Brent's Mosaic

Somehow when Brent put in that his favorite thing is "Kim" a photo of SUSHI came up! How perfect!

Really cool...

This was really fun. I followed the directions from Adam's blog and made my own mosaic. Yes, it takes some time. But it was really cool to see all the AMAZING pictures that are out there. If you want to try it, check out his blog for directions. The funniest one to me about mine is that one of the questions is "what is your favorite drink?" I'm sure it's supposed to be alcoholic but I decided to go with my real favorite which is an arnold palmer (for those of your that don't know, it's half lemonade, half iced tea). Anyway, when I typed that into the search the ONLY picture that came up was the In-N-Out burger pic. WEIRD! What does that have to do with an arnold palmer, or the real mean for gosh sakes!

the days after...

Marci met us at the house and we went to Padaro Beach Grill for lunch.  It was funny, we were totally matching with our yellow shirts.  

We got a great table under an umbrella so my mom would be happy!

Then we drove down to Carpinteria to check out a new store called "Porch."  I really liked it and so did my mom.  Brent entertained the crowd with his usual antics.  We thought this ladder was really funny, where is it going?  Why is it there?  It starts in the bank parking lot and goes into this little backyard that is more like an alleyway.  Really funny.

Our last night was sort of weird.  We were all tired I think and a little lazy.  I enjoyed several episodes of one of my favorite shows - "Law and Order" on the cable TV at the house.  Then we got In-N-Out for dinner and rented "The Pianist."  I know, TOTALLY random choice.  It was NOT mine.  That movie is really long and we stayed up too late watching it.  

The next day we had a nice breakfast in Montecito at a new place.  After breakfast everyone had to leave - Todd back to Redding and my parents and grandma back to OC.  Brent and I decided to stay a little longer and headed back up to Westmont.  We spent about an hour and half there walking around and then sitting in the sun on the big rock outside the library.  It was a GREAT way to end the weekend.

I sat with Brent on the rock for a while but then I was getting too much sun so I moved to a nice spot under a tree not too far away.  I talked to God and just rested.  That's where my thoughts about resting really began.  

Dinner on my birthday...

Charlie Chaplin's Montecito Cafe was my choice for our meal and boy was it YUMMY.  I loved every bite of my spinach linguine with chicken & sun dried tomatoes.  But even better than that were the people that came all the way up there to celebrate with me.  It meant the world to me to have Paige all the way from Thailand just in time, Marci from Long Beach although she has just arrived home from 3 weeks in Washington DC, Sarah and Tom from Pasadena and Jason and Holly!  And of course my fam there was too.  

Jason and Holly (and baby #3 on the way, Jeremiah!)

Love my Sarah Jean...

My fancy drink, some kind of raspberry lemon drop I think!  Tasty!

My little Peach...

Marci looking HOT in her purple dress!

After dinner we walked back to the house for dessert and to open some gifts.  We had some awesome cheesecake and strawberries.  Mmmmmm...

Mom and Grandma June

My mom and Tom (Sarah's husband)

Isn't she cute in that purple?  

All in all it was a wonderful night that I won't soon forget.  I love my friends and family, that was the best part.  Thank you Jesus for my last 30 years.  I can't wait to see what You have in store for the next 30.  Thank you for blessing me with such wonderful people in my life.  I am truly blessed and thankful.  You are so good to me.

Santa Barbara... vacationing with the Strombacks

So Santa Barbara for my 30th birthday is just about the best thing I can imagine.  My parents rented a great house in Montecito within walking distance to Coast Village Road and Butterfly Beach.  It was an amazing location.  Brent and I actually drove up there Thursday night and spent one night in a hotel in Carpinteria.  We had breakfast at Jack's and then walked up and down Linden.  Todd met us there and we hung out until my parents arrived.  We all met at the house on Friday morning to move in.  

This beautiful tree was in the backyard of this house and I just loved it.

That first day we went down to the beach so Brent and Todd could swim.  It is just so beautiful there.  I soaked it all in and felt so thankful and happy.

Sadly we met a wounded pelican on the beach.  Brent was so excited (of course) when we saw a flock of them fly by.  Then a few minutes later came a solo pelican.  There were some sticks sticking out of the sand on the beach and this guy hit one of them.  He did a crash landing in the surf and got rocked by a few waves before getting onto the sand here.  Todd was very concerned (as he has always loved animals and has a big heart for the wounded).  He went down the beach to see if he was okay.  The large bird layed there like this pic for a good 5 minutes.  He didn't budge even when people got really close.  We think he was stunned by the battle with the stick.  After a few mins he got up to stretch his wings and in a soon after that he took flight again, much to our surprise.  Todd was greatly relieved!  

One morning Todd, Mom and I walked to Coffee Bean for breakfast and chatting.  They have the best Coffee Bean I've even been in there in Montecito.

Then we walked the long way around by the cemetery and then down to Butterfly Beach again.  It was a gorgeous morning.

We also went to Westmont one day which we ALL love.  Brent bought me some new pants from the bookstore and he got a golf shirt from my alma mater. It still feels like home there.

Mom and I under the wisteria

We tried to reinact an engagement photo that was taken in this very spot.  But alas... we look so much older now!  Oh... and another fun surprise for my 30th birthday, who knew that I have curly hair!  It was really fun to figure that out and start sporting a new look.

Took this for Grandma June... she LOVES this flower!

Westmont is going to be building a new chapel and apparently this is what it is going to look like.  I can't wait to see it in real life.  Pictures of the changes are posted all around the campus where changes are going to be made.  

One my fav spots!

Family  :)

We made a stop in the little chapel.  No one was in there so we talked for a bit.  It's such a cool place.

More to come in the next posts!  

"She said yes..."

Adam and Dani are engaged!!!... and since Adam's mom and sister were in town from Texas, we thought there would be no better time for a party! My parents opened their home, again, for us to throw a beautiful party for them. It was so much fun to do... and they are just so dang cute together.

Karen, Ashley and Jill picked out this awesome cake... I just love what it says, so clever!

Ashley and I were matching the theme colors for the party. :)
Adam being... well, Adam!

Riff Ram Mania
Anyone ever heard of the "Riff Ram?" I didn't think so. Well, only if you are a true TCU (Texas Christian University) fan would you know about the Riff Ram. Apparently is it a cheer that is done at football games and has been around a long time as Linda sang it when she was in school there and so did Ashley just a few years ago. GO FROGS!

Riff, Ram, Bah Zoo
Lickety, Lickety, Zoo, Zoo
Who, Wah, Wah, Who
Give ‘em hell, TCU

Ahhh... family!