A Little Bit of Splish and a Little Bit of Splash

We are definitely starting to get spoiled by being around my parents so much!  I got to sleep in until 9 this morning and also took a nap this afternoon while Olivia napped.  Dad drove Olivia around on the golf cart and took her up to the clubhouse this morning and Mom and I got to shop, uninterrupted, at Target for at least an hour!  And, Mom even got me a couple new shirts and a few new outfits for Olivia.  Seriously, we are going to be rotten by the end of the week.

I think it got up to 109 today, so a little pool time was most definitely in the plans.  Olivia absolutely LOVES the pool and did not want to get out when it was time to go.

Her new suit and headband from Target.

Oh, I love that little munchkin.

A special thanks to Poppy for taking Olivia swimming tonight!

Hope you all have had a great weekend.  We are pretty much packed and ready to head out tomorrow.  We'll be trading this dry heat for some serious humidity in Hotlanta.  

Happy Sunday from the Valley of the Sun!

This Time We Hit Up the Beach Instead of the Barn

Well, sort of.  We didn't actually step foot on the sand, but we did head out onto the pier, so that sort of counts.  Yep, I'm talking about Avila again. On Friday night, we took my parents to the Avila Farmers Market. This is an outing usually reserved for David's daddy/daughter date night and to be honest with you, at first I thought it would have been really nice to let them go by themselves this week.  After working all week on painting Olivia's "new" furniture {to be blogged about at a later date once I get some good pictures of it}, running a ton of different errands, having a date night, cooking dinner for friends, trying to clean and pack for our latest adventure, and attending our friend Avi's birthday party, I was WORN OUT!  But, once I got my second {or tenth} wind, I was glad we all made it out for a fun evening.

Too exhausted to even pull out my camera, I relied on Poppy's iPhone camera skills to get some good shots of the night.

Here's Olivia "driving" a vintage firetruck from 1942.

Me and my mama and one kickin' little baby nugget.

Look at that - even Dad managed to get {his shadow} in the picture.

Love that rusty fence in the background!

We said goodbye to David this morning and headed out for Arizona around 8 this morning.  Olivia did a FANTASTIC job riding in the car. For a girl who used to DESPISE being in a car seat, she has turned into quite the traveler.  I guess practice really does make perfect.  Of course, during the 10+ hour car ride, she NEVER slept.  She is seriously the only kid {make that HUMAN} I know who doesn't sleep in a car.  I have to give a ton of credit to my mom for keeping her entertained when she got a little fussy.  She only watched about 40 minutes of Curious George which is incredible.

{Great picture, I know}

She did an amazing job entertaining herself as well.

We stopped for dinner when we were about 45 minutes from home and when we got back in the car at 6:00, this is what the temperature read.  Holy Hot Oven!

But, it's a dry heat.

We are all so thankful that we have tomorrow to rest up before flying out to Atlanta on Monday.  This is going to be an interesting week!  

Happy Saturday from the Valley of the Sun!

Mags

I am sure most people think poor Magnum is getting put on the back burner with a rambunctious toddler and a new baby on the way, but rest assured he is getting the same love and attention as before.  And, now, he's even getting some extra people food courtesy of his sister.  Here are a few shots of him from the past couple of days.

He and Olivia have been hanging out in the sun while my parents and I have been painting every piece of furniture we can think of!

Last night, our neighbors came over for dinner and Magnum has always loved Bill.  He jumped up on his lap and stuck his nose right in the pocket of his shirt.

And then he gave us his infamous "one-eyed glare."

And today he jumped up on the couch with some of Olivia's dolls and made himself right at home.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned.  My parents are driving Olivia and I out to Arizona tomorrow and then we are all flying out to Atlanta to visit my brother for a week.  Hopefully I'll be able to update you on the happenings here this last week soon.

Happy Friday from the Central Coast!

Seven Months

Monday marked the beginning of week 31 of my pregnancy and yesterday I hit the 7 month mark.  And, I officially feel HUGE {even though I am measuring at about 30 weeks}.  I am sure it is hard for David to sleep at night with me grunting and groaning every time I roll over or have to get up to go to the bathroom (which is at least 3 or 4 times a night).   My pregnancy pillow has been a lifesaver for me and I literally have perfected my rollover to include turning over with the pillow in between my legs AND grabbing my teddy bear at the same time.

I have been feeling pretty good - my only complaint is the heartburn that usually comes around right about now (9:45-10pm), but fortunately it only lasts a short amount of time.  It's new to me though, because I never had it when I was pregnant with Olivia.  All of my tests have come back normal, but my iron was low so I am taking the supplements again.  This baby girl is definitely a mover - I can always feel her little hands or feet moving around and I can see my belly moving around like crazy.

