June Sure Came and Went

It took a few days to get settled after being away. First and foremost, we were missing our fearless leader who was still in New Orleans. The girls and I were tired from our drive, the time change and two sleep (less) nights slumber-partying it in Mom's room. Court's flight home was delayed, cancelled, postponed BUT finally arrived 10 hours later than expected. As I was planning on picking him up from the airport, I cancelled the girls piano lesson. After receiving word that his plane was delayed, I tried to get piano lessons re-instated but it was too late. We went to the playground instead where I caught these two sharing a moment.

Nothing like a sister. 

I wish them a lifetime of these moments. 

The next day was t-ball. She's still a fan and was very, very excited to have Mana and Boppa in the crowd cheering her on!

Today also marked the day of living in our house for one year! Funny because it feels like we've lived at this address for much longer.

Nothing kicks off the harvest season like a trip to Bill's Berry Farm. Most people go to pick the fruit that is in season. 

We go for the donuts. 

Fresh. Still warm. SO good!

 

Finally got a baby gift finished and sent off! Good because the baby is due today or really soon!

Realized that some of our chickens are being bullied. So much so that a few are losing feathers. So I slathered on some anti-pecking lotion on a few of them. You know how pink and purple tips are pretty in right now (yes that is pink and purple hair…at the tips)? Well, these two are rocking' it hard!

Grace discovered jump roping about two weeks ago. Tonight, she jumped 30-something in a row!! She  jumps rope all. day. long. Which is great! Great exercise and all. But she wants us to watch AND COUNT every. single. attempt. Not ideal when trying to get anything done!

Sunday Funday! The girls got to watch a movie while Court and I cheered on Mexico in the World Cup. 

Even Grace and Charlotte got to be fancy!

Too bad Mexico lost to the Netherlands. 

Which leads me to today. My first time back in spin class in a loooong time. The girls first time in the gym daycare. We all survived.

Is tomorrow really July 1? Am I ever going to feel like time is on my side?

The Big Easy Ya'll...And then Some!

So the once a week blogging thing didn't happen but two posts in a month is a record for 2014! Baby steps!

Since my last entry, a few quick pic recaps.

Grace started t-ball. She loves it!

Charlotte isn't quite old enough yet but she thinks she is!

Grace and Charlotte had their ballet recital. They are almost unrecognizable with their hair! They were so cute all dolled up and Charlotte loved everything about it - especially the makeup! Grace wanted nothing to do with the fru-fru.

We had a father's day celebration celebrating Court's dad post-recital but I didn't take any pictures. The following day, we drove to Boise, for another father's day celebration. I didn't take any pictures of the fathers, but I did catch some great shots of a very important uncle!







This was taken about two minutes before Grace tripped and almost face planted into a tree. Tears ensued. So did wine. Probably why I didn't get too many pictures of the evening! We had a fabulous dinner - all of us together. The only thing missing was Molly and Kevin. The next morning, we all felt like how Charlotte looked upon wakeup!



Then it was off to Sun Valley for a few more days of family fun!

Cousins! All wearing swimsuits with mermaid tail coverups that I made because they all LOVE swimming and mine especially are enthralled with mermaids!!

After just two quick sleeps it was back to Boise for the last night before an adult only trip to New Orleans! Yes, that's right! Court and I were able to sneak away for a few days without the girls! We've been looking forward to a getaway for a long, long, looong time! All the pieces of the puzzle finally came together.

Well almost.

Our flight through Minneapolis on our way to NOLA was delayed - by several hours due to severe storms - so we in turn missed our connecting flight to the Big Easy. Our first night was spent in Minneapolis, quickly putting together hotel and dinner reservations - not to mention re-booking flights - all on our little phones. Yes, it was one less night in New Orleans but it was an adventure and it all worked out BEAUTIFULLY!

We hit up three bars in one night under one roof! We didn't have to go outside at all which was great because of the storm!

We also managed to get a last minute reservation because of a cancellation at the best steakhouse in the city - Manny's! It was like we were meant to be there!

The next day we made it to our intended destination! This was my first time in the south - other than Texas - and it was delicious! We ate nothing but good food and wine. NOTHING!

Of course, we walked Bourbon street. You see the pictures - like these…

but nothing prepares you. Bourbon street is like nothing else. It's crowded and dirty. Seedy and energizing. Music of every kind and it puts any other people-watching-place on Earth to shame! Honestly, it is probably nothing I need to do again at this point in my life, (I wonder how I would have felt about it ten years ago?) - but soo glad we did it! Now I know what to prepare myself for when Grace and Charlotte go there someday.

The next day we had a much calmer walk through the French Quarter. We did as much browsing and walking as one can do when both the temperature and the humidity rise into the 90s. I did manage to find a Christmas store open for business on the first official day of summer! Boom!

My first time seeing the Mississippi!

Then, it was off to eat more food on our last night without the kids.

Not sure Grace and Charlotte would have enjoyed this guy on their plates. 

I am not experienced with eating crawfish and to any true southerners in the restaurant watching me  eating this, I am sure I was quite entertaining. 

Another first - beignets. Everyone kept talking them up so much! I mean what's not to love? Fried dough with powder sugar heaped on top. Sounds like my kind of treat! After my crawfish dinner, we raced across town to Cafe du Monde - THE place for beignets. And folks, I have to be honest. I did NOT enjoy the beignets. In fact, I think I had two bites and called it quits. Perhaps, it was the ambiance. Think gigantic tourist trap. Perhaps it was the end-of-the-trip-blues. Perhaps, it was the amazing desserts I'd had the two nights prior. 

