Millers Visit

Matt's parents came up to visit us last month and see our new home here in Santa Cruz! 

Ada showed them around town.

We took them to Steamer Lane, where a junior surfing competition was going on. They make it look so easy!

Father and son checking out the surf. I love this picture! 

 Oh Matty :)

They took us out to lunch on the wharf and then treated us to Mexican for dinner because I was too tired to cook. We all had colds and were wiped out! 

Thank you for coming Marc & Diana! And for watching Ada while I went to the adult session of Stake Conference. 

Who's going to come visit us next? :)

So much to update!

Posts about trips to Kauai & Las Vegas coming soon!

For now, I will leave you with this picture that makes me want to die it's so wonderful.

My favorite girl at one of my favorite places in the world.

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!

Spring & Renewal

On Saturday, we needed to get out. It was a beautiful 75-degree-sunny day on the central coast. I called my mom and she said she'd come with us to hike Pt. Sal.

It's amazing what fresh air, sunshine, breathtaking views, and some cardio will do for you.

We cried a little while talking about Sandy and how we miss her.

We also laughed remembering some of the silly things she did.

Looking around at the new purple blooms on the green hills that weren't there on our last hike made me think. Spring is here! Every day is a new one, every season is another time for growth and change. We are blessed with the ability to enjoy the beauty that is around us, and experience such tremendous love & joy. Because of this, we also feel the heartbreak and pain that is inevitable during our time on earth. There is opposition in all things.

After the rain comes the sun.

My baby girl was especially snuggly and smiley on Friday, she knew her momma needed extra cuddles and loves on that sad, sad day. She was my sunshine!

...

Her face gets so smooshed while she sleeps in the backpack.

She doesn't care for a camera in her face when she's just woken up...

My handsome husband overlooking the beach

The two of us laughing...Matt is trying to pin my hair down with his head because the wind was blowing it everywhere :)

What a beautiful area we live in!

I am so grateful for the sunshine, growth, & renewal in my life.

Because I taste the bitter, it means I can also taste the sweet.

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!

Ada's First Hike

On Saturday, we headed out as a family of three (!) to hike Pt. Sal. This is one of our favorite places to hike because the views are so rewarding! Especially around this time of year. It rained on Friday and the hills were such a vibrant green! We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful area.

Ada was great on the hike! She loves the carrier and fell asleep on her Daddy's back. She loves motion and is lulled to sleep whenever she's in a stroller too. We had her nice and bundled up in this teddy bear outfit, she's like a big, squishy, cotton candy Care Bear in it!

Mommy & Ada posing at the top

Love my baby girl!

Sleeping while Mommy & Daddy ate

Champions!

Laughing with Daddy

My loves at the top, Ada was taking it all in while she was awake

Beautiful, clear day!

We had such a great time enjoying the fresh air, each other's company, a great workout, and the beautiful outdoors. We're determined to include Ada in our adventures...so far she's a great little companion!

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! :)

The Mathews' Visit!

The weekend of March 21st, we were lucky enough to have the Mathews Family come visit us here in CA! They live in St. George and took a road trip out here. Cortney was Matt's Trainer on the mission, and they are the best of friends. He and Emily have the most adorable little boy, Corbin:

Sandy took on watching Corbin like a little bodyguard...it was the cutest thing! They followed each other around everywhere.

We took them out to Port San Luis for some family pictures.

Aren't they the greatest looking family?!

I think Corbin was watching Matt dance around in this shot...

We had fun looking at the seagulls and sea lions.

We tried our very hardest to talk them into moving out here...even Nana got in on the promotion of beautiful Santa Maria, CA!

This is my favorite picture of the whole trip.

The day after they left, I told Matt, "I miss Corbin." He is such a fun kid and has the best little personality!

Come visit us again soon...we love you guys!