Local Attractions ~ Part 1

In between our trip to Las Vegas & our trip to the East Coast we had some time 'laying low' around San Diego.  It was so nice to take time to see some local sights & make memories in our new home...as well as sleep in our own bed! With my own contoured pillow!! How I miss it when I'm gone :)

Playing around with hair-do's :)

Someone stole my iPad & decided to shop for Disney Princess items while enjoying her snack.

Cheap parents! Kayla's cubby house! Kayla & I did spend an afternoon colouring it in together to make it look pretty.   Hubby & I used it as a test run to see if it was worth buying a proper one :) Which we did!

We went shopping for Kayla's first bike.
She LOVED the look of this motorised Viper...maybe for her 2nd Birthday?!

This is what she ended up with! It's no Viper, but it's a sweet ride!
A radio flyer bike. Very American!

We went to see the San Diego Baseball Team play in SD with our good friend Chris.  I as always, missed some good things in the game just from looking away at the wrong time. Seems to always happen to me!! Dave & Kel, if you're reading this, you know ALL about it after our SF Giants Game!! More on that story later :) It was a great way to spend a Sunday arvo & nice to be close to home for the weekend.

Starr, Hubby & Kayla! 

I'm sure Kayla's look on her face is for Starr.  She is a little wary of any men paying her attention.
Let's hope that sticks around into her twenties...or thirties! :)

Having fun at the Ball Game!

Seeing our baby girl developing into her own little person while we are home is very cute too. There are no tourist sites to rush off & see. Nothing to distract us from having one on one time with our little girl.  Watching Kayla each day is a like a little holiday in itself for me.  There's always so much for me to take in with her learning new things. She really makes us laugh a lot :)

"Am I cool or what?!" Our little biker girl after her bike ride to the beach.  She is loving her new Radio Flyer Trike.  Around the time of snapping these pics, Kayla also learnt how to say 'Cheese' when getting her picture taken :)

We had some great sunny days while we were home too, so we made the most of it!! A few beach trips with my little girl & some beautiful sights along the way too.  With the weather warming up I think it's time I get a maid so that Kayla & I can spend every spare moment playing in the sand & enjoying the beautiful California lifestyle!

On a walk down to the beach with Kayla we saw 16 pelicans in a row!
It was a record up until our recent beach trip where there were 40+!!! 

Having time at home allowed me to catch up with some friends I hadn't seen in a little while. Love hanging out with my new Marine Wives! Always an enjoyable time out.  In the pic below, we had just been to lunch down at the end of the Oceanside Pier & had to walk back through a HUGE swarm of bees!!!!!!! It was a little scary! I'm sure we would have looked funny walking back along the pier with baby blankets over our heads, but it's a good thing we had our baby gear with us otherwise I think I would have been stuck there for a while :)

Fellow Marine Wives - L to R: Rebecca & little Elaine, ME, Micah & Kayla.

Kayla all ready for another trip to the beach!

Most weekends that we are home we like to kill time (usually around Kayla's grumpy early evening time) by going for a long afternoon walk through the campgrounds that are situated along the beach across the road from our block.  I love it when there's a super busy period & there's people lounging around their campsites, kids riding their bikes & making new friends, the smell of campfires & BBQs.  It reminds me of my time growing up & camping with my family every school holidays. Happy times! We have also enjoyed some lazy afternoons over at our 'local' sipping on my fave Carlsbad Sunset cocktails while watching some amazing sunsets! I think they almost top Darwin's Sunsets....almost :)

To be continued....

See: Local Attractions ~ Part 2

xoxo T

Vegas Baby!!! Oh I mean...Vegas with a BABY!

So I think I completely jinxed Hubby & I in my previous blog posts when I said we have the “most well travelled baby in the whole world”.  We decided to drive out ot Las Vegas the weekend after Easter to catch up with some old Newcastle RAAF friends of ours who were visiting from Australia.  The drive out started ok with Kayla happily watching some new DVDs we purchased for her.  I don't know how parents did car trips without these fandangled things years ago!!! Anyhow, that's when the tantrums started…but we got through it with some snacks, telling her to look at things outside her window....& a switch to more dvds!!! Lifesaver :)

Things got much better once we were out of the car.  When we arrived in Vegas all Kayla could say was 'WOW'! So cute watching her take in all the lights, the rollercoaster & the masses of people on the streets. We checked in to our hotel & were happy to have a separate lounge room for Kayla to sleep in, as opposed to the walk-in closets or hallway entrances she was used to on our last trip! Great parenting!! 

