It was a SLO trip!

Last Friday, Cole and I took a trip to SLO to visit the Roughtons. It was a BLAST! The kids had a great time playing together and running around like crazies with home-made super-hero capes on (thanks to Summer) and we were able to pop in and out of the house to do a few things as the weather permitted. We had SUCH a wonderful time and we are so thankful for you, Summer and Todd, Ashlynn and Jeremy, and for your friendship! Thanks for hosting us in your home and making us feel at home too! And thanks for all the delicious meals!! Here are some pics of the weekend...check them out. There are some REALLY cool pictures! Let me know what you think!

Birthday Time!

Yesterday, the 18th, was my mom's (29th) birthday and her best friend, Judy, called me a couple of weeks ago with a plan. The plan was to surprise her at work and take her away for the day. So, I called her boss and asked if there was any way we could pull this off and have her take a personal day without my mom actually knowing. She said yes and so the plan was on. And then the plan was off with the weather being what it was for the last week. And then when the weatherman said it was supposed to clear out on Wednesday...it was back on! :) So, my dad took the day off of work, he and Cole and I piled jackets, bird books, binoculars and snacks into the car, picked up Judy and headed over to Mom's work yesterday. We came in singing "Happy Birthday" and I videotaped us going in. And then Dad told her what we were doing and she was SO excited! She quickly shut everything down and we got the heck out of there! We headed up to our fav coastal spot...Carp(interia)...and had lunch at the Cajun Kitchen...SO tasty! We actually ran into Judy's brother and sister-in-law, Ted and Sue, and they joined our table.
After our great meals, we headed over to the Salt Marsh Bird Reserve and walked around for about an hour or so.
We saw the usual birds...Great and Snowy Egrets, a cute pair of Ruddy Ducks, a whole slew of American coots, a beautiful Green-winged Teal, good 'ol Mallards, many Buffleheads and a couple of Great Blue Herons.
Just as we were turning around, Mom called out "Hey guys...I see something HUGE! It looks like a little boat in the water, but I think it's a bird. Seriously, it's really big guys. Come check it out." Judy and I were like, "Sure Mom, okay...we'll come over and look," thinking "Yeah, sure. Whatever Mom." But low and behold...she saw a bird we had never seen before in the wild. It was an almost-adult Mute Swan. They are mostly on the East Coast and around the Great Lakes, so to see one in the wild on the Pacific Coast was certainly a treat. We were able to get right over it on the birding path and take a whole bunch of pictures...here are just a few. :)
And while we were checking out our Mute Swan, we looked overhead and saw this beautiful Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Another first for me. :)
After birding, we headed back to the car to open presents. Probably not the best setting to open presents, but my mom was able to sit down, which was necessary. :)
Then we decided to head up to Lake Casitas and check out the lake area and campground there. They have a pretty amazing campground up there, complete with trailer and boat rentals, a camp store, many playgrounds and nice picnic areas. Just after the sun set, we found a cute Great Blue Heron wading in the shallows looking for dinner. Speaking of dinner, we drove back down to Carp and ate at one of our fav restaurants, The Palms.
We had a great dinner and then headed home, tired from our fun all-day adventure! Happy birthday to the best Mom around...you are such a great woman, wonderful mother and awesome grandma. I love you SO much Mamua. :)

Prayer

On Sunday night, I had the privilege to sing with an incredible choir...the choir from Cal Baptist University. Our GBC choir sang with them on 2 songs and I think we sounded pretty good! After we sang our two songs, Emilie and I sat back in our seats and enjoyed the rest of the concert. As soon as I sat down, I saw my sweet boy, Cole, come down the aisle and join me. I was excited that he came with my mom and dad and was able to see me and Auntie sing! Towards the end of the concert, we had a short prayer time and while Pastor Peter was praying, Cole was SO concerned and wanted to know..."Do you like cheese dogs?!" And the question wasn't whispered. I seriously lost it! It was one of those moments in church where you can't control yourself and you feel like everyone is looking at you. I just laughed so hard that my laugh was silent and my whole body shook. I think he asked the same question, "Do you like cheese dogs?" five times and with each repeat, I laughed even harder. Leave it to the kid to make me lose all control!

