Valentines

This year I took the initiative to plan our Valentines date. I wanted to do something different, so I started searching the web. Since the weather was going to be nice, I thought something with a ferry ride would be fun. The islands are always so beautiful on a sunny day. I looked into Vashon Island and found that a winery was having a wine tasting that night, complete with appetizers and music. How fun!


We got a bit of a late start, so the sun was starting to go down as we were riding across. We headed toward the winery address, but it brought us to a personal residence. Huh? From what we could tell, it was going on in this garage like structure in front of the house. We kept driving, trying to decide what to do. We drove pretty much across the whole island, just taking in the sights and the beautiful scenery. Finally we decided to just head back to the winery and just see what was going down.


Inside the "garage" it was actually pretty nice. They had a bunch of barrels of wine along one wall, then around the room there were lights hung and little tables full of appetizers. In the corner a band was playing, but we knew instantly that we were probably going to be the youngest ones there, as the band of 50+ year olds were playing folk music. There was a list of about 3 white and 7 red wines. We slowly went through all of them, munching appetizers as well and listening to the music. To be honest, by the end I was a bit buzzed. I think that was the second time in my life that I felt dizzy from drinking wine. Jason thought it was funny. So did I, but I was relatively happy overall. We left after a couple hours to head back to the ferry, then enjoyed a nice evening ride back over to West Seattle. Overall it was kind of a funny (not quite what we expected) evening, but it was fun to be together and try something new. Thanks Mom and Dad for babysitting!

SD/Palm Springs 2009

We were so happy to be able to get away from Seattle this winter, especially with all the snow we have been getting, and also with everything we've been going through. We timed it so we would be there between the holidays and mid-winter school breaks. It made the flight cheaper and Palm Springs much quieter.

We flew out Friday morning. There were extra seats, so we got to bring on Taylor's car seat to put him in. Unfortunately that made his feet rest on the seat in front of him, which he wanted to kick the whole time. Thank goodness the guy in front of him was understanding! We got there, got the rental car, then drove till Taylor fell asleep (didn't take long!). First stop? In & Out Burger! We drove to the beach and enjoyed our double doubles with fries as we watched the waves.

That weekend we stayed with our friends Matt and Vanessa. It was great to see how much their son Evan had grown since we saw him last, and we got to meet the new member of their family, Liam. We also saw our friends Lenny, Amy (who is expecting number 2), and Abby at pizza one night and then for a little dirt bike riding in east county then next afternoon. Sunday we spent the morning with Jason's grandparents having breakfast and hanging out at the park. The weekend went fast and was full of lots of fun and activities, ending with watching the Superbowl!

We left for Palm Springs after the game, and by the time we made it out there, it was nearly 10:30pm. We checked in, and I headed up to our studio timeshare to set up Taylor's bed (he was asleep in the car). When I got to the room, I couldn't believe how small it was! Almost smaller than a normal hotel room. The kitchen was a counter with a toaster oven and coffee maker. And all it had was a mini fridge! I knew that wasn't going to work for a week, so Jason had to go back to the office and get us a bigger room, at an added cost of course. But the size difference was crazy. This place was huge! Big full kitchen, dining table, living room, bath room, and full sized bedroom. Of course by the time we got everything in the room and were about to die of exhaustion, Taylor woke up and didn't want to go back to sleep. In to bed with us he came, which he never wants to do at home by the way.

The next couple days were super sunny and warm, and we spent our days by the pool. We rotated pool time when Taylor was napping since we couldn't leave him in the room alone. The pool area was great, complete with two sized water slides, a kiddie pool area, two hot tubs, and lots of chairs to sunbathe on. Taylor wasn't really into the water that much, and really just wanted to play in the flower beds instead. We did end up finding a park close by the hotel that he loved because it had 10 different slides all shapes and sizes. In the evening after we had dinner, we went into town, wandered around, and got dessert. Usually we went to bed right after Taylor because we were recovering from the late nights and early mornings in San Diego.

Mid-way through the week, Matt and Vanessa came out to visit with the kids. The guys went golfing and we stayed and played at the pool. Taylor refused to go in the pool that day, and much preferred to hit the ping pong ball around in the shade all afternoon. That night, though, he was just burning up. I didn't have a thermometer, but I'm guessing it was about 103. He hadn't been in the sun, so I knew it wasn't sunburn, and it hadn't been hot, so it wasn't heat stroke. He was still trying to get over a cold and dealing with some teeth coming in, so I assumed that's what it was. Of course I gave him Tylenol every 4 hours through the night because that was how often he woke up. Long night! And they hadn't been that great to start with.

The next day my sister Sarah came out to visit since she wasn't able to make it down to SD to see us. It was nice to just relax by the pool and talk. After dinner we tracked down some ice cream, then it was already time to say good-bye. Not enough time! It went too fast.

Friday we took our time packing up, and spent a lot of time at the empty pool which was actually super warm! The weather by that point had cooled to the 60's and rain clouds were threatening, but the water was so warm. After getting all packed up, we headed back to San Diego to spend the next weekend with sister Mary and her husband Rob.

The second weekend was really relaxed, which was nice. There was no agenda, so we just went with the flow. Saturday we enjoyed fabulous lattes made by Rob, then headed to Wind & Sea beach a block from their house. Taylor enjoyed running around and finding little pools of water to splash in. It was so pretty because there were huge storm clouds rolling in to the north and south of us, creating tons of gorgeous rainbows. After Taylor's nap we returned to the beach with aunt Mary, where we watched the beginning of a great sunset. That night we had some much craved carne asada burritos. I forgot how good they were! We tried to watch a movie when we got home, but Jason and I couldn't keep our eyes open, so it was off to bed early.

Sunday we got packed up, then headed over to Coronado Island where Taylor played at the park and on the beach for a bit. We couldn't leave without getting some Moo Time Ice cream for old times sake. It was nice to just sit in the sun and watch the people stroll by on a Sunday morning. Then after Taylor's nap, it was time to head to the airport. But not before we picked up one last double double. Back on the plane, Taylor had to sit on our laps because it was full. Thankfully the DVD player with his Baby Einstein videos kept him happy till we arrived home. Back to cold and rainy Seattle. It was nice to be home and get back to our normal schedule, but we already miss our friends, family, and the wonderful sunshine of So Cal. Wait for us, we'll be back soon!