How is it 2014?!! Happy New Year!

TWO-thousand-FOURTEEN! Amazing.

Random thought: Why are we not in flying cars by now?? hmmm

Kapri spent the night at Grammy's with her 2 cousins...and my sister Chelsea & her BF Andrew came over to 'cheers' to the New Year, before they went to dinner & to hang with friends in another part of town.

After our sweet photo sesh, we headed out to have fun ringing in the New Year with the hubs & some friends at a club in downtown San Diego:

While being out, I decided it was time to turn over a new leaf...make a new tradition. I realized that I would much rather have gone to a really nice dinner, reflected on the past year's ups & downs together... and rang in the New Year with a glass or two of champagne at home with my loves...and/or maybe with a few friends over ---- in our PJ's, banging on pots & pans like when I was little! 

It's NOT at all that 31 is OLD, but I definitely felt a teensy tiny bit out of place on the dance floor last night...once I looked around & realized that probably most the other people around me were a solid DECADE younger than me...it was in that moment that I did truly feel: Old - weird.

And I'm okay with that...just next year we're sticking with our original plan (as mentioned above).

CHEERS to the NEW YEAR! I can feel there will be lots of transition in store for our little family of 3...

OH - and 'goals of the year' - as I like to call them:

...Our joint New Year's Resolution....is one date night per month (we had hardly any last year). Since we married on "8/22", we decided that every other month James would plan it (on the 8th) and every other month in between, I would plan it (on the 22nd). So, something fun to look forward to...planning on checking for unique 'activity' type deals Groupon & Living Social!

...My individual goal for the year is to run around 2-3 5Ks and maybe 2-3 10Ks (toward the end of the year) - would love to have more bibs & medals to proudly call my own.

...Another personal goal is to read 2 or 3 books, front to back! Last year I got through 2 which was HUGE for me...a person who 'can never find the time to read' and if I do...'I'm constantly thinking about other things I could be getting done', haha.

...Lastly, a new career. Whoa...that sounds crazy to actually write down. But the fact is, my company/position will be relocating soon (to a whole other state!)...so I know that my 7-year gig or 'book' so to speak, will soon come to an end & be closed for good - I'm assuming mid-year. I'd love to find something I have more of a passion for... it'll just take some major digging & soul searching. Fingers crossed!

Yellow Winter

Picture post....I just love the vivid YELLOW of this tree on our cul-de-sac in the winter:

Big Girl Booster!!

We are finally car-seat free!!

Kapri got upgraded to a backless booster seat today - and we all could not be happier! She's so tall for her age:  3 ft & 7.5 in. tall -- which is in the 90th percentile...

...so she definitely fits the height/weight requirements, so that was our main concern. At Target I found the Graco Affix Backless Youth Booster Seat with Latch System  - in the 'pierce' tan & black color (latching was a big PLUS for me!)...so I bought one for both James & my cars. According to their description: "It’s designed to help keep kids from 40 lbs. to 100 lbs., from 40 to 57 inches tall and from 4 to 10 years old safe while riding in a vehicle."

At first she was definitely confused...and said it was 'not cozy'...but after a bit she warmed up to it. It's so weird looking back & not seeing her so high up from being in a car-seat....she looks so 'little', but like such a BIG girl at the same time. She still needs a little help getting the buckle on herself, but over time I know she'll get it down. And she knows that she absolutely CAN NOT unbuckle herself until "mommy turns the car all the way off"!

Can't believe how quick my little girl is growing up - it really just blows me away at times.

Love Our Girl Time {and Kapri's first pedi!}

Picture post...I just love these kind of days...quality mommy/daughter time:

Early morning....ready to go!

Breaky at the Naked Cafe in Solana Beach

Stroll through Fletcher Cove Park

Nature walk along the beach

Fun at the Encinitas Library and K's first pedicure!

Run to Fight Children's Cancer {Ronan Foundation}

If you follow or have seen/heard of the "Rock Star Ronan" blog - you've likely cried a time or two...and been affected immensely by this woman's story. I first heard of her after hearing Taylor Swift perform the song "Ronan" on Stand Up2Cancer that aired on TV back in Sept. 2012.

I sobbed. Kinda uncontrollably.If you haven't heard it...please do now...be warned, grab a BOX of tissues first:



After it ended, I immediately looked up who 'Ronan' was and I cried more reading post after post of this mom's blog. It's incredibly heartbreaking....yet, inspiring to see her gradually working through the daily ins & outs of something that NO ONE should have to go through.

