Date Day by the Bay

A couple weekends ago,
Jeremiah and I enjoyed another lovely Labor Day date on the bay.

After church,
we headed down to OB for ginormous acai bowls.
As we ate them, we walked along the beach there
and then headed over to Private Beach
for what has become our traditional Labor Day Weekend stroll.
#quaint&lovely
Of course we took the scenic route, though.
And stopped to reminisce (and take pictures!) at Sunset Cliffs.After our walk, we drove around the bay for the Festival of Sail.
I absolutely love the view when the bright red trolley
drives through the green trees and city buildings downtown.
We finished up our afternoon
with a delicious lunch in Old Town.
The avocado chicken tacos there are yum-to-the-my.
And all the bright colors just make me happy.

It was such a beautiful day
in my favorite city
with my favorite person.

Perfection.

Stars & Stripes Forever

Last week we totally partied in the USA

as we celebrated our independence up in good ol' Fallbrook.

I know I've been there a billion times,
but every time we go up to the GT,
I just replay that special day over-and-over.
Fairytale.

Anyhoo... every year the GT is home
to Fallbrook's Fourth of July extravaganza.

There's yummy food,a live band,
plenty of patriots,paddle boat and rubber ducky races across the lake,
giant blow up slides,and a beautiful fireworks displaythat we get to enjoy with a bunch of our family&friends.
This year was no different.

Looooove it!

But these pictures,
I'm not particularly loooving them.
In fact, they're probably candidates for
"some of the worst pictures I've ever taken."

But who posts about 4th of July
wiffout pitchers??
I mean, seriously.

Here's to the Red, White and Bluuuuuue!
... because it's true:
I'm oh so proud to be an American.

Lady Liberty

Happy 4th of July, my friends!


I hope your fourth is filled with
a yummy BBQ
juicy watermelon
flip flops and bathing suits
patriotic tunes
family and friends
and pretty fireworks!!

Dia de los Padres

This Father's Day we hosted an afternoon BBQ
to celebrate the incredible men our fathers are
and to thank them for all that they do for us.

We at scrumptious hamburgers and hot dogsPlayed BasketballThrew the football aroundRode scootersGave gifts
And of course, took some family pictures
after we watched McIlroy win the Open.

My Familia
My in-laws
And daddy with his girls by the pool
It felt like the perfect way to celebrate our dads!

We love you!!

{Note: No, this is not our house.
We're house-sitting.}

Mama Bear

Proverbs 31 reminds us to
honor {our mother} for all that her hands have done
and last Sunday that's exactly what we did.

Instead of her cleaning the house and preparing a family meal for us,
we celebrated my mom with a quaint Sunday morning brunch at our house:
mimosas, a simple quiche, mini OB bagel sandwiches, fresh fruit,
chocolate covered strawberries and snickerdoodle cupcakes for dessert.

We gifted her a darling tea box
enjoyed a mother-daughter trip to Home Goods,
and snuggled as we shared in the morning together.

What a blessing to be my mother's daughter.
She's generous and kind, creative and hospitable,
discerning and wise.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
I love you.

An Unexpected Mother's Day Gift

Once upon a time,

I purchased a gift for my mother-in-law.

She loves Chance by Chanel and is running low so I thought,
'hm, what a I perfect Mother's Day gift.'
It's a little more than we'd typically spend,
so I asked Jeremiah's brother if he'd like to go in on it.


When said brother came over the other night,
I pointed out the gift to him
which was still unwrapped on the table.
{I think the price tag was still on, too!}

Apparently, he thought I was asking him to take it to his mom.

Fast forward to last night,
when I got the following text from my mother-in-law.

"Dan gave me the perfume tonight.
It had been in his glove compartment... it was broken
and most of it leaked out, absorbed by the box and paper."

Mother's Day Fail.

First, because I hadn't wrapped it or made a cute little tag yet.
Second, because Tina's Mother's Day gift is now... a hug and a kiss?
and Third, because nearly a hundred liquid dollars just spilled down the drain
after having to pay $40 to a locksmith and $50 because we missed a dentist appointment.

