My Heart Belongs in Pacific City

I love the beach. Any beach. But I REALLY love the Oregon Coast. It's where my life source is. My family has been vacationing there since I was little and I always felt like there couldn't be a happier place. I still remember how it felt to return to the ocean if we hadn't been able to visit for a few years. We'd be in the car winding down that road surrounded by the color GREEN and then finally the greenery would part enough for us to briefly get a peek of that blue-gray ocean and the excitement was unreal! I'd impatiently wait for us to find our beach house and get settled enough that we could go down to the water. Then we'd run down that sand dune at full speed and I'd yell "I'M FREEEEEE!" and we'd run straight into the icy waves and it all just felt like this is what life was all about. Whew. Can you feel my love for the ocean?? I'll calm down now.

While dating Matt, I found out that he too frequented the Oregon Coast as a kid. This just added to the nostalgia of it all (were Matt and I ever on the coast at the same time as kids???) and it was an obvious choice for our honeymoon destination. It's been almost three years and this summer we got to go back! This time with our playful daughter :) It's so cool to come full circle and bring our kids to a place that Matt and I loved to go as kids.

Carly is a water baby through and through. We definitely hit a couple of cold-windy-rainy days but Carly trudged right on into those waves whether it was freezing or not (and whether anyone was there to hold her hand or not!) When she wasn't in the water, she was building (or rather knocking down) sandcastles with her little shovel. She was in heaven. Just like her momma :)

Look at that face. Pure joy.

More pictures on my Mom's blog

STEM Fest and Temple Square

Last Friday Matt volunteered at Utah's first STEM Fest (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics...I didn't know.) and decided it was cool enough to bring Carly and I back to see it later that night.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but they had a ton of cool booths set up!  First we went in this Air Force jet simulator that played footage of flying through the sky and falling and all that. It shook us around like a roller coaster - so fun!

Matt and Carly sat in the cockpit of this tiny little plane. Carly started pushing buttons like she knew exactly what she was doing :)

Inside they had more booths set up. We only had time for a few, but here were our favorites.  I got to experience what it would be like to "walk on water" with a tub full of cornstarch and water! If I didn't keep moving, I sank pretty quickly. I'm sure there's a metaphor there...

At this booth, these guys pulled a bubble up around you with a hula hoop. I wasn't quite fast enough with the camera to catch Matt's bubble before it popped...but you can imagine. When it was my turn, their contraption broke. Thus the surprised look on the man's face behind me. Oops!

 A teeny tiny little owl, and a 3D printer! I'd never seen one before! Man does that thing move slow! Pretty incredible though.

This one was making a dinosaur skull

The next day we were up on Temple Square for a wedding luncheon and took some time to look at the gorgeous spring flowers and enjoy the warm weather. Carly loved the fountains.

She only fell in once.

And she falls in in 3...2...1...

I really am starting to love this beautiful place we live and all it has to offer!

Happy Birthday to Us!

November isn't a very pretty month, but it's my birthday month so I love it anyway.  Last year, Carly decided to join us in November, so now I have even more of a reason to love this month! She was born 4 days after my birthday (and a week overdue, I might add. But I don't hold a grudge. ;) I look forward to celebrating our birthdays so close together every year. Maybe we can even share a party every once in awhile if she doesn't mind... I will never mind.

We kicked off my birthday celebration with a little trip to Tucanos! If you live near a Tucanos, I highly recommend joining their birthday club. Who wouldn't love a free meal of all-you-can-eat meat with a Brazilian flair? Tucanos is how I imagine heaven.

This was me last year... It turns out, you can fit a lot more food in your stomach if there isn't an overdue baby in there. I enjoyed myself a little more this time around :)

The next morning (my actual birthday) I got out of bed to go get Carly from her crib. When I came back, Matt had put his presents for me on the bed.

You may or may not know about my love for Wizard of Oz. It probably stemmed from playing "Dorothy #1" in my elementary school's play. Long story short, I saw this old movie poster several weeks earlier in the store, fell in love, then walked away convinced I didn't "need" it. Later on, I briefly mentioned it to Matt when I told him about my day. I'm so lucky to be married to a man that listens! I was shocked to see it on my bed. And so so happy.

"Get DOWN Tonight! Psalms 95:6 ...let us kneel before the Lord our maker."
*Mom-jeans included.*

This next gift was more of a gag gift. It cracks me up every time I see it. Matt and I saw it on clearance while browsing through the BYU Bookstore. It's the most ghastly t-shirt. I can't believe it exists. But it's awesome. And I wear it.

Matt spoiled me further by making me pancakes and bacon. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22.

