Olivia's Birthday

Oh my, so behind as usual! Back to Liv's birthday!!!

The Wednesday night before her big day we had her sweet friend Kennedy spend the night! They were up bright and early the next morning ready to celebrate with chocolate chip muffins for breakfast, hot out of the oven... yum!

After breakfast I took Liv to get a mani/pedi to commemorate her special day!

And that evening we all went as a family to Main Event for some bowling, dinner and games! It was so much fun!

Jack clapping for all of our good bowls! :)

Daddy and his big girl

We came home and opened gifts and had some cookie cake! Not a bad way to finish off the day!

Olivia has been asking for a Thumbelina doll for months!

Yea! An ipod from Bumpa and Gigi!

AND, a Vera Bradley "tech case" in her favorite print, Purple Punch! So fashionable!

And the hit of the night, a Paw-Parazi dog!!!

Olivia, eyes closed, awaiting her last present from us!

I'm not sure who's enjoyed riding it more, Denny, me or Olivia!

Olivia had a wonderful 5th birthday! Thank you to everyone who helped her celebrate and sent her cards and gifts of love!

The Fourth of July!

Well, we are just about to the end of our trip! Finally!

When we woke up on the 4th, it was really overcast and windy, and of course cool. So basically not looking very promising! But eventually the fog and clouds burned off and the sun came out! We decided we had better head down to the beach because that seems like a very Fourth of July thing to do when you are on the coast!

We had no sooner stepped foot on the beach and realized that although the sun was out it was still freezing! The wind was blowing pretty steadily and the temperature was in the 60s! Just like Texas right?!

But we had fun despite the wind and cold! :) We just played wrapped up in towels!
Jack did not let a little wind and cool air stop him from his new found love, playing in the sand!

Earlier that day Denny and his Dad had gone to the edge of the bluff that was overlooking the harbor to secure our spot for fireworks that evening! They picked the perfect spot!!!

Of course, it was still quite chilly, especially on the edge of a bluff overlooking the ocean! Thankfully we had this nice tent to protect us from the wind!

The view was amazing!

We had a yummy picnic on homemade fried chicken, one of Jack's favs!

I love how it looks as though that huge bag of chips is all his, but poor little guy didn't even get one!

Staying up for fireworks is a tough job when you are not even 11 months old! Jack is totally bundled up in that blanket in Gigi's lap! He slept almost the last 2 hours we were out there!

Patiently awaiting the fireworks, and trying to keep warm!

And finally what we had been waiting all day for! But they were well worth the wait! We really had the best spot and the show was beautiful!

The last 2 days of our trip we just enjoyed Santa Barbara as much as we could! Denny and I had another date night at a restaurant right on the beach! It was gorgeous! We spent a day on State St. shopping and eating! And one last day on the beach! Our trip was so great, from beginning to end! We could not possibly thank Denny's parents enough for putting us up (and putting up with us!), playing tour guide, limo driver, and babysitter multiple times! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so thankful we made this trip! We have many, many wonderful memories and truly cannot wait to go back!

Disneyland!

Get ready, here come a lot of pics!


We were at Disneyland a total of 2 full days. Half a day on Wednesday, full day Thursday and another half day on Friday! Rather than break up the pics by day, I have them all here in one post, so I hope I don't overwhelm you!


Overall, we had an amazing time! I would go back in a heartbeat and look forward to doing so again in a couple of years!


When we arrived on Wednesday it was early evening by the time we got to the park. We also had Jack with us, which ended up being so great! He was an angel and even got to ride his first ride!

Entering the park

Our princess in front of the castle
Jack chillin' while big sis rode some rides!

Some Alice in Wonderland ride that was "scary"

Jack's first ride, "it's a small world"

By the way, we rode this ride 2 more times over the next 2 days! :)

Liv at Minnie's house

That night we watched the fireworks show, Magical, at the park and it truly was magical! I was in awe and it made me so thankful we were able to experience this with both of our kids!

The next morning we were up early and out the door to have breakfast with Ariel at California Adventure (a super fun park!)! The Graney's were sweet enough to watch Jack for the day for us so that we could ensure Olivia experienced a full day at Disneyland!

Olivia in the "O" of California

Waiting for the park to open

Meeting Ariel

And Cinderella... who was awesome, she was so great, she really took on the role of Cindy, it was too cute!

Snow White (she could learn alot from her BFF Cindy, not quite as charming)

Sleeping Beauty

And finally Belle

Liv had a great time at breakfast, even though she was super shy, it was special for her and it was well worth the time and the money!

Finally it was time to hit the park and ride some rides!

Without little brother in tow it was much easier! I decided to go along for the ride! I am so used to being at the fair where you have to pay for each ride, it was great to just get on and know they were "free"! That is if you don't count the outrageous admission fees!

Toy Story arcade ride/game - this was the best!

Highly recommend this ride! It was 3-D (obviously) and you got to shoot at things as you went by in your "car" and it kept score for you and then you could compare your score with the high scores for the day! Of course Denny beat Liv and I, but my accuracy blew his out of the water! ;)

Jumpin' Jellyfish

Driving the cars

Ugh... The Nemo Submarine

This ride was a whip from beginning to end! To start, it was a 45 minute wait and then once you finally get to the coveted ride, you realize there are like 2 dozen people crammed into this tiny submarine. At one point it gets completely dark, and quiet, and you are (or at least I was) thinking, oh my goodness, this is it... we are going to drown on the Nemo ride at Disneyland! I could see the headlines as I sat there and paniced! I am not one for close quarters! But Liv and Denny enjoyed as I kept eyeing the door wondering how we could get out of there if something happened!

Later that evening we met up with Ryan and Nicole! Our first stop... Of course, "it's a small world"! Olivia's most favorite ride!

Then we went back to California Adventure for the Electrical Parade

Tinks got things started!

It was a really cute parade but just could not compare to the fireworks the night before!

And on Friday we went back with Jack in tow again to squeeze in a few more rides before heading back home... to Santa Barbara!

I was so impressed with Liv's willingness to go on roller coasters and other rides I thought for sure she would deem scary! Here she is ready to ride Big Thunder Mountain with Daddy!

Like I said, we had a great 3 days, and despite a 4 and a half hour car ride home (it should have been just over 2 hours), we would do it all over again! I think it was the best part of our California excursion!

More Fun from CA

So, back to our trip! (I will post pics from Liv's party once I finally finish off our trip!)

When we went back to Santa Barbara on Monday, after our wonderful weekend, we brought Ryan and Nicole with us! They flew into LAX Monday morning and we picked them up and headded back "home"!

The next evening we all went up to Longboard's for dinner on their rooftop patio! It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed the view, as well as the company and food!

Liv was in a super goofy mood!

Yee haw!

Liv decided she had better try on Bumpa's hat as well!

Next up... daddy's visor!

Such a cute little munchkin!

Ready for football season!

More silliness with Bumpa!

The next morning we were off to Anaheim to go to Disneyland!!!!