The weekend before last, I had the fabulous opportunity to head down to LA for a weekend getaway with some fantastic ladies. Each one represents a period of my life and I was so thrilled I got to share my time away from home with each one of them.

Starting on the left, we have miss caroline. I have known her since I was 6 years old. She is my oldest and dearest friend. She took me in, the new girl in school, and never let me go. We’ve shared school days, college years, (oh my, was that a drunken haze. cards anyone?) the real world together (and maybe dated a few of the same guys? we were like 12. or 17.) It’s been an amazing journey, along with its embarrassing moments, but I’d rather have no one else to gab with along the way.

In the middle, we have miss sarah. Sarah and I grew up in Oklahoma together as well, but we went to different schools. We did cross paths in Sunday school. We were confirmed together. (Go Episcopalians!) Her uncle was our teacher and used to bring us muffins and donuts. I do recall us being at the same party in high school and she told me she liked my boots. And, with that, or somewhere in there, we began our friendship. And I am sure this is due to living in a small town, but we also dated a couple of the same guys. (It just happens, ok?) She’s a keeper, for sure.

Next to me, is miss marci. (aka lvgurl) Marci and I met over 10 years ago when I moved out to CA. She must of been the first girlfriend I met here. (And, no, we did not date any of the same dudes.) Her boyfriend/husband was best friends with hubs in high school. And with that connection, we’ve never looked back. Halfway through our time in CA together, she and her hubs moved out to Vegas. It was a sad day when they moved away, but she made my bachelorette party (and FIRST time to Vegas EVER) weekend, one I will NEVER forget. See?

I’m the one in the middle with a TIARA on. I was asked in the ladies room if I had just won a pageant. Awesome.

And I even got my very own lap dance with TWO dudes in fluorescent banana hammocks. Can’t you just feel the grease on your hands? Wait, where was I? I got distracted for some reason. (I know, CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT. memories. la la la lllall lala)

Point is, these girls, these AMAZING girls have been there for me, MY WHOLE LIFE. And to that, I can never thank them enough. Here’s to many more getaways celebrating true friendship.

Oh, and if your ever in the LA area and need a place to stay, I would suggest the Standard hotel. There, you can have an A/C unit that says something like this:

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Yep. That’s all I know about Seattle. Singles, the movie. Damn, that was a good movie. BUT, there are people out there, like LVGurl, who have never seen such a fine piece of film AND she went to UW back when the movie came out!! How can this happen? Ok, moving on.

I’m heading up to Seattle this evening for the UW/OU Football game tomorrow. Boomer Sooner!!

I’ve never been to Seattle, so I am way psyched!

I even have the honor of meeting up with Sizzle and the Alphababy crew on Sunday morning for Donuts. Alphamommy is on limited bed rest, but she said she’d take one for the team, just this once…

It will be the first time I am away from both boys since Hola was born. 3 whole nights to myself. Ahhh…. Hubs is staying back and being Mr. Mom for the weekend. I am sure they will have loads of fun and everyone will be on their best behavior and sleep for a gazillion hours in a row.

Any last recommendations for things to do in Seattle with limited time? I’m staying by the Needle. Whoop!

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And would do it again in a heartbeat!

It was a lot of work.

Reason so?

No downtime.

Both kids didn’t go to bed earlier than 8:45p.m. EVER. Too much nighttime activity! Latest bedtime was 10:30p.m. for Rt (with NO nap). Luckily, Hola snuck in catnaps throughout the evenings to make it till bedtime, but woah, what a difference no down time makes.

Here’s a recap.

Things that happened while in Tahoe:

I went old school and slalomed. I probably should have wake boarded, but I wanted to actually ski and not fall time and time again into the FREEZING MELTED SNOW water. Next time, next time.

We played at the beach everyday with all the cousins (currently 8 of them, 9 is on her way) and bro/sister-in-laws. Great family time that only happens once a year.

Hubs and I escaped to the only theater in town to see the only movie showing, The Dark Knight. Woo hoo! We returned home to see BOTH kids still awake. Oh well. You do have no control over your kids when someone else is watching them. Ah, well.

I jet skied for the first time ever. My nephew rode on the back, not holding onto me, just a tiny trap. (such the 8 yr old boy thing to do) I had to look back multiple times to make sure he was still there. So fun.

Hubs fed the baby EVERY night in the night. I got up with him every morning while hubs slept in for a bit. Worked out well for the both of us. (I think I made out better, huh?)

Baby fell asleep on beach towel with no assistance. Score! A baby tent is so key here!!

