Swimming with Gates!

Hudson and I went over to play with Mallie and Gates last week.  Mallie had the baby pool set up and I could barely get his clothes off before Hudson was in it.  The kid loves the water!

 

2009 California Trip Day Five

Our last day…we would have been very sad to leave, if we weren’t missing Hudson so much!  For our final breakfast we had an egg quiche, chicken apple sausage, homemade corn muffins and fruit.  Yummy!  Our friends from the day before were gone, so we made new friends.  We talked for a very long time with another couple who had a three year old little girl.  We had the most similar pregnancies, it was crazy!  And we managed to majorly freak out the girl sitting at our table.  Awesome.

This was the only day that we remembered to take pictures of the Inn itself:

This was the common area:

This was the breakfast area:

We had planned to drive through Armstrong Woods – the state of California is bankrupt and they are closing all state parks come July 1st.  However, we ran out of time because we visited for too long (imagine that).  We also planned to stop by Stanford since we flew back out of San Jose airport.  We did drive through it, but didn’t have time to stop and it appeared that they had graduation going on.  It was a gorgeous campus though.

We had such a wonderful time and look forward to going back again!

2009 California Trip Day Four

On our fourth day we had another delicious breakfast (are you sick of reading those yet?  Because I really want to remember what we ate).  We had french toast casserole, ham and fruit (we actually had fruit everyday, but I forgot to add that the other days).  Anyway, we visited with our new friends for awhile and then we headed out.

Our day started with a tour at Pride.  Pride was at the top of a mountain and the views were to die for!

The winery is the only one that is half in Sonoma and half in Napa County.  Here is the line dividing the two counties:

After Pride we went to Robert Keenan – unfortunately no pictures there.  Then we went back to Taylor’s Refresher for another yummy lunch (what can I say? We are creatures of habit).

After lunch we headed to Frank Family:

Frank Family is one of my favorites because the man who owns it used to be president of Paramount Television.  And since I am a little star-struck – it is right up my alley.

Unfortunately, that is also where my camera battery died!  Ugh. So, I missed pictures at Seghesio.  After that we went back to Underwood for another delicious meal…creatures of habit, remember?

2009 California Trip Day Three

Our third day started with another incredible breakfast.  We had this yummy egg casserole thingy (how is that for an accurate description), chicken apple sausage, and HOMEMADE biscuits.  Yum, yum, yum.  More people had checked in the night before so we got to visit with them.  The breakfast is served family style so we all sat down together and got to know each other.  I loved it! It was so fun.  The Honor Mansion , where we had stayed in the past, served you as couples and there was never much mingling.  I absolutely LOVE the Honor Mansion, don’t get me wrong, but the social butterfly in me loved the group breakfast.

 

After breakfast, we spent the day in Sonoma.  We started with a tour at Stryker.  It was a beautiful place.  The staff was a little disorganized – there were supposed to order us a lunch for a picnic and they apparently didn’t.  (That worked out okay though).  Anyway, so we started with a tour there:

After that we headed to lunch at Oakville Grocery.  Can you tell that we are all about the food on vacation?  After that we headed to Bella.  Bella has one of my favorite things…wine caves! 

Next we were off to Papapietro Perry:

We ended the winery portion of the day at Arista:

After that we headed for the coast!  I was really excited because we have never been out that direction to see it.  It was pretty cool (59 degrees) so the beach was definitely not an option, but I was excited to see the ocean anyway!

We ended the night with a wonderful meal at a place we randomly ended up at:

2009 California Trip Day Two

Day two of our trip started with a fabulous breakfast.  We were the only people staying at the Sonoma Orchid the first night we were there, so we got the royal treatment.  The owner (who had studied at culinary schools in CA and Europe) asked what we would prefer for breakfast. Apparently, he typically alternates between sweet and savory.  Since we are all about food, we couldn’t choose so he did both!  He made us blueberry pancakes, chicken apple sausage and poached eggs that he dredged in breadcrumbs and fried.  I wasn’t really into poached eggs, but Trent said they were delicious.

Anyway, after we had gained ten pounds at breakfast we headed out.  Our first stop was a recommendation from our friends the Hake’s and the Oakley's: Cakebread!  Trent had set up a tour here.  The tour makes us both happy:  I get to see beautiful grounds and practice taking pictures and Trent gets to hear the ins and outs of making wine.  Win-win.

This was our tour guide – John.  He is 70!  Can you believe that?? I sure couldn’t…

And yes, we have tons of separate pictures. I hate asking people to take our picture. I don’t know why. We do love the self-portrait though:

Our next stop was Peju.  It turned out to be too crowded, but we got some pictures there:

Next stop was lunch.  If you are in Napa, you have to eat at Taylor's Refresher.  Don’t let the line scare you…it is delicious and worth the wait!

And because we are goofy…here is our food:

Those are mini-corndogs, sweet potato fries and a blue cheese burger.  I am hungry just thinking about it…

Then it was off to Frog's Leap for another tour.  They had really beautiful grounds and a cool house on the property.

Next we were off to Goosecross.  It is a really fun place and we met some neat people there.  Trent hit it off with Jose the manager:

We finished the evening at Mustards Grill.  The food was very good there.  I didn’t take any pictures (though Trent did with his phone).  It was delicious though!

2009 California Trip Day One

Trent and I have inadvertently made going to the Wine Country an annual trip.  The first year we planned many months in advance to go, but the last two we have planned spontaneous trips after talking to friends who were going.  This year we had planned to go someplace different and at the last minute changed our minds again.  It really is such a wonderful place to visit (even if you don’t like wine) – the views are breathtaking and it is so relaxing!  After a couple of very stressful months, it was just what the doctor ordered!

When we first got to San Francisco we had lunch with my old friend – Jillian.  She took us to a yummy sandwich place.  Somehow I managed to not take any pictures.  Whoops.

After leaving Jillian, we started to make our way to Sonoma.  We stopped for the obligatory Golden Gate Bridge pictures:

 

When we hit Sonoma we made our first stop Martinelli:

I don’t really have much to say about this place – other than isn’t it gorgeous there?

The next stop was a place called Hartford.  I thought the gardens there were beautiful:

That night we had dinner at a delicious restaurant called Underwood.  It was so great that we ate there twice!  I highly recommend it if you are in the area.  And again, I forgot to take pictures…BOTH times! :)

Fifteen Month Stats!

Today was Hudson's 15 month check up! It was definitely a different appointment that in the past. He was very frustrated that he couldn't get down and explore the waiting room. That led to a few trying moments. I was very glad my dad came with me! Hudson only got one shot and didn't even cry! I think that was because my dad covered his eyes. :) Developmentally Huddy is still right on track and is very healthy. We are very thankful for that!

Here are the stats:

Height 33 inches (95%)
Weight: 24 lbs. 6 oz. (50% I think)
Head Cir.: 19 (??)