Honeymoon(s)

After the wedding, T and I took off and went to Napa for 3 days followed by a day in San Francisco.  This was my first trip to Napa and I loved it!  We went on a few wine tours, ate at great restaurants, and stayed in a lovely little bed and breakfast!  Can't wait to go back again, it is a great little getaway!

One of the vineyards

T!

Enjoying a martini at Top of the Mark in San Fancisco

Cheesy smile #1

Cheesier Smile #2

Now the second honeymoon was the "Family Honeymoon" (if there is such a thing).  We took the five youngest kids on a cruise to Mexico.  The kids love cruises and we didn't have to deal with flying, so it just made sense!  We were going to go to Hawaii, but the airline tickets would have cost more than the cruise!  

We all had a blast and by the end of the trip Jenna, TJ, Kami, and Charlie had learned such great manners about elegant dining, a lady actually came up to our table and complemented us on how well behaved our children were.  :)  The kids were beaming because they were working so hard at it!  

We spent two days in Cabo, one day in Puerto Vallarta, and the rest of the days at sea.  On the last Saturday T and I had "date night" and ate at the steakhouse, while the four oldest had dinner on their own in the elegant dining room.  They were so cute.  We met them in time for dessert and the waiters said they were wonderful!  Claire Marie enjoyed camp carnival most of the time and didn't want to leave.  

Here are some photos from the cruise!

Claire Marie and T

Don't make me laugh, you know I want to be mad right now...

Horseback riding excursion!

TJ's horse was wild and kept kicking the horse behind him!

My horse was a sweetie :)

Kami loved hers!

 

Kami and me at dinner

Charlie, Jenna, and T being goofy

Resort we hung out at on day 2 in Cabo

Just hanging on the ship...probably headed to the arcade!

Silly Girls

Self portrait!

Jenna asked for soy sauce one night for rice, and they brought it to her every single night after that!  LOL

Charlie trying to imitate the weird singer guy

Private beach and ready to hang!

Ziplining anyone?

Let's play with a monkey first!

Our entertainment on the boat on the way back to the ship

Lunch time

Jenna made Charlie into a mermaid...or should i say merman?

Our date night...

They brought this for our honeymoon

The kids at dinner alone!

Charlie and our head waiter Spitz 

Other waiter Edguardo

Jenna and Spitz

Gotta love the towel animals and chocolates

Charlie hanging in the window

We all loved this one...lol

It's hot out here...we are melting...we hate Mexico...lol

Charlie on his horse...

Jenna chickened out of the horse back riding, so they took her on an ATV ride.

This was an awesome experience

Kami loved her horse

What is Jenna up to?

Hanging towel animal...but what is it?

Adorable kids... 

Almost all serious...

Off to the pool...

The Big Day!

T and I are back from our honeymoon in Napa!  We had an awesome wedding day and a wonderful time in Napa.

The Thursday before we headed down to Hollister Ranch to get together with T's family.  It was such a sweet time of visiting, food, drink, and fun!  When we arrived on Thursday night, T's sister Shelly and Phil had a surprise waiting for T and me...something we have wanted for a long time!  They made this bar for us from wine barrels and oak! They even made a little logo/monogram that says KT.  We were so surprised and we love it!

The views from the ranch that night were amazing...you really feel like you are away on vacation when you head to the ranch.  It is so beautiful and special. 

Friday was another fun day, we went wine tasting with a small group, and hung out at the beach when we got back.  After that T and I took the kids home to call it an early night, and to prepare for the wedding the next day. 

WEDDING DAY!

Finally, Saturday arrived.  I got up early and showered and left to have my hair done.  While I was doing that T had a rehearsal with Pastor Jay (Judy was my fill in).  After he left and the coast was clear, I showed up for my rehearsal (now Judy filled in for T).  A while later, we checked into our rooms to begin getting ready.

Gina helping Karla with her dress

T and the boys are getting ready

Karla reading card from T

T reading card from Karla

Karla's something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

Almost time

She's late

Karla's brother Jeff walking her down the aisle

T's first look at Karla

The setting

Vows

Mr. & Mrs. Kinsky

The rings

Caught a kiss

K & T

First dance

Where is that garter????

Tossing the garter!

The bouquet toss

Top two layers were cake and mini desserts on the bottom

T was gentle

Karla smashed it!

The reception was great with a lot of fun dancing the night away.  I am waiting for more reception pictures and will post them soon.  Thank you to everyone who made our special day so wonderful!

New House & 2 More Days!!!!

We are finally all moved into the new house.  After three months of renovations, it is almost done.  I say almost because we still  have a few unexpected items to deal with, and we still have the back yard to finish.

