Surprise trip to Cali!!

Let me just start out by saying that my husband is amazing! He is so sweet and thoughtful and, well, just awesome! So, last Saturday afternoon, he comes in our bedroom where I am putting away laundry, and has this HUGE grin on his face. He says, "You know that I am going to California on Monday, well, you are coming with me!" What?? Then he proceeded to tell me that he had arranged everything and we were going to California on Monday. WOW!

So, Derek's dad got here on Monday morning and we left for Los Gatos, California. It is beautiful. Los Gatos is about 15 minutes from San Jose, so it is in northern California. We checked into our hotel. It was very nice and had a great ambiance. We went to dinner at a cool place, The California Cafe, and then walked around the cute town. We even took a dip in the hot tub after dinner. It was so relaxing.

On Tuesday, we went for a run and saw lots of cute shops and homes. The town looks like a movie set. After our run, we came to our hotel and Derek saw a big bus. He wanted to go over there and talk to the people unloading some stuff from the bus. We met them and it turns out they were band members for, Patty Griffin. And that's how I found out who we were going to see. I was so excited. I love her music! We ate breakfast in the courtyard and I found out that we were going to a winery for dinner and that the concert was going to be there as well.

We walked around and shopped more,met up with Derek's boss, Jim and his family for lunch, got cupcakes at a little bakery, took a nap, and then got ready for dinner and the concert.

We drove to Saratoga to the Mountain Winery where we ate a fabulous dinner overlooking the vineyards and mountains(Patty Griffin had a request for no cameras, so we only got to take a few before we went into the winery-bummer). It was just beautiful. And then we walked over to the concert. Amos Lee opened for Patty Griffin and he was really good. And then Patty came out. She was awesome. She has an incredible voice. I loved it and it went by too fast.

On Wednesday, we slept in, had a yummy breakfast in the courtyard of the hotel again. Then, Derek went to a meeting and I relaxed and shopped, got a wonderful pedicure, ate some lunch and cookies for dessert. Then, I picked him up to head home.

It was a wonderful time and awesome surprise. I just love Derek so much an he made me feel really loved and special by planning all of this. Thanks to Bob and Julie for watching the kids. And thanks to Derek, for being the most awesome husband! I am so lucky!! Dinner at the California Cafe Los Gatos High- l0oks just like 90210! The view on Main Street Sharon(Derek's bosses wife) and Me after lunch My sweet hubby! Outside the winery before dinner View of the vineyards

Amazing scenery. We ate overlooking this!

Band of Heathens- Sunday afternoon entertainment

This afternoon after church Derek, the kids and I headed to Waterloo Park for the 18th Annual Hot Sauce Festival. We wanted to go because this band that we like, The Band of Heathens, was playing there. It was a great concert and the kids loved swaying and dancing to the music. Barrett had all sorts of dance moves. And Brooklyn liked using her water bottle as a microphone. It was something fun for us to all do together. And afternoons like today, are just another reason that we love living in Austin. We did sample some hot sauce too, but most of the lines were a little long for us to wait in. It was a great afternoon for all of us!

Officially 2

Yesterday, Brooklyn turned 2. It is so hard to believe. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital and now she is a toddler. She is a joy to us. She is talking all the time, using full sentences and saying new words every day. It is fun to see. Brooklyn is into all things baby and loves taking care of her dolls. She also loves to color and draw. She is a happy girl and has the sweetest smile. Here are some of her favorite things:

Food: pirate's booty and chicken nuggets

Color:pink

Animal:cow

Thing to do: color, play with dolls

Person: Barrett

TV Show: Clifford

Stats: 34 inches tall and 24.6 pounds

Turning Two!

We had Brooklyn's 2nd birthday party over the weekend. My mom and sister, Kara, and her kids came to town for the celebration. We also had Brooklyn's friends from church at the party. It was an ice cream themed party, so we played some ice cream related relay games. It was really funny to watch them trying to figure out what to do. They used ice cream cones for the relays and all the kids were eating their cones as we raced. We also had a pinata that the kids took turns hitting and finally broke open. We had a "Make Your Own Sundae" bar for dessert. The kids and adults both seemed to enjoy getting creative with their sundaes. It was fun to celebrate Brooklyn's birthday with her "boy" friends and Elizabeth.

Pin the cherry on the cone- Brooklyn watching ElizabethBall on the cone relay raceBrooklyn racingBlake and Cohen filling the bucket in the pompom raceBrooklyn's turn to fill the bucket- Notice the bites out of her coneBrooklyn hitting the pinataGetting ready to blow out the candles on her sundaeMaking a wishTate and Barrett and their hats

8-8-08

Is anyone else out there excited for the Olympics to begin? I am looking forward to watching the opening ceremonies tonight and then for all the event watching to begin.
I remember watching the Olympics with my parents and siblings every 4 years. We were glued to our tv watching who would win the gold. I loved it! I remember watching Mary Lou Retton and the other gymnasts in the 84 Olympics. I got excited watching the track events in 88 when Carl Lewis won the gold. In 92 it was the men's basketball team. In 96 remember when Keri Shrug landed on one foot off the vault. In 2000, the swimming was awesome. In 2004, I loved watching Carly Patterson and Michael Phelps. I love hearing the national anthem wins the USA wins a gold.
So, I am excited this year to see what happens. I love the stories that you hear about and the personal triumphs that these people have overcome.
My favorite events are swimming, diving, gymnastics and track. I am also going to watch Melanie Roach, the mom from Washington, lift weights. So, cheesy as it may be, I am really looking forward to the Olympics for the next few weeks.

Trip to Phoenix

Dinner at Pizzeria Bianco- awesome!

Derek had a conference in Phoenix last week. It ended on Wednesday and I flew there to meet him so we could have a little vacation. We had a great time. I always love spending time with Derek, talking and laughing.

I have never been to Phoenix and I loved it. Of course, it was hot, but not that much hotter than Austin. And we hung out in the pool quite a bit. Our resort had a lazy river and some waterslides. Derek had a fun time going down the water slides. I skipped that activity. There was a pool right outside our room and there was hardly anyone ever there, so it was like having our own private pool. It was so relaxing.
We ate so much good food! A friend of ours , Amy, recommended all of the places we ate at and everything was awesome. Some of the places we ate were Barrio Cafe, The Breakfast Club, Pizzeria Bianco, and City Hall. We even went to a wine bar, Kashmierz, that was really cool.

We drove around Chandler, Tempe and Scottsdale looking at homes and shops. We walked around by Arizona State University. There were some shops and bars down there, kind of like 6th Street here, and that was fun to see. We had a fun time together. It was relaxing and nice to spend some time together with out the kids. Though, we were happy to see them when we got home Saturday night. And, the kids seemed to have a great time hanging with GrandBob. He is so good with them and we appreciate him watching them so we could go hang out together.The view from our room- our courtyardDinner at City Hall. I love my awsome husband!My yummy french toast- the best I have ever hadHanging by the pool. I read almost 4 books on the trip

My hot husband!