hello, yosemite.

It had been about a year since our last trip out to Yosemite, so being back in the park was much needed. This time it was for our annual summer get together with the family. We brought the dogs; they are, indeed, a part of our family.

The next morning the dogs jumped into the The Burley, and we took a bike ride around the valley floor. The dogs love the ride!

We biked to the trail head of Lower Yosemite Falls and took the dogs on a short morning walk to the bottom of the falls.

We continued to loop around the valley and even stopped to enjoy the views of the meadows.

Later that afternoon, we drove up to Glacier Point to enjoy the view. I have to admit, the view from up here never gets old.

On the way back to our campsite, Maui and Hilo were taking total advantage of Grandma and Granpda, haha! Free love and scratches.

Last but not least, my parents were totally utilizing the Christmas present we got them, an Eno hammock. Silly parents!

Although our trip was short, it was still a fun little getaway for the weekend. Hopefully, we’ll be able to visit before the season ends because I really want to get back on the trails [without the dogs, of course]. I still want to conquer some of the more strenuous ones. Maybe one day.

christmas and NYE 2013 recap.

Umm… where did 2013 go?! Oh, that’s right… back over there! Obviously, I haven’t been blogging very much recently, so I wanted to do a quick recap of some fun moments this past month for documentation purposes. These kinds of posts make a good time reference in the future.

Earlier in December, I finished my first 5k with friends. I can now cross that one off of my bucket list. Wahoo! Surprisingly, it was lots of fun, and it’s something I would definitely do again. As a matter of fact, I’ve been trying to search for my next race. Yup, we dressed up as elves to get us into the spirit.

As far as our 2013 Christmas tree, we decided on keeping it metallic and white. It was pretty much a gold and silver tree this year.

Overall, it was a wonderful holiday season. Yeah, it’s nice to eat delicious holiday food and get lavish gifts, but the best part about this season, at least for me, was feeling blessed to have spent lots of quality time with the people I love.

As for New Year’s Eve, we spent it at the beach, of course!

Later that evening, as we rang in 2014, we popped a bottle and enjoyed the fizz.

To start off the new year with a bang, we drove down the coast this past Sunday. We had a little family picnic on one of our favorite beaches in Big Sur. I think the four of us should just become professional beach bums, hah!

Yup, and that pretty much brings us up to date with life. We’ve got stuffed planned this weekend, so expect a post in the near future.

Happy 2014!

kickin’ up the leaves and november barkbox.

Fall is in full swing in the Bay Area, and it’s apparent with the abundant leaves everywhere and the cool, crisp air. It also started raining yesterday, and it’s continued to pour today. Over where we are, we’ve busted out our galoshes, and we’re ready to jump around in the puddles!

The dogs, moreso, love all of the fallen leaves on the side of our house. I think they find joy in crunching up the leaves. As for me, I find joy in watching how happy they look just running around in them.

On another note, Maui and Hilo got their second Barkbox this month. Boy, were they excited. They must’ve known what it was because there were tails waggin’ for days, I tell ya!

Anyway, November’s Barkbox was loaded with lots of treats. Perfect because it’s a harvest month! Other than turkey, I know what those two will be getting during Thanksgiving dinner, hehe.

Anyway, here’s what was included in this month’s box:

1. Bocce’s Bakery Truffle Mac and Cheese

2. PetSafe Pogo Plush Slap Happy Dog Toy

3. Twistix Vanilla Mint Flavor Dental Chews

4. Nootie Yumzies Duck Jerky Chews

We haven’t opened any of the treats yet because we’re still working on treats from last month. However, come Thanksgiving, the pups are gonna be spoiled!

If you want to spoil your furbaby and give them a Barkbox (Maui and Hilo think you should), CLICK HERE for $5 off your first box!

november kit layouts.

Just wanted to drop in and do a quick post with some of my recent layouts. All of these layouts were created using the November kit from The Sampler Kit Club.

I still have the kit sitting on my table, so hopefully, I’ll get to creating another layout (or two) in the near future.

Happy Friday!

a festive weekend.

It’s Halloween-time! Yeah, we’ve been prepped since the end of September, but this past weekend just felt so festive. Speaking of festive, I never shared pictures of the decor around the house.

This past weekend, we went to one of the many members’ parties thrown by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We specifically went to this event because it was a Halloween Dance Party! It’s pretty awesome, especially when their staff is dressed up in their costumes, and they’ve decorated some of the exhibits. Plus, they hand out Halloween candy. Here’s some of the photos that we snapped that evening:

It wouldn’t be a trip to the aquarium without some random shots of the sea life, right?!

We also had the pups put on their costumes for a quick little photo shoot. Every year, we dress them up in new costumes. This year, I die of how cute they are, especially since their paw-rents are Aggie alumni. Moo!

…and to top it off, we gutted our pumpkins and carved our pumpkin haul. This year we carved Disney pumpkins. It was super exhausting but lots of fun. The dogs love it for all of the gutted pumpkin on the floor, haha!

After this past weekend, I’m feeling beat from all of the Halloween festivities. If I don’t post before Thursday, wishing everyone a happy (and safe) Halloween!

PS: Two more days! 🙂