at the AWANA drive-in

AWANA does a drive-in movie night once a year where the kids get to bring a cardboard box car and watch a movie under the stars.  Due to poor planning, Lyla did not go last year.  But we planned ahead this time and marked it on our calendars.  I reminded Travis a few nights prior to drive-in night that he needs to make her a car.  Although he had so many other things going on, he decided to start on it right away.  I encouraged him to keep it simple, but in true Travis form, once he gets going he wants it to be exactly right.  He pulled an all-nighter on Monday night to make this awesome rat-rod for Lyla.  He used a diaper box for the body, pizza boxes, paper plates for wheels, paper towel rolls for the pipes, plastic bins for the front and back windshield, water bottles for the headlights and tail-lights, and a bottle cap for the fuel cap.  What a great creation!  I was shocked when I came downstairs in the morning to see this bad boy in our kitchen.  Lyla was pretty jazzed too.

We pulled up to AWANA and the kids got to "park" their cars wherever they wanted.  Some of these cars were really spectacular!

There was a volkswagon bus, hot pink cadillac, princess carriage, old-school batmobile, and so much more.  Some of these parents really spent time on these beauties.  A few of them even had working headlights!

130 kids watching Veggietales as the sun goes down.

Lyla sat still in her very cramped car enjoying the movie.  I somehow was able to stuff her in this thing with an entire mexican blanket to keep her warm and her jacket to use as a pillow.  Her little arms could barely maneuver enough to hold onto her box of popcorn.

She had such a great time and she was very proud of her little vehicle.  She got lots of comments like, "cool car, lyla!" to which she replied, "Thanks, but it's not a car, it's a rat rod".  She is surely her father's daughter.

six years ago two crazy kids ran off to vegas together...

Today we celebrate six years of marital bliss.  Bliss is defined as an emotional state characterized by perfect happiness.  Perfect happiness?  I can say that only because our marriage has been blessed by God.  Through mostly good times and a lot of a few rough patches, we can say that Jesus has carried us through six years of marriage.  And I mean it when I say that He carried us through it.  We couldn't have done it without Him.  People always tell you how tough it is to be married and you never realize just exactly what they were trying to warn you about until you're really in it.  But all the hard work and effort is worth it without a doubt.  Anything worthwhile comes out of struggle and self-sacrifice.  God has blessed us time and time again through our union with the most obvious reward being our two beautiful children that keep us on our toes! 

This is what I woke up to this morning.  I heard some quiet stirring downstairs and I knew Travis was up to something.  Simple gerber daisies and a beautiful card with even more beautiful sentiments inside!

...and he made me my faves for breakfast!  Crispy bacon and plain buttered white toast.  He knows me well.

Well, I think we're pretty great together.

our baptism

Travis and I gave our lives to Jesus 7 years ago.  This past Sunday we finally made a public declaration of our love for Jesus by getting baptized.  To make an awesome moment even more amazing, we were baptized by Trav's brother and we were baptized together!  Nick is the executive pastor at our church, so he got to "dunk" us in the water.  The ceremony started with Pastor Nick introducing us and asking why we want to get baptized.  That brings up a good point.  Why get baptized?

First of all, the bible encourages baptism.  In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus says "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples from all nations. Baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to fulfill all that I have commanded you. I am with you always until the end of this world."

Secondly, it is a public declaration of the inward change that happened when we accepted Jesus as our saviour.  In 2nd Corinthians 5:17, it says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."  We are a new creation in Christ.  That change actually happened 7 years ago when we prayed the prayer of salvation and we announced it in front of friends and family by getting baptized in water.

Thirdly, Jesus was baptized.  In Mark 1:9-11 it says, "It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

daddy/daughter date night

Lyla's first date with her daddy was a huge success!  They both had an amazing time and Trav did everything he could do to make it an extra special evening.  He wanted to make Lyla feel like a princess.  I was so excited about their date that I bought her a new fancy dress weeks ago.  She couldn't wait to dress up for her daddy and go out on her first date ever.

