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Happy 14TH RYRY!!

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Ryan. Saturday, he had a pair of friends over (brothers) and spent the whole day playing video games, Nerf Wars, board games, etc.

His birthday fell on a Sunday. His breakfast birthday request was waffles, berries, crushed Oreos, whipped topping, bacon, and Concord grape juice. (Later he said he had forgotten to ask for “peppered” bacon, but loved the meal anyway…)
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This “hat/glasses/beard” combo is actually the birthday card we gave him. He embellished it with his own 80’s style glasses…
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After breakfast, Dad took Alex and Ryan to San Francisco for a full, full, full day trip. They went to Japantown, shopped Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, dinner at the Tonga Room, then home by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and going through Sausalito.

I spent this day with friends in Napa. One was visiting from Virginia and I could not miss seeing her. These are women I have known since I was pregnant with Alex. We spent the day hanging out around downtown Napa.

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Maui 2018. ALOHA!

Due to the uncertain employment expectations during this timeframe, we decided to go for one week, instead of our typical two. The first four days were cold and overcast, but it gave me the opportunity to read a lot! I knocked out four books! The final three days were sunny, hot, and humid as what we typically know of Maui.

YUM! Hawaiian Shaved Ice!
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The boys playing in the surf. I was able to catch this from our deck!
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Alex and I attended a crab feed at our hotel. He ended up eating 10 half crabs!!  IMG_0172

The “tattoos” are temporary. They sure looked real though. I can’t recall what the ink is, but it is used by native Amazon tribes in South America. It’s not the dangerous black henna you hear about.  The boys decided to have Japanese words. Alex is “destiny” and Ryan’s is “wisdom”.IMG_0163 IMG_0164

This gorgeous shot was taken by Ryan at sunset, behind one of our favorite restaurants, Aloha Mixed Plate 
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Date night with my honey. Another one of our favorite places. It’s unique and quirky. Not for everyone. (The owner is a fan of the female figure.) But the food is great and it’s tradition for us. Soup Nutz and Java Jazz
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Family shot at Aloha Mixed Plate
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Another favorite spot with some of our favorite people… Hula Grill Barefoot Bar with the Jenks! We try to coordinate our timeshare dates with theirs. John was our pastor in WA state. He now pastors a church in Minnesota!
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The view from our lanai!IMG_0129

Ryan took this lovely koi shot…
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Lady Bird Movie Run

Sacramento Running Tours hosted a “Lady Bird” run that takes you to different spots where the movie “Lady Bird ” was filmed. We ran a total of four miles on a perfect early Spring day.

As we were getting ready to begin, we were gathered in front of a coffee shop (not related to the movie). A man in his car, with three teen girls was in the parking lot. He pulled alongside us and noticed our “I Love Lady Bird” buttons. He then told us that his daughter was in the movie and she was sitting in the back seat behind him! We had her come out and take a picture with us. She is in the middle in the front row in the picture.  Her grandmother also played that grandmother in the movie!

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These are all spots that were filmed in the movie…if you saw it, you would know the context of all of them…
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This house was not in the movie, BUT it does hold a part of California history. This was the house the Ron and Nancy Reagan lived in when he was governor of California. The guide said that Nancy hated the house and thought it a “fire trap” and commissioned to have a house built in Rancho Cordova. Governor Reagan goes on to become President and they never lived in that house.IMG_0055  IMG_0058

 

Saving the best for last….the iconic “Blue House” in Lady Bird. A couple of tidbits…

-this is the only house in East Sacramento that is on the historic register. The owners are not allowed to make any changes of any kind to it without approval of a board.

-the owners are incredibly gracious of all the attention they have received, with many tour groups coming by their house on a regular basis.

-as we were getting ready to leave, this man comes up to us (he’s in the photo here) and tells us that his grandparents owned this house originally.  They kept a neighborhood “speakeasy” in the basement.  His grandfather accidentally set of explosives in the basement and there was a huge hole in the basement. He also shattered all the windows in his house and the windows throughout the neighborhood.  He paid to have all the windows replaced.

-As we were leaving, the owner of the house came out and we introduced him to this man so he could share stories with him.

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Our homeschool group went on a field trip in Sacramento. The Museum of Medical History. The docents were retired doctors who happily answered questions and enjoyed pointing out the gory items in the cases. They also has a question and answer sheet for the kids to find the answers throughout the exhibits.

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One of my BFF’s (Heidi) and I try to get away once a year for a girl’s weekend. This year we decided to go to one of my favorite places in Portland, McMenamin’s Edgefield. I flew in and she drove and met me at the airport. We went midweek, mid-winter, and it was wonderful. This place gets crazy over the summer. It was nice to have it (mostly) to ourselves.

I have written about this place before. You are welcome to run a search on this blog to see the back story and more info on this place. It snowed while we were there and the property was transformed to something akin to The Chronicles of Narnia. Spectacular. A wonderful rest and friend time.

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Flower Farm Run

One of my favorite runs! 10 trail miles, then breakfast after at the Flower Farm

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PUPPY LOVE <3

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Proud of Antee Sara!

My sis in law, Sara, was the designer for this year’s (Ralph Lauren) Olympics USA jackets!!IMG_1131

Palm Desert 2018

Road trip to Palm Desert to visit our  Uncle Art and Auntie Yaya (Annie)!

I’m not going to lie. Driving to SoCal is not fun. It was a long drive, but we made it!! IMG_1074

We arrived late, and after a quick visit, it was off to bed. Saturday morning, we went on a six mile hike. Uncle Art stayed behind and picked us up at the end point.

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A well earned yummy breakfast….IMG_1126

We enjoyed the pool for the rest of the day, then went to dinner and a movie, ‘5:17 to Paris’.

Sunday, I ran the Palm Desert half marathon. David, Annie, Alex, and Ryan walked the 5K. Actually, Alex walked for the first few minutes, then decided to run the rest!
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Dinner was at a wonderful Mexican restaurant at the La Quinta Resort. What an incredible place! Definitely worth a bucket list trip to stay in one of their casitas…

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