Um yeah. Might've been this that ruined the beignets for me! hahah

Court stayed on for a few more days for a meeting while I flew home (flights all on time! Phew!) to get the girls! Oh it was so great to see them! It really felt like they had grown so much in just three short sleeps! I don't know how anyone leaves theirs kids for more than a few days. Not only do you miss them, but at this age, they seem to change overnight!

Speaking of changes, Grandma and Auntie Molly took the girls to a "real" salon for a day of beauty (aka much needed haircuts)!

It is so great sneaking away. Court and I much prefer to bring the girls with us an spend time together as a family. Traveling without the girls is bittersweet, but returning home to happy girls makes it sooo much easier! Thank you Mom, Dad, Molly and Johnny-roo! You all pitched in to make those three days a success! Now onto the vacation from the "vacation"…I wish!

June in Review…Eight Days In!

The blog has been lagging. I know. On a recent weekend getaway, I was asked about the blog almost as much as the girls. This means two things. 1. People read this little ole blog and 2. This blog needs a revival. Code red! Or is it Code Blue? Hmm…is there a doctor in the house? 

Anyway, the blog has gone by the wayside for a few different reasons. This past school year, I spent an obscene amount of time in the car. We drove everywhere to everything everyday. Can't type while you are driving. Also, I've fallen in love with several hobbies. Sewing being one. Crafty-crap - for lack of a better way of summing it up - being another. In the free time, I have these days, I am either sewing or crafting crap. 

After putting the girls to bed tonight, I realized I had about an hour of "dead" time before I was going to   hit the hay. I quickly grabbed my latest sewing project and headed for the couch. But before sitting down, out of no where, thoughts of THE blog, THIS blog, hit me. 

Blog posts take time to put together. Uploading pictures. Writing corresponding dialogue. Trying to capture a moment or create a laugh. So when my mind hiccuped between my sewing project and writing a blog post, my mind quickly pushed the blog post aside. Too much work. 

My heart cast another vote. My heart reiterated what I've so often said before. The blog is like my diary. Highly censored, of course, and quite public. But a diary nonetheless. For many years, it captured the day to day. It was an outlet. A way to communicate and a way to stay in touch. Often times, I go back to the blog to see what we were doing this time two years ago. Just to remember. 

The blog is important. To me. If no one else. For so long, I tried to write something daily. I think that is unrealistic at this point. I am trying a new plan and shooting for once a week.

So as it Sunday, June 8, let's kick this off by recapping the week!!

A week ago, we were in Sonoma, CA. The "other" wine country as I like to say now that I live in WA wine country. Sonoma is where I grew up and in a way, it will always be home even though no one in my family still lives in California. 

We went to Sonoma for my friend's wedding! This was the perfect opportunity to take the girls to my old stomping grounds. Problem was we couldn't take the girls to the wedding itself. Sounds like a problem for Grandpa and Grandma am I right? So Grandma and Grandpa came along for fun, food and babysitting! A grandparent's dream right?! We got in Thursday, had a great dinner, bumped into a few Sonomians from yesteryears and on our way home made a stop by the famous duck pond in the Sonoma square. Funny how Sonoma has changed in so many ways, but some things are exactly the same. My siblings and I fed baby ducks in this same spot 20+ years ago, and my daughters were able to do so as well. Awesome! Trip is off to an amazing start!

Friday we were off to San Francisco to be tourists for the day! While planning our trip, I realized the last time I'd been in CA I was pregnant with Charlotte…so almost four years ago! Neither Grace nor Charlotte had been to California, outside of the womb, so it was high time, they got the full tour! Union Square? BOOM!

Golden Gate, Fisherman's Wharf, lunch at Scoma's (so freaking good!) Ghiradelli Square - BOOM!

Two funny stories about San Francisco. Charlotte LOVES to wear dresses and since it is summer, she knows she can wear dresses with "no pants" and she says. Or no leggings underneath for warmth. To save a battle, I told Charlotte she could wear a dress to San Francisco - even though I told her about Mark Twain's famous quote…"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in California." To no avail. She wanted nothing to do with pants. 

We brokered a deal. Dress with no pants BUT she had to bring the pants in the diaper bag!

Fast forward an hour. We are in San Francisco and Charlotte is shaking because it is cold (surprise) and she has not pants. Total surprise because they were supposed to be in the diaper bag! They weren't, of course, so first stop in San Francisco? The Gap. For leggings. UGH! Total tourists!

Next, we'd promised the girls a ride on a trolley. Been talking up the trolley for days…weeks even! When we got to the trolley, the lines were 20,000 miles long (seriously, a trip to the moon would have been faster) so we told the girls that the trolleys were broken, snapped a picture, promised a visit to the park that evening and headed for the hills!

Saturday was wedding day!! The girls were having a hay day with Grandma and Grandpa so with them happy, the "table was set" for a great day! Court and I had SO MUCH FUN! 

Weddings always make you think and reflect and appreciate…and dance!! 

Formerly known as Katy E and Katie B

Look! We color coordinated

!It's like we've known each other our whole lives or something. 

SO. MUCH. FUN.

It was awesome seeing my good friend get married and even "awesomer" catching up with so many friends. 

What's not to love about this view?!

Sunday it was already time to hit the road and head for home. But not before hitting up Train Town!

Train Town was some guy's hobby started in the late 60's. I went to the Train Town as a kid and I for sure wanted Grace and Charlotte to experience it's magic. It's like a model train set swallowed Steroids, married the Little Engine That Could and gave birth to Train Town!

The girls LOVED it! We all went on a ferris wheel and I was happy to share yet another slice of my childhood with them!

The morning activities rustled up an appetite so off to Napa where Court and I got married nearly 10 years ago. 

Then it was back to reality. Not so bad waking up to this…

 But could have TOTALLY lived without this!

Until next time Sonoma….