Marina State Beach

After the aquarium, we went back to the hotel and the kids and I napped while Richard watched a game on TV. We then packed up and headed to the Marina State Beach (literally a block away) and played for about an hour. It was SO COLD but Carter of course loved it. We bundled up Drake really well and he did so good. This is definitely my new favorite beach. Honestly, I'm more of a mountain/lake person because there always seems to be less people and commercialism. However, this beach was surrounded by sand dunes instead of a bunch of tshirt shops and had such beautiful water and sands. It also wasn't crowded at all, but that's probably because it was 6:00pm in  April ;)

^^ story of my life

^^ the boys got their feet wet. Drake and I were happy to just watch

The Big 2-5

Richard took me to Shaver Lake for my big 2-5. It's a bit of a tradition for the two of us summer babies to flock to water for our birthdays. We did paddle boarding last year so we thought we'd do the same this year. Unfortunately, the boards were rented out for the day so we decided on paddle boating instead. It was actually harder than it looks to steer that thing and we felt like big dorks. Thus the dorky pictures....

  

 I had to end with this golden nugget of a photo. In the words of my dear husband,

"My selfie game is strong."

...what am I going to do with him?

P.S. Shout out to the Rindlisbacher family for watching Carter! 

P.P.S. Mental note to bring Dramamine next time! That drive is no joke.

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

So this 4th of July was kind of a buzz-kill. Rich & I had plans to go deep sea fishing but being the accountant in training he CANCELLED PLANS THE DAY BEFORE and said that we were too poor to go. I know you're probably like, "Wow, first world problems much?" But we both work 2 jobs not because we HAVE to (we can pay our bills just fine) but because we like to work hard so we can play hard too. And save too, I guess. I just didn't get that memo. So plan B was to go shooting with one of his friends. I was super pumped..I remember doing this for mutual back in the day and I felt super gangster. I even proceeded to go to Wal-Mart and buy a whole bunch of sodas and a Justin Bieber poster for target practice. 

That plan fell through as well.

Anyways, we ended up going fishing up at Millerton. Last minute decision at 10am. We bought some cheap polls, used the bait we had on hand, got a one day license and left. The drive up there was beautiful. I'm sorta obsessed with the area. I hope Fresno starts to develop a little bit that way so that I can possibly raise my babies there. We found an awesome little spot outside of the lake itself and set off.

Gorgeous right?

My babe workin hard.

 I actually really don't like this picture of myself. My face looks extra round. HOWEVER how adorable does  Richard look? Man babe, that over the shoulder smoulder kills me. Yes please.

And the best part of this whole post?? 

I CAUGHT A FISH!

You need to know the back story to appreciate this. Rich & I went fishing...I don't know...like 5 or 6 times last summer and did I catch anything? NO. Never not once. I caught one once when I was like 13 on a boating trip with one of my friends but that didn't count. I never got a picture. But now I have proof!

The proof was hard to get too. The area we were in was pretty weed-y so I was accustomed to pulling hard on my line to get it untangled. Yet this time, the tug felt different. It was like a sharp snap so I snapped back and proceeded to real in my PRIZE! I was SUPER pumped. Richard went to go grab his phone to take a picture and he couldn't find it! He told me to go to our old spot and see if he left it there (our old spot being like 200 feet away)! I ran like crazy while he kept the fish in the water (I didn't want to kill it!) and what do you know...the phone was with him the whole time. So after sprinting around like a madwoman. I finally got this shot. No fish were harmed in the making of this blogpost. We set him free :)

Afterwards we had my family over to come swim and have a BBQ at our complex's pool. I have no idea why I didn't think to take pictures! I need to be better about that. While Richard & my dad entertained Jaron, Brooke & Bradley I proceeded to hoard baby Aylexa :).

Her mama took this picture. We tried everyttthing to wake her up. She is one persistent sleeper. But then again, "First world problems" right?

Oh and sister Pam brought a super adorable cake for Aylexa's uhh week and a half birthday? The Willis girls always find an excuse for cake! It is in our blood.

We closed our evening while watching the fireworks at Buchanan. It was beautiful. I truly love this country and for the freedoms we have and for all the sacrifices that were made on our behalf.

All in all, thanks Rich for cancelling our deep sea fishing trip. Plan C was way better.

P.S. No fish were harmed in the making of this blogpost
P.P.S. Anyone have Bieber Fever and could use a poster?

Benvenuto Little Italy!

So naturally, since our hotel was smack dab in the middle of downtown...we wanted to explore. I did a little research via google and found out there is a cute little neighborhood called Little Italy a few blocks down from us. After needing a little help from the locals, we found it. And we died.

 It was this absolutely ADORABLE little scene hidden away behind ugly old skyscrapers. It was like we found the unicorn of neighborhoods. Block after block lined with the cutest candle-lit Italian restaurants,  funky shops and tons of charm. I feel so cheesy describing it like that but it was true!

 A lot of restaurants/shops/businesses were once old homes that were renovated, instead of being torn down thus keeping the integrity of the neighborhood. And if you know me, you know I like me some maintained integrity in real estate! We walked around in circles like 4 times and probably looked really silly but we were starving and couldn't decide which place to go to! We're suckers for Italian food and it's hard to choose when you're faced with literally 20-ish amazing options. So how did we decide? Did we flip a coin? Ask the locals? Close our eyes and point?

                                                               Nope, we got greek.

 We decided that instead of making a decision and regret it later, we would just go to this random Greek shop and return to Little Italy once we had done some more research. The Greek place was totally weird. We got this chicken plate but I'm pretty sure what we had wasn't chicken...

     REGARDLESS....we got fed and thoroughly enjoyed our walk home because of scenes like this:

I mean REALLY?! Lilac colored trees adorned with twinkle lights in the middle of downtown San Diego coupled with brick buildings and views of the ocean? Forget about it! (say that in an old Italian accent will ya?) ;)

PARADISE

So it was officially a month ago that we left for our honeymoon...
but it gives me an excuse to look through our pictures again :)

Not a worry in the world!

"Because words are primarily processed through conscious, analytic pathways, they are easier to resist than images that are processed through less conscious, intuitive associations." Craig R Fox

It was AMAZING to say the least.

Oh, and we still need to develop our under-water-snorkeling-pictures.
Those should be interesting!
HIGHLIGHT: While we were swimming I saw a wild stingray like 3 feet underneath me! But did I take a picture of it? Of course not....I screamed and crawled on top of Richard's back to get away from it.  I know that's a lost opportunity... but I'm too scared to even touch the petting zoo ones at the Monterrey Aquarium so do you think I would be BFFs with a WILD one? No thank you :)
Anyways, life is still good :)
I may do more than one post today...lots of catching up to do.
You're welcome Alyssa ;)