My Husband's a Stud

Matt completed the Catalina Classic yesterday (a 32 mile Paddle Board race from Catalina to Manhattan Beach Pier) in 6 hours and 48 minutes. Insane?- yes! Amazing?- yes! This was his 4th time doing the race and even though the conditions were rough he beat his previous best time by 2 minutes. Thank you to John and Mike who went to Catalina with him and took care of him from the guide boat by giving him food, cheering him on, etc. And thank you to all the friends, family and coworkers who came to watch Matt at the finish- your support meant so much to him! He's feeling pretty good today.

Mike took these shots- the first two are from Catalina and the bottom one is Matt battling the open sea:)


Here's Matt at the MB Pier crossing the finish line


The 2011 Classic finishers. There are 2 divisions (Unlimited- 18 ft boards and Stock -less popular and harder/slower- 12 ft boards.) Matt races stock so he's 2nd from the right kneeling on the sand with his board in front of him.


So proud of him!


Kylie playing with Grandma and Grandpa on the beach


Some of Matt's coworkers, Jason and Scott, who came out to congratulate him at the finish


The Holmes and the Putnams showed their support too (The MB Volleyball Open was going on the same day as you can see in the background so the beach was quite busy!)


Looking pretty good for just finishing such a feat!

Davis Trip

Kylie and I spent a few days in Davis with Grandma and Grandpa last week. We had such a good visit. It will be her last flight to fly for free and my last flight before the new baby comes.

My parents borrowed a bike trailer from a friend and my mom and I took Kylie to the park in it. Oh, how I love Davis bike lines- everywhere and so wide, no fear of cars hitting you at all. Davis is the bike capital of the world after all (self proclaimed). I'd love to get a bike trailer but honestly don't know if we'd use it down here.


Kylie got into Grandma's tutoring candy



Enjoying peach dumplings- a Bohemian (my ancestry) tradition- perfect for a delicious summer dinner. You eat them with cottage cheese so at least you get a little protein




Dos Coyotes (my first job) at the lake followed by an evening swim, still plenty hot



Grandpa took us to the county fair to see the animals. Kylie got pretty scared by the cows, esp a bull that seemed to stare her down that she didn't want too much to do with the animals after that. These baby goats were okay though.


Kylie loved eating the tomatoes from Grandma's garden- delicious!


Thanks for such a fun, relaxing trip Grandma and Grandpa! And thanks for mailing my camera:)

Weekend Wrap Up

We had a fun filled weekend. We got to celebrate Stevie Holmes' first birthday with a awesome pool party. Here's Ky with the happy bday girl, destined to be great friends:)


Stevie was super excited to try her first cupcake


Kylie loves her little boat- even in the tub!


We've gone to the Manhattan Beach Concert in the Park the last 2 weekends. This pic was actually from last weekend but we had a fun time with friends listening to an Eagle's tribute band this evening.


Another weekend highlight for me was our church service this morning. Our pastor spoke about "Finding Peace in Your Storm." I don't feel like I'm experiencing any kind of storm right now (thankfully!) but he did have some words that spoke to me- favorite quote from P. Glen: "One of the chief causes of stress is indecision." How true this is in my life! I so struggle with indecision from the smallest of details to big things too- all of which cause me stress. The bottom line: Peace is a sense of order that comes from ordering my life according to God's will. Good reminders and thankful for my church!

5 on Friday

Kylie loves her little boat in water and on land! She'll even put her legs through the openings and walk around in it.


All ready for music class!


Too cool


We love pudding!

Sewing...

While being pregnant, I get a strong urge to nest. This time it's coming out in the form of sewing. Kylie has been going to Mom's Morning Out at church Friday mornings from 9-12 so I used last Friday to start some sewing projects. I am such a novice and only do simple simple things and yet I still enjoy it and find it rewarding. Here's what I made last Friday:

1. A decor pillow for Ky's big girl bed which she'll move into in a few months. The ruffle was a bit of a challenge for me and if you study it closely you'll see it's no where near perfect but I think it turned out cute nonetheless. Kylie actually has 2 twins in her new room so I'm going to make a different pillow on the other bed in coordinating fabric and I have plans for a few other ways I'm going to use these fabrics around her room.

2. A table runner- I think this will be great for the fall and what's kind of fun about the fabric is that I actually bought it for my mom in the South of France while there in college (remember Kel?) She never used it for anything and it made a really easy runner because of the straight lines I could use to cut and iron.


3. And my old standby- burpcloths for the new baby girl with some fabric scraps I had


Both of Kylie's grandmas are far more talented seamstresses than I and can actually follow a pattern rather than just cutting and ironing which is what I mainly do. They both sewed Kylie something when she was just a little baby and she's now big enough to fit into them.

Darling overalls made my my mom


Cute and comfy dress made my Matt's mom

Summer Vaca

We spent a wonderful week at Donner Lake with my family, a Britts tradition. Some highlights include- morning walks, playing cards, eating dinners on the deck, watching the cousins play, biking with Matt, and renewing my membership of the Buoy Club (something my mom started:) Before heading up there though, Matt and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. My parents babysat while we enjoyed a delicious, slow dinner out at The Firehouse, in Old Sac. Note: If you ever go, make sure to request the patio- much better ambiance than inside.


Donner was quite a bit cooler this year than other years. Despite the cold cold water, we couldn't keep Kylie out of it. Her teeth would be chattering and her body turning blue and still running for the water.


She even let Uncle Jim push her to the dock in her little boat to say hi to Daddy.


Ky and I enjoyed a super fun and unexpected visit with Cara and Kayli who were in Truckee the same time- just a 10 min. drive.


The kiddos loved playing on our big deck.


We hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and for the most part, these 2 did great on the hike and were definitely patient while we got ready for the hike.


We even had to hike through some snow!


Gorgeous views!


Fam shot at the lake


Grandma and Grandpa babysat so the 4 of us could enjoy a fun evening out at a great restaurant in downtown Truckee.


Matt even managed to do an Olympic distanced triathlon on our trip. He did great! 3rd guy out of the water on the swim and 5th in his age group- woohoo!


Homestretch, GO Matt GO!


So nice to get away for a week! Getting home at 1AM was exhausting and no fun but we did get to stop and see the Lockridges and their beautiful new home which was a blast! We miss them so much already.

Fun on the 4th

We had a really nice, relaxing 4th of July. Matt guarded all day Sat. so it was nice to have him home for all of Sun. and Mon. Started the day with banana pancakes. Kylie has been loving relaxing on our bed and Matt captured this moment.


By 10:30 we were at the beach with picnic lunches. The weather was great and the water warm.




Kylie is pretty fearless when it comes to the water and she absolutely loved going out there with her Daddy. He even tried floating her on a boogie board but she wasn't quite ready for that yet.


After we came home, showered, and took naps we headed to the Harts for a delicious dinner bbq, fun with friends, and the best view of the El Segundo fireworks. They seemed louder than ever (probably bc I knew there were 2 sleeping girls inside) but both of them stayed asleep.

yum....watermelon! We are very grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted by living in this great country of ours.