Within 5 minutes of leaving the lake house, both boys were asleep for the ENTIRE trip home. Major bonus. (Poor kids were exhausted.)

Things that have happened since returning from Tahoe:

Finally trimmed my baby’s nails. 3 of them bled due to cutting them too short. Great…

Baby has needed another nap within an hour of waking from last nap. FUSS PANTS! Poor babe is desperately trying to catch up on needed sleep. That, or it’s teething, ear infection, or gas related. Totally mystery.

3 yr old is acting like his older cousins are still around. No, I do not liked being jumped on from behind while trimming baby’s nails. Thanks.

Baby has broken out into another heat/saliva rash on his face. Man, where is that fresh Tahoe air when you need it.

Rt cried bloody murder after being put down for the night. I ran into his room thinking he was hurt/stuck only to find him pointing his finger at me and he crying “booger.” Grrr!

Hubs has already started complaining about having to work and it’s only Monday. It happens at the end of EVER vacation we ever take. He always talks about wanting to retire. Hi, we’re 30 something. Buy that lotto ticket, will ya?

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I’ve come to the conclusion that anyone who has kids needs to take a vacation to appreciate how much easier it is to raise them in the comforts of your own home. In the same breath, I wish I still in Tahoe.

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We’re back.

We had a blast. I had a blast.

I’m pooped beyond belief, but it was well worth it.

I water skied, jet skied, spent 5 days in a row at the beach, saw The Dark Knight, went out to dinner with hubs ALONE, and got a facial/massage (DREAMY!!!).

There’s plenty more, but I’ve got a house to pick up and loads of laundry to do. Back to the grind!

Pictures to come.

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We’re off like a prom dress to the mighty, mighty Tahoe.

I expect to be way pooped by the time we return. Nature of the beast, I guess.

Hub’s entire family will be up, so the boys will have 6 cousins to mingle with. One more cousin will have her debut come September, so she’ll be represented this year by my sister-in-law’s belly.

Looking forward to cooler temperatures and even cooler water. BRRRRR!

I guess I could have had someone guest post while I’m gone, but that would take planning and brain power and I’m still lacking both of those. Oh, well.

See you on the flip side!

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We’re home. Pooped, but home. Will fill you in more tomorrow when life gets back to being life.

e

We arrived in Tahoe Saturday afternoon ready to sit back and lounge in our North/West Shore cabin while Rt took an afternoon snooze, but that would not be the case. Not even close.

Did any of you hear about a FIRE? In TAHOE? Just down the street from OUR cabin? Ya, we couldn’t get to our pad cause a total of 5 houses caught a blaze near the entrance to our neighborhood. I have never seen anything like it. Our entire group sat down at the beach and watched 2 helicopters fly out over the water and dip their water bags into the lake to take back to the burning houses. This happened over and over again for several hours. Two bomber planes also dropped their “red stuff” over the blaze to contain the destruction. Luckily, the high winds were heading North towards Tahoe City. If they were headed West, up the mountain, I can’t even imagine how many more homes could have been destroyed, including ours.

From what I hear, some guy was cooking outside on his bbq. I think he dropped the propane tank and it exploded, caught fire to his house, then 4 of his neighbors. Poor guy. Major ass bad luck. I am assuming he is “ok”, cause I haven’t heard anything else about him.

Other than the craziness during our arrival, we are enjoying the nice 75 degree weather and the fabulous company. Oh, and it doesn’t suck if your kid wakes at the crack of dawn, you tell him to go find “Gran Gran and Fava” and go back to sleep for a couple more hours.

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So, the last time I posted about this, I signed off from the local airport, day one of our 5th anniversary getaway. The flight to San Diego was relatively uneventful which makes it such a FABULOUS experience. Those of you who have small kiddies know that flying can be one of the most stressful parts of being a parent. Being stuck in a small moving space on total display in front of an audience that would rather be at the dentist than sitting by you and your potential nightmare of a kid. Well, hubs and I were no threat to anyone and it was a joy to blend into the masses. I actually listened to my IPOD and read my digital camera manual. I am now a professional photographer. Cough, Bullsshhhit. But, well on my way? Just a tad, maybe?

Anywho, the first day of our trip included checking in to the Estancia hotel and taking a dip in the heated salt water pool (oh my) followed by the hot tub (oh my my). We were going to go to the wine bar at the hotel before our dinner reservations for a introductory cocktail, but I was too gabby (who me?) with the other guests at the pool, so we had to skip the drink. It was really a shame, since hubs had to give me my anniversary gift, (the ring), in the bathroom as we were walking out the door for dinner