I finally posted Riley's 20 month update here...

This past week has been so nice just getting back into the swing of things...we had a playdate, ran errands, met Daddy to eat, went on several bike rides, and just enjoyed time as a family!

I had a couple job-related meetings this week and came to the realization that I hadn't worn my heels in over 5 months...let's just say life in flip-flops has been great and there are a few facts that make it obvious that I wear them ALL the time:

1) I have a very distinct flip-flop tan

2) 2 of the 3 pairs that I consistently wear have broken in the past two weeks

3) When I put on my heels I felt like I was going to fall flat on my face

Riley, however had some fun playing with my heels and I think she might have walked better in them than I did!

After her thrill of walking around in my heels I thought she might have fun playing with some of my scarves and I was right...

I think we may be on the verge of some major dress up playtime!

So those of you who remember the dramatic night of parenting that I experienced back in March where I posted this story about Riley's apparent love for marshmallows fill find it hilarious that while I was cleaning up the kitchen I turned around to find this...

Caught...red handed!

Yesterday we had a special treat...in more than one way! Amanda, a long time family friend and fellow Aggie, happened to be in San Francisco visiting one of her college roommates and we got to see her and catch up! She and her girlfriends had been wine tasting in the Napa Valley all day so we met up at my favorite bakery in Napa, Sweetie Pie's, for a sweat treat! Amanda hadn't seen Riley since my first trip home with her when she was only 2 months old!!!

Riley took every opportunity to ham it up and keep everyone entertained. The fact that she and I shared a Chocolate Whoopie (two HUGE chocolate cookies with marshmallow cream sandwiched in between) aided in her furvor for life!!! She made quite the mess but had lots of fun eating her sweats and trying to feed some to Amanda too!!!We had a lip smackin' good time!!! Riley carried Amanda's purse around with her throughout the bakery, danced, and greeted all the customers! It was great to see Amanda and great to have some sweet treats!

Today Riley and I had a girls day with some friends in Walnut Creek with lunch at Cheesecake Factory and some shopping afterwards...it was so beautiful and so much fun! Here's to another week of fun!

Phew.....

We have survived August so far...and had a BLAST...and I finally updated all of our goings and doings on the blog...you'll have to scroll way down because it's all in chronological order! Here's what our August looked like:

• July 30 - Aug 3 = Walker's Visit
• Aug 4 - Aug 8 = LoRussso' Visit
• Aug 12 - Aug 19 = Riley and I went to Texas
• Aug 20 - Aug 23 = Lance and Barbara Visit

As I said "Phew..." We have had so much fun having visitors and entertaining them and doing a bit of our own traveling and we are now getting used to an empty house! We are pretty exhausted from all of these events too so this week has been a week of catching up, running errands, and trying to remember what a normal routine was for us! Riley still randomly asks about all of our most recent visitors and probably thinks Jason and I are kind of boring since she has had constant entertainment and attention!

Thanks for those that came to see us...we loved it!

Lance and Barbara come to town...

After Riley and I made it home from Texas we were excited to get unpacked and ready for our next set of visitors...Lance and Barbara...or "Guncle" and "BeBa" as Riley says...Lance is Riley's Great Uncle so he is going to be called Gruncle...hehe!

On Friday Jason had to work...but since it was our anniversary he did make a trip home to bring Starbucks and Red Roses for me...how sweet!

During the day Lance, Barbara, Riley, and I ran some errands, ate lunch at Strings, and hit up Larry's Produce (the farmer's market) for some food we were cooking for dinner!

While I was working on food for dinner Riley and "BeBa" played in the kitchen...they were doing their own cooking!

Jason has been wanting to do Beer Can Chicken for awhile so he finally tried it and it was GREAT! He cooked two chickens as well as a tri-tip steak and we had homemade mac 'n cheese, fried okra, bread, and dessert...a great meal to celebrate our anniversary!

We had the Cameron's over to celebrate with us and we feasted after Riley and Cooper were down for the night!

Lance and Barbara...

Jen and Paul...


The lovebirds...hehe!

So...Jason is not much of a sweet eater but his favorite dessert that I make is Strawberry Pretzel Delight...it has the best crust EVER consisting of pretzels, butter, and sugar and then there's cool whip, strawberry jello, and cream cheese in the rest of it...it's a great summer dessert. To celebrate I made it for him and even got cheesy and decorated it!

On Saturday Riley went to play with Cooper all day and the four of us headed to Napa for several wine tastings! I had really been looking forward to this because even though we have frequented Napa we had not had the chance to really spend a whole day checking out wineries, learning about wine, and trying different kinds...so this was our day!

We started out at Freemark Abbey which was my favorite...the tasting was very personalized and it was not commercialized or crowded and the wine was very good! I have always claimed that am not a red wine drinker because they all taste like cough syrup to me, but I was finally converted! Come to find out I have just been trying bad wines...I learned about the aromatics, how to sip it, and how to really enjoy the flavors. I am still partial to a sweet white wine, but I actually enjoyed some reds as well!

The entrance to the tasting room...

Lance and Barbara...

Jason and I being silly...

Jason and I being "normal"...