Since my parents are here this week, I was able to go to the doctor by myself AND get my hair done.  {And, last night, David and I got to go eat at Bistro Laurent for dinner with Ken and Katie.}  LOVE having free babysitters!

So, here is our 7 month belly shot.

Happy Thursday from the Central Coast!

Twenty-Six Months

Eeeeek!  Sorry, Little Miss Olivia, I missed your 26 month birthday a few days ago.  With a trip to see Grandma, a visit from Nana and Poppy, and a Father's Day celebration, it's easy to see how it slipped by us.

I'm not sure what I can say about you that I haven't already said.  You  are coming up with some of the funniest phrases these days -- today Poppy told you he took a nap and you asked if Nana had put him down.    You have the most creative imagination I have ever seen.  You can entertain yourself with your dolls or your toys.  You love taking a shower with me because you can put your toys on the ledge in the shower and play.

You definitely have your moments when you KNOW what you want and you do whatever it takes to make sure WE know what you want.   Even through those rough moments, we love you very much.

Picking olallieberries.

Blueberry pancakes

Bath time at Grandma's hotel

Avila Valley Barn with Kendall

Happy Birthday, Baby

*I know this post is Weak with a capital W!  But, your mama is tired and lacking much creativity tonight.  I still love you lots though!

Apple Crisp Cobbler

After this lovely meal yesterday {and after our stomachs settled a bit} we finished off the evening with a bowl of apple crisp cobbler and some ice cream.  This dessert is seriously SO gluttonous.  {I know, this coming from the girl who just posted about chocolate chip cookie dough brownies.}  But, what can you expect from a dessert with TWO desserts in the title.  I'm noticing a trend....

Honestly, make this when you have a bunch of people to impress because it is dangerous to have the whole pan to yourself.  And, make sure to top it with some vanilla ice cream!

I wish I had taken a picture of it when my mom served it up to us, but we scarfed it down so quickly, there was no time to pull out the camera!

Apple Crisp Cobbler

2 cans apple pie filling, 3/4 cups instant oats, 1/2 cup chopped pecans*, 1 TBS cinnamon, 1 box yellow cake mix, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 sticks butter

Pour pie filling into a 13x9 dish.  Pour oats on top of filling.  Sprinkle cinnamon on top.  Slice 1/2 stick of 

butter into slices and arrange on top.  Sprinkle pecans on top of mixture.  Sprinkle brown sugar on top evenly.  Pour dry cake mix on top and spread evenly.  Cut a whole stick of butter into slices and arrange on top of cake mix.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

*I am not a fan of pecans, so I only put it on half of the cobbler crisp.  But, my mom insists that the pecans make the dessert.

I told you - gluttonous!

Happy Monday from the Central Coast!

It's Pickin' Time on the Old Farm

I think it is safe to say that both David and my dad had a pretty wonderful Father's Day today.  They started off the morning with scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits with homemade strawberry jam along with a few special presents and cards {with a little extra flair courtesy of Olivia}.  David immediately went into a food coma and took a nap before the clock even struck eleven!

After a lot of cleaning up on the ladies part, we all headed to Avila Valley Barn.  When we got there, we realized we weren't the only ones with that bright idea!  It was packed, but it was such a gorgeous day that we were fine with taking our time wandering around.

We bought a bag of salad {as Olivia calls it} to feed the animals and Olivia actually fed some of the goats!  She hasn't done that in a long time, so I was really proud of her.

You can watch a video of her feeding the goats here.

Check out the tongue on this cow!

And, I just looked back to see what we were doing last Father's Day and of course there is another picture of an animal sticking out its tongue.  Read that post here.

And, since we had all showered and looked pretty nice, we had to pose for a few family pictures.

Look at the three of them in their red!  Unplanned, I swear!

Every picture these days includes one of us holding her hand down.  She has a new habit of putting her fingers in the mouth ALL THE TIME.

Olivia had such a great time picking olallieberries the other day {I thought they were blackberries, but I was corrected today} that we knew we had to do it again today.  We hopped on the tractor and went out to the fields.  We ended up picking some white and yellow peaches and probably ate as many out there as we paid for once we got back.  {Just add it to our olallieberry tab from the other day.}  

Sampling some peaches.

Look how gorgeous that is!

The tractor was too slow on the return so we walked off our peaches and then decided to fill up again on a sandwich back at the barn.  The four of us split one sandwich and let me just say that it is definitely in the running for my favorite deli sandwich EVER.  {High Street Deli usually is KING, but this one was super delicious.}  

Well, somebody hitched a ride.