Kayla mesmerised by my colourful Mummy drink & her Daddy's boot cup!

Our first steps on the Strip in Vegas as a family. Look at Kayla's WOW face!!

CHEERS to the Weekend! 

Once we were settled in we were off for a walk down the strip, with baby in tow! I never thought that Vegas & a baby would gel well with each other but I was suprised to see how much Kayla loved it.  A huge amount of entertainment everywhere she looked.  Good thing she didn't take much notice of the 'flickers' on the strip & what they were handing out.  For those who don't know what 'flickers' are, they're people standing in a line, usually about 10 in a row, flicking small business card type things that have promos for Stippers or clubs on them.  Most showing pics of topless women with tiny stars on their bits.  So I am not sure how we would go hiding our child from those types of things once she's a little older to take notice of it.  Anyhow, our first stop was to get Mummy a tasty Margarita & Daddy his cheap beer & walk up to Treasure Island to get some dinner.

A little obsessed with throwing pennies into any form of water feature now :)

There was even more entertainment for Kayla seeing the people doing line dancing inside the restaurant/bar at Treasure Island.  We tried to get a spot to see the Pirate Ship show but it was way too busy.  Dinner was really nice & the waitresses were very friendly.  Kayla thought that her Daddy's drink in a big cowboy boot was pretty awesome & was insisting that we keep 'cheers-ing' each time we took a sip. Very cute moment.

We finished dinner & then headed off to meet up with our long lost friends.  After a drink with them & a quick catch up, Hubby walked our little munchkin & I back to our hotel so we could get our Zzz's.  After the trip out to Vegas that we had, I was more than happy for hubby to go out & party it up in Vegas while I slept in our SUPER comfy bed all to myself...yes...I've changed...depending on how my day goes with a toddler I'm either keen to party or keen to sleep...mostly it's the sleep that wins :)

Great to see our Newy Crew again! Miss you guys & the old days xo

The following day was spent with a trip to the roof top pool enjoying the sunshine.  A walk to see some sights & for those who know my Hubby well, we had to stop at Hooters in Vegas for lunch.  Out of all of the Hooters Restaurants that we've tried, I think this one would have to be on the bottom of our list.  The food didn't taste fresh at all.  A little disappointing considering it was located within a Hooters Hotel in Vega, so you'd assume they'd get it right as their main restaurant.  Anyhow, Hubby was happy he got his hot wings & added another Hooters Restaurant location to his list! I think he's now done a fair amount of the USA chains as well as Australia & Singapore.  Just a little obsessed.  Good thing they market it as a 'family restaurant' hey?! :)

Kindness of strangers. A man offered to take our family picture for us.

Day 2: Sightseeing in Vegas!

Once we were finished at lunch, we all went home for an afternoon nap after the previous late night.  When we woke well rested we were off to check out some more sights.  A walk through the Bellagio to see the beautiful garden & massive Swan & a stop off at the Paris Casino to taste some pastries were some of the highlights. We were hoping to show Kayla the Tigers at the MGM so we wandered over there...unfortunately we missed it...by almost 4mths :) Whoops! Luckily she didn't know any different & was over excited with checking out the Rainforest Cafe Gift Store with all of their stuffed animals, the huge aquarium, & the big snappy crocodile. We also stopped at the M&M Store which amazes me every time with the delicious rainbow wall of chocolate! Loved their free taste testing :)

Checking out the huge butterfly deco's flying up high.

Checking out the beautiful garden display in the Bellagio along with a Butterfly Exhibit!

Kayla checking out the snapping crocodile at the Rainforest Cafe Store

Sampling at the M&M Store!

A delicious sweets store we came across...unfortunately we had already tasted pastries from elsewhere
just before we saw these...Have to go back!!

Out little trio had a great time in Vegas & even though it was a very short stay, it was nice to see some familiar faces & hear some Aussie accents :)  The trip home....not so great.  It could be a whole other story altogether...But I'll fill you in quickly. 

