
pages

there was this one time…

that’s what elsie said when we were bike riding along the santa barbara coast. and i agree. if you don’t already know, this is where chris went to college, and where we lived for our first year of marriage. such a beautiful place. perfect weather year round a couple hours away from los angeles- close enough for a day drive but far enough from the LA of LA:) here are some random pictures of our day. starting the trek:
asleep so soon:

little pit stop for lunch and instead of dragging the crew out to eat, we decided to eat on this little hill near the car since E was still sleeping 🙂

we spent over an hour at our quick little stop and took so many pics. those trees!! chris took this with his polaroid and i love it sooo much. me and my crew. i want to take the polaroid and frame it with a ridiculously large mat and frame. i adore it.

finally in santa barbara.

i can’t decide which of these are my favorite. they are so sweet i could cry!



and the little dude who is almost always down to take a photo for his daddy:



i know we are goobs but it’s tradition and we can’t help it 🙂



it’s sorta funny how you’ll see many other bike riders along the trail- the trail is right next to the water, it’s this peaceful little journey… until the waters get next to you and there is just chaos and mayham and craziness in our little bike. but sometime in between all the mayham, elsie told chris- “it makes me happy to be here” 🙂 that’s what it’s all about. 🙂

so long santa barbara! we looooove you!

christmas eve play at church, E and I were both angels 🙂 
i need to get more pics from my SIL, as this was such a special play for us… our whole family participated. kira was mary and chris was one of the wise men and the boys were shepards.
christmas morning:

my handmade gift from my husband- so sweet 🙂

he and cam went all around town taking polaroid pics of trees. one of my favorite things.

then it was off to grammies and grampies across the street for christmas morning with them
kira and her cousin. my SIL and her family were here for the week. such a special time with them!

cam had such a cute little quirk this year while opening presents. he’d open then cover them up right away.



then back home for a little rest,then back to grammies for the whole family christmas together.
claiming to be camera shy:

but proving otherwise a bit later:

she got use to the present thing very quickly 🙂

then it was time for family entertainment 🙂

(k17 flashback auts and amihan!)


kk stoked to have the 5 golden rings part 🙂

next morning, the girls went out to see benjamin button and chris set up some pics. looooove these of these 2! they are 3 years apart but were total buds the whole trip.


and a few of my favorite things- my husband and ginko leaves 🙂

happy new year blog land! i cannot believe it will be 2009 tomorrow.
we didn’t send christmas cards out this year due to my low tolerance of stress levels, i did manage to whip this up in photoshop just now thanks to kira’s swift decision making skills. every single card WE received was just amazing. thank you so much for sharing your families with us. lovely. we wish you a merry christmas and a wonderful new year!
the kids and i got a bee in our bonnets last night and made 5 of these puppies! so fun, and so gratifying to use up all those ribbons 🙂 

tonight, we tackle on the teacher presents! 🙂
and here are a few more from the dodger day… elsie waiting in the car before we got there 🙂

dad has hopes of her playing ball 🙂

and me with my favorite ball player 🙂

oh! also added my next 7 pages for my december daily book over here… just trying to condense blog space 🙂
here’s what we’ve been up to the last few weeks:
elsie’s hair is getting long and she’s decided that she doesn’t like haircuts anymore so she will grow it out but wear it up everyday. (yeah right)
she’s discovered a new love for chicken teriyaki and eating with chopsticks.
kira’s cheerleading squad performed at a local christmas parade.
cam went to outdoor science camp for a week..a big event in the 5th grade.
els and her good friend at a playdate at the americana.
elsie had her first dance recital. note that she didn’t have her hair up and refused to let me touch it.
elsie’s recital was held at caleb’s old preschool, where elsie will also go in sept and which also happens to be where chris and i became mr and mrs waters 🙂
i thought it was so funny that her dance teacher made such a big deal about us bringing flowers for our dancers… i knew E wouldn’t care, she dug her balloon much more 🙂
and this should be a post on it’s own.. but thanks to friends, we were able to spend an afternoon at dodger stadium. SO amazing!!!
if K was in this shot, i would have contemplated christmas cards… although i made up my mind in early december that im not sending any out. so nice not have to stress about that!
i wish i could have captured how giddy excited HE was to be here 🙂
we’ve got another few more weeks planned with friends and family coming in.. just trying to go with the flow and not stress… i dont even have my shopping done and i am so okay with it all 🙂 i have even kept up with my december daily book. which is just amazing that i’ve stuck with it this far 🙂
this man is so busy i don’t know how he does it. he works like a madman but still has time to come to all of his kid’s games and be their loudest cheerleader 🙂 this year he’s been to 7 countries for work and one to cheer me along as i taught in italy. in a way it was strange to see him with all that free time on his hands in italy, as he hardly ever has free time. and as our year comes to and end, that would be my wish for him. more free time, more sleep. 🙂
here he is shooting a wedding with me
and surprisingly having some downtime in yosemite, playing golf
in new zealand (gosh this seems so long ago, but he went here twice this year)
in italy
in london:
and home. which i believe is his most favorite spot in the world 🙂
we love you!!!
the boys were on a half day schedule this week (parent conferences, i can brag and say they got awesome reports, as this is my blog and i can do that) 🙂 we were spoiled with beautiful weather and got together with some of our favorite friends for both mommy and elsie- brooke and kili! the mommies had to have a coffee stop before we took on the park!
we love the gingerbread at starbucks! 🙂
there was an older girl at the park who did this (els did not see) and i told brooke, elsie will be in that same spot later. sand, dirt… her element 🙂
these puppies needed a good soak later
the girls adore cameron!
isn’t she lovely!
and last time my mom was in town, she dropped off a bag of little goodies for the kids to open each day.. they’ve been loving it. reminds me of when she did that for me when i was little, awww. love you mom! (kira wasn’t feeling camera ready but at least you get to see her fancy nails she painted)
and yesterday i picked up the best cookies from trader joes! dark chocolate covered shortbread. holy cow. i told the kids they couldn’t eat them till i finished my KI project and took pics. how do i know they won’t last thru the weekend?? 🙂