We came home, rested for a bit and then Mom and I made beef & chicken kabobs, campfire potatoes and salad for the boys.  We just took the apple cobbler crisp out of the oven and once the Little One is down, we plan on hitting that dessert HARD.  {Lovely that I go in and step on the scale in the morning!}  I promise to post pictures and the recipe soon.

We hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well.  

Happy Father's Day from the Central Coast!

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

The cost of a tank of gas:  $75
Time spent in the car riding on 101:  6 hours
Number of hours slept:  6
Seeing these two together for the first time in forever:  PRICELESS

Olivia and I had a great trip up to San Jose visiting Grandma Irma - our time was short, but most definitely sweet.  {And, that's just partly because we had chocolate cake with raspberry gelato AND strawberry tiramisu for dessert.}  Olivia may have had ants in her pants {she couldn't sit still the entire night}, but she definitely had a heart full of love for her grandma!

This morning, Olivia worked herself into a tizzy because she wanted Grandma to sit in the front seat and ride to breakfast with us instead of in her own car.  Once she realized Grandma was saying goodbye, there were lots more tears shed. 

Thank you, Irma, for inviting us up and letting us spend the evening with you.  We loved every minute of it!

Such a big girl!

Happy Friday from the Central Coast!

Down on the Farm

This morning, Olivia and I met up with a few other moms and kiddos at Avila Valley Barn.  I'm pretty sure we haven't been out there since last fall!  I've been meaning to make a trip there, so when one of the moms sent out an email letting us know she would be there this morning, we decided to go too.

The older {and more aware} Olivia gets, the less inclined she is to feed the animals.  They are just a little too big and a little too loud to get too close to, but she loved having me feed them.  We ended up going on a tractor ride to pick some berries.  I wasn't really planning on getting any blackberries because Olivia doesn't usually like them, but the peer pressure must have gotten to her because she started picking away ... and then eating them.  {Sorry, AVB, we owe you for about 12 blackberries!}

Oh, hey there, DIVA!

I just can't reach it!

Umm, Olivia, you've got a little blackberry juice there on your face!

We had a fun morning and I have thoroughly enjoyed the taffy that I picked up in the candy shop!  I think we'll be heading back there soon for more...berries AND taffy!

Today would have been my Mammaw and Pappaw's wedding anniversary.  They were married for 59 years before my Pappaw passed away in 1996.  {I can't believe it has been 15 years...I still dream about both of them at least once a week.  They were both so special to me.}

I have their wedding picture in a frame along with my parents' wedding picture and mine & David's wedding picture.  I would love to have known what they were like when they were younger.  

And 59 years!  What an accomplishment!  I love them both, but WOW, I know my Pappaw was a VERY patient man!  Ha ha.  Dear Lord, we get it from our Mamas!  

Happy Tuesday from the Central Coast!

That's a Wrap!

Hello Lovelies!  Have you missed me??  We were busy little bees around here the last few days and have spent most of today recovering!

I spent most of Thursday {day} trying to price our stuff for Saturday's garage sale, but that was not very easy to do with Olivia, so a lot of it was done Thursday night.  When David saw all of the stuff set out on tables, he started getting REALLY into the What Can We Get Rid Of  mode!  After pulling more stuff to sell, he loaded up the car so I could drop stuff off at Ken and Katie's on the way back from class the next morning.

Friday was our last day of class for this quarter.  We only have one more {short summer} session to do before the BABY GETS HERE!!  I do not think I will be brave enough to do a class with Olivia AND this new little baby {who Olivia keeps calling Kyra}, but I can always go as a guest if this baby is a good traveler!  {Please, Dear Lord, let this baby be a good traveler!}

Kendall's mom took this picture!  All of the moms were jumping up and down and singing trying to get the kids to smile for the camera!  

And, of course, Olivia has to have her baby with her.

These classes have been such a blessing to us!  I was talking to the teacher, Miss Julie, about how I didn't know any of the moms in the class and only signed up because the strolling teacher saw me at Old Navy with Olivia and suggested signing up for her class.  Julie couldn't believe that I didn't know anyone beforehand because she knows how good of friends we have all become -- moms and babies!

Those girls love holding hands with each other!

After class on Friday, we dropped some stuff off at K&K's and then picked up a couple more tables to use at the sale.  While Olivia napped, I made cookies to sell and packed up the rest of our stuff and then packed a picnic dinner for Olivia.  When she woke up, we headed up to SLO for the kick-off to Concerts in the Plaza.  

