nap.

She didn't get covered in sand (her pacifiers are another story), probably the only time that will ever happen!

We had yummy Crab Louie salads at The Custom House to cap off a perfect day.

I am so excited to carry on beach days with my daughter...my mom has been bringing us to Avila ever since I can remember!

Swimsuit Dilemma!

Here I am last summer in my adorable Layers swimsuit. I love it! I actually just wore it to the beach last week. It's high quality and has held up really well. I'm hard on my swimsuits, so if they last more than one summer - I'm sold on that brand! The only thing I didn't like was that it's a wee bit boobalicious. So I went shopping this season for more coverage up top.

I stole this picture from Ginet's blog...this is her daughter, Summer and I jumping over the waves at Avila Beach! She is fearless and loved riding on my boogie board doubled up with me. Her little teeth would be chattering but she'd still want to stay in the water! Reminds me of ME at her age :)
**I need some beach days -- I WILL be that tan again!**

Okay, back to my quest for a great swimsuit.
Enter this lovely little number! Another Layers suit, more coverage up top, cute polka dot print = HAPPY KARA! With my birthday money I ordered this cutie and waited anxiously for it to come in the mail.
The swimsuit never came, but a very sad e-mail did.
"Unfortunately, due to popular demand, the Sandra Dee Top Medium and Sandra Dee Bottoms Medium that you ordered is permanently out of stock. According to our records, we have no immediate plans to replenish our inventory with these products."
What?! I'm no business woman...but if you have DEMAND for something, shouldn't you get more of that something?! Seriously...so I wrote back, "You should update your website...it says that all of the swimsuits are in stock." So that lovely little red SOLD OUT is my doing. She put it up the next day.

If you know me, you know when I get my heart set on something -- I want only that. If I'm in the mood for Mexican food, nothing else will do. So in my head, all I wanted was that Layers suit, and nothing else looked as cute. I went to Macy's, Nordstrom, looked online at Down East, the rest of the Layers swimsuits, and nothing else looked as cute! Until...
I found this on Land's End website! The top comes up a little higher than my current swimsuit, and the sides can be adjusted on both the top and bottom.

It came last night and I LOVE it! I modeled it for Matt and he said I had a 50s butt. We had to clarify that one...he meant the style of bottoms has more coverage, like a 1950s suit. Not that I had a 50-year-old lady butt. Ha!

I would put pictures up of myself in it...but as I said before, I need to get tan! C'mon weather, give us back that gorgeous warmth and sunshine! I'm all ready in my new cute suit! :)

Beach in January.

Last Thursday was such a beautiful day! I came home from work and checked the weather at Avila Beach. It was 85 degrees!
I quickly shaved my legs, grabbed my beach bag and camera & was on my way!







I love California :)
I picked Matt up from work in Grover and we went to Splash in Pismo Beach for dinner. Best clam chowder in the world!
It was a good day.

Wrapping Up Summer...

On the 9th we went to Hurricane Harbor! It was SO FUN! 

Chris Drake (our cousin), Lindsay, Me, Matt, & Marc (my father-in-law) all went.

This is our "silly" picture...check out Marc's face! 

We had so much fun, my favorite is the giant Tornado!

...

Then this past Saturday, Matt and I went surfing at Pismo! 

Excited to go! I think Matt looks SO cute in his wetsuit!! It cracks me up, he's like a little kid in his pajamas. 

Pretty sure I was jumping around saying something like, "I'm like a seal! I'm so rubbery and warm!" 

Sweet boy waxing my board for me :)

It was a perfect day, not too big (for me, Matt could've stood bigger), no wind, glassy...I'm getting better! I do have a gnarly bruise on my upper butt/thigh from my fins hitting me on one wipeout though. I'll spare you all the pain of a picture ;)

After we were done surfing, we met my mom, sister, and Wiberg at Avila Beach...it was beautiful! 

Matt overheard some tourists from France; he played frisbee & spoke French with them, they were fun! I told the little girl she was pretty in my elementary French, but she understood me! She was adorable - check out the curls (and Thibault's shirt)!

Then we left the beautiful beach when the sun was setting and headed back to Pismo for some fabulous Splash Cafe clam chowder! 

Yummmm. It was a good day. Goodbye summer...until next year :(