Newport Beach '11

Kozak & Associates recently opened an office up in Newport Beach, Ca, so a business dinner for clients was scheduled for December for all of the boys to go. The girls decided it was the perfect time for them to go have fun and play. And that we did. Since I grew up in California, it is always a blast to go back. It will always have a special place in my heart. It was especially fun to be back there with my brother where every street seemed to bring back memories. We stayed on Balboa Island, one of my favorite locations in all of Southern California. It is quaint, charming, unique, and absolutely gorgeous. I would have no problem retiring there and never leaving the island. We shopped, ate, went on many walks, played in the sand, went to Disneyland, and spent time with great family and friends. I am so excited for the new office because hopefully that means more time there. Brooklyn also got to meet my best friend Lindsey and that was so much fun. I think Brooklyn loves Lindsey as much as I do :) I will blog about Disneyland later, I don't have the energy to tackle that beast tonight! Thanks mom and dad for a great trip!


This little girl was pure entertainment the entire trip. She is hilarious and we all adore her.

The boys built Liza a sand castle that she couldn't wait to destroy. The water was freezing but the boys braved the water and surfed.

I love that face.

I really can't get enough of her.

Papa making B laugh.

We went on lots of walks around the island. Probably 2 a day. It was so much fun walking as a family, admiring all the houses, and going on morning donut runs.

These little toes touched sand for the first time.

It was so fun to take her to the beach.

Balboa Bars are famous there and worth the hype! My dad prefers the frozen bananas but it was like biting into banana flavored ice.

Beautiful Balboa Island

Daddy and B at the beach.

Our cute little beach house!

My brother and I grew up going to this arcade. It seemed huge and magical back then. It broke our hearts to see how abandoned that part of the boardwalk was. It once had bumper cars, 3 arcades, and a merry go round. Now, just the one arcade stands. They are turning it into a museum.

One of the days we got together with my Dad's ENTIRE family, minus little Kassey and Trevor ( he wasn't there yet). We haven't all been together for a long time, it was lots of fun.

I just love Balboa. Trevor and I took our engagements on that Ferris Wheel.

We found the deal or no deal game at the arcade and Liza loved it!

Brooklyn napped like a champ the entire trip. Wherever we were she took her naps and was a happy camper.

Kristy and I with the girls on the ferry.

It was perfect weather

Being on the island, we had to take the ferry (a whole 3 minute ride) to get to the beach/arcade/etc.

B's photo shoot.

My cousin Hayden took the cutest pictures of B over Thanksgiving, I love them!

Tausha's Shower

Trevor's little sister, Tausha, is engaged and getting married December 21st. It goes without saying we adore Tausha. I consider myself pretty lucky to have her as a sister in law. I was so excited to help plan/throw her shower. I wanted to make it as "Tausha" as possible, which means bright colors, girly, and lots of polka dots. I think the mission was accomplished. Thanks to the Carney and McCabe girls! It was lots of fun getting everything ready and seeing it all come together. We had a blast setting up for 5 hours! We are excited for Tausha to get married and have Jacob in the family! I didn't edit any of these pictures so they are kinda dark, oh well.

Time Flies

I can't believe our little Brooklyn is almost 4 months old. Where on earth has the time gone? People always told me "they grow up too fast" and I never really took it seriously. Until now. She has grown up Way.Too.Fast. So fast that I may or may not have cried in the past week thinking about how I wish I had a remote for her to freeze these moments I can't get enough of. I think the whole newborn thing is done all wrong. How come when they are these tiny, precious little things you are recovering, exhausted, and totally clueless on the who parenthood thing? So unfair. Every day I think, could she get any cuter? Could I love her more? and well, every day I do.

It totally blows my mind how much I can love this little thing. It's crazy how 3 months is such a short amount of time but she has changed so much. Maybe it's because my little one already wants to stand on her own, hold her own bottle, and grab iPhones. She is past the point of cuddling and looks at me like "um...mom, I can hold my head up already, I'm too big for this whole cuddling thing." Sometimes she lets out her annoyed scream while I'm doing it but I still make cuddle. Selfish, I know. Everyday brings something new and she changes slightly every time I see that smiling face when I get her out of her crib in the morning.

As much as I miss her tiny little self and her being so dependent on me, I am loving watching her learn and grow everyday. I could stare at her all day long and just watch her take in and try and understand the world around her. I wish I could lock her up in the house and never let her have to face this crazy world, but hopefully by the time she is actually facing it, I will have come to grips with it. :) She is my whole world now and I couldn't love it more. Now that I have her, I totally understand what every other mom said about loving them. No matter how exhausted, frustrated, or stressed I ever get, it takes one little squeal from her to remind what is really worth worrying about.

I am thankful for her everyday and have loved every second of the 119 days I have had her. Now, if only pregnancy went this fast and the first 9 months went as slow at growing her did. Now that, is a genius idea. At least she is stuck with me forever. I am eternally thankful for that.

How did this little girl...

turn into this little girl so fast?

I love those cheeks.

Baby's first Halloween

I always thought about what holidays would be like with a babe around, and, well...it's WAY. MORE. FUN. My mom was never the biggest Halloween enthusiast and dressed me in her old clown costume for more years that I would like to mention, I decided to fully embrace it. I will, however, give her credit for manning up one year and making me and my best friend Betty and Wilma- we rocked the trunk or treat that year. The other day she casually said "I should get out the clown costume" to which I quickly replied "NO!!" It's an ongoing joke in our family. I'm sure one year I'll make Brookie wear the clown costume. I got Brooklyn a cute lady bug costume one night, and an "i'pood" the other night. If you know Trevor it will make perfect sense.

For our pre-Halloween activities, my friend Emi put together a fun little outing to a pumpkin patch. This wasn't just any pumpkin patch, this was a pumpkin farm where you cut your pumpkin off the vine. Minus two massive blowouts, Brooklyn enjoyed herself. It was fun to get out and do something new this year.

Julie had her annual Halloween party that was as fun as ever. She knows how to throw a party. It was fun to get together with all of our good friends and eat lots of junk food. It's not as easy to not eat like you're pregnant when you're not pregnant. I'm working on it. It doesn't help that Trevor (who lives for handing candy out to the kiddos) told me to get lots of candy and a whole 4 kids showed up to our door. I should have listened to my mom's advice and bought candy I don't like. Oh well.

all the babes- this picture cracks me up

Steve Jobs and his "i'pood"

We went to our ward trunk or treat and had some great chili and cornbread before heading out to the cars to pass out candy to the little kids. It was freezing out that night but still lots of fun.

I'm certain they will find this funny 10 years from now

Having Brookie here for Halloween made me beyond excited for her first Christmas. I'm already planning obnoxious amounts of traditions. We will see how many I actually put in action. Having a little one around is more fun that I could have imagined and I can't get enough of her.