exciting things from cali; part iii...

And the third thing I loved about Cali was:

going to 

newport beach!

Sure, it was windy, cloudy & cold...

But hey, it's the OC.

And that, my friend, was very exciting!

(me & Ashley taking advantage of a good photo op)

(Cody, Matt, Ashley & me. Cody loves these kind of pictures, can't you tell?)

(Ashley & Cody. Aren't they precious?)

We had a really good time for the 15 minutes we were on that beach!

Dear Cali,

Next time I visit,

how about you show me that 

famous California sunshine?

Just sayin...

Sincerely,

jenna

exciting things from cali; part ii...

And the second thing I loved about Cali was:

umm.... 

meeting donald miller!

and getting my picture with him!

Yes, it is true that I have a crush on him.

Yes, it is true that I wish I had given him my number.

Yes, I do {not so} secretly hope he sees this.

And yes, I know that I sound like a middle school girl.

exciting things from cali; part i...

Let me tell you.

I love me some California.

Love it.

Because there were so many things that I loved about last week's trip, 

I've decided to break it down into multiple posts.

And the first thing I loved about Cali was:

pinkberry

 Naomi had blogged about pinkberry a long time ago, and I remember thinking that it looked so good in her pictures. As soon as I saw the place, I knew that we had to stop for some.  SO glad we did.  It is, by far, my favorite frozen yogurt place ever!

(I got the pomegranate flavor of yogurt with blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry toppings. 

Absolutely amazing.)

I'm pretty sure we had some fro-yo everyday after this. 

Somebody please find me the nearest Pinkberry...

I am currently going through withdraws.

it's true.. i ran a 5k...

Even with 3 hours of sleep, I ran that 3.1 miles like a champ.

And by champ, I mean a slow paced person that didn't stop to walk once!

That and the fact that my time was quite a bit better than I expected,

I consider this quite an accomplishment!

Yay for setting goals & living good stories!

it's probably not a good thing...

... that it is 3:oo in the morning & I can't seem to sleep.

Yep. 

Wide awake.

Have been all night long.

Oh yes, tomorrow morning is that 5K,

followed by the Girls Retreat.

I am praying that I am still getting rest,

though I lie awake in my bed.

And who knows, maybe I'll get a nap in before morning...

a quarter of a century...

(image found here)

yep, that's how old I am now...

Can you believe it?!

I can hardly.

A spiritual mentor of mine told me to "Expect big things from God this year..."

I must say, I am excited to see what all He has in store for my 25th year!!

my calendar tells me...

... that my birthday is only 5 days away!

It also tells me that the day of my 5K is fast approaching.

It, along with the MYM Girls Retreat, is only 9 days away!

California trip - 12 days.

Karissa's graduation - 22 days.

Family vacay - 30 days.

Senior Sunday - 38 days.

Summer Interns arrive - 43 days.

JH Family Beach Retreat - 50 days.

Karissa's WEDDING - 72 days.

And that is just to name a few.

My life is pretty crazy busy.

(But I love it.)

(For the month of April, my calender also happens to have this picture of a girl that kinda looks like me, don't you think?)

it was time for a makeover...

So I was ready for a new look for the ole blog, but it needed more than just another template switch or a new header. 

I wanted something completely different. Something more exciting.

There was only one problem. 

I had no idea how to change it. You see, I am not all that technologically savy.  

Example: For a year, I'd been wanting a counter at the bottom of my page and couldn't even figure that out! 

There was no way I could re-design by myself.

But I knew who could...

The ever-so-talented Annie Butterworth Jones! 

Annie took all of my ideas and inspirations, combined them with her skills and resources (and some of her own ideas), and here we are!

She did an amazing job capturing the essence of what I was looking for!

I couldn't be more happy with the finished product!

If you are interested in a blog makeover, check out the graphic design services that Annie offers.

I definitely recommend her!  You can contact Annie at anniesbutterworth[at]gmail[dot]com.

(Me & Annie at last year's Girls Retreat. 

Not only does she design beautiful blogs, she is a very gifted speaker!)

Thanks again, Annie!!

captured moments of easter...

a truly beautiful day with my wonderful family...

i am so blessed.