While I ran into Katie's shop, David and Olivia went exploring by the creek.

Jackpot!  Pulling out the bowl of berries definitely got the attention of the kiddos!

Olivia and Macy pretending to nap!

We got home late on Friday -- we grabbed a quick bite from Chipotle with Kendall's family after the concert -- and it took Olivia until almost 11 to settle down enough to go to sleep.  David and I got as much stuff packed & loaded as possible and I packed an emergency bag of food to keep Olivia happy while we sold our stuff!

Unfortunately Olivia woke up at 3 in the morning and stayed WIDE awake until 5 and then I was up at 6 and was definitely not a happy girl.  {Neither was she when I had to wake her up before 7.}

The morning went really well.  I was hoping for a little more traffic, but was happy that we got rid of some stuff AND made some money.

I mean, wouldn't you stop by for this?

{No, her doll and stroller weren't for sale - she had just been playing with them.}

It really surprised me that this particular table was the least popular!  The home decor stuff was priced really cheap, but people were more interested in the stuff that I really just wanted to take directly to Goodwill.  We ended up making about $235, so we were really happy!  It was A LOT of work though!

David, holding down the fort!

Seriously, we were so exhausted when we got home.  Olivia slept for 3 hours and David and I slept for at least 2.  We made a pallet of blankets on the ground when she got up and watched Toy Story 3 together.  

David went out riding on the dunes this morning with our neighbor, Bill, and I tried to clean up some around the house, but that's about it for our accomplishments around here today!  The rest was much needed.

We'll be spending the week getting ready for my parents to visit on Friday!  We can't wait to see them {and put them to work}!!

Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

Happy Sunday from the Central Coast!

Walking With Friends

Why is it that it's always easier to walk/exercise with friends than it is to do it on your own?  Yesterday, Sarah & Kendall met us to walk to a local playground.  Those girls love talking to each other while they are in their strollers and they love playing with each other once they get out.

No, we didn't coordinate their outfits on purpose!

Seriously, what one girl does, the other has to do too!

This morning I went in to the lab for my glucose test.  I took Olivia with me and planned on heading out to the car after drinking my sugary drink {which you would think I would love, but actually can't stand the taste of} and letting her watch a dvd.  But, she was seriously SO GOOD for the entire hour and a half that we were there!  I packed her breakfast, so that took up a good amount of time, but she just sat on my lap for most of the time and looked around at all of the people in the waiting room.  She had to ask what each person was doing {something she does all the time}.  One of my favorite things that she is saying now is, What's that little man doing? or What's that little lady doing?  I swear she had everyone in the waiting room eating out of the palm of her hand.  One woman, who was seated at least 20 feet away, was reading a Newsweek with a picture of the Royal Wedding on the cover.  Olivia saw it and said, There's Princess Kate!  I swear she is so smart and has such an amazing memory!  When I told her we were going to the doctor this morning, she said, Dr. Goodrich iron Mommy's belly.  {1.  Dr. Goodrich IS my doctor's name and 2.  I think when she says "iron my belly" she is talking about Dr. Goodrich putting the Doppler machine on my stomach to check the baby's heartbeat!}  Side note:  She also knows that Dr. Thompson is her doctor.  Every night when she takes her vitamin she asks for seconds.  I don't even have to tell her no anymore, she just says, Dr. Thompson said, 'Just one.'   Is it me or do we have the smartest baby girl ever to walk this planet???  

But, back to this morning.  I couldn't get over how good she was.  She didn't fuss, complain, throw a fit, or misbehave AT ALL.  She was just perfect.  And, she showed off her smarts and talked to all of the senior {SENIOR} citizens and made them laugh.  I was dreading going in there this morning and it turned out that I left feeling more proud of Olivia than ever before.  

We hit up Trader Joe's on the way home and I let Olivia push the mini shopping cart around the store.  It wasn't easy shopping AND keeping track of Olivia's quick movements, but it sure was fun.  And, thanks to a little sticky fingers on her part, we had chicken lasagna tonight for dinner.  Somehow she slipped it into the cart and I never saw it until I was unloading the grocery bags at home!

"Which way to the chocolate?"  Ha ha. 

 She was actually answering a lady who was asking her how old she was.  She does technically have 2 fingers up!  

She is too darn cute!

In other news, the garage sale is ON for this weekend, so I have been busy pricing all of our junk treasures.  Cross your fingers that it sells and we don't have to haul it all to Goodwill.

Also, if you want to see a video of Olivia talking about Hillary Clinton, you can check it out here.

Happy Wednesday from the Central Coast!