We laughed.

Easter Weekend Recap: No Kids? No Pictures.

It's official.

I've committed a total blog fail.
No pictures of Easter?
Really?

{source}

Unfortunately, yes. ... but the highlights?

Tenebrae Service with the McLeods
A yummy homemade dinner
Lots of sleep Friday night
Another mini-road trip with the hubs
Lunch at the Americana
Dad's 50th Birthday BBQ {with KILLER bread sticks}
Quality time and Easter Baskets with the fam-bamarino
A chilly walk to CBTL
Resurrection Sunday service with my Papa and family
A rainy drive back to Fallbrook
Easter Dinner, card games, Easter baskets and Kinect with the in-laws

Like Grass, Envy or Cash Money

Happy St. Patrick's Day, my [cyber] friends!

You'd think that marrying into an Irish last name
would automatically make me fall in love
with St. Patrick's Day or something.

You'd think I'd wear a green dress
and paint my nails green.
You'd think I'd make green eggs & ham
or at least a pretty green dessert.But no.
Not this year.
This year, I'm kind of a party-pooper.

Maybe we'll go over to the pub and grab a green beer.

But probably not. :)

[Source]

Love is...

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs

With Lover's Day coming up on Monday,
my verse-of-the-day came from 1 Corinthians 13 today.
No big shocker.

But as I read through the verse,
pausing where the good ol' fashion commas and periods are,
I heard myself filling the silence
with "I am not's" and things of the sort

Love is patient.
I am not.

Love is kind.
I am not.

It does not envy.
But I do.

After I had read through the entire verse,
I came to the pretty obvious conclusion that
I am not love.

Nor am I particularly good at loving.

Sometimes, for a second,
I think I may have a moment of greatness
A moment where I did not envy or I did not boast.
But then I am reminded
ever so gently (not!)
that I am not love.

God is Love.

And apart from Him,
I can do nothing.

This is the foundation of our Valentine's celebration this weekend.
It is a drawing nearer to the one who is Love
in hopes that we might love Him, each other, and all others better.

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends!

Ain't No Razzle Dazzle

I won't be wearing a sparkly cocktail dress
with sequined pumps or perfect make-up.
I won't be rockin' the disco ball, wavin' the sparklers
or packing in to Times Square.

Instead, I'll be cozied up on my parents couch,
eating tasty appetizers and sipping champagne in my pajamas,
ringing in the new year with a couple folks I just adore.

Perfection.

Where will you be when the ball drops?

source

McLeod Family Chistmas

This year, we got to spend Christmas

with much of the McLeod clan.

These pretty people came down from IdahoThese cuties made the drive from Grass Valleyand our family headed up to Camarillo to crash with Grandma and Grandpa
It was a full house.
Full of love, laughter
and enough food to feed an army.

We stuffed our faces, played games well into the night,
went to the candlelight service on Christmas Eve,
exchanges gifts, and caught up on all of life's happenings.So fun to have everyone together
like the "old days," Jeremiah would say...

Can we do this every year??

DisneyWorld in Pictures

The sweetest little Minnie Mouse I've ever seen.
No, we don't know her. at all.The whole gang (okay, minus 2) with Minnie herselfThe Magic Kingdom Castle all lit up at nightTea CupsThe castle during the day, from Tomorrow LandMagic Kingdom trainMain Street USABrian and I at EpcotThe StampleysDaddy-daughter shotGrand Gathering at EpcotRoz. is. NUTS.Disney StudiosBeauty and the Beast show at the StudiosTower of Terror at the StudiosThe twenties and thirties are pretty. darn. cold.A rainy day at the Animal KingdomLike I said, rainyAnimal Kingdom's Tree of LifeExpedition to EverestSaundra and her flowers "from Earl"
*Pictures courtesy of Mom's camera and Brendan's camera*