My dear friend Nic also reads the Ronan blog...and when we both saw that there was a 5K coming to San Diego called "Run to Fight Children's Cancer" - we knew immediately that we had to do it....like it was our small way of showing support. Support for all the kids fighting cancer, those who have beat it, those who have lost their battle, and support for all their family & friends affected by this terrible word: C-A-N-C-E-R

I haven't run a race of any kind since the Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon back in June 2012 {read ALL about that HERE} - so I was definitely a bit anxious for this one...though it was only 3 miles, compared to 13!!, I knew we could do it...

We showed up bright & early, dressed in our purple & gold...ready to RUN. There were lots of families there, including kids that were either fighting cancer or were in remission -- and those kids were given little capes to wear that said: "Cancer Fighting Super Hero":

  Post by Run to Fight Children's Cancer.  Seriously great idea!

It was a beautiful course, around the bay through Point Loma...and at the end I made us SPRINT...then we finished, huffing & puffing... tears came to our eyes. If they have this race here again, we'll definitely be there!

Endless Summer Fun {Part 3}

**Sept Fun 2013**


Pool Days are ALWAYS fun:



Such treasured times with friends:



Park days without a care in the world:



Silly faces at school:



And little things in between:

Endless Summer Fun {Part 2}

**August Fun 2013**

Family Beach Day at Ponto:

Kapri's school buddy, Jordan's birthday party:

Girls Weekend in Santa Monica:

Pool Day, Girls Happy Hour, and Day at the Del Mar Races:

Officially in the 'big kid group' at Preschool....one year left until this munchkin is a big Kindergartner!!

Anniversary Getaway {Mission Inn}

Riverside - never thought I'd go there for a weekend getaway....but when I was researching potential 'romantic' places to go, on a budget...I stumbled upon this place on the internet and was blown away. I literally could not stop thinking about it for a full weekend.

So we booked a room at the stunning Mission Inn Hotel & Spa.

The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa - Riverside, CA.

And were NOT disappointed!

I had coordinated with the hotel concierge via email in the weeks leading up to our stay. I asked for their tea-light candle service and sent her a cute little banner I made to have them hang up in our room prior to check-in....it came out perfectly!

After a quick change to our bathing suits & pour of Prosecco and a "CHEERS" to us...we went exploring the hotel before spending the rest of the afternoon at the pool. The grounds of this hotel were simply amazing. Breath-taking. I've honestly never stayed somewhere with so much richness & history...the architecture was beautiful and every inch was covered in such intricacy & detail....I fell in love!

Being the 'tourist' that I was for the weekend, of course I took a TON of pics...all James wanted to do was escape the heat & dip himself in the pool...but I wasn't leaving until I had my fair share of pics to remember this place!

**Check out the my PhotoBucket Slideshow:

At the pool, we quickly realized we were total late-comers...seeing as EVERY chair was taken by this point. So we stashed our stuff under a side table & got in the pool. Luckily we made a few friends with some other couples that were staying there, so we had a GREAT rest of the afternoon enjoying everyone's company...complete with lots of laughs, and pool-side waiters making sure the drinks kept flowing ;-)

We then headed back to our room to shower & freshen up for dinner...we had reservations at one of the on-site restaurants: "Las Campanas", which was on an adorable little outside patio with dim, romantic lighting and some seriously delicious Mexican food. We were sooo pleasantly full and quite exhausted from a full day in the sun & drinking...that we went back up to our room to take a nap...that nap turned into 2 hours later... and I jumped up & pleaded with James to do the same so we didn't waste the rest of the night!

I was hoping to see the rest of the hotel all lit up at night, and check out the "Presidential Lounge" downstairs which "pays homage to the 10 U.S. Presidents who have passed through its doors".

He finally agreed.....love him!

After the most enjoyable stroll through the grounds, with the warm evening summer air, getting lost in the glory of this hotel...and finding a few spooky nooks & crannies of this place...we finally wound up at the Lounge....where we also stumbled upon our friends from the pool! After some more laughs & drinks....bed called out name! Once back at our room, we filled in the "Breakfast Room Service" card and place it outside on our door handle.... a few hours later, at 8:30am, a knock at the door....mmmmmm breakfast in bed - so wonderful.

Then we hustled & bustled to pack up, check out, leave our bags with the bellman, then go exploring so more, and finally kick our feet up for a good few hours by the pool. Perfection! I was sad to leave.... one-night stays just fly by way too fast, but so grateful that we were allowed this time together, to re-connect and celebrate our love for each other after 6 years of marriage!

Love you babe!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Endless Summer Fun {Part 1}

Summer time is always filled to the brim with fun activities, events & booked calendars... leaving my mind in a blur - so I thought I'd break down July-Sept with 3 'parts' of blog posts, all pictures-only to document what fun we've had all summer....enjoy!