Kayla seemed super hungry in our drive home, so we would give her some snacks when she asked for them (by asking for them, I mean her going ‘ugh ugh’ and pointing to the front where she knew I had her lunch box full of goodies.  She was happy with her homemade healthy egg & banana pancakes.  Then she had a cup of my homemade granola, as well as a fruit pack!!  This is all within a 4hr time period & extremely slow traffic...so we thought it was justified :) That was until…I heard a whinge from the back seat, turned around to find Kayla spewing a yellow river down her front.  Nice! We pull over & get her cleaned up, all whilst Mummy was gagging (I don't handle spewy smells very well for a Mother).

She calmed down after her sickness & the rest of the trip wasn't too bad (apart from the lingering smell).  Once we arrived home I had to strip & wash the carseat & air out the car! Joy!! Exactly what I want to be doing after a trip away.

But that’s not all. When we got home, she didn’t feel like eating anything for dinner but went to the fridge later & pointed at a fruit pack. I was worried she would be going to bed hungry (I know…what the?) so I gave it to her. We sent her to bed in her cute lil Winnie the Pooh PJ’s we just bought her from Disney Store Outlet in Santa Barbara last weekend.  Kissed her goodnight.  Checked on her before we went to bed ourselves, & then came the morning...

Jase went to check on her before getting ready for work that morning & that's when I get woken up to... ‘Tahn! She’s vomited everywhere!!!’ Happy Monday!!! The cot (& Kayla) are covered in a similar yellow lava from the day before. And boy did it stink! So it was bath time for Kayla & laundry time for her entire bed set! Thank goodness for those cot air wraps as it contained it all from spewing out the sides of her cot.  Needless to say, that Kayla & I had a lazy day around the house after this… she fell asleep on me twice throughout the day, which I completely lapped up every moment of! She’s growing so quickly now that I have to make the most of those precious baby moments.

Luckily, Kayla seemed better by that evening & was back to her usual eating-everything-in-site self by dinner time.  Although, I was nervous about giving her egg & banana pancakes & any granola seen as I had seen what it looked like after she tried to digest it the day before! TMI? Nah... :)

I thought that was the end of our exploding moments for awhile...I thought wrong...

Tuesday came around & after being housebound the day before I decided we should venture out of the house & be productive.  We went to visit her new daycare & meet the teacher that will be caring for Kayla once we enrolled her & also went to check out a pilates studio for myself & their child minding facility. We had a lovely Mummy & Daughter lunch date at our fave Panera Bread, followed by a spot of shopping for a lovely new kettle & tea-for-one mug at Sur La Table. I love that store!!! Everything cooking, baking & coffee all rolled into one!! Back to the car to unload our goodies…& then the smell hits me as I’m getting Kayla out of her pram…. A lovely exploded nappy to deal with & all through the pram!!!! I took a pic of it & sent it to Jase at work :) Lovely wife.  That’s what he gets for making a comment about my new profession (a stay at home mum) & saying that he would love it as you ‘just’ get to play with Kayla all day & read books! Ha!!! That'll teach him....although, it would have taught him a lesson more if it happened on his watch while I was no where to be seen to clean it up.  So, just when I thought I had finished my loads & loads of washing spew...then it was time to go & pull apart the pram & wash of a load of poop…Yay!

Our unwell little girl on the way home after 'the incident' with no pants on because
 Mummy had cleaned out the car after the other 'incident'.

Following this, Hubby was sick....& then it was my turn! Turns out that maybe Kayla didn't have an illness from over-eating in the car on the trip back & that she may have picked up a stomach bug from Vegas & kindly packed it, & brought it home with her to share with her Mummy & Daddy! Nice! The good thing, was that we all played tag team with the illness & there was still one parent functioning to have energy to deal with a toddler :)  We all finally recovered by the time the next weekend came around... I don't think a toddler understands the whole, 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas'! 

xoxo T

Santa Barbara Wine Country

I have been a little slack lately with my posts on here.  Apologies to family & friends waiting for updates! Although I am sure all of you are keeping fairly up to date with our 'happenings' here through all of my Instagram pics :) In-between my weeks of finding a new swim school & daycare for Kayla (& dealing with the fact that my daughter doesn't care if I'm around or not...more on that later),  we have had some very fun filled weekends & no time for a post....although maybe there was some spare time, but I've spent that being addicted to shopping online on my new Zulily app or catching up on TV Series. Priorities people!!!