Happy 4th Birthday Cole!!!!

My favorite picture of you as a baby!

I cannot believe you are four years old today!!! It seems like yesterday that I had you in my belly and was so excited to feel you kicking and moving around! And now you are my little man who loves to do everything!! I love watching you play outside, watching you ride your little red tricycle as FAST as you can round and round! I love watching you build tall, crazy building and robots with your Legos. I love watching you sleep. I love hearing you sing songs, either by yourself or with me in the car! I love getting you all cleaned up and walking around with you at my side. I love when you draw awesome pictures of me, write my name on them and then give the picture to me like a present! I love that you like protein milk. I love that you are my boy. I love that you have rad dance moves. I love that you are so polite to (most) people. I love that you make friends easily. I love that you will sit with me and read story after story after story. I love taking you to Disneyland and Magic Mountain and experiencing new rides with you (and old ones too!) I love playing hide and seek with you, playing catch with you and playing t-ball and golf with you. I love teaching you new things. I love your little inquisitive mind. I love to hear you pray. And I love you.

Your first vacation at 7 weeks old!

Your first day at the beach...Carpinteria, of course!
Chillin' in your favorite chair!
First time at the pool!Teether biscuits are the best!
Lookin' mighty cute on the couch!

On your first boat ride in Big Bear!You certainly love bath time!
Your first Halloween...as the cutest tiger ever!!!
Showin' off for the ladies!
You're always so silly!!
Howdy, cowboy!!
Helpin' out at Children's Hunger Fund!
Your 3rd birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese!
Just wiggin' out!

Your first day of preschool, September 2008!
With Miss Laura at preschool!Tux snugglin' with his favorite boy!

Argh matey!Always climbin'!
Happy birthday Cole...I love you beyond measure! :)

Irked

So, at the end of December, T-Mobile was having a super awesome sale on phones and I was able to get a "texting" phone for free-99. :) Basically, it retailed at $199, I paid $50 for it, but I got a $50 mail-in-rebate for it, so it'll be free. Wahoo! And...to make the deal even sweeter, I received a free companion flight as well! I didn't even know that I qualified for that special and was pleasantly surprised when I was handed all the literature. And I've been dying to go to Portland to visit Mary, Kyle & Wyatt and all the bald eagles up there, so I was super-excited! You had to go through a whole month-long process just to get a pin number to look through possible flights, so I needed to be patient. Okay, I can handle that. Well, I got the booking pin yesterday, one month after I bought the phone, and thought I'd give the flights a little looksey. ARGH! The cost of one flight on their so-called deal is more than the price of 2 flights going through several other websites. The cheapest flight that was available from here to Portland was $541. I could get 2 tickets for the times I want for $380 through JetBlue. What kind of freakin' deal is that?????? I'm definitely miffed and I think I'll call T-Mobile and see what I can do. Very frustrating, don't ya think????

Good times with the Davis'!

On Saturday, the 17th, my family had our annual Davis Get-together...we can't even call it a Christmas get-together any more as it's usually in January due to everyone's busy schedules. Most of the Davis clan was able to make it down to Laguna "Goonie" Beach for an afternoon/evening full of family time! Cole was so bummed as his "cousin" Zachary was still on vacation in Hawaii and his other "cousin," Savannah, was really sick at home. He did get to meet his newest "cousin" Phoenix and really thought she was cute! We had a great time of catching up and I was so excited that Cole could finally meet my Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim. They came in from Florida and everyone was glad they were able to make it out...it's been a LONG time! Here are a few pictures...

