WeeKenD

This last weekend we had some visitors. Grandma Judy, aunt Kristin, & cousin Kelly. They drove down friday & stayed until sunday. It was so fun having them here! They actually came down for a funeral. Ryan's great aunt Polly passed away on valentine's day. It's sad losing her but she had a long wonderful life & she's now reunited with her husband, what better day than valentine's day. Aunt Polly was such a great example to us all. She brought so much joy to the lives of everyone she met. Her funeral was beautiful & you could just feel the love that everyone had for her! SO, on friday we went down to the beach & it was perfect! The weather could not have been better! Like, seriously! Plus, we found tons of awesome shells, huge shells, & even sand dollars!

Kiera had such a fun time!

On saturday we went to the funeral in san diego, then afterwards we went down to the mormon battalion in old towne, it was pretty cool. We had such a fun weekend with the girls!

b0undaries

kiera's really good at cleaning up after herself, like really. i rarely do it. it's so funny though, when i ask her to pick up her toys, shoes, books, etc... and take them to her playroom or to her room, she knows that as long as they're across the line...she's good. like literally. she walks to the doorway & drops/tosses them over the threshold. if something doesn't quite make it, she'll gently push, slide, kick, or nudge it over.

pretty much sums it up...

ALicE iN W0nDerLaNd!

I'm s0oo0o0 excited for this movie to come out! It combines my tw0 biggest l0ves, (besides ryan & kiera of course!) alice in wonderland & tim burton... what?! tim burton... ok, i'm pretty sure you thought i was gonna say j0hnny depp... but come on, that's just a given! Alice in W0nderLand has always been my favorite disney movie. One day when i was sick (i had a sinus infection & morning sickness...) i watched that movie the whole day, over & over, it just looped in the dvd player & i watched & watched & watched... and well, tim burton... he's incredible. I love his style so much! (anyone that knows me, understands) I love pretty much love all his movies, he's amazing. Ryan & i once talked about... if you could hang out with ANYBODY, living or dead, for a day, who would it be? I surprised him when i said TiM BurT0n. He thought i was crazy but yup, secrets out, i'm fascinated with one of the darkest men in the world... so, if you don't really know me all that well, now you do. explains much? haha.

I really wanna put together a costume, of sorts, to wear in two weeks when the movie comes out. I'm not quite sure though, alice... or... the queen of hearts... hhmm... (i'm pretty sure ryan would rather i not.. lol) but i so0o0o want to! what to do, what to do...

GeTTy CenTer

Today we went to the getty museum. Ryan wanted to go since he has a work-free week. I have to say, i'm not much on museums & things like that but i loved it! Riding the tram up to the museum is so fun in & of itself. The view was really cool (even though it was foggy/smoggy. (depending who you ask...) There was so much to see & it was all so amazing! I love to draw & paint, but haven't done it in while, looking around there at all the beautiful things was so motivating, it makes me want to start again. Kiera loved running around & seeing everything too (she loved all the painting & sculptures of animals). She loves seeing people & is the biggest flirt you'll meet, so she was in total bliss. We were there for 3 hours & saw only about half the exhibits! We'll definitely be going back. I highly recommend it to everyone, you won't be disappointed!

Beach L0vin

I love living by the beach. It's so beautiful & relaxing. We woke up this morning & went down to catch the sunrise... it was amazing! We went for a walk & then stopped, put down a blanket & enjoyed some hot chocolate. The weather was perfect! Kiera loves taking her bucket & carrying it around. We found so many beautiful seashells. (no sand dollars this time around...) Such a wonderful way to start the day!

l0ve

Ryan & I celebrated our first valentine's day {together} 5 years ago. Yeah, five! It seems like it was just yesterday but at the same time it feels like we've known each other forever. We've had our ups, down & we've grown so much together. He's learned to live with my psychotic-ness & i've learned to love his nerdy-ness... we are complete opposites & we couldn't be more right for each other. This pic was taken valentine's 2005, ryan looks so young & cute. How could i not fall in love...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm so over sh0rt hair. i want my looong hair back. i went red... ok, fun... then i was over it. so now it's black again. cut it... fun too, liked it. alot. now i'm over it. gr0w!

this is the day i chopped it off... about 6 months ago, i was so ready for a change... love it, miss it.

I always forget what a drastic height difference me & ryan have... yes, i really DO forget. Then i'll notice somebody look at us, then double take... then look up at ryan... then down at me... and after i lock eyes with them and smile like "yup... we're not an illusion..." i realize... wow.

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Dads are the BEST!

