Beach Babes

Before Christmas I was able to spend a day with 2 of my best friends at the beach on an incredibly beauitful day.

The day honestly felt magical.

And the beach was breathtaking.
It made me really miss the summer...I am already counting down the days!

My turn...

My beautiful carefree friend Carynn tagged me in an "about me" post...
so here goes.


1. What's the most important thing you learned from your mother?

My mom is a fighter. She has won so many battles in life: cancer, child abuse, poverty and she continues to show me faith and grace in all she does.

2. How did you/will you know you're with the right one?

I've known my husband since I was 16. Always friends, nothing more and one day something happened. I knew he was the won that was created in this world for me to love. He was/is my future.

3. What has been the most beautiful moment in your life this far?

The day each of my boys were born. I'll never do anything more amazing in my life than that. I felt like a superhero!

4. What do you believe is the coolest thing about women?

That we create life!

5. How do you get yourself to feel better when you're having an "ugly day?"

Red lipstick and a apple fritter from Starbucks.

6. What is the most beautiful thing about you?

Why is this the hardest question to answer? :)
Probably my heart...or red hair.

7. Who loves you?

My family and a few cherished friends in my life.

8. Why do you keep a blog?

To remember my most beautiful moments in life, which I'm sure I'll forget a few one day!

9. What song do you sing the loudest to in your car? (Post a youtube video!)

The Avett Brothers rock my world right now and this song makes me want to marry my husband again just so we can dance to this song!

10. Where do you go when you need to get away?

The gym or Target.

11. When do you think you became a grown-up?

I'm still waiting for that to happen and I'm 31. Maybe 99.


So now I tag each of my readers!
If you post answers to these questions on your blog, come back and post a link. I'd love to read them all!

Xmas Morning

Christmas morning is always such a whirlwind!
This was our first time celebrating Christmas in our new place.
But honestly we could all be in a carboard box under a pepper tree and it would feel like home. Crowded but comfy.

This year the boys got blessed with some pretty awesome stuff.
A few highlights were their brand new Ducks Hockey Jersies and new Nintendos.

Something I struggle so much with as a parent is raising children who are humble and appreciate all the awesome blessings that come their way, so when they say "thank you" and truly mean it...it rocks my world!

Here is a lil' glimpse into our morning:

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was awesome!

We spent the day with our families, ate WAY too much food, got some pretty amazing presents and laughed a ton!

I'm realizing the older I get the more I see how incredibly talented my dad is in the "art of Christmas."
He would be a great Santa!

What made the day so special for me was hearing a beautiful letter my grandma wrote about a few people in our family who she wanted to honor for being "do-gooders."
And Brandon made the list...along with my amazing cousin Jeremy.
They both are pretty awesome souls and it was such a great moment to appreciate them for loving others!  



Cocktails (Photo Overload)

After we got back from our weekend in Palm Springs, I really wanted to have all our friends over for a retro cocktail party.

We've never had a "big kid party" at our house...
and it's way over due.
Plus it gave me an excuse to pull out all my pyrex :) 
And to dress up.  
For the drinks, we decided on making just one kind of cocktail, which was the one we had in Palm Springs called the Orbitini.

Here is how you make it:

2 shots of Sake
3/4 cup of cranberry juice
1/2 cup of orange juice

Serve over ice with an orange wedge!

(It's delicious)

We all had such a fun night!

Sprinkled with Love

Over the weekend, my friend Kelly and I put on a little "baby sprinkle" for our sweet friend Amber, who is having her 2nd baby.

It was simple and so sweet.
And we were so happy to do it for her.
We love her, and she means the world to us.

Sweet Baby Boy

Meet Tyler.
My sweet baby boy nephew.
He is SO beautiful.
My sister was a champ.
I was SO proud of her.
And she celebrated with her baby in her lap & an In & Out cheeseburger in her hand.

She's having a baby!

My sister that is!

So I threw a little shower for her & the daddy to be.
It was simple,
and so nice.

And we all can't wait to meet to the new baby!