Also, we are only 2 days away from the wedding!  Where did the time go, I remember when it was something like 180 days to the wedding...how did it get here so fast?  I am almost ready, but have a lot of last minute little things to do.

This afternoon we head to Hollister Ranch for a "mini family reunion/dinner/camp-out".  T's family are all here from the east coast for the wedding.  We haven't seen them all since last year when we went on the cruise.  I'm super excited to see them all and that they came for the wedding.

In the mean time, here are some pictures of the new house!  I will post an update with pictures after the wedding on Saturday!

June Happenings

I have not updated the blog in a while because things have been so busy around here!

I officially stopped working at the church on June 8th.  It is so strange to not go into the church every day and see the people I have seen daily for the last 2 1/2 years.  I miss it, but have been so busy I haven't had time to think much about it.

This week has been recital week.  I have literally been spending every night at the theater.  Tuesday was Claire Marie's dress rehearsal, Wednesday was Kami's,  Thursday was Claire Marie's first performance, Friday was Kami's and today Claire Marie performs at 2pm and Kami at 7pm.  Can I just say I am completely recitaled out?  If that isn't a word, I just made it one.  :)

The house is coming along.  We officially move on June 22nd.  The inside is about 95% done and the outside might be 50% done.  Our hope is the contractors will be out of the inside by move in day!  T and I will spend that next week getting the inside in order.

The wedding is fast approaching...it is 27 days from today.  Next week I will be focusing on it and packing at the same time.  We will be going on a cruise at the end of July and the kids are super excited.  They love cruising.  We are going to Mexico...I have never been anywhere except Tijuana and Rosarita Beach (do those even count?)...so I am actually looking forward to it.  After the cruise, it will just be 2 weeks until school starts...so the summer is going to fly by.

Here are a some pictures of the girls from their recital's...

Claire Marie and her friend Cameron

Kami's friend Chloe and her

Kami in her ballet outfit

Claire Marie in her ballet outfit

Change is Good...Although Sometimes it's Bittersweet

Things are moving along with the house.  The contractor says most of the renovations will be done by the end of next week (drum roll here).  What started out as just a couple of things, turned out to be a lot of things!  We are super excited about the new house though...and of course the girls are super excited that they will each have their own room.  The boys could care less that they will be sharing, however, they do have the biggest room in the  house, even bigger than mine and T's.

This week I gave my official notice at work.  I have been working at El Montecito Presbyterian Church going on 2 1/2 years.  It was a difficult decision, but one that had to be done.  Here is what I have written in the monthly newsletter which goes out to the congregation.

It is with great sadness that I am announcing to my wonderful ELMO family that I will be resigning from my position as Executive Administrator on June 8th.  

 As many of you know, last November I was asked by a wonderful man, Terance Kinsky, to take his hand in marriage, and I said yes.  We are thrilled to be  getting married on July 14th!  

 Now here is where it gets tricky...between Terance and myself, we have seven children and a grandchild!  Now don’t panic, all will not be living in one home,  however we will be blending five children under the age of 12, under one roof.  Because of this, we began the search for a bigger  home, and found the perfect one in Los Alamos, California.  Unfortunately, with my new and upcoming responsibilities of becoming  Mrs. Kinsky (aka Mrs. Brady), it would be extremely difficult to wear that hat and my hat here at ELMO.  After much prayer and discussion, we had to make this difficult decision.  

 I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks for the opportunity to serve ELMO for the past couple of years.  It has been a huge blessing, and you all have become a great big family to me!  I will miss working in the office and getting to talk to, and see, so many of you every day, but look forward to keeping in touch outside of the workplace!  

 Love and Blessings,
Karla

<insert tears here>  I truly will miss my ELMO family.  

ELMO Staff Christmas Party

Getting Closer!

Well, T and I are under 3 months away from the big day!  It is quite crazy around here, as not only are we planning a wedding, but we are also in the process of remodeling the home we will be moving to in Los Alamos!  Exciting and stressful at the same time.    

I will officially be moving out of my place mid May, which means I am in the process of packing, tossing, and giving away things.  The girls are all super excited because each of them will have their own room.  They have all picked out colors and bedding.  We are constructing a large room for the boys where they will have plenty of room to sleep, and use as a game room too!  T and I had to completely redo our master bathroom and knock down a wall in our bedroom.  We are hoping most internal fixes will be completed by the time I move my stuff in.

Here is a picture of our home...this is a before picture, as we will be repainting the outside, as well as adding a few more touches here and there.  Will post more pictures as the project progresses!