i walked down the stairs and saw my man eating this for breakfast.

i taught him well i think.

hows this for a new years resolution?

go to the beach more.

although the traveling was out of this world and we both got colds, i was so happy to see my family and i really enjoyed seeing belle in the snow for the first time...



belle is insanely obsessed with anything fluffy. bears. dogs. kitties. she was immediately in love with my mom's dog, kayla. she would do her little "hu hu" laugh when kayla would lick her face. it made me melt.

the funniest was when belle was sitting on the snow bank (see above) and kayla came up from behind her and decided to ram her backside and give belle a little joyride down the snowbank.  too bad my mom didn't snap the camera at that moment. (you must all be thinking what a terrible and mean mom i am laughing at my poor daughter being tortured by the snow and a dog...i'm not. i promise.)

 strange how santa brought the exact same car for belle that she got for her b-day...hmm.

my favorite part of Christmas this year was Christmas morning snuggling in our new pjs with all our  opened loot and mess all over the floor...



our newest member of the house...lulu. she purrs, wipes her face with her paw, rolls back to let you rub her tummy, closes her eyes and meows. belle enjoys dragging her around by the neck and giving her lots of kisses. i didn't teach her to love like that!


***my shop will be opening soon with some new goodies! stay tuned!

belle really loves bbq sauce.

things have been really busy around here with my shop, making christmas presents and getting ready to go to utah in less than 2 weeks. woohoo! and i just maybe have had my tree up for over a week now... i love it!

Winter's Tale by Robert Sabuda

THE best and most magical Christmas book ever. i read this book to belle last night and it is amazing! each page is an extravagant pop up and even has a light-up surprise at the end. you can buy it here.

photo via RobertSabuda.com

wild thing...

belle walked into the bathroom one day carrying this mask... she likes to snoop thru my nightstand... LOL.

lately, she has been wanting to sit on the bathroom counter while i get ready. she copies me and takes my make-up brush and brushes her face and then mine. she is hilarious. i love this little girl so much. most mornings, i wake up and can't wait to see her little pudgy face.

*recognize the mask jill or kym? ;)

my little garden gnome...

as you can see i wasn't successful in only picking one.

belle won the costume contest for her age group...we couldn't be prouder. ;) (she is holding her ribbon)


we did make it to the pumpkin patch and it was hot and dirty (*i just read this after i posted and i can't stop laughing! LOL). made me miss utah this time of year.


i had a halloween party at my house... we ate fingers, spider infested boiled eggs, mummy pizza and moldy cheese. delicious! wha ha ha.

turtle bay is where it all began...

and maybe that is why it is still our #1 place. jay and i started surfing together when we first met (and he kept trying to play hard to get and it literally drove me crazy). i remember checking him out, out of the corner of my eye, in his beat up station wagon.



out of nowhere the waves got big and i was glad i went in...look at all that white water! i was sucking anyway...i wish i would go more! jay and i miss the north shore sooo bad! we plan on moving back when we can.



uh oh. i think i heard belle. she will play in her crib after a nap forever if i let her (sometimes i do). i wish i had a camera on the wall to see what she was doing!

i (sort of) heart the zoo.

i can't help but feel bad for all of the animals stuck in their cages.

something you did not know about me: my long lost dream was i always wanted to be like Steve Irwin and work at a rehabilitation zoo.

i posted all these amazing photos in case you felt left out ;)

flamingos are fluorescent. INSANE. (i put belle in her giraffe dress for the occasion)

jason was really excited to see his long lost relatives.


i have a thing for tigers.

my very favorite part.

my favorite animal that we saw...besides belle ;)

for your viewing pleasure.


jay has been on vaca before he starts the dreaded 4th quarter (crazy holiday rush) at target. we are enjoying lots of family time. headed to the north shore to surf! pics to come.