A MINI Family Story :: Dave, Dayna and Hadley

I think that this might have been a record....as I mentioned, it was cold, and windy, and Hadley wasn't having too much of it in her little onesie...so this was a SUPER quick session on the beach. 13 minutes to be exact. In between the tears, I just kept snapping. Hadley is one cute baby and I was so glad to have the few minutes that she wanted to cooperate with us. :)

Dayna has taken to motherhood so well.....she's such a natural and I know I'll learn a thing or two from her one day. :)

We got a few smiles from Hadley.....Brett was behind me trying to get her to laugh by shaking her snack container. At one point, he got a little too excited, and shook the 16-35mm lens instead....right into my head. Oops! Luckily, I recovered quickly....Hadley had a few more smiles left for us.

It was only her second time experiencing sand and I still don't think she got enough. She was a very curious little baby.

I love the sweetness that exudes from parents as they get in close and canoodle with their babies. Love it.

Heehee....I kind of dig this one. :)

Hadley seemed to like the grass a little better than the sand....but for only a few moments. ;)

It was so much fun to hang out and get a few super quick shots of the beautiful O'Neil family. Love you guys!!!

Hanging with Hadley....and her parents :)

A few weeks ago, we got on the O'Neil calendar....or made them get on ours....so we could hang out. After being "unplugged" pretty much all weekend...Brett and I stayed inside almost the whole time, except for leaving for some food and church.....we were excited to see our friends on Labor Day for some fun.

Hadley hadn't napped that well in the car, so shortly after they arrived, we put her down for a nap, and broke our our new Settlers of Caatan game. It was Dave and Dayna's first time playing, only my second, but that didn't stop Brett from dominating the board. Yes, he won. He claims that he hadn't in quite some time, so I guess it's OK...but he has all of the rest of us aching to play again and take away his title.

After a bit, Hadley woke up and we decided to get out of the house. We took a stroll down State St and at one point, D&D were inside, while Brett and I hung outside and played with Hadley. It's fun hanging out with other people's babies. :)


We stopped for dinner at one of Brett's favorite places....Chipotle...and then made it over to Butterfly Beach for a VERY short photo session. When we got out of the car, it was a little colder than we'd thought, and we don't think Hadley liked it all that much. But, we got some fun shots (see next post) and then bid our friends adieu. It was so fun hanging with the O'Neils...until next time. ;)

Ahh....Santa Barbara

Today was a sunny day......warm enough to want to be outside without a cardigan.....so we headed to the beach for just a little bit.

We don't ever stay long, but the hour in the sun was just enough. Just as we got there, we spotted a line of birds across the sky over all the paddleboarders in the ocean. Perfect!

I hadn't noticed the lifeguards on the beach before....but then I noticed that their shirts said SANTA BARBARA BEACH GUARD so I guess they were there guarding the beach, and not our lives. Good thing I didn't try to get into the water. :)

8 Days Old

Last time I saw Christi, little baby boy was still cooking....but he made his arrival and appearance on the 26th and I got to meet him today.

He is so teeny tiny and perfectly adorable. Christi and Jaimeson are over the moon excited to be his parents, and I'm glad to be his friend.

Friend Filled Thursday

I have been watching Andrea's updates on Facebook, and when I saw that they were on the road from Houston to their new home in San Francisco, I teasingly wrote that they should stop in Santa Barbara on the way.

Well, I called Sean Wednesday on the way home from work, and learned that they were, indeed, going to stop in SB on the way. So, I went to go visit with them on Thursday morning at their hotel before work.

It'd been about 5 years since we'd seen each other (I think)....I remember visiting right after Carys was born.....although, it was like it was just yesterday. I am so excited for them and their move to "the city".

After work today, we had our first official Dinner Group with the Morans, Moores and Shinns - the young marrieds I guess you could say. Kirsten and Alex hosted....they really know how to treat with a yummy dinner. Burgers, corn on the cob, a great salad and dessert too.

We had great conversations and a wonderful time with friends. Looking forward to our next gathering in about 3 weeks!

She loves him, yes she does

While most people will post cute picture of their kids with their husbands.....this is what I have. :)

Molly sure does love Brett. It is so cute when she gets up and cuddles, and just totally relaxes with one of us.

Sunday Adventure in Yosemite

So, we had all day Sunday to take our time getting back home. Since Tioga Pass is closed during the winter, we decided to take it in the summer. It was a beautiful day and a really nice drive through the mountains to make it down to the Yosemite valley floor.

We climbed all the way up to over 9000 feet....it got colder every turn we made.

When we got to the park, we stopped more than a few time to admire the views. They were pretty amazing!

We made it to the floor of Yosemite right around lunch and had pizza at Curry Village. It was surprisingly tasty and it definitely hit the spot.

On the way out of the village, I spotted a fox. [EDITED : Evidently I don't know my mountain furry animals....this would be a COYOTE and not a fox .] He walked right by our car. I grabbed the camera real fast and Brett had it still set on a previous setting....so the first pictures were jacked. Ooops!

I finally got it to the right setting and was able to catch one shot of him right before he walked into the woods, right above where all the tents were.

We made it home around 9 o'clock...Brett made it in record time. I love spending random, easy going days, with Brett like this one. Especially since he lets me sleep when my eyelids get so droopy in the car. I'm a lucky girl!