Christmas At The Beach!

Two things I love in one place. Christmas. Beach. I'm a happy girl. We went to a tree lighting at Fletcher's Cove this past weekend and it was so fun to just grab Roscoe and be able to walk there, since it's right down the street from our house. The lighted tree was a beauty and Santa rode in on the Solona Beach Firetruck....it was awesome!  It was so small town and quaint, yet beachy. Perfect combo in my mind!   We are in love with Solana Beach!
Merry Christmas!

Fall is Here!!

I adore Fall. It is one of my favorite times of the year! Living in Kentucky gave me a special appreciation for Fall and I am missing the beautifully colored leaves there right now and getting a little nostalgic for those cozy Fall days in the country. At the same time, I am enjoying having Fall and not having it be freezing cold outside. I am still able to walk down on the beach with just a sweatshirt and be fine. I love that! We kicked off Fall by taking a trip to Julian with my sister and her husband. We took Roscoe along too and had a great time walking around looking at cute shops, eating yummy BBQ, picking our own apples in an orchard and then picking our own pumpkins off the vine in the pumpkin patch. We had the funnest time! The time of year, I find myself getting all excited! I just love the cooler days, and knowing all the holidays are just around the corner!!!

Mom & Dad's Pad--Abilene TX.

Now that life has started to get somewhat settled, I am attempting to catch up on some of my blogging. It's been a busy past few months so these will be fun "re-cap" posts.

On our drive out to CA from KY (while we were moving out here) we were able to stop and see Mom & Dad at their home in Abilene TX. We had a quick visit with Dad and then picked up Mom to drive the rest of the way out to Cali with us for a visit. It was so fun getting to see where they lived, have a tour around the town and step into their lives for a minute. We also got to see Dad's office at the Burnett Law Firm where he works and even had time to sneak in a meal at our favorite Texas Roadhouse! It was a fast but fun visit! Roscoe loved being able to see Nana and Poppa too and run all around their place! Love you guys!

Happy Birthday Steve!

Well...he's now a wise old man of 33. This weekend we celebrated Steve's birthday to the fullest! Sunday we had a fun BBQ with family, complete with games, Zobmondo, lots of food, talking, laughing and ....the Chocolate Motherlode cake from Claimjumper made its debut and just may be a birthday favorite of all time! We had a great time. Then Monday, (Steve's actual birthday!) we started off the morning by going sea kayaking in La Jolla and going on a tour of the caves! It was awesome--the best part was when tons of dolphins started swimming right around us. It was amazing to see and be that close to them! After kayaking, we went to Sea World, where we spent the day with Steve's family. It was so much fun. We went to shows--Pet's Rule, Shamu, Blue Horizons, Sea Lions, and even saw the Shamu Rocks show that night and ended the day with fireworks!!! Quite the celebration. I am so grateful to have Steve in my life. He makes me so happy! Our life is wonderful together and I couldn't imagine anything more. Happy Birthday sweetie! I love you so much!

We Heart Solana Beach!

As many of you probably know, last month we made a HUGE move from our home in Vine Grove, KY (where we'd been living for the past 4 years) to San Diego, CA. It was bittersweet as we were sad to have to say goodbye to many good friends but excited to be close to friends and family in Cali again. We found an adorable place in Solana Beach and are in the process of getting settled into our new home. Steve is officially out of the army now and working in a private dental practice in La Jolla. We love being so close to the ocean and having such a "walk-able" beach town area to enjoy with Roscoe. It has such a fun feel here and we are enjoying discovering all the great little places to eat and hang out. We feel like we are able to get the small town feel with plenty around us to do! We love to jog to Dog Beach in Del Mar and let Roscoe run loose!! It really is a great place to live. We are loving Solana!

Good ol' Kentucky 4th!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We had a fun one. It was our last 4th in Kentucky, and boy did we live it up! The holiday weekend started off with a trip to Lake Nolin for grilling and boating with the Shipley's. We took Roscoe along too and he had a ball swimming in the lake and chasing after ginormous sticks. Then on Monday the 4th, the morning started out with a girl's trip with Diane to the Amish. We got the yummiest fresh produce and most delicious homemade peanut brittle! Then that afternoon we grabbed the boys and we all went to buy fireworks in Indiana for the big 4th of July Shipley extravaganza. After getting the fireworks we all headed back to the Shipley's for their big 4th of July party. We had so much fun playing around with Roscoe, grilling out, eating cotton candy, and then the night ended with a gigantic fireworks show put on by the guys. There is nothing like sitting outside with friends in their backyard watching fireworks that you bought yourself and getting your own custom show....it's a tradition that I will definitely miss about Kentucky. We had the best day. I am so grateful for the freedoms we so abundantly enjoy!

Scrumptious Cake Pops!

I had such a blast this morning having some fun girl time with 2 of my good friends and experimenting with cake pops! They turned out so cute and are so fun to make. I felt my creative side coming out as I was thinking of how to decorate them and cute ways to display them. These would make adorable decorations for a shower, birthday party or spring picnic! To check out one of my favorite blogs where more cake pop ideas can be found go to: www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites//cake-pops/

Simple Kindness

I just have to share....today some of my good friends brought me some beautiful daffodils and a card---just because. It made my whole day and got me to thinking....do I do simple acts of kindness for others as much as I should? The glowing feeling I had after they left is still with me and I hope that I can provide that for others and be more sensitive to their needs instead of being wrapped up in my own world. I am so grateful for good friends who buoy me up and make me happy in so many ways. Today was brightened for me by simple kindness.

Jule's Wedding....

Pre-wedding girly mani-pedi night

Everyone hanging out the night before Jule's gets hitched

Getting the bride all gussied up the morning of!!

Beautiful BRIDE GIRL!!

Awww....Scotty loves me!

Carp Fam--All together again!!

Carp siblings with Jules & Mikel

My cute Mom and Dad

A lot of this usually happens when we get together!

Jaime & me

I adore this picture of my sister and dad Nothing like getting doused with bubbles by your brothers on your first dance!

I have the best sister in the world! I love this girl!

awwww.......enough said.

Jules & Mom

Last week Steve & I flew to Cali for my little sister's wedding. It was so wonderful to be there with my whole family. It was the first time all 5 of us kids were all together in over 3 1/2 years. Needless to say, we had LOT of fun together! I loved being able to spend the night with my sister the night before her wedding and wake up and help her curl her hair for her big day. I loved being in the bride's room of the San Diego Temple with Julie and my mom helping Jules get her wedding dress on. It was such a special time to me and I'm so happy I could be there. She was one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen! Now the new Mrs. Nelson and her hubby are happily on their honeymoon in Jamaica...mon! I can't wait to see pictures when they get home!

Being able to be with my whole family and especially all of my siblings again reminded me how lucky I am to have the family I do. We all have so much fun together---it is seriously ALWAYS a good time when we get together and I love it! I am looking forward to living closer to all of them so that we can hang out more often and have more good times! Love you guys!