A Lot Has Happened This Summer....

Hello everyone!  I know its been almost 3 months since I last posted.  We have been busy....

I celebrated my birthday after my last post.  We went to Mahe (a restaurant) and had a wonderful sushi dinner.

We took Kaylen to her first baseball game at Angel Stadium.  It didn't go so well....  For one, it was really hot and our seats were in the sun.  She was probably bored so she complained, loudly.  So I took her to some shade and we cooled off.  But it was just not a good day for her.  We left the game early.  Mike got the tickets for free, so no money lost.  But we got one pic! And we used the Angels outfit that Aunt Barb got for her, before she outgrew it!

Some very sad news....my Uncle Steve passed away at the end of June after a battle with stomach cancer.

The good news....my Mom was in town for a week.  We didn't get to see her that much, but we got to see her!  Kaylen also got to see a lot of our CA family at Steve's service.  Cousin Tiffany did a great job of honoring her father.  So very sad...

Here is Nanna playing Peek A Boo with Kaylen...

A pic of the Golden Girls with Jodi too....

Kaylen and Taylor...

Kaylen and Nanna...

Nanna loved her time in our pool with Kaylen

We got Kaylen a new chair....she loves it!

More very sad news.....Mike's Dad passed away on July 27th.  He had been battling a liver disorder for a couple of years, but nobody saw this coming.  He was admitted to the hospital and his organs had just shut down.  The doctors did everything they could.  Mike was able to spend his Dad's last days together.  Kaylen and I flew to San Jose to be with Mike.  Thank goodness the flight was only an hour....traveling with a toddler is exhausting!  My Dad was kind enough to fly from Texas to be with us too.  We spent a week together in San Jose.  We had lots of work to do cleaning out his house.  We also had a very nice service at his Dad's church.  Lots of people came and honored Mike's Dad.  Mike did an amazing job honoring his father too.

Here is a pic of part of the collage we put together...mostly pics of Grandpa and Kaylen

After coming back from San Jose, Poppi got to enjoy some pool time with Kaylen.

Well we decided to take our vacation to Pismo Beach that we had planned with our friends The Wolters (Ryan, Davina and Griffin.)  It was a much needed couple of days away.  We had a great time.  We hit a couple of wineries, the outlet malls and even had a date night!

 The kids enjoyed feeding the peacocks at Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards....

For our date night, Mike and I went to the Madonna Inn.  We enjoyed some steak, lobster, chocolate cake and champagne....oh and some great decor...

Kaylen turned 18 months old on our vacation!  We had her pediatrician appointment when we got back.  She weighed 29 pounds and 35 inches tall!  She also was sick with an ear infection and a virus which caused her some yucky coughing spells.  She is on antibiotics and an albuterol inhaler for this.  She is much better now....poor girl!

Mike took this pic one morning when he got her ready for daycare....it's my current favorite pic... it just makes you smile!

I can only find this one video for now...we have a couple on our video camera but haven't uploaded them yet.  We will soon....but for now, here is Kaylen dancing....

No June Gloom here!

Well its almost my birthday!  I usually get excited, but every year gets closer to 40.  I have always loved my birthday and I appreciate my family always making it special.  My mom sent me a fun gift....a crazy beach bag filled with goodies, beach themed of course.  My sis even threw in a couple of fun gifts.  I also got some very desired Maui Jim sunglasses from Mike & his Dad!   I got my presents early this year, I am a lucky girl!


Here is a pic of my "beach bag."  Crazy, huh?  Gotta love it!  Thanks Mom!

And I have to share with you the magnet that Mindy gave me....I died laughing!  Thanks for the laugh sis!

Let's see what has been happening.  I went to a bridal shower for my friend Kathleen.....on a yacht!  Such a beautiful day!  We cruised the Newport Harbor, had bellini's,  snacked and opened presents.  It was a blast!

Anyone recognize Hoag Hospital?

We even passed our boat that we got married on!!  The Destiny!

