Dave earned some props!

Dave earned some serious props for pulling off a big birthday surprise! While I am not always the best at waiting for a surprise, I do love that moment when it all comes together and the surprise is revealed. I honestly had no idea what to expect but knew that it would be something fun. As we were driving to the secret location I kept trying to figure out where we were going. As we would pass a particular landmark I would shout out a destination, sure that I had figured it out, only to be met with a sly grin and clear no. After several guesses and several failures, we finally arrived at out destination. Even then, I was still unsure where we were and what to expect. We parked and walked in to the lobby level of a building in the LA's art district. Dave waves at someone but I don't see who. People are walking around sipping wine, nibbling on appetizers and enjoying the art. As we turned a corner I see an old friend- the friend that Dave waved to earlier. Now it all made sense. This friend works for this amazing catering company called Room Forty. We were there to attend one of their "Wine Maker Dinners". After some pretty amazing appetizers in the lobby, we headed up to the 22nd floor to begin the rest of our 6 course meal. The bare bones industrial styled room was set up with large tables and benches and lit only by candle light. There were a few pieces of art hanging on a couple walls and simple vases and flowers adorning the tables. And the best part of all was the amazing panoramic views of the Hollywood HIlls all lit up in the night sky. It was just amazing! We sat down and met the people at our table. A couple with one small child who recently moved from the DC area. Another older couple who are well versed in these types of dinner engagements. The owner's wife, a friends of theirs from church and another couple with 4 kids and a lot of interesting stories. The conversations were as great as the atmosphere and food. And speaking of food, I have never had anything like it. Scallops with a new white wine, duck with a great white, rabbit with smooth red and steak with an amazing red with a little kick followed up by a delicious dessert. While it sounds like a lot of food, the portion sizes were much smaller and few people ate everything on the plate. It was the perfect amount of food and wine. It was amazing! All of this wonderful food, while conversing with some pretty amazing people we just met and the soft sounds of the acoustic guitar being payed by an amazing musician. It was unique and distinctly LA. In a million years, I could not have imagined or planned a better way to spend my 30th birthday. Dave did an amazing job planning and executing a truly special night all the while keeping it a secret from me!! It is quite an accomplishment. My hats of you Dave! And, thanks for an amazing birthday celebration that I will ALWAYS remember!

I miss you Gina!

We actually had to got to a generic portrait studio yesterday for our family photos. Usually this time of year, we'd be meeting up with Gina and she's take pictures of Mason for his birthday and of the family for our Christmas card. Not only is she a great photographer who would meet us anywhere to shoot, she also gave us a great price! Yesterday we sat in the studio with the generic holiday backgrounds and took our posed family pictures. Don't get me wrong, the people were nice and the photos came out nice. But it just wasn't the same! I miss you Gina!! We'll have to make a yearly date to do photos so we never have to go through this again! Here is one little preview...you'll have to wait for the rest:)

A Little Getaway

Once bitten by the travel bug, it is really hard to pass up a great travel deal. So when we saw ridiculously cheap flights to San Francisco, how could we not buy them? We took off Wednesday for a short trip to visit the city and relax. We didn't rent a car or anything because SF has such great public transportation. I think in the back of our heads, we were thinking that this would give a little idea of what it'd be like to travel in Spain with kiddos. I think we did end up utilizing every form of public transport at our disposal. The only one that we'd never do again is the buses because the kids were horrible! But they did pretty good on the trains. trolleys, and cable cars! It was definitely a little more difficult with two kids than when we went with just Mason but it was still fun- still an adventure! We enjoyed the cloudy, drizzly, cool weather. A nice change of pace from the constant warmth of SoCal. I know for all of you sitting in snow or freezing weather that doesn't sound so bad. But after a while, you miss the cooler weather, the rainy days. Although I must admit, neither of us miss the snow! With that said, here are a few pics from our little exploration of SF. We walked a lot of the city (stopping by cool places like TCHO chocolate) and took a cool little boat tour of the bridge and Alcatraz. We also visited the aquarium when the rain got a little heavier. The kids loved that! Mason also got his first taste of cotton candy. I don't think that we'll do that again! He went nuts as soon as the sugar hit his bloodstream! All in all, it was a fun trip despite it's hectic moments with the kids. But if you ever get a chance to visit, you really should! SF is an awesome city with so much to see!

Halloween Fun

This year, we found a cute bumble bee costume for Willow online. We tried it on and liked it so we bought it. When I showed Mason that his sister was going to be a bee, he immediately told me that he was going to be a fly for Halloween. Not wanting to sound like a judgmental mom, I asked about other possible animals that he could dress up as for Halloween. But he had his mind made up. Willow would be a bee and he would be a fly. OK. Now, try to find a fly costume for a toddler (for a reasonable price). Nearly impossible. We'll have to just make one, I decided. We tried and we failed. I think Dave and I both suck at making costumes. The wings just wouldn't come together right. So for Harvest Festival at Fuller (the week before Halloween) he wore his Spiderman costume from last year. Still bug related! So I had one week to pull out something else for him in time for trick or treating. He said he wanted to be a spider. A few alterations to the fly set up and I think we'll be set. Yeah, more technical difficulties and a broken sewing machine. Well, Spidy is close enough to the insect world that our bug theme isn't ruined. And he loves Spiderman. So Spiderman he was-again!


All the neighborhood kids getting ready for trick or treating.


Willow enjoying her first sugar cookie at Harvest Festival.


Mason riding the ponies by himself- for the first time in 3 years!