beach trip

We wanted to go to the beach while we were down in California so we packed up the car and headed to Balboa. We actually headed to the Balboa Pier where Charlie and I took our engagements! Ahhh, it was a stroll down memory lane for us. We stopped at the cutest corndog stand named Jane's Corndogs & Lemonade! We shared a meal while slurping on our lemonade. I highly recommend going there, completely original and darling! Baby Charlie napped the majority of the time which was nice for us lovebirds. We had a great time strolling down the pier and wishing our little one didn't have an ear infection so we could have gone swimming. oh well, next time I guess!

lunch with the girls & baby Char

My sister Katie, Jessica, me and baby visited my Aunt Karin at work the other day. We brought some food from Miguel's Jr. and ate and talked while lounging in her office! My aunt is so fun to be around and always makes me laugh so hard!! She's so full of life and energy and I love to listen to her talk and talk!! very entertaining!!

Grandma D and Charlie

My little boy loves his Grandma D. We've been here in California for a couple of days now and I LOVE it! Baby Charlie is getting plenty of attention and loving every minute with his grandma!

Katie opened for Jon Schmidt

My baby sister is AMAZING! She opened for Jon Schmidt last weekend and did such a great job. The event was held at the Sandy amphitheater and it was such a gorgeous night with even better music! We were able to see the Huebsch family while there and it was fun catching up with them.

We know Katie's demographic... TWEENS!!! She was the new Hannah Montana to them and they just ate her all up. After she performed, Jon's Schmidt's daughter and her friends came running to Katie asking for her autograph and such. They wanted to know all about her. It was so cute to see them completely entranced with my sister! It was such a wonderful concert and even better to see my little sister living her dream!

summer dish...

My favorite summer dish thus far...
SPINACH HOAGIE
I make mine with a handful of baby spinach, muenster cheese, sliced turkey, a dash of salt and pepper and fat-free ranch dressing. so good. It tastes even better on Macy's hoagie rolls from their deli. Try it.

vintage lovelies

I love, love, love collecting cookbooks!
This is not a collection that stays in boxes or on the shelf, I use them every week!
My husband will tell you that the first place I go when in a thrift store is the cookbook section.
I love learning how earlier generations served and hosted dinner parties and the different garnishes they used to decorate a dish. It's a bit of history and a bit of great ideas for cooking!
Oh, and how could I forget the lovely milk vase?!! I'm loving these new additions to my kitchen!

Char Char is 9 months

Our baby is so big now, 9 whole months!!
SO much has happened lately that I need to write it down...

*went camping for the first time and will go again this next week!
*STARTED CRAWLING!!! He did an army crawl one day and a few days later started crawling and loves this new found independence!
*pulls himself up on just about anything but mostly his crib! It's really cute in the mornings when he wakes up because he automatically stands up and calls for us to come get him!
*We brought Charlie to a water park and he loved it!! He just loves swimming and playing in water!
* loves getting into mischief... especially now that he can crawl! Let's just say mom and dad are always on the lookout with him!
* When he gets fussy he scrunches his nose and makes piggy noises!! makes me laugh every time!
*loves other babies and people!

Baby Charlie is such a wonderful baby!
I am grateful every DAY that he's mine and that I get to be his mommy! What a wonderful blessing he is to me and my hubby!

babies, sisters, canyon

Can I just say how much I LOVE my sisters!!
There's nothing like spending quality time with the girls you've known since diapers!
It's funny how growing up we didn't always get along but now we know better, we stay close and love each other unconditionally. That's the way is ought to be.
Oh, and how cute is my little boy in these pics?!! He was having a blast in Azaleia's stroller and loved laying back with his feet on the tray... such is the life of a baby!