I got my garden planted this week. I know i'm ahead of schedule but i did it more for my sanity than anything else. These past couple of weeks have been "rough" (for lack of a better word...) so i needed something to do to occupy my mind & body. Planting & up-keeping a garden brings joy to my heart for so many reasons... it keeps me busy (i don't mind weeding..in fact i enjoy it), i love watching it grow & develop, i love people's reaction to it (growing up i never knew of anybody having a garden, it's still a new commodity around here), i love being able to enjoy the fruits & vegetables & have it available right at my fingertips, i love being able to share it with others, i love spending time outside it the fresh air & sunlight with my beautiful daughter (she l0ves being outdoors)...... i just love the purpose. I decided to grow some things i've grown before & had success with, ditch some things i've tried & for whatever reason felt i could do without, & decided to try some new things & see how it goes... even decided to grow tomatoes this year. (me & ryan HATE tomatoes but kiera likes them) Last year we went to utah for a week & my garden wasn't watered...it totally dried & when we got back it was to late to salvage the roots. This time around... NOT letting that happen again. Anyways, with the area i have set aside around my house for gardening, these are the things we look forward to growing & enjoying in the near & not-so-near future. Sugar snap peas, bell peppers, onions, cucumbers, asparugus, romaine lettuce, zucchini, pumpkins, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, corn, strawberries, lemons, jalapenos, banana peppers, & i'd love love love an avocado tree but we'll see on that one!

SuperGirlll...

Kiera's been so sick this past month. She's had like 6 teeth coming in at the same time & it's been hard for her but she always manages to be happy. Her molars have made it in but now we're just waiting for her canine teeth... they've poked thru, just waiting for them to drop & we're hoping she'll get to start feeling better. Maybe she'll start eating again too! With all her other teeth, she was fine... a little fussy but nothing a lollipop couldn't fix. But with these molars & canines... wow... i didn't know teething could cause so many side effects! (runny nose, sneezing, coughing, congestion, fever, diarrhea, & of course pain...) I'm sure with all the sickness going around at this time of year, she had a little something extra but hopefully she'll start feeling better. She's had fever these last 2 days & you can just see in her face she's not feeling good. Thank goodness for chocolate & cookies huh!

......just running around the house helping mom do laundry & cleaning up... couldn't resist taking a picture of how incredibly cute she looks today!

GingeRbReaD Ho0ouSe!

This year we made 0ur first gingerbread house ever! kiera l0ved IT... well... mostly eating the candy. we sat & made it right in front of the fireplace with yummy christmas music playing. it was so much fun! look how proud she is of all her hard work!

3 y3ars & counting...

*Happy Anniversary Ryan*

c0usins

kiera always has so much fun playing with her cousins! it's so fun to see them together as they are getting older, i can tell they're gonna be really close just like we were growing up! today was full of sliding, playing, chalk drawing, & ice cream (kiera soon found out what that music was coming down the street)... the joys of childhood.

HeLLoWeeNiE!

For halloween this year we went to disneyland! Me & kiera were fairies so we had to go visit pixie hollow. Kiera rode on pirates of the carribean for the first time... loved/hated it & she went on the haunted mansion for her semi-first time... she had been on it once before but fell asleep in the line & slept the whole way thru the ride & then some! She did so good! She really liked the mansion! She also went trick or treating for the very first time. I can't believe October is over... i look forward to thanksgiving, even though everyone is all about Christmas now... Time flies all too fast.

PuMpkiN PaTcH

We took Kiera to the pumpkin patch at Irvine park and she loved it. There were soooo many pumpkins of all different shapes & sizes! She rode around in her wagon & pointed at everything. We bought some cotton candy & she couldn't decide if she liked it or not... she would totally try to push it out of her mouth with her tongue but as it dissolved, she'd do a little dance & then ask for more as soon as it was gone. Like every time!

Friends!

Our friends karen & little ryan came down to visit from utah! We were so excited to see them & had tons of fun playing with them! Ryan is a little over a year & a half so her & kiera are really getting to the age where they wanna interact. On monday we went to the zoo (where they had NO animals, just a handful of monkeys) & on tuesday we went to the Happiest Place On Earth for Karens BIRTHDAY! It was such a fun day!

*Happy Birthday Baby*

It seems like only yesterday we left the hospital with this little bundle... so nervous to be sent out into the world, feeling so unprepared. The first few days were so delicate, so new... every sound, every movement, every change in skin color... so alarming. From the beginning, kiera slept thru the night, ate with vigor & had such a love for life! She chipped away at my heart til she snuggly fit herself right inside & made herself at home. She has so much life & so much love. Anyone that knows this little girl, knows that. Over this first year of life, she's grown so much. She's so fiesty & strong willed, like her mom. And so smart & gentle, like her dad. Happy birthday baby, mommy loves you!