Feed on
Posts
Comments

While the boys flew to Seattle for a weekend with their Auntie Shell (their first time flying solo!), David and I went up the hill a bit and spent the weekend in Nevada City!

IMG_9189 IMG_9190

We stayed in a terrific property called the Two Room Inn. It is located right on the main street of town and across from the Broad Street Bistro, the place where we picked up our coffee and breakfast every morning. This is where I first tasted a soy lavender latte. Yum!

IMG_9200

Our place had multiple outdoor seating areas; this is the view from the front porch. There was also an upstairs balcony off the master bedroom, and a backyard patio.IMG_9198

Dinner our first night was at Sopa Thai. They have a lovely back patio, with a water feature and lights. It made for a nice escape from the outside world.
IMG_9193 IMG_9192

David had to work through the weekend, but he was able to set himself up in the living room, with the doors and windows open. It created a lovely cross draft of warm/cool Autumn air. I spent the day walking throughout the town’s boutiques and shops.

For dinner our second night, we walked about a mile and a half to California Organics Market and Cafe. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed our dinner, then walked back to our place.

IMG_9217 IMG_9218

Another place we ate at is called Heartwood. I think if I were to have a restaurant, I’d want to do something like this. Simple, easy to prep food and beverage in a casual, comfortable environment.

On our last day, the town had a parade down their main (Broad) street. We watched it from the master bedroom balcony. It a terrific way to end our time away. The parade honored the  constitution day of this historic gold rush town.

IMG_9390 IMG_9260 IMG_9225 IMG_9243 IMG_9280

The boys were able to watch the Seahawks game at friend’s house before flying home early the next morning…
IMG_9406

My friend Christi set up a fun 5K near my neighborhood. I helped plan the route that began and ended at the Cante Ao Vinho winery… due to the heat, we made it a very early run, then went home and returned later for wine tasting and appetizers. The park like shots are located near the winery, but not on it.
IMG_9140 IMG_9143 IMG_9171 IMG_9144 IMG_9149 IMG_9165 IMG_9158 IMG_9161 IMG_9164 IMG_9172

Incredible girl’s weekend! My sister-friend, Michelle, flew down to join in on the fun and cheer us on.

First stop: Lunch at the Oxbow Market, one of my favorite places! We all picked up lunch at the yummy C Casa.

IMG_8966 IMG_8967

Next stop:  Packet pick up at DeLoach Vineyards. We had to park at in a field about a quarter mile away and get shuttled in. It was crazy hot and waiting for the shuttles was tough. The Expo at DeLoach was delightful; an excellent variety of vendors and other races. We got our awesome jackets, bibs, and bottle of wine and shuttled back to our car.
IMG_8969IMG_8979

IMG_8982 IMG_8986 IMG_8984 SQGU8996

We checked into our hotel room at the Fountaingrove Inn. This is a photo of an old round barn located above the property…IMG_9030

We had a big group dinner with about 20 other MRTT runners at the Windsor Golf Club. Good food and they did an excellent job managing a large group.

IMG_9026 IMG_9025 IMG_9028

Runner tradition is to lay out all of your gear the night before. Here are Shannon and my outfits…
VDZM3170

Me and my sole sis, Shannon! She is the friend you need when you need laughter and fun in your life!

IMG_9024

Our MRTT tribe!!
IMG_9022 IMG_9021 IMG_9009

IT.WAS.HOT! One of the hottest races I have ever ran. Totally atypical weather for Santa Rosa. Marathoners were dropping like flies. It was brutal. I was pleasantly surprised to see my time was holding strong and I was looking forward to finishing under three hours, which is always my goal. But, we ended up stopping to help a marathon runner who needed medical attention. We were with her for about fifteen minutes before we were able to leave her at an aid station. Trying to get back into the groove was very difficult and I could not keep my heart rate low; so I ended up walking a good deal for the last two miles.IMG_9012 IMG_9015

This lovely woman is a part of our group. Mindy is a Boston Marathon runner, running the Santa Rosa marathon. She was just ahead of me, about to finish her marathon as I was coming in to finish my half. I saw her and decided to sprint to catch up to her. As I caught up with her, I said, “you know I’m pacing you, right?”, and she replied something to the effect of, “let’s finish this B—-!”, and she took off sprinting! There was NO WAY I could keep up with her. She was half a block ahead of me, stopped, turned around, and waited for me! I yelled for her to keep running, but she stayed with me until a small sprint at the finish line. I would have walked so much more for that last mile if she had not been there to push me.

IMG_9016

Heading in to the finish line….

IMG_9018

We went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool. Had dinner at the hotel, and a friend of Shannon’s (also a Shannon), joined us. She works for one of the local wineries (Robert Foley Vineyards) and brought a bottle (2012 Pinot Blanc) to share. It was divine.  It’s common practice in that area to bring your own wine and pay a corkage fee.21231317_10155120141397979_2503589489347818966_n

IMG_9096

The next morning, we had breakfast at a local mom and pop diner, the Piner Cafe.  Then it was on to the Charles Schulz Museum. It was a delight and someplace I look forward to bringing the boys. For now, they just have to appreciate the Snoopy grilled cheese maker I brought back for them! 🙂

IMG_9031IMG_9033 IMG_9035 IMG_9037 IMG_9038 IMG_9032

IMG_9091 IMG_9085 IMG_9052

We hit up a thrift store in Vacaville, then home. We packed a lot in a few days!!