They sure do have beautiful sunsets from this balcony!!
Cole and Dusty playing Legos and building something together...good thing Dust is an architect!
Pretty darn cute if you ask me! :)Dusty and Cole playing with the huge bouncy ball from Aunti Di & Uncle Roger!
Uncle Roger, Emilie and Dad comparing bellies...I think Uncle Roger won! Or lost...I don't know!Dad strummin' some tunes for everyone to listen to...Aunt Sue getting her fill of Phoenix...what a sweet girl!
Thanks Uncle Roger & Aunti Di for opening up your home to all of us yet again. We had such a great time and I hope it's not another year before we see everyone again! KATO! :)

I've Been Tagged!

Thanks Laina!!

1. Where is your cell phone? On my nightstand
2. Your significant other? Well...he's working...if you want to still call him my sig. other.
3. Your hair? Needs a cut!!!
4. Your mother? Is working right now and still not feeling great! :(
5. Your father? Is also at work, probably writing a song :)
6. Your favorite thing(s)? My God, my son, my family, my friends, birding, reading, the beach...
7. Your dream last night? This is weird...that Cole's jaw popped out of place, but he was okay and I was FREAKED OUT! Dude...I don't know about that one!
8. Your favorite drink? Tie between hot tea and Dr. Pepper
9. Your dream/goal? To raise my son to see a difference in me and follow the Lord. To go on an Alaskan cruise. To go to Florida and Texas to bird. To read my Bible EVERY day!
10. The room you’re in? Cole's room...pretty soon I'll have my own desk in my own room with my own computer! YAHOO!
11. Your fear? Not being able to protect Cole
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Walking with the Lord and in my own place.
13. Where were you last night? With Emilie and Laina at Kaiser for a birth class
14. What you’re not? A messy person. A boy. An atheist. A germophob.
15. Muffins/donuts? Donuts...all the way!
16. One of your wish list items? A REALLY nice camera and a spotting scope w/ camera.
17. Where you grew up? Santa Clarita
18. The last thing you did? Paid bills :(
19. What are you wearing? Pj's...for another couple of minutes and then it's shower time!
20. Your TV? In storage
21. Your pet? Tux - the best cat ever and Cleo - the love bug who annoys you every chance she can. :)
22. Your computer? In the garage in a box...waiting to come out!
23. Your life? Blessed, busy, exciting, challenging, prayerful, and FUN!
24. Your mood? Calm
25. Missing someone? My two puppies that I gave away last year.
26. Favorite pastime? Birding, beaching, watching (TV and movies), playing (cards & games & catch with Cole) and reading!
27. Something you’re not wearing? Jewelry
28. Favorite Store? I don't know...probably Walmart ;)
29. Your summer? is going to be busy
30. Your favorite color? Blue
31. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday afternoon when Cole was pushing me around the backyard on HIS tricycle...it was hilarious! I don't really fit at all!
32. Last time you cried? At Tinna and James' wedding on Sunday. :)
33. Who will re-post this? Who knows!
34. Four places I go over and over? Church, school, Trader Joe's and Walmart
35. Four people who e-mail me? Kohl's, Emilie, Jenn & my Yahoo reminders. :)
36. Four of my favorite foods? Chips and dip, Vegetables, Chicken Enchiladas, and Brownies
37. Four places I would like to be right now? Carpinteria, done with my class, feeling 100% and in someone's arms...it's been a while. ;)
38. Four people I tag? Julie, Kristal, Kim and Summer :)

Busted!

So I caught a couple of furry creatures stealing my birdseed from one of the feeders yesterday morning...and they were pretty cute. :) I was able to walk right up to the little guys and take pictures a few inches away. Here they are feasting away...

My mom wants to "get rid of them," however, I think they are too cute for words.

Maybe I'm just a softy. :)

SORRY!

Cole received many games for Christmas and we have only just begun digging into them and giving them a whirl. Here are some pics of the first time he played SORRY! It was very fun!
Cole and Grandma starting out the game!Cole getting the winning card and...doing the victory dance, card in hand! :)
He very much enjoyed saying, "SORRY!" with quite the silly accent. Oh what fun it is to play games with a youngster. :)