We prepared for the date by making Travis a little surprise.  We worked together to make a boutonniere using some lavender in our front yard.  It was super simple to do.  We just cut some lavender, tied the stems together with twist ties, and then wrapped some lace ribbon around it.  Voila!  Grab a pin and you have a homemade boutonniere. 

Travis arrived at the door to pick up Lyla with a bouquet of flowers.  She couldn't believe they were for her.  She kept bringing them to me and saying they were mine. 

Daddy tries on the boutonniere.

Trav let Lyla choose any place she wanted to go to dinner.  She didn't even take more than two seconds to think about it before she shouted out, "Sushi!"  He took her to our favorite sushi spot in town, Hana Sushi.  She ordered tamago (cooked chicken egg) and philadelphia roll.

When they arrived at Reliance Church for the ice cream and movie, the ladies of our church gave them the red carpet treatment.  Literally, they had a red carpet for them to walk in on!  There were bags of popcorn for the movie, strawberry water, ice cream and tons of toppings, etc.  All the daddies and daughters got to share in some ice cream and then cuddle up on the floor with blankets and pillows to enjoy the Muppets movie.

I think Lyla will cherish this memory of her very first date forever.  The photo below was given to Lyla in a little frame as a keepsake of the night and it is now on the shelf above her bed.  What a sweet memory to keep in her heart forever! 

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward." -Psalms 127:3

new business cards

FRONT

BACK

boom.  mustache madness.

yelp if you like travis mitchell

I am a yelp-er. I love to go on yelp if I'm in a new area or if I just want to try something new. I also like to write my own comments so that I can help other people out. As with any other review site, you have to be careful to take it with a grain of salt. Typically, the people who write them are super angry and venting their frustrations. Also, it's tough because yelp filters a lot of the reviews and only leaves a small handful on the page, so you have to go to "filtered reviews" to see everything. Every once in a while I like to read Trav's feedback on the Element Salon page and see what people are saying about him. Nothing but good news. Just thought I would share some here...

1/15/2012
I love Element Salon! The atmosphere is great, and everyone is so nice. My hair is hard to color, and it's hard for me to find someone who gets it right. I usually end up with a head full of brassy, gold hair. Travis is awesome, and the colors are beautiful every time. He's the best - that's why I drive an hour to see him.
-Michelle D.

11/17/2011
If you live in the Temecula/ Murrieta area and you want to have awesome hair, you should go to Element Salon and ask for Travis Mitchell! Travis has been styling my hair for over a year now and he took my hair from boring brown to a red giving it depth with low lights. He takes his time, making sure you love your hair! You can tell he has a passion for what he does. He's super funny too! I have recommended him to friends and people I work with and they love his work too. A wash, cut, and style is about $50. WELL WORTH IT!
-Jamie L.

10/14/2011
This is a great salon...But Travis Mitchell is AMAZING! He really takes his time and has interest in my style. I recently decided to change up my normal (but really pretty) dark brown color, I really wanted magenta streaks, I know that sounds a bit crazy for a late 20's woman such as myself, and I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I decided to go with it. Travis did a really pretty golden brown, and 3 magenta highlights. And WOW it looks so good! The placement of the magenta looks so nice, not cheesy at all. I highly recommend Travis to anyone, even if you're not going for an intense color ;). Oh and his cuts are spot on too. He literally is the only stylist I have ever had that the cuts turn out to be exactly what I want or slightly better.
-Carrie H.

8/31/2011
It all started with the worst hair cut I have EVER had (at another horribly bad salon)...I literally left the salon in tears. But, (dun-da-da-duuuun!) Travis Mitchell at Element Salon came to my rescue and fixed me right up. First off, how adorable is this guy? Love his look and vibe. He was so fun and caring. He listened to my bad experience at the previous salon and talked me through what he wanted/needed to do. I could not be happier with my hair. He gave me a gorgeous highlight, cut and style. Seriously, this guy is amazing. I will definitely be referring everyone his way. Thanks, Travis!!
-K.T.