So last you heard we had made a trip up to Santa Barbara County for an Easter long weekend getaway.  We had some funny moments on that trip which I didn't get to share on my last post. One being that we were attempting to save some money & thought we'd test out the discounted accommodation on the military bases over here.  The first day involved a fairly long drive to Ventura after Jase finished work, which included a stop for dinner at a very tasty Wood-fired Pizza restaurant where I had a delicious cocktail!!! An Apple Cider cocktail with Agave Nectar rim. Yummo!! Due to the late start on the trip, awesome LA traffic & our dinner stop, we didn't arrive out our accommodation until 8.30-9pm that night. We pull up at the base entry gates & find out we weren't going to be let on base...at all....something about top secret stuff & foreigners not allowed on that particular base! Hearing that made me want to get on even more, I hate secrets...or not being in on them anyway :) So after a talk with the guards we learn that there's a Holiday Inn Express down the street & off we went to find a place to lay our heads that night.

Check in was easy enough, the rooms nice, clean & HUGE! But getting a toddler to go to sleep in a one bedroom suite? Not easy! There's Kayla standing up in her cot screaming for us. The solution? Her cot was moved into the open plan walk-in robe/wash basin area :) Don't worry, the toilet/shower area was separated by a door. It worked though! She was asleep in no time. Yay for us!

We woke to a pretty crappy overcast day & Jase being the lovely hubby he is, drove us to the shopping outlets at Camarilla! One word. Amazing!! I would have to say the best outlets we have been to so far. Just when I thought we were half way through I find out we weren't even a quarter of the way through! So a few hours of shopping turned into an entire DAY of shopping. Kayla scored big-time & I scored a few nice things too.  Hubby on the other hand, carried our shopping bags with no new goodies for himself. What a gentlemen :)

Dinner that night was interesting too.  Hubby looked up some places online that were a 'must' to dine at near our hotel.  So we walked across the road to this tiny little place that was famous (or infamous?) for it's 'broiled/deepfried chicken'. Everywhere I looked while standing at the counter placing our order I saw something that could do with a really good clean.  Let's just say that after watching many episodes of 'Kitchen Nightmares' with good ole' Gordan Ramsey recently, I wasn't too keen on eating there (NO it's not my OCD kicking in). But we did... The food wasn't too bad but I was just happy it had been deep fried to hopefully kill of any nastiness. We didn't get sick! Bonus!

The next day we had breakfast down at the Ventura Wharf at a cute little French Cafe.  I think we were the only people speaking English in that place that morning.  French customers everywhere, drinking their morning champagnes. I was excited as I figured the place has to be good if the French like to frequent there! It reminded me...I have to sign up to learn French soon! Anyhow, delicious croissants! No champers for us though...a little too early. There was a cute little girl sitting at the table beside us & Kayla made friends with her...briefly.  It was comforting to see another child Kayla's age being difficult with what she ate. I'm not alone! After this we drove into Santa Barbara & had a beautiful sunny day! We visited Santa Barbara Zoo which is a must see for anyone travelling through. It only takes maybe 2-3hrs to walk the entire park! A big plus when you have a toddler!!

We stopped off at Santa Barbara Pier for a bite to eat! Beautiful scenery & a tasty lunch with friendly staff. We experienced our first deep-fried twinkie. I wasn't that much of a fan as I don't particularly enjoy twinkies when they're the standard out of the packet kind either, but Jase loved it...& Kayla. A quick look around the pier at all of the goodies & of course a stop off at the 'Penny Press' for a souvenir then we were off.  From here we drove out to Vandenberg Air Force Base with our fingers crossed, hoping they would let us on to stay the next couple of nights.

The Deep Fried Twinkie... I liked the Ice-cream more!

Kayla & the birdies aka Pink Flamingos

Rolling her Santa Barbara penny for our collection :)

Family Pic at the Zoo. Kayla looks a little stunned!

