deborah

Today is a sad day. One of my greatest friends and mentor Deborah is moving away from SLO. Her and I have had a great run together for the past 6 years as we were one of the first people each other met moving to SLO. She was (still is) on staff with the Navigators and I was a lonely freshman and despite not wanting to meet each other (funny story) it turned out to be a day that forever changed both of our lives. She has taught me what it looks like to be a real, genuine woman of God and what it looks like to serve others and still have fun in the process. She has taught me how to study the Word and how to share the good news with others. She had perhaps the greatest influence on my college life as she was a constant source of encouragement and support to me no matter what. Her contagious laugh and incredible dance moves will forever be ingrained in my brain and for that, I am thankful. SLO will be a different place without her but I know that our friendship will not stop here. I'm so lucky to have her as a friend and can't wait for the fun times that have yet to be had. I love you Deb & good luck on all your new adventures!!!

 Freshman year at Cal Poly. 2005

 Malibu. 2006.

American Idol. 2007

Dinner Date. 2008

Cal Poly Graduation. 2009

Maid of Honor. June 2010

Baptism. November 2010.

last night in SLO before the move. September 2011


see you soon Deb!!

volleyball season has begun!

I just started coaching girls volleyball at Morro Bay High School this season and it has been a blast!! Being in the gym around the girls and the games brings back a lot of good memories from my days playing high school volleyball. Teaching them rotations, hitting, blocking, and passing techniques allows me to keep up on my skills and pass my knowledge down to them. It's also fun because we have 4 coaches that cover the 3 teams at the high school and after practice & home games the 4 of us play doubles so we can get our fix playing! Love it!! So just for fun, I thought I would post some pictures of the days I was playing volleyball in high school to share with you all :)

 senior year mugshot.

Needless to say, I love volleyball and I'm so thankful that it has found it's way back into my life. I'll hopefully have some team photos to share as the season progresses.
Go Pirates!!

santa rosa

This past weekend we made the trek up to Santa Rosa to visit our friends Lauren & Isaac! It was Bobby's birthday weekend so we had lots of fun things planned. 

First up: Kayaking down the Russian River! 

our crew: Bobby, me, Lauren, Isaac, & Cort

I'm glad to report we didn't tip once! 

Cort dominating in the solo.

the Rushes looking studly.

Next up: just give the boys a jumping rock and a rope swing and they are entertained for hours...

After a fun day on the river, we hit up REI (literally across the street from their apartment...talk about dangerous!) and picked up some camp chairs and some RJ's licorice! We purposely went in with only 30 minutes til closing so we wouldn't walk out with the whole store. Then we headed into downtown Santa Rosa and had dinner at an awesome local restaurant and brewery called Third Street Aleworks. I got a sandwich called "The Hippie" and it was deeelish! We ended the night with some Funfetti Cake and a friendly game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey! That's what birthdays are all about, right?

The next day was Bobby's birthday- the big 24!! We started out the morning at church then headed out to go hiking in Annadel State Park. We ended up at a lake and guess what we found???!! Another rope swing!

this was 1 out of at least 30 times Bobby jumped off this thing. I couldn't document them all. I don't think I've seen him have that much fun in awhile!

Overall, it was a great time with friends and a perfect way to celebrate Bobby's birthday! 

Thanks for being born Bobby :)

summer flowers

I'm loving all the flowers that are surrounding me this summer! 

Bouquets from one of my clients at work! She grew all the flowers in her garden and found the vases at garage sales and thrift shops. Love them!

 Sunflowers growing in a community garden right by our apartment. Get to drive by them everyday!

Got back from a weekend at home and this little beauty had popped up on my balcony! It's some sort of a wildflower.

Pink roses from my boss at work!

sunflowers at Farmer's Market. my fav!

It's amazing how much joy flowers can bring.

Happy Friday!

family, friends, & fun

I love getting visitors in SLO! My brother and his wife Katy just came out to California from Indiana and they made a trip up to SLO to visit. We walked around Farmer's Market, got some yummy food, and enjoyed people watching and chatting. Times like these make me miss the days that Brian and I lived in SLO together. Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

SLO 2005

                                                                 Halloween in SLO 2006

                                                                            SLO 2007

                                                                          SLO 2011

It was fun having them visit! This past weekend Bobby, Brian, me and my good friend Kelly Jordan road-tripped down to Orange County to visit family and friends. One of the events on the agenda was a baby shower for one of my best friends Danica Golden. It was fun to celebrate with her and the baby boy in her belly with a bunch of old friends.

                                                      the 3 musketeers: Danica, me, & Ashley

                                                                    us and our moms

                                                                 long time friends

                                                       ...and Murphy. I think I'm obsessed!

The rest of the weekend consisted of late nights chatting, lots of good food, a bbq with Bobby's parents, Katy's parents, and my family in my backyard (gotta love warm summer nights!) and a shopping excursion with my mom for a new wardrobe for my new job! (I'll blog about it soon!) And to top it off, I got to hang out with this guy: my very old cat Rascal. He could be the greatest cat of all time!

Overall, I couldn't be more thankful for my family and friends and the fun times we have together!