a decade

 can you believe we've been married for a decade?  it seems like such a long time and such a shot time all at once!  for our anniversary Jason surprised me with a trip to Santa Barbara.  (well, it started as a surprise but as he tried to plan he realize he needed help knowing where to go, so he told me.  but i was surprised.  and then i got to plan the trip myself which was awesome.)

so we drove to my parents, dropped off the kids, swapped our mini-van for my dad's car and headed up the coast!  and it was pure heaven.  i always hesitate before claiming that Santa Barbara is my favorite place on Earth.  because, the Earth is a big place, and there are so many amazing places.  but, after a 9 year absence, my heart has grown fonder!  i was so lucky to go to school here!

we spent the first day on campus and in isla vista.  i warned Jason that we would do a lot of walking.  and i didn't lie.  we walked campus, we walked to Sands.  we walked everywhere and i almost never stopped telling him stories about when i did this and that.  we walked to pi phi, but it was rush week and it looked like     everyone was getting ready for pref night, so we didn't go in.  wow, everything has changed a lot, but still stayed the same.  it was surreal, and super fun.

we spent the evening downtown and ate a lovely italian dinner and walked in the ocean breeze.  i was loving it.  the next morning, i woke up early and ran 10 miles from Goleta beach, all the way through IV and then some, and back again.  it was cathartic in a way because i would have never done something like that when i was 20, but at 36 i killed it!  it kind of made me realize how far i've come.

we spent the day shopping, sightseeing, eating, and driving through Montecito, etc.  we did something i've never done before and drove nearly all the way up the canyon.  i've never seen that view before.  these are the only pictures i took the whole weekend!  i was having too much fun to stop and compose photos.

we also got to stop in and see my dear friend Joanna and her newest addition to her trio of girls.  they live in a beautiful part of Goleta and it made me want to move.  

the whole weekend was just perfection.  (it was a little crowded due to freshman move in and the breast cancer 3 day being in town.)  but it was actually kind of exciting being on campus during move in, it was like a second wave of nostalgia.  it seems like yesterday, i was one of those freshman. 

Jason, 

i can't believe we've been married for 10 years.  in a way, i can't even remember life before you were in it.  i wouldn't be complete without you. i feel incredibly blessed that the cute younger guy i had a crush on, turned into this incredibly wonderful husband and father.  everyday you amaze and inspire me. if i could harness half your energy it would be life altering.  you are my rock and the backbone of our family.  i love you, and can't wait for 10 more years.  and then 10 more, and 10 more, okay, we'll just keep it up for eternity!

all my love, 

Britain

weekend projects

 Jason is my weekend warrior.  he does so many awesome projects for us, making our house a home.  recently, he's wanted to chronicle his projects and enlisted me to take more pictures of his hard work.  

these are our kitchen chairs.  they have been great.  i love the classic styling, an i love that they are the chairs i grew up with.  but, they are the chairs i grew up with, so they are almost 35 years old and have been used and abused by 10 children now.  they were originally a set of 8,  i inherited the remaining 4.  needless to say, after all this time, they had to go.  

we set out to find an inexpensive set of chairs to get us through the next decade or so, which as history has shown, will prove to be a highly destructive period for furniture.  after a long and exhaustive search, we found a set of 8 like this: (six in a set and two non-matching)

 first Jason hit the 6 with a few coats of high gloss black spray paint.  

 then i recovered the seats in the same long-lasting chenille we had before.  

voila!  i'm thrilled with the results.  

 additionally i took the remaining two non-matching chairs and gave them a few coats of aqua, and replaced the seats with cute fabric remnants i had in the closet.  i did not have room in the girls' rooms for these, so after using them in a few photoshoots they hit Craigslist.  

so, after selling our old fab-four chairs and the refinished aquas, we got the matching 6 for only $40.  thanks Craigslist!

patio chairs, before and after

as you may or may not know, i am married to a very handy man who takes on many a home improvement project in order to make my life more beautiful.  yes, he is wonderful.  

he mentioned that there are never any photos of his accomplishments, before and afters.  so, here they are.  

these were 2 very beat up chairs we got for $10 on craigslist.  that's $10 for both.  we decided that was a fair price for something to sit on our porch while we search for what we really wanted.  

 here's the man hard at work.  btw, if you have never spray painted with one of these triggers, than you have a very sore index finger for no reason.  it's so worth it to invest in one of these babies!

i like the finished product, we slapped a striped cushion on these babies and put them on the front porch.  well worth the $10 + $3 (paint) investment!

Jason's new title: Master Gardener

Jason wears many hats in our family.  he's a man that loves the challenge of learning something new.  he has tackled many a home improvement project both indoors and out.  last year, during the building of our pool, he was a major driving force in the landscape design.  in fact, he did the sprinklers and most the planting himself.  part of that planting included 4 grape vines on the trellises in our yard. 

this year, we both have been trying to learn the fine art of pruning and maintaining these vines.  here's the man hard at work:

 so it's going to take at least 3 years for us to literally taste the fruit of our labors.  but here's a sneak peek of what's growing now!

sadly, this little bunch had to go to make the vine stronger and ensure better fruit next year.  as a side benefit, we feel like we're learning a lot more about all those parables in the Bible.  it is truly a labor of love trying to get these vines to grow and produce!

early risers

some of my favorite moments are those we have just lounging around here. 

these baby blues kill me!  this boy is taking over the house for sure, on nothing but pure charisma!

these two babies are best buds.  it is so fun to see Colin light up when his big sister says, "good morning Bubba!" 

father and son, enjoying Daddy's favorite bedtime ritual! following in his sister's footsteps! i'm sure he'll be moving on to videos soon too!

9 wonderful years!

for the first time in our marriage, Jason surprised me with a babysitter!!!!  that may seem small to you, but to me it was the perfect gift.  we headed to Ruth's Chris with a gift certificate and ate ourselves silly!  it was the perfect celebration to 9 wonderful years with the best husband and father i could have ever imagined!  love you babe!

her first wedding dress

when Grandma and Grandpa Beardsley were in town they took Anna on a birthday shopping spree.  she chose to go to the Chandler Mall, after over an hour of perusing shops, she landed at the Disney store.  this is where she made her birthday selection, Ariel's wedding dress:

 she wanted to look just like Ariel, so i made her a veil. i wish i had a video of Jason's face when he came home and Anna ran up and said, "Dad, what do you think of my wedding dress?"  he looked like he was going to throw up.

i think he's going to be like George Banks from father of the bride, when the time actually comes!!!!