Checking out the Giraffes

I found the entrance of the Vandenberg Air Force Base to be pretty cool. A long driveway lined with flag posts & a massive rocket standing tall at the end. The accommodation was clean & they even had a nice little playground for kids which Kayla enjoyed. Although we booked a one bedroom suite as the family suites were all booked out, we were lucky enough to have a big enough washroom (which consisted of a basin & linen cupboard) for Kayla's cot to fit in once again :) I got very used to her being in there at bed time & even started calling it 'her room'! We did have to sneak past her if we needed to get to the actual toilet or shower after 7pm...by sneak past...I mean I had to suck in my stomach to creep between her cot & the wall :) Ahhh the things we do to get a decent nights sleep!

Day three was a lot more fun! Of course! It was EASTER!!! Yay! The Easter Bunny found Kayla (& me) & delivered a few chocolate goodies as well as some fun new books for her.  Although the Easter Bunny was a little slack with 'dropping' some eggs on his way back home, so Kayla would have to wait until the afternoon for her Easter Egg Hunt.  We blamed the wet weather as I'm sure the Easter Bunny did too!  With it raining that morning we thought it was a good day for a road trip to go & check out the Vineyards & dabble in some wine tasting. Well, I dabbled...Hubby drove ;)

Easter morning. Kayla didn't waste anytime learning how to unwrap those easter eggs!
She obviously takes after her Mummy :)

Turns out that Easter Sunday isn't the best day to go wine tasting in a town that was founded by Missionary's. Especially before lunchtime when the entire town is at their Church Easter Sunday Service. Hmm...so we stop off at the Ostrich & Emu Feeding to kill some time. So much fun!! And scarey. No not for Kayla...for me :) Those Ostrich's are crazy when they want the food pan you're holding out.  Pecking away, pushing other long necked birds out of their way to get to you. Surely those fences are not high enough to stop gigantic birds getting to you? Kayla loved those scarey giant birds though. She also got to see an Emu for the first time! Weird that it is in another country other than Australia though.

I think the pictures say it all :) 

We ended up spending a bit of time in Solvang. A little Danish Village in the middle of wine country. It brought back memories of one of our previous USA Trips (prior to moving here), where we took a drive out with our good friends Cousy & Lori in their sweet ride, & enjoyed lots of window shopping & taste testing the delicious pastries. All the more reason for Hubby to not want to go 'window shopping' this time round, but we were still up for a stop in at the delicious Olsen's Danish Village Bakery.

Our gorgeous happy traveller! Wandering the beautiful gardens at the Winery.

After another drive around looking for some little spots that our new friends had recommended, which were once again closed...we stopped for lunch. Where? Back in Solvang :) A bonus on the trip was doing some sight seeing of some famous 'movie locations' from the movie 'Sideways'.  We all know how excited I get with seeing things that are 'just like in the movies' too!!! After lunch at Solvang Restaurant, which was in the movie 'Sideways', we had a little more luck & were able to enjoy one vineyard which was open. It was worth the wait. Delicious wines & a beautiful garden setting. Friendly staff. Generous wine tastings...always a plus! It also lead to buying a couple of bottles. We tried searching for the brewery after this but it was also closed. We called it a day after that & went back to our hotel to do the Easter Egg Hunt with Kayla which had been delayed long enough. Good thing she's only 1... the Easter Bunny will have to lift his game next year!

Family happy snap. Such a wonderful day & such a tasty tasting :)

The official Easter Egg Hunt! So much fun!!

Side note: The weekend before Easter there was a family 'Easter Eggstravagazna' (their words not mine) on at Hubby's work for all of the kids. So following that event we had numerous Eggs Hunts around our house with the plastic egg cases  that they have here to fill up with goodies to hide.

It turns out that all of those 'practice' hunts paid off! Kayla was a pro when it came to the real deal on Easter Sunday :) Such a gorgeous moment seeing your little one so in the moment of something they find so much fun!  With her basket full of goodies we headed back inside out of the cold & had a nice relaxing family afternoon watching movies while it rained outside.

