Newport Vacation: Jared's Birthday

For Jared's birthday we decided to take a small trip. I was having a hard time trying to figure out where to go and came across The Newport Coast Villas. These are amazing two bedroom mini apartments across from Crystal Cove. Why did we want a second room when it was just the two of us?? Well, we asked our good friends Mike, Katie and their 2 year-old son Cayden to join us for one of the nights.



 

 Our living room, kitchen and on the left is the second bedroom.

 Our bedroom :)

 

On Jared's actual birthday we decided to head over to Balboa and rent some kayaks. We had so much fun paddling around Balboa Island looking at all of the homes and the gorgeous boats. While we were paddling there was a fish that jumped out of the water right in front of me. We loved every minute of it and next time I think we are going to try the paddle boarding. After the kayaking we walked around the Balboa Fun Zone and got some ice cream. For some reason whenever we go on vacation we find a local candy store and buy a ton of candy. I don't know why but that is slowly becoming a family tradition. We then went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. I found us a nice little steak restaurant in Corona del Mar and we had a nice dinner together to celebrate Jared's birthday.

 

The next day Mike, Katie and Cayden came to the hotel. We spent the day riding a group bike around Balboa and then spending time at the hotel pool. The pool was a great way to cool off after a super hot day. We got ready for dinner and had a yummy dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Ruby's. After dinner we walked around the beach that Jared and I took our engagement pictures at. It is this little secluded beach in Laguna. Unfortunately, it was really dark by the time we got there and the tide was really high, so we didn't stay too long. Our night ended with more laughs, games and having a great time with friends.

 Jared and Cayden hanging out on the couch.

 All of us on the bike about to ride around Balboa.

 Happy Birthday to the best husband in the world!

This trip was so much fun and we are hoping to make it an annual trip with the Byers Family. Thanks for coming and spending the weekend with us and celebrating Jared's birthday.

Happy Birthday Stitch!!

Our little monster turned 1 years old on April 5th. We love him so much and couldn't imagine our life without him. He is so much fun and has such a cute little personality.

For his birthday we decided to take him to the beach. He had a lot of fun running around and meeting new dogs. Unfortunatly, we had a small incident while at the beach. Jared had Stitch on his leash walking him around and these two big dogs started walking all over our stuff. We didn't care because I am sure they were just smelling the puppy treats that we had in our bag. One of the dogs came up to Stitch and they started sniffing each other. Then out of nowhere this dog attacked Stitch and pinned him down with his mounth twice! We were so mad! Jared got mad at his owner and told the guy to put his dog on a leash. The guys chewed Jared out and said that Stitch was the aggressive one and that it was our fault by having him on a leash because he can't protect himself. I was really confused about that. I thought it was a good thing to have the dog on a leash and Stitch is nothing but sweet and playful. About 1 minute after the guys chewed Jared out his dog attacked another small dog, but this time it chased the puppy down the beach and I think actually bit the dog. It was horrible. Some guy pushed the mean dog away and totally cussed the owner out. After this Stitch was a little scared for a little bit but after a while he was himself again.

Other than this incident, our beach trip was a lot of fun. Our good friend Katie and her little boy Cayden came to the beach with us. We all had a lot of fun!! Stitch loved Cayden! He loved following him around the beach and seeing all the things he was doing. Again, Stitch did not like the ocean. Maybe another time, but honestly I don't think he will ever like the ocean.

Happy Birthday Chloe!

My baby sister turned 12 years old on March 31st. I can't believe that she is already 12 years old. For her birthday she wanted to see The Hunger Games movie with some friends and have a Hunger Games themed party. I made these really cute invitations. All the girls had these really cute Hunger Games t-shirts. Below are pictures from her party, along with the invitation that I made.

Katy Perry Concert

For my birthday my best friend, Andrea, got us tickets to see Katy Perry at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was so much fun!! Here are some pictures from the concert.

Happy Birthday Jared!!!

