Carpinteria - Tradition lives on

This year marked the 30th anniversary of Carpinteria for my (Dave's) family. Some of my earliest memories stem from my first year at Carpinteria, such as learning to ride a bike, Boogie Board and smash pennies on the train tracks.


This is a pic of me in 1981


And this is a pic of the kiddies livin' it up in 2011


We had a good crew of kids -- many of my cousin's kids (Krissy's, Josh's, Jenny's, Parker's) were able to join the fun this year. It was fun to see the "Second Generation of Carpinteria kids" learning and loving our traditions growing up.


Traditions such as camping out in a tent (Ellie & Aubrie's first experience that they remember).


Going on bike rides along the coast.


Getting dirty around the campground. At one point, we caught Kyler doing face-down "snow angels" in the campground dirt.



Getting lots of candy at Robitaille's. Teyah couldn't resist giving Krew (Parker's little boy) a smooch on the cheek.


Digging lots of sand castles.


And Boogie Boarding all day long.


Even Ellie and Teyah were brave and joined the Boogie Boarding fun!


I love this Pic of Ellie and her Daddy alongside Livee and her Daddy (Parker)


I couldn't help myself from joining in on the action.


Carpinteria has always been a magical place for me which brings back a flood of good memories every time we go there. I think it is catching on with my kids as well as they often ask when we are going back.

Los Angeles reunion

On our way to Dave's family reunion in California, we made a quick stop in LA to visit our good friends, the Gilbert's.


We made a stop at the Skirball museum which had an amazing Noah's Ark exhibit. The exhibit is an assortment of animals and an ark creatively assembled using a random assortment of recycled materials (old tires, fans, keys, etc.).


Yes, this is a crocodile made out of a violin case, violin, tire and nails! Our kids loved exploring this exhibit! Everywhere we looked, we discovered something new.


The next morning, the Gilbert's treated our kids to something they haven't had very often -- their very own donuts! Kyler had no trouble downing his, plus another half!


We celebrated Evan's second birthday together. He was a newborn when they moved, and now look at these two having conversations like two grownups!


Before leaving our old Minnesota buddies, we had fun eating out at the Cheesecake Factory. It was so much fun reuniting with them!

A Mini Reunion

On the way back from Utah, we decided to take a detour through the Rockies into Denver for a trip down memory lane at the Bean's house.

Rick was Dave's roommate at BYU and Anna Marie was my roommate at the same time....needless to say we went on a lot of double dates.

As you can see, the household of pink has hit the Bean household as well...one of Dave's other college roommates has four girls.

We were treated to lots of great girly performances in the basement.

And the sleepover lasted late into the night!

Thanks again for the Bed and Breakfast at the Bean's! We found out just after leaving that the Bean's were going to break their girl run with a baby boy!

Fourth of July in Utah

We worked out a pretty great way to visit Utah this summer with Dave sandwiching business trips on both ends of the visit.

One of our favorite traditions is taking our kids to the Thanksgiving Point Farm. Kyler was the perfect age for it, but apparently Aubrie liked it too!

Kyler wanted nothing to do with the pony rides though.

We also loved seeing family we don't get to see as often as we wish...like Great Grandpa Joines.

and even Aunt Natalie...

and Becca (and Chris) drove from Phoenix to visit.

The kids loved playing at the Children's Museum.

This was the second Fourth of July in a row that we spent in Utah. I think one of my highlights of last year was seeing Stadium of Fire. So we went for a repeat performance, but this time went as a girl's night.

We saw David Archuleta and Brad Paisely. Surprisingly, I liked David's performance better than Brad's.

Kyler enjoyed the trucks and horses at the 4th of July parade

As you can see, we definitely now have a boy in this house!

Sunday morning, prior to church, Aubrie, Ellie, Dave, and I were able to be at the Conference Center for a live patriotic broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Fourth of July might just be my favorite holiday, and hearing this huge and talented choir singing of our freedom was incredible! I think everyone deserves hearing the choir in person sing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." It is life changing!

Thank you Grandma T. for housing us, spoiling us, and providing great memories! We love you!

Post-it Girl

If you happened to open up your Sunday ad this week, or stumble into Staples, you might have seen Aubrie on this label package!


Earlier this summer, Dave had an emergency at work where his group had a last minute need for a kid model to put on the Post-it label packaging. As Dave has the most (and cutest) kids in the division, he was asked to spare one for the cause. Aubrie was thrilled to get out of school for a couple hours for the "photo shoot" and enjoy the pay of free pizza, cookies, and soda.

Aubrie picked the name "Sarah" for the name tag on her shirt in the image.