Mt. Hermon 2017

We were unable to have David with us due to work, but the boys and I still had an excellent time at Family Camp. A week in the woods, focusing on spending time with God and each other. The Best!

The creeks were running well throughout the grounds. This time last year we were still in drought and I don’t thing this little waterfall even existed.IMG_8794
I brought a new art project with me…
IMG_8786
Marveling at all the woodpecker holes in the tree…IMG_8795
New fire pits and furniture by the coffeehouse. This is where I sat to listen to the morning and evening session speakers. It was a treat to be outside.IMG_8796  IMG_8811

We went on a 9.5 mile hike from Mt. Hermon to the Santa Cruz boardwalk. We had to hike fast to beat the train as some of the trail was on the track. We made it to the halfway point in time and were given the option to catch the train to take it in the rest of the way or to complete the hike. Alex and I finished the hike. Ryan caught the train. It was a beautiful trek.
IMG_8833 IMG_8899 (1)

IMG_8958 IMG_8957

Spent the afternoon in in Santa Cruz. Walked to Pizza My Heart, the boys favorite pizza place. Happy camper!!
IMG_8844 IMG_8846

Saw the movie “The Dark Tower”.  Alex went into it thinking it was going to be bad and tried to talk us out of seeing it. He had read reviews online. But, it really was the only movie that worked well within our schedule and we ended up going.
We all thought it was a very good movie and were glad we saw it. We ended up having a good discussion about not believing everything you read online and that an opinion is just that. Especially if you don’t personally know the person, how much weight do you give their opinion.

Some Boardwalk fun… this is Laffing Sally. She laughs and sways around and was part of (I think) a San Francisco amusement area many years ago. Alex was a little disturbed by her 🙂
IMG_8854
This is an indoor putt putt gold course. We sat and watched from the upper level. Every once in a while a cannon would shoot and send a circle of smoke out. This particular circle floated around for a long time and came close enough to us for Ryan to break it.
IMG_8857 (1)  IMG_8861

Jawbreaker tongues…
IMG_8859 (1)

A stop at Quickly for Boba tea…
IMG_8853

Train ride back to Mt. Hermon…
IMG_8864 IMG_8883 IMG_8874 IMG_8868

While Alex was playing a field game, Ryan and I discovered a hidden gem under some stairs with free ice cream!

IMG_8913

The boys with their camp counselor Landon…

IMG_8926

I was thrilled to get to run three mornings with my (jr.) high school friend Deana. We’ve known each other since 7th grade. She lives in Santa Cruz and we ran along the waterfront three mornings!

IMG_8803

I also skipped the couples dinner at Mt. Hermon and went to my friends Lori and David’s house. They also lives in Santa Cruz. I met Lori through my friend Toni. Toni lives near me. Lori is Toni’s sister. Toni’s daughter, Sara, is living with her aunt Lori while going to college in santa Cruz. Got that?
IMG_8909 IMG_8901

Archery!

IMG_8814 IMG_8815

Night Zumba with Glow sticks!

IMG_8817

This mama loves her boys!
IMG_8788 IMG_8789

They make a video that highlights the week. I was able to capture a screenshot of the boys on the video!

IMG_8930

Goodbye For Now

Alex’s best friend left for six months to study abroad in China. We met up for an ice cream treat one last time before saying goodbye.  Through the benefit of modern technology, they have been able to regularly communicate.
Besties Jesh and Alex
IMG_8784 IMG_8783
Other besties Ryan and Seth
IMG_8785

Pieces of My Heart

A precious visit from our two goddaughters. The  car photo was taken a couple minutes after they left our house.

IMG_8763 IMG_8766

My friend Jackie and I spend a very full day (without Kids!) at the California State Fair. We had a great time visiting all the exhibits, eating Fair food, and shopping the expo.

This is a neat quilt exhibit. They had a huge table full of fabric squares of all different patterns. They had fair guests make a decorative square using nine of the smaller squares. Mine is the one below. Then, they sew the pieces together and add them to a quilt. Everyone signs the quilt. The signatures went onto the back of the quilt. Then, the quilt was given to a person staying long term in a hospital.
IMG_8647IMG_8649IMG_8648

We had fun trying out all the different massage chairs at the expos AND we even got our teeth whitened!
IMG_8653 IMG_8655

IMG_8657

Birthday Club Dinner

This beautiful group of friends have been meeting together to celebrate our birthday’s for about five years now. We love our special nights out, catching up on each other’s lives. On this night, we celebrated Shanti and Tina. Went to Paul Martin’s . After dinner, the weather had cooled enough to move out to their patio, where we ended up hanging out until they closed down. IMG_8663 20431408_10155609902674173_1031481774671572152_n

One of the things I love about the running community is all the encouragement and support. There is a whole other level of awesome with the ultra trail races.  People run trails in excess of the marathon distance. This race, Pioneer Spirit, was 50 miles! I volunteered at the last aid station, at mile 43.6! It was crazy hot and it was incredible to serve the runners coming through.
IMG_8643 IMG_8639 IMG_8644

Cherries Art Piece

I love how this piece turned out. The colors are so fun. It’s not really clear that it’s cherries, and I think that’s even better.
IMG_7779 IMG_8594

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »