RV Weekend in Newport!

It's one of our roomies' birthday weekend and we decided to celebrate with our first ever RV trip (without the hubs' family). The weekend was so fun and everyone had a great time. It was wonderful to spend time together outside of the house and to just get away for a while.

On Saturday, we thought we'd go paddle boarding in the afternoon. Kelly and I started out with Lady and paddled to the middle of the inlet to wait for Brad to rent a third paddle board. Lady was doing great! It was the first time I had ever taken her, but she has gone before with her Auntie Megan. We were relaxing, talking and floating in the water and took a few pictures to pass the time.

Brad finally paddled out to meet us and that's when the craziness started. Lady was so upset that we weren't all on the same board and was VERY distressed that she could not get to her daddy. I had her all strapped up with her harness and leash attached to my paddle board, but the others were worried that if she tried to jump off and swim she would get tangled in her leash. I was really nervous to take her off of the leash, but I eventually let them convince me it was for the best. And this is where lesson number one came in: "Always follow your gut!"

We all started paddling further out the inlet when Brad got "too far away" for Lady's comfort, she started wimpering and jumped off of the paddle board. This girl DOES NOT like water and is not a particularly strong swimmer. I bent down to grab her but the wind had pushed the board and she was already too far away for me to reach her. Trying to turn the board around to paddle over to her, I looked over my shoulder and realized I could not see her head! Her little red flower was visible just below the surface, but I could not see her at all! I dropped the paddle and jumped into the water and started swimming over to her. By the time I got to her, she was completely under water and her little body was vertical. As soon as I reached down and lifted her little bum so she was above water she sputtering, sneezing, shaking and clinging to me.

I swam back to the paddle board using one arm to hold my phone above water (yes, it was in my swimsuit when I jumped in) and one arm to hold Lady above water. Kelly and Brad had paddled back by then and got my paddle for me. Once back on the board, I immediately strapped Lady back in and said "I knew this was a bad idea!"

We went on and paddled for quite a while, taking a break on a little sandy beach half way out before heading back. Lady jumped off a few more times and swam to her heart's content alongside the board with her leash attached. The good news: Lady didn't drown and we now have this adorable picture together. :)

With love,
Kayla

Road Trip to San Diego

My brother has been in SD all summer with a program through his college church and today we finally road tripped down to see him! Our plan: beach day and kayaking. Our reality: torrential downpour! I absolutely LOVE the rain so it was a much welcomed occasion, although I wish we had been better prepared for it! We packed and dressed for a fun day at the beach (towels, swimsuits, shorts and t-shirts) and were not at all prepared for the debauchery that ensued!

The rain started when we were about 10 minutes away from the hotel so we had to change plans and decided to do lunch at the mall instead. After looking for parking for quite a while, we finally found a spot and decided it would be ok to walk to the restaurant. Boy were we wrong! Within 2 minutes of being out of the car we were DRENCHED. Poor Lady was splashing through puddles so the hubs decided to carry her to keep her from getting soaked. It didn't help.

We were running between awnings of the, of course, outdoor mall (we're in Southern California after all) when it became clear that none of our efforts to stay dry would help. We were all soaked to the bone and laughing. There are few things better than rain and laughter and to me it's pure magic when the two are combined.

We finally made it to the restaurant and enjoyed a long lunch together while we waited out the storm. After lunch, we were all still wet so we stopped in a few stores to buy new clothes for the drive home. All in all, it was a wonderful day well spent with family. :)

With love,
Kayla

Birthday Dinner

I'm not big into birthdays and large celebrations. Brad had planned to take Lady and I to Lazy Dog for a quiet family dinner that somehow turned into a big birthday dinner with some of my closest friends. I have the best friends a girl could ask for, and to have most (not all) of my friends in one picture is a memory worth keeping. :)

28 is putting it's best foot forward so far!


With love,
Kayla

Home again

This last two weeks has been amazing. I got a new job, went home for the family reunion and celebrated 2 years of marriage to the best guy I know. I'm content and excited for what's coming ahead and couldn't be surrounded by better people to share it with!

On our anniversary, we took a walk down to where we said "I do" two years ago. We were older, maybe wiser and a whole lot less glamorous, but it was wonderful.

With love,
Kayla