The four of us out on the balcony...we had a blast and our tasting was supposed to consist of 5 wines but I am pretty sure we had 8 or more by the time we were done...the lady ended up liking us and thinking we were pretty funny!

After several hours at our first stop we decided to grab some lunch so we headed to Trattoria for some margherita pizza and salads and then we were off to another winery...Grgich Hills!

We weren't too fond of this one and their reds tasted like cough syrup to me...we joked that we started out getting me used to reds with some of the best out there so I was a snob in the making...I persevered and drank all the wine at Grgich even though I have to say that I didn't enjoy it too much...and I wasn't alone!

Our last stop was at Jessup Wine Cellars and it had a great atmosphere. The tastings took place in an art gallery and the staff was great...they even brought us a cheese tray! We had mainly red wine here and I enjoyed most of it...we even bought some Zinfandel Port to take home...it's a dessert wine that you MUST drink with chocolate...that will be hard to do around here!

Check out how huge the wine glasses are...

The girls...

Thanks to the Cameron's for watching Riley all day...we really had a blast and it was a nice treat for our anniversary!

After our day in Napa we met up with the Cameron's at Texas Roadhouse for some dinner...this is a brand new Texas Roadhouse and one of the few that exists in California and this was our first time to eat there because it opened right after we moved here and has been PACKED ever since...I'm talking 2 hour waits even if you call ahead...these Californians must think the world of this place!

Here's "Guncle"...the official keeper of the sippy cup!

Cooper and Riley ran around like crazy kids while we waited...and waited...and waited...and we had called ahead! Finally we were seated and had a nice dinner...we were all pooped after a long day!

On Sunday Lance and Barbara were flying home out of San Francisco so we decided to head to Fisherman's Wharf before dropping them off at the airport to have some clam chowder!

We got all dressed up in our warm gear to head to the city...

and walked to Fisherman's Wharf...one of us got to ride on Daddy's shoulders and loved every minute of it...

We ate at Alioto's...somewhere we haven't eaten before...and had bread bowls with Clam Chowder...it's just so good it's worth a trip just for that!

Riley thought it was lip smackin' good...

Our little family...

Lance and Barbara...

We really enjoyed having Lance and Barbara...it was a short but sweet visit and we can't wait to see them again!

5 years ago today...

I woke up to my best friend Jennifer saying "Oh my gosh...you're getting married today"...and then we screamed together with all of my bridesmaids since we all shared my last night as a single woman in a hotel room together!

I honestly can't believe it's been 5 years...time flies when you're having fun! The crazy part is that we dated for 7 years before we were married so this November will mark 12 years that we have been together...nearly half of our lifetimes!

To my manly husband...thank you for being you! I love you more than you will ever know, have such deep respect and admiration for what you do, and am so thankful that God blessed me with you. You have a great sense of humor which counteracts my ability to be way too serious about things sometimes...you have an even-keeled perspective on life and how to handle things and I truly admire that...you take great pride in your family and taking care of your girls...we love you!

Seeing that we have been together for so long we have LOTS of pictures of the two of us so I perused through our pictures and pulled out some oldies but goodies...we have so many memories together and I had so much fun looking back at all we have done!

We tackled high school together...3 proms, countless dances, our parents driving us to the movies, so many bus rides together for basketball games, and hundreds of letters passed to each other between classes...

Jason's Senior Prom / My Junior Prom

A trip with my parents to New Orleans to see the Aggies play in the Sugar Bowl...

My Senior Prom / Jason's freshman year at Texas A&M...gotta love a man in a uniform!

We had a blast in college together...football games, midnight yell, walks around campus, history class together, inter murals, some of the best times of our life!

Aggie Ring Day...whoop!

And we started our family...first with Hank...then we added Kadie...and now we have the best gift ever, Riley!

Our first Christmas together...our little family!

At Riley's dedication...

4th of July at Lake LBJ

Our most recent family pic this past April...our last night in Little Rock!

Here's to many many more years and many many more wonderful moments together...I love you Jason and Happy Anniversary!

Enjoying the lake...

Here's what else we did while we were at the lake...

A little sunbathing...

Quality time with Grammie...

Snacked on some watermelon...


Played in the Colorado River after a picnic on the boat...

Helped JoePa make homemade chocolate ice cream...

Ate at a favorite restaurant...

Showed off for all of Grammie and JoePa's friends...

Smooched on JoePa...

Acted like a total ham...

Played with Katie and Bradford from next door...

Used Sadie's food bowl to force feed her water...



then tried it on as a hat...

and finally got in the bowl...

Helped JoePa get the mail...

Swam with floaties for the first time and LOVED the freedom they provided...

Rode the waverunner after mom finally gave in due to the increasing number of pleads and sobs to ride on the "booooaaatttt"...

Rode on a pig with her new backpack...

Went to the Horseshoe Bay pool...

and relaxed due to all of the stress...

Mom and Grammie had a girls night out to see Julie and Julia...GREAT movie!

As you can see we had lots of fun and Riley sure did love the lake...thanks Grammie and JoePa for a wonderful week...we miss you and wish we were still there...next time Daddy has to come with us!