The next morning we packed up our things & as it was such a nice sunny day outside we thought we'd make the most of it! We made our way down to Santa Monica Pier for lunch before making the drive home.  A not so nice experience at the Mexican Restaurant that is at the end of the pier...I won't name names...but our food was delayed SO much that we cancelled it & settled on our entree of guacamole & tortilla chips for lunch. If you're after freshly made gauc & chips then I highly recommend you stop off there...but unless you have over an hour free to wait for your meal I'd go to the awesome Bubba Gumps instead! So...after a little wander down the pier for some happy snaps in the sunshine, it was homeward bound!!

A beautiful day to end a great weekend getaway!
It looks like a little person needs some little sunnies :)

I just love that America has so many Piers! It sets such a holiday feel for me.
Everyone is out having fun & barely any grumpy people in sight!

A fantastic mini-getaway in Santa Barbara County!

xoxo T

The BIG Move ~ Part Two

'We made it!!'

Continued from 'The BIG Move ~ Part One'

Well for those that are following me on Facebook you will know that yes, we made it!! We are now officially residents of Southern California, USA! Or 'SoCal' as the cool kids say it!

I think it's only just starting to sink in....

Although we had a fantastic time going between Brisbane, & the Gold Coast (where our families live) over the Christmas break, the time eventually came to say our 'See you soons' to all of our family at the airport.  It's a little bit different when it comes to my family however...because even after almost 12years that I have been away from 'home', it is still hard to put on a brave face & do our usual 'See you soon' farewells with them. They are my family after all, & it has always been hard being so far away from them. They probably think I'm fairly 'cold' sometimes in these situations, but it is easier for me that way. This time though, we have moved further than the usual 4.5hr flight. But! We had some fantastic times together over Christmas & made some great memories that we will all have to laugh about for years to come. I'm counting down to the 'Christmas 2013 Gingerbread House Bake Off' with them already!!! It's on little Sis! Haha!

My beautiful sister & I with our awesome Gingerbread House!
Thanks to our Nana for help with the decoration prep & to our wonderful Mum who
'helped' by snacking on the lollies...you're lucky we had just enough to finish it off!!

Once we said our sad farewell to our family we made our way down the walkway to board the plan...& we were greeted with THE BEST seats in the house!  Ok, plane...but you know what I mean :) Business class tickets alllll the wayyyy to the U. S. of A baby!!! Whooop whoop!

We made ourselves at home aboard the plane & prepared for a 14hr flight with a 1yr old...JOY! Although, I am sure that what I'm about to say next will cause some people to throw 'hate daggers' in our direction :) Our little Kayla slept for approximately 10hrs of the trip!! Yep! That's right. We officially have the most easy going, calm & well travelled baby in the whole entire world.  How you 'get' a baby to be like this....? I have no idea. And to tell you the truth it makes me nervous about having a second child. Surely this little one is a fluke & we wouldn't be 'entitled' to two amazingly calm munchkins. That just wouldn't be fair to other parents :)

So during the flight Kayla had two BIG sleeps & woke to be fed & entertained for a while in between. I guess we were very lucky to be travelling first class with Kayla also having her own 'Sky bed' between hubby & I.  This meant that myself & hubby were able to watch a few flicks & catch some Z's before we landed, meaning all of us were well rested & ready for the early morning start in Los Angeles. For hubby, this also meant dealing with our gigantic pile of luggage again & manoeuvring it through customs (while getting shitty) & sorting out a way to get out of LAX & across the taxi ranks & road to the Hire Car Shuttle Service.  But we did it....with a few falling bags in the middle of the exits automatic doors & people stepping around him instead of offering to help. But it's ok, the 'lady with the baby attached to her' (that's me!) can help pick it all up! Not the most kind strangers at the airport here compared to back in OZ. Ohhh this makes me smile just thinking of it, sorry Jase. Next time, we pack lighter!

So we pick up our hire car...ahem...correction...MINI VAN & make the drive south to Oakwood Apartments in Carlsbad, CA. Our new home for the next month. My goodness, was that a month I wish I could have fast forwarded!! It was a nice enough hotel, but the drama that followed with trying to arrange Social Security No's, ID Cards, Bank Accounts, new phone contracts, & buying new cars was a lot of work.  A big thanks to hubby for getting it all sorted too. There wasn't much that I could do seen as I pretty much don't exist here in America because I don't have a Social or a 'paying job' :) Oh & did I mention we arrived to one of the coldest winters that California has ever had!? That's pretty damn cold considering we just came from 3yrs of hot weather in Darwin, NT!