3/4/2011
Went to this salon after finding it on yelp. I really wanted to find an awesome stylist who would listen to me but also give me feedback and an opinion. Well I found just that in Travis. He's amazing! I went from hair to the middle of my back to up past my shoulders. I was super nervous especially going somewhere new. He took what I said and made it even better than I imagined. He is a total perfectionist and took his time in getting it just right. I can't say enough good things so just go see him for yourself. Cut was $50.
-Emily C.

You can also go to Element Salon's website and read Trav's bio here!

day five - quality time with the mckinneys in maryland

Travis was fortunate enough to spend some time with our old friends, the McKinneys who live in Maryland. Travis and Brian go way back. They were roomies in Oceanside way before I met Trav. I think they met eachother even before that...maybe when Trav lived in Santa Cruz and worked at Consolidated? I'm not quite sure. Anyways, they have been friends for a long time. Four years ago we met up with them in the Dominican Republic for our "babymoon" when I was 5 months pregnant with Lyla. It was a wonderful vacation! Jenn was pregnant with Charlotte on that trip too and Jack was just a baby. Here's Trav with Jack and Charlotte: The McKinney kids. How adorable are they?

The McKinney house. I love it. Why aren't there more houses like this on the west coast? Jealous!

It even snowed while Trav was there. What a great way to end his trip! I though it was funny that this was the picture Trav sent me to show me it was snowing. Not really sure why? His text said, "You can't really see, but it's snowing outside". Haha!

day four - farm friends

Here are some of the friends Travis made on his trip. This is Luke. He weighs 250 pounds and with his front paws on Trav's shoulders, he is way taller than Trav. This is truly the biggest dog I have ever heard of! I don't know what the breed is, but these dogs are super loyal...you can either train them to stay indoors or stay outdoors 100% and protect the animals. Luke protects the goats and chickens and sleeps outside even in the snow!One of Laurie's goats.

Another goat picture.

And, of course, what farm would be complete without a rooster?

day three - memorial

day two - nokesville and manassas

This is how Trav spent his morning devotion time. He said it was amazing.


Here's a pic from his visit to the location of the Battle of Bull Run in Manassas. It was the site of the first major land battle of the Civil War. Trav loves American history, so I know he must have thoroughly enjoyed this.

My heart is in Virginia

Travis is in Virginia right now for his Uncle Ronnie's funeral and memorial. Uncle Ronnie was his mother's older brother. He was a very special and sweet man of God. He was the kind of man that you liked the instant you met him. He had sparkling blue eyes and a genuine smile. I wish that I could have had a chance to spend more quality time with him, but the Lord chose to take him home to Heaven this past Monday. When reading the comments on his obituary, you can tell that he was loved by many, many people and that he will be dearly missed. Click here for his obituary.

Here are some pictures Travis sent me from Uncle Ronnie and Laurie's house in Virginia. I've never been to Virginia, but these pictures sure make me want to make a trip out there some day!

Have I mentioned that I love my husband?

because who else is willing to look like this for the sake of having a good time and getting a few laughs at an ugly Christmas sweater party:

or go to that party with a chick who looks like this:

and be the only male working in a salon full of these ladies:

the answer? My amazing husband who was voted "Best Stylist of 2011" by his co-workers at Element Salon. I mean, I wasn't surprised because he has a such a passion for what he does and he is extremely talented. But what an honor! He was pretty stoked. The prize is a $1000 voucher towards cut and color education through UNITE hair academy. This can only step uphis game even more. I am so proud of my man!

Oh, and yes he DID win the ugliest sweater contest.

Men's Retreat

Travis is away at a men's church retreat this weekend! So excited for him to go spend time in fellowship with the guys and meet with Jesus. He hasn't been on a retreat for years, so this is a special time for him. The guys will be studying Romans 12:1-3 and focusing on the theme for the weekend:

He will be staying at Idyllwild Pines about an hour away from home.

And while he's away we will miss him dearly!