**July Fun 2013**

Mommy/Daughter Cardiff Beach Stroll:

Jazz in the Park & Pool Day with the Redings:

Hubby/Wife Date Night:

Movie in the Park & Oceanside Pier/Park Day:

June Birthdays RoundUp

May & June have become increasingly busy for us...mostly FILLED to the brim with birthdays for some wonderful people! We just love celebrating with each one of them each year, making more memories and deeper friendships that I truly cherish.

Kim's Bday (BFF since high school!) - went downtown with my sis, at this place I'd never been to, called Cafe 21, which blew us away with some incredible (organic/locally grown) food and some BOMB Strawberry Basil Sangria!

KayLee's Bday (youngest sister) - our family fav...Fidel's. You just can't go wrong! Can't believe my littlest sis is TWENTY!!!

Mary's Bday (mother-in-law) - her fav...Buca di Beppo!

Amanda's Bday (sis-in-law) - no official party, as she's living in LA now...but we combined her bday & Father's day...though she still get's my shout out on my blog!

Christina's Bday (friend) - another new place to me: Ignite Bistro.... they have THE most AMAZING side app, called "Man Candy"....which is basically this tin can full of 'sweet & spicy' bacon...seriously?! yummm

Megan's Bday (friend) - celebrated with all the fams/kids just outside her home on the best green belt in the area...can't go wrong with a mini jumpy, pinata, and a slip 'n slide!!

The mind of a 4 year old

Bedtime with munchkin included an interesting little conversation cuddled up in the dark the other night...one that really struck me & I thought about it for awhile after.

K: "mommy...I don't want to grow up"

Me: "really? why's that?"

K: "because I want to stay little forever"

Me: "aw toots, me too...I miss when you were a little baby, but I LOVE watching you grow up!"

K: "but I don't want to...I don't want to be 6, 7, 10, or 12...I want to stay little, like 4 or 5"

Me: "I'm sorry honey...this is life - it doesn't work that way. Each day we grow just a teeny tiny bit. 

And each year we all turn a year older...that's just what happens and we can't stop that...so we need to try & be happy with each day that we have & enjoy getting older."

K: "well....do you like being grown'd up??"

Me: "of course I do, growing up meant that I got to have you for my daughter...and it means we get to learn more, do new things and meet new friends...growing up is fun!"
{somehow I'm honestly saying all this without a doubt in my mind}

K: *sighs...deep in thought...looking up to the dark ceiling*

Me: "don't worry about it honey, you're too young for that!" *giggle to myself*

Then we held each other in silence as we always end our day together...I made myself repeat this convo in my head so I'd remember to write it down here...that was a priceless moment for sure.

MAN - was that heavy or what? For a FOUR year old?! Sheesh. And maybe 3 weeks ago, she randomly came up to me and said that she didn't want to go to Kindergarten ..which we've never talked about before...so I assume it's from overhearing the big-kid group at preschool talking about their next journeys onto Kindergarten.

I also found out after, that she'd mentioned a similar thing about not wanting to grow up to James earlier that day....wonder what is goin through that little noggin of hers lately....

What's more interesting as I type this...I realized we have been dealing with (or just casually speaking about) a lot of life's 'adult' pressures...jobs, homes, finances, more kids, etc. It's funny what kids can pick up on & somehow understand, even when you think they are completely tuned out. Then we finally watched "This is 40" with my sister & her bf... hilariously honest movie - exaggerated I'm sure - but definitely spoke a ton of truth.

I don't dismiss the fact that 'time flies' and I find that I'm continually stopping to remind myself of so many things:

 - "she won't be this little forever" - when she asks me to pick her up & hold her

 - "she won't want me to snuggle with her one day" - when she is insistent every night for a book & lots of snuggle time...even if James read to her, momma still has to crawl in for "2 minutes snuggle mamma". *melt*

 - "she won't want me to inspect her every move" - when she says:  "Watch ME mommy!" 152,479 times in a row.

 - "she won't depend on me for much longer" - when I have to help her brush her teeth, change her clothes, brush her gorgeous hair, or prep her food.... though she is very stern when there is something she can "do all by myself mommy".

She's already able to "pump" on the swings all by herself now and swing super high without our help. She has a very strong opinion on her clothing & shoes. She is beginning to correct the "s" that she's had in place of "f"...she used to say "singers" instead of "fingers" - which we just love & the other night I realized she said it correctly, with an "f" - aww!

*sigh*

Life & growing up are a combination of so many things and so many feelings - it's difficult & exciting, challenging & rewarding, slow & fast, heart-breaking & inspiring...

...but most of all, it's pretty damn incredible when you actually stop to think about it.