My amazing husband turned 26 years old on August 16th. He was a very lucky guy that weekend. For breakfast one day I made him Coffee Cake. For dinner one night I made him one of his favorite dinners, Empinada's (see my other blog for the reciepe). For his birthday dinner we went, with Jared's family, to his favorite pizza place, Naples, in Downtown Disney. After dinner we all went back to our apartment for cake. I wanted to make a special cake for Jared's birthday. Every year I make him a cake, and this year I wanted to make something special that he wouldn't expect. All of you know that Jared works for himself making apps for the Android market, so I thought I would make a cake around that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JARED!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Time Fly's

On March 30, my baby sister turned 11. I can't believe it. I was 14 when she was born, and so I was almost like a second mother to her. Now she looks like a mini-teenager (also a mini-me). For her birthday we went to my grandparents house for dinner and had the best lasagna I have ever eaten. Since Chloe helps me on some of the blankets that I make, I decided to make her one. I found these amazing bright pink, yellow, orange, blue, and green fabrics at M&L Fabric. By the time I got the fabrics it was only a few days until her birthday so I worked hard at trying to get it done in time. Needless to say I got it all done just as we were walking out the door to go to her little birthday celebration. Along with the blanket we also got her the Tangled DVD. Which she loved too!

Chloe's birthday cake was baked Alaska.

So excited to open her presents.

The blanket I made her.

More Celebrating

To celebrate my birthday with my Bestie, Andrea, we went to Islands for lunch. YUM! After lunch, we hurried over to the movie theater and saw Burlesque. It was better than I thought. I had read reports that Christina Aguilera did horrible acting, but I thought she did pretty good for her first movie. The part I liked the best was the music.... AMAZING!

To finish off the birthday celebrating, we are going to dinner at Knollwood's then heading over to Cinema City to see Disney's Tangled. I am so excited to see this movie. I have been looking forward to this movie all year.

Birthday Celebration 1 & Disneyland

This year I turned the big 24! For those that know me, know that I like to celebrate my birthday. We celebrated the week of Thanksgiving with my family. Then on Friday we had lunch at Club 33 in Disneyland. After lunch we spent the rest of the day with our good friends and Disneyland buddies, Mike and Katie. We had so much fun!

Jared and I in front of Club 33.

Jared, Me, Blake, Rachel & Chloe

Haunted Mansion: Nightmare Before Christmas

Christmas Balls in California Adventures

California Screamin'

Space Mountain

Disneyland Christmas Tree

Disneyland Castle

August Birthdays

August is a big month for us with birthday's. First Jared's little brother, Jake, turned 3 years old on August 2. Then, my Dad turned 50 on August 12, Jared turned 25 on August 16, and my little brother, Blake, turned 22 on August 20.

Jared and I decided to take Jake to Disneyland for his birthday since he could still get in for free. It was so much fun to be at Disneyland with a little kid. We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride, Dumbo, the Carosel, and the Tea Cups. Jake's favorite ride (and mine) was the Winnie the Pooh ride. We got some fun pictures of our adventure.

Jake on his Carosel horse.

Jared, Jake & Me

Jake on the Tea Cups showing off his big muscles.

For Jared's birthday we went to Hibachi Steak House with his parents and later in the week we celebrated with his family. I decided to make the cake. I thought I would be creative and make him a surf board cake. I wasn't too proud of it, but it was the first cake I carved, so that has to count for something.

Jared's Birthday Cake

Later that month we had a family party to celebrate all of the August birthdays. Usually my grandma makes the birthday cakes but she decided to let me do it this year. My cake was really yummy. I made a white cake with strawberries and homemade buttercream frosting. Yum!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAKE, DAD, JARED & BLAKE!!!!

Happy Birthday & Thanksgiving

I am so behind on my blogging!!! I finally have a second to sit down and upload all my pictures and write on here. Thanksgiving was my 23rd birthday. This was one of those years where I was privledged to have my birthday on Thanksgiving. In the morning Jared and I went to Disneyland to pick up my $72 birthday gift card and went on one ride. Sadly the whole Thanksgiving weekend Jared was sick with a really bad head cold so we didnt do much. We did however go to Fry's and buy our Chirstmas present, a desktop computer. We love it!!! Here are the few pictures of the weekend.

Jared and I at Disneyland.

Blowing out my birthday cake that Chloe made for me.

My dad, Chloe, and Me