 

 

My stylish Mom got this gorgeous dress, and we finished the day with chicken curry and pumpkin pie. What a fabulous birthday!



 

We kept Carly's birthday simple (as I believe all one-year-old birthdays should be.) with presents and carrot cake. We filmed her tentatively peel back the paper on her presents and daintily eat her cake. She's a sweet, rambunctious girl and I just can't believe how big she is. When did she grow?? Happy First Birthday Carly bug. Life would be so boring without you!



California Dreamin'

Summer has come and gone, but I think we made the most of it! Our big vacation for the year was a ten day stay in southern California where my mom-in-law's family gathered for a big family reunion and celebration of Grandpa Bob's 90th birthday.

Initially when Matt told me about the possibility of the trip, he kept throwing out words like "Hollywood" and "Santa Barbara" and "L.A." I almost didn't believe him. Guys, I hadn't even seen a palm tree before! I'd only heard about these places in movies! In songs! There was no way.

As it turns out, you don't have to be famous to enter Los Angeles! Who knew?!

Matt and I (mostly Matt) carefully calculated all expenses for the trip and we started saving up months in advance. We proudly left Utah with a big envelope of cash and zero debt. Hooray!

We carpooled with Matt's sister and her husband and, boy, was that CR-V impressively packed. On the drive there we took the exit to Las Vegas because none of us had seen the strip before. I think it's safe to say Las Vegas is the strangest place I have ever seen. Impressive. But downright strange. I'm glad I saw it because now I never have to see it again. :)

Finally, after traffic like I had never witnessed before, we made it to a town outside L.A. where we'd be staying for a few days until the reunion festivities began. Stepping out of the car, it hit me. Humidity. Oh! This is what that feels like!  Everything about this area of California seemed other-worldly to me, right down to the greenery.

Napping with Carly in the greenest backyard I have ever had a privilege of napping.

The next morning we did a little sight-seeing in Hollywood! So exciting!

Say "CALIFORNIA!"

OMG! PALM TREES!

My goal was to see a celebrity by the end of the trip, but that sadly didn't happen. "Where all the famous people at?!"

The closest I got to seeing anyone noteworthy was the Walk of Fame. Oh and a guy dressed up as Darth Vader. Here's my best buds Michael and Phil:

Of course we had to get a glimpse of the Hollywood sign and stand in the middle of the road to snap some pics (much to the dismay of the locals.)

  We finished off the day with a visit to the Santa Monica Pier to play on the beach. Yup. JUST. LIKE. THE. MOVIES. My sis-in-law Lorry has this super-cool camera that takes super-cool pictures. So the super-cool pictures below are taken by super cool Lorry.

Matt and Luke swimming in the waves :)

Fun fact: Luke is currently serving an LDS mission in Arkansas!

Papa Kirt was a lifesaver this trip! Carly sure loves you!

Again, just like the movies. Couldn't believe it.

"Oh yeah! It's our 2-year anniversary! *kiss*"

 As the sun went down, we remembered we had officially been married for 2 years! Aww. We planned on getting a few cute shots of the two of us to commemorate...but I got a toe cramp. Of course. And of course Lorry documented it. Aw well. Makes for some funny photos:

Thanks for helping me stretch that out, hon.

Perfection.

Hey! That one turned out cute!

And back to the crazy.

Ignore my lazy eyes...and this one is cute too!

 The next day was our Six Flags trip! (And my personal favorite day) This is the only picture from that day because we were having too much fun!

The group minus Trevor and David

I have never had so much fun at an amusement park! Being the oldest of four siblings, whenever my family went to an amusement park, we got to pick maybe 1 or 2 roller coasters to ride with Dad, and then the rest of the time was spent on the kiddie rides. Fun, but not roller-coaster-nonstop-fun. Turns out, when you go to a park with adults only, you get to ride roller-coasters the entire time! What a rush! Carly was a champ and spent most of the day with her grandpa. We only lost the two of them once, and I only cried once. Those two events may or may not have gone hand-in-hand. Overall, a super fun day.

The next day we took a little break from all the go-go-go and beach bummed for a few hours near the Santa Barbara harbor. That evening Matt, Lorry, and her husband David ran a 5k while the kiddos and I cheered them on. We finished the day with dinner at Matt's cousin's gourmet pizza place. YUM.

I couldn't get enough of these funny lookin' trees!

 After that, we spent the next few days camping on the Carpinteria State Beach Campground for the Reid family reunion. Really though. We camped 200yrds from the beach. Cool huh?

The man of the week: Grandpa Bob

The Gigi Bare Group. I love these people.

The whole clan. Groovy colors eh?

It certainly was not as relaxing as I had hoped, but it was an incredibly fun vacay. See you next year summer!