BUGGER! Damn computers.... I had a big paragraph that was meant to be right here about our time at our hotel...but it got 'stolen' by the computer somehow while I was dealing with Kayla whinging for more food (I swear, all she does is eat these days).  Let's just say the paragraph boiled down to me being happy that we were moving out of a place where it felt like elephants lived above us & a snoring bear beside us.  Moving on....

Our beautiful California Beach House :)

After a few weeks of searching for a home, we locked in our move-in date & our furniture delivery date.  It's amazing how long you can live without items you thought you realllly needed :)  There were a few hiccups with the rental furniture, so we had some replacement items sent which we then had to wait for our original order items to be delivered.  The final delivery only happened a couple of weeks ago. But it was worth the wait! I am in love with some of the pieces & will be trying to convince the rental company (& my hubby) to let me take them home to Australia with us :)

The Leather Chair that I want to keep!
So much for my nice reading chair...
it has become Kayla's 'snack time' chair as it's so easy to wipe clean :)

We are now all settled in & live in a nice little community, one block from the beautiful Carlsbad State Beach, with our 'local' being the brand new Hilton Hotel & Spa 2mins walk down the street. If I ever feel like an Apple Martini or Cosmo we can just drop down there for a drink...that is, before Kayla has to go to bed. I think it's almost time to arrange a sitter for a Mummy n Daddy night out :) I know I am in need a 'timeout' even if Jason isn't!

The view of our local beach at sunset! Beautiful!!

A pic on one of our afternoon walks :)

Kayla & I get to spend our days enjoying long walks along the coastline.  She loves watching the pelicans fly past & I love trying to spot a celebrity, sea lions, whales or dolphins.  As a side note, I have only seen one celebrity so far...that's Dean Geyer from Australian Idol...also now on GLEE!! It's the 'celebrity spotting moments' when I want my girlfriends or sister around to share it with them...Hubby just doesn't get excited enough :)

We are also enjoying having the family time while hubby isn't so busy at work at the moment like he has been for the past couple of years whilst in Darwin. Spending time together going to the beach, the pool, or going to the Farmers Markets on Sundays, or trying new restaurants & finding new 'favourites' is so much fun. Of course, I can't forget to mention how much fun it has been to enjoy weekends away or even just day trips! We have so much available to us now that we won't have to worry about not having anything to do for a long time :)

Just another day in paradise... :)

A quick snapshot so far of where we have been & what we have been up to:
1. Visited the Aquarium at Legoland & scared the crap out of Kayla with the giant crabs & huge fish.
2. Driven out to Mt.Laguna near the Rocky Mountains to show Kayla snow for the first time.
3. Went to Seaworld in San Diego to see Shamu & the new baby whale. Oh & scared Kayla with a pic with the 'Cookie Monster' from Sesame Street...a big furry blue character scary? I guess so!
4. Spent a weekend in Anaheim to visit Disneyland...where we also scared Kayla with all of the characters. Although she did blow a kiss to Minnie! Very cute.
5. Drove up to Santa Barbara County for the Easter long weekend & went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, Vineyards, Ostrich & Emu Feeding (random...I know) & Santa Monica Pier. A great weekend away!

A few fave snapshots from our trips:

Along with the new sights to see comes the new food to try!  I have never paid so much attention to the adverts on TV in regards to brands & types of food to try.  But, apart from that we have eaten a crap load of bagels with cream cheese, 10 too many cupcakes, a tonne of Mexican meals & I have taste tested plenty of Margaritas (haha! Mum, you'd be proud...& jealous I'm sure).

We have also had a few weekends around the house, making it feel homely & spent A LOT of time at Bed, Bath & Beyond! Loving my new coffee machine too!!!!

A coffee for Mummy, a hot choc for Daddy & a babychino for baby Kayla :)

So what comes next now that we're settled in...?

Hmmm....possibly a trip to Viva Las Vegas!!!!!!
Stay tuned.


xoxo T

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