This weekend we commemorated the second anniversary of Elliott’s passing with balloons and family, on a 100 degree day. We miss her constantly 🤍

We also celebrated Aunt Lauren’s birthday, had a swim lesson, did a family work out that had Joey and I limping around the rest of the weekend, had breakfast with Joey’s grandparents, visited a neighborhood splash pad, cooked two good dinners and watched a movie. It was sweltering, but we made the best of it.

I got a sunny Friday manicure then went home and worked until 4:30 when we headed over to Edgewater Public Market for Lauren’s birthday dinner. I forget how funny it is that both Joey and his brother are married to Laurens until we are introduced to other people 😂 My children ran around the entire time we were there and it was crazy but fun. Back at home, they went to bed and Joey and I watched a few episodes of The Bear.

We had quick breakfasts on Saturday morning then headed out to an early swim lesson. Lydia found herself a comfy seat before the balloon release but I’m not sure Landon was as happy about it as she was 😂 After nap time, we did some family yoga and then I pulled Dempsey’s trampoline into the living room and put a YouTube toddler trampoline workout video on. THEY LOVED IT! I think they did it three times in a row then watched about three others. Joey and I tried our best from the floor and it was HARD. Hence our aching calves 😂 Made a big pot of pasta for dinner and after the kids went to bed, we watched Problemista. We saw the trailer a bunch of times last year and it looked a little disjointed but I’m happy to report it all makes sense when you watch the film. I really enjoyed it!

Started Sunday with breakfast at Snooze. I looked away for a second and Lydia managed to fall backwards off the booth 🤦‍♀️😬 But other than that, it was a good time and it’s always nice seeing Joey’s grandparents. A bit later, the kids and Joey headed over to the neighbors’ and I went shopping. Once Lydia was up from her nap, we gave them the choice of going to the regular park or the water park and water it was! Lydia was sooooo not into the water but all of a sudden, she went it and ended up loving it. Dempsey was spraying everyone (and himself) then moved over to where some kids were digging a moat. I’m glad we went! Back at home, Joey made us a really good dinner while I gave the kids a bath. Got them to bed and finished up The Bear. I was frustrated when the second episode was just Carmy and Richie yelling at each other but it got better after that. The whole season was just set up though, so I guess we’ll see where it goes in Season 4. This felt like a good slow weekend 😊

We went to Napa! This trip was so many things and it was all such a wonderful time. Hannah and Josh floated it to us about a year ago as a way to celebrate both of our 10 year anniversaries and then we were lucky enough to have Josh and Fletcher join us as our resident California-dwelling, world-traveling, Napa-familiar tour guides. It was the first time we’d left both kids behind while we went on vacation, so I was actively trying not to worry too much about that. I think I did okay and so did they! I didn’t take as many pictures as I should’ve but truly and honestly it was because we were having too much fun and I was caught up in all of it 🤍😊

Those cute babies took Joey and I to the airport and when I told Dempsey to have fun, he told me “YOU have fun, Mommy!” Truly strange to walk through the airport with nothing and only myself to keep track of but it was nice. We flew into San Francisco, met up with Josh and Fletcher, then picked up our rental car and drove straight to lunch at Oxbow Public Market. I’m so in the bag for a food hall so no surprise that I loved this one and it was cool to see Downtown Napa right off the bat. I didn’t even know they had one! Back at our villa, our host gave us an extensive in-person tour (that’s an Airbnb first!) and we hung out and grocery shopped before having dinner at The Lincoln. What can I say except totchos!

We had a bike tour in Sonoma booked the next day and it was so fun! Hit up Journey Coffee beforehand then got situated with our bikes and tour guide and headed out. I had no idea how many cute neighborhoods there were in Sonoma/Napa but we biked through several, plus down a nice shady path and alongside some vineyards. Truly idyllic. So while we all agreed that this bike tour was one of our favorite parts of the trip, we also agreed that the two tour/tastings weren’t the most informative. The wine was good though! First stop Honrama and second stop Buena Vista. Very different but both fun. Oh and our tour guide, Stella, was a Sonoma native with lots of knowledge to share. She also took us to a cheese shop before returning our bikes and I really loved that delicious surprise. We went to a cocktail bar then grabbed tapas for dinner in Downtown Napa and get this, we saw BOTH of the gentlemen who had poured our wine during the tours we went on earlier in the day 😂

Joey and I were definitely the early risers of the group so we stole the rental and took ourselves to get coffee and breakfast at Naysayer. I thought it was so cute in there! Josh and Fletcher had organized this day for us as a celebration of our anniversaries and I love that so much 🤍 We had a private car come pick us up and take us to three different wineries! The first specialized in sparkling wine and the cave tour and following cheese and wine tasting was a highlight of the trip for sure! The other two stops were very cool too and I love how all of the facilities at these wineries are so different. Poolside cocktail service took place back at the villa and then we went to Wildred’s for tiki drinks and dinner. We were all surprised that Napa basically shuts down at 9 on Sundays but we made do.

Our last full day in Napa and I think we made the very best of it. The four Coloradoans grabbed breakfast at the famed Model Bakery and those English muffin sandwiches really were worth the hype. We had Cake Bread Cellars recommended to us and while they were fully booked online, Hannah called and got us a tour! This was the most modern of the wineries we visited and it was really cool to see their methods of making and storing wine, especially the “wine eggs” they use 😂 Our tour guide had A LOT to say. I thought it was all pretty interesting and informative, if not only slightly exhausting as well. Afterward, we did one last tasting at Gundlach Bundschu and I lost track of how many wines they poured us 😂 For our final vacation dinner, we decided to do it up at Bottega. Everything was amazing! They also heard we were celebrating two anniversaries and brought us some comically large wine glasses to drink from. The next morning, we packed up and headed back to San Fran to fly home. I was so sad to leave California and our friends and all day wine drinking but very very excited to see my babies. Now we’re left wondering where the six of us should go next year 😉