Too Much Fun

I have WAY too many pictures to post for the fun we've had the last two weekends! I'll try my best to be short and sweet...

Mother's Day weekend we went to Santa Barbara for a wedding...while we were driving down the 101 we discovered that Ryan's parents had been evacuated from their house because of the massive fire down there. As luck would have it, the luxurious Bacara Resort just outside of Santa Barbara was offering their rooms at a discounted rate for evacuees, which for the weekend anyways, we were! We knew we would NEVER have the opportunity to stay at this place again, so we went for it. So glad we did--3 nights, 3 words: heaven on earth!

Incredible pools overlooking the ocean, which we all got to enjoy for 2 days, including Ryan's parents!


Our Room. Still a little euphoric to think we stayed there. And if you wonder why I use the word "euphoric", seriously, hit the link and check this place out! Kayla says she can't wait to go back--I told her to tell her daddy that;)

Then yesterday was Kayla's birthday--I can hardly believe that she is 6! She's a bonified KID! This is how our day went:
Birthday girl's choice for breakfast--Pancakes!

10 AM Young Author's Fair-Kayla was asked to help present her portion of a book her class wrote that won the County Young Author's Award.

1:30 PM Baseball Game

Then came 4 PM:
the big b-day party! It was only 100 degrees yesterday afternoon, so I thought, sure, they'll be plenty of empty tables, who wants to spend the afternoon at the park in this kind of weather? Apparently, when there is a water play area, lots of people do! And I won't go into details, but the folks there made our party look like a funeral, I'm not kidding! They reminded me that I forgot my Boom Box and my mariachi CDs--shoot. Anyways, we ended up throwing up 2 shade tents and partying on the grass and it was great!



PS Hello Kitty was the requested theme this year, so I slaved over these little cuties:) She was quite pleased with them!
So basically, this is how I would rate our last 2 weekends:

Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?

Lastnight before bed we were reading a book entitled "Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?" The basic point of this book is that every little girl is as valuable and special as a princess. So, on every page this little girl is asking her mommy such questions as "Do princesses wear hiking boots?" to which Mom replies an affirming statement: "When they wish to take the scenic routes." "Do princesses ride tricycles?", etc, you get the picture. Well, Kayla repeatedly disagreed with the Mom in the story. Now, if you know Kayla, you know she LOVES the beach, but she also in a subconcious sort of way considers herself very valuable, much like a princess;). So, being the jerky Mom that I can be sometimes, I hit her with a loaded question:

M: Sooo, princesses can't go to the beach?
K: ...well, they don't have beaches in England anyways.

Love it!

No Moms or Dads

I went to put some laundry away in the kids' room the other day only to be greeted by a closed door and this well-crafted declaration...
Me: (Knock, knock) Hey, how come I'm not allowed in your room?
Kayla: (Cracks the door and peeks out) Because me and Benson are doing kid stuff (we stare at each other for a second) Bye. (Shuts the door).

What's Up Babie?

Cartoon Snuggle

I love Saturday mornings:)

"Valencrimes"

A friend of ours wrote a scathing editorial one year with the aforementioned title referring to the blessed day of love as a "crime" against men, basically. This for the cliched and obvious reasons men WOULD think it's some sort of crime to have the expectation of an outpouring of romantic adoration for their lovely wives and girlfriends placed upon them.
While I did enjoy the article, I still love V-day. And as you will see, we welcome many different forms of expression of love in our relationship--even miniature race cars...

And thanks to Josie and Justin for coming with us and blowing a wad to speed around in little lawnmowers for a half an hour...oh, and for lapping me 48 times. In my defense, 27 and never had a speeding ticket, not one. Thank you.
Super fun, we'll see you at the tracks next year!
(PS Re: group photo--Hello gnome in the land of trees)

Girls Trip!

Last weekend I had a little reunion weekend with my friends from high school--Sarah, Sarah, Leah, and Kirsten (So yes, together we make Sarah, Sarah, Leah, Lia and Kirsten!) Here's Leah, Kirsten and Sarah at Kayla's basketball game on Saturday morning...

...us at the house...

...then we were off to the Westin in San Francisco! We met up with our other friend Sarah in the city and did a little shopping! Did I mention that we could see the Chinese New Year parade from our 26th floor window?!

And here we are at a little breakfast place called Mama's in North beach--it was an hour wait, but well worth it as you can see!


Such a fun weekend--I think it's incredible that whenever we get together, which is not too often, no matter how much our lives change, we can so easily pick up where we left off! Thanks for making it happen girls!