Tuesday, February 7, 2012

A Long Lost Summer

So, I was editing my blog and I came across this post that I never published. I figured, better late than never. It is kind of a random assortment of photos from our summer of fun. We didn't go on any big vacations but it still managed to fill up with lots of great adventures. The most exciting of all was that my little brother Chris married a wonderful and beautiful girl named Summer. It was a beautiful wedding and it gave all the family an excuse to get together. We had a blast. I am not going to label all the pictures so you are just going to have to figure it out, but here are some of the highlights from the Summer of 2011 :

  • Visiting with LOTS of family
  • Kate's first haircut 
  • We got to see John Stamos rockin' it out at the fair (oh yeah and the Beach Boys too)
  • Kate got to spend a lot of time with her "nanny" Frank
  • Ryan and I celebrated our 4th anniversary at the nickelcade and viewing the midnight release of the final Harry Potter. Its fun doing silly things just the two of us.
  • Saw the Dodgers win with Grandma and Aunt Amy. Kate found the best seat in the house.
  • Chris and Summer got married- HURRAY!
  • Kate finally potty trained- DOUBLE HURRAY!
  • Kate is in a big girl bed- yikes :(

















Wednesday, February 1, 2012

San Diego Confused... and more

I must say we live in the best city ever. It am not partial to cold weather, so it is perfect for me. It has gone from being cold and rainy to beautiful 70-80 degree weather. The past few weeks have been beautiful! The trees outside our apartment are getting a little confused though. We have autumn leaves and spring blossoms. Kind of funny to see.


Last Friday we got Ryan to ditch school for the morning and the 3 of us enjoyed the warm rays at the beach here in La Jolla. The weather was just too perfect to pass up.



We are enjoying the beautiful weather while we can because in a month and a half we are moving to a colder climate and a different coast. Washington D.C. here we come! Dr. Ryan Darby is graduating with his PhD and will now be gainfully employed. Hurray!!! We are very sad to be leaving our perfect little beach town-La Jolla and especially sad to be leaving our family here, but we are really excited for our new adventure and Ryan is beyond excited to be done with school.






Here are a few pictures to catch up from the holidays (sorry, not the most punctual blogger)

Happy Halloween


Kate (China Doll) and Jenna (Minnie Mouse) had fun running door to door together



Decorating the Tree




Making Christmas Treats
Darby Tradition (Rice Crispy treats with crushed candy canes inside-- Yum!)



Visiting With Loved Ones






Christmas Fun
"Santa is scary" We love Santa from afar.

San Diego snow


Christmas Eve with Poppo at the fire station




We had a wonderful holiday season and hope you did too. This year will be filled with loads of new adventures for the Darbys. I will try to keep you posted.... we'll see.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Existential Safety Commission

For a change of pace, I'm posting a music video by my brother and his band. They are called the Existential Safety Commission. Enjoy!



Wednesday, September 28, 2011

China...6 months late

What an amazing trip! We went from Bejing to Xian to Guilin and finally to Shanghai (with lots of small towns in between). I could write a novel about our trip, but I won't because it would never get posted. So here are some of our favorites... The Great Wall, the beautiful gardens, the majestic scenery, the Terracotta Soldiers, the delicious food (however we didn't not want anything to do with Chinese food for several months after we got back), the unique culture, and last but not least the people. We met some wonderful friends on the trip, who really made our trip memorable. We had many wonderful adventures that we will never forget.

The Great Wall


Beautiful China




The Dragon Spine Terraces (my favorite)


Terracotta Soldiers
Real Terracotta soldiers above (fake ones below)


Ancient China





Dumplings Anyone?

These dumplings were shaped like what was inside. This one was duck. Super cute.




We love China
Ryan making friends


We saw an acrobatic show in Shanghai. Amazing!

Shopping in Shanghai (I am the world's worst barterer)

Our morning calisthenics with the locals


Friends





If any of you are interested in visiting China check out ChinaSpree, great company.
It was our favorite vacation by far. You gotta go to China.