Big News!!!

Don't tell us miracles can't happen. Our family will be growing by 4 feet in January!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween this year, kicking it off by going to a fun Halloween party at my friend Kira's house last week, making up a trip up to Julian to get our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, going to a haunted house on Seabright (around the block from us), carving pumpkins with the gang, and then spending Halloween night passing out candy, eating punkin burgers and lots of treats and watching scary movies!! Hope your Halloween was the perfect amount of spooky and fun!!

Fall treat!

For all you fall lovers like me--this is an exciting time of year! The air gets a little cooler, there are good smells and fun holiday decorations. This is my favorite time of year. Last week I was able to go back to Kentucky to visit, where we spent 4 years and it really got me in the fall spirit! Anyway, this morning I was in a baking mood and thought I would share one of my favorite Fall goody recipes. So easy to make and so delicious! Enjoy!


1 box spice cake mix
1 small can pumpkin (15 oz)
1/2-3/4 bag of chocolate chips

Mix all together and bake at 350 for 17-18 minutes. So yummy!!!

Happy Baking season!

 

Back after a long break....

It has been so long since I've blogged, I almost forgot how to log into my account. I don't have anything earth shattering to share for my first blog back after awhile. But I am reading a book right now that has touched me immensely. It is called Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heaven-is-here-stephanie-nielson/1104239810 It is a detailed true account of a loving wife and mother and her adventures in raising her family as well as how she copes with the aftermath of being in a horrific plane crash with her husband that almost took their lives and burned over 80% of her body. I can't relate very well to her tales of motherhood, since I don't have little ones of my own and haven't gotten to go down that path yet, however I have suffered some devasting disappointments in my life (althought not as severe as a plane crash) that have impacted my heart deeply and caused me to search for hope and joy in simple everyday things. Reading of her account of how she had something so unexpected happen to her and having her whole life ideals changed in the blink of an eye, and even more importantly how she regained her hope after the accident has inspired me. She has a blog called http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/
which she started before her accident and continues after. It has caused me to appreciate so much the life I have been given--hardships and all.  I am so lucky to have the life I do. My life is different than I planned it to be at 34 years old, but it is wonderful. I want to try to be more aware of this fact and when hard days come I want to remind myself of all the good I do have. Just wanted to share the thoughts I've had running through my head today as I've been engrossed in her book.

 

Another Year Older and Wiser....maybe just older.

Last month I celebrated my 34th birthday! I had a wonderful day and a fun week of birthday celebrating. Steve and I went whale watching out of the San Diego Harbor (and even saw a gray whale!..as well as lots of dolphins, sea otters and pelicans!) After whale watching Steve and my sister had planned a surprise birthday party at the beach for me with my family! It was so much fun. We just hung out and played at the beach all day. We roasted hot dogs, ate the yummiest snacks and then went to ride the rollar coaster at Belmont Park. (One of my favorite things do to with my family!) Then everyone came back to our house and we played games and ate the most decadent mint 'n chip ice cream pie ever made!!!  The next week I celebrated again with a birthday dinner at Fidel's with the girls! It was tons of fun and I love Mexican food! I appreciate all those who remembered me on my birthday. I felt truly loved! Here's to another year!

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!