Well it is definitely getting warmer here, but not yet summer warm.  Doesn't mean that we haven't heated the pool and gone swimming!  Kaylen is loving the water.  She is fearless.   We put her in the vest and she just goes.  She loves jumping off the steps or the side.  She does pretty good and manages to only swallow small amounts of water.  I got me a water baby!  I love it!

We celebrated Father's Day by going to brunch at Las Brisas in Laguna Beach.  Mike's Dad joined us too.  He had been camping in Newport since the beginning of June.  We went back to his campsite after brunch and enjoyed the playground, beach and swimming pool.  It was a beautiful day!

Here are some fun and silly pics of our girl.....

Here is a video of Kaylen cracking herself up as she hits my bowl with hers.....





Kaylen and her new mirror.......



Running wild throughout the house....

5 Year Anniversary and a trip to San Diego

Well it hasn't quite been a month since I last posted but I have a few things to talk about!  The day after I last posted was my 5 year anniversary!  Mike gave me a beautiful and fancy picnic basket with champagne!  I gave him a frame with the inital "B" made out of wine corks we have collected over the years.  There will be pics below.  Then Mike surprised me with a limo to take us to dinner at the Sky Room in Long Beach.  Our dinner was perfect.  Great food and views!  Oh and there was a yummy edible arrangement of chocolate covered strawberries and bananas!

That same weekend, we headed to Malibu to meet up with a couple of friends at the beach.  Kaylen loved playing in the sand and we let her put her feet in the cold ocean water.

Somebody was worn out from a day in the sun.....I love it when she cuddles with me!

Now on to our next adventure.....LaCosta Resort and Spa in Carlsbad.  This was a work trip for Mike but Kaylen and I had the privilege of tagging along.  Mike was in meetings during the mornings and playing golf in the afternoon.  Kaylen and I had our own adventures.  We played in the pool for a couple of hours each day.  They had a nice kiddie pool that was only 3 foot deep and it had sand on one end for the kids to play in.  Kaylen loved it!  She loved interacting with the other kids too.  On one of the days I dropped her off for 2 hours at the "kidtopia" and I went to get a massage!  It was an early Mother's Day present from my hubby.  It was a much enjoyed massage.  And Kaylen took an hour nap and then played with all the toys while I was away.  We also checked out the Carlsbad Outlets one day, but didn't end up buying anything.

We checked out of LaCosta on Thursday, May 10 and headed to the San Diego Zoo.  This was Kaylen's second visit to the zoo.  I think it was still a little overwhelming to her and she just took it all in.  When she was in her stroller, she just looked around and kind of zoned out.  She wanted to run around and play but it was just too hard to let her do that for very long.  She would get run over by other kids.  But we had a good time.

Kaylen was not interested in petting the goat......

Here are some great pics of Kaylen laughing at Mommy.......check out that molar!

And here is a great one of Mike and Kaylen......

And then she passed out.....

We then headed to our friends The Guymons house in Coronado.  They recently moved back to San Diego after being in Washington and Oklahoma for several years.  They have an almost 4 year old son, Stanley and an 8 month old daughter, Elizabeth.  They had lots of fun playing together.  She was definitely worn out when we got home.

We headed home the next day but not before stopping at a great restaurant called Hash House A Go Go.....so yummy.  We had such a great mini vacation!

Last subject for this post...Mother's Day.  We had a great day!  It started with an awesome gift from my hubby.  A wall gallery from Red Envelope which consists of 7 frames that hold 13 photos.  It is similar to the one I got last year but different configurations.  Everybody knows that I love pics!  Especially ones of Kaylen.  We had a nice brunch at Parker's Lighthouse overlooking the bay with the Queen Mary in the background.  We got home and had some fun pool time with Kaylen.  She really loves the water!  She can hold her breath and go under water!  Quickly, but she does it without choking on too much water.  Then she took a nap and we had some of our own pool time.  What a nice relaxing Mother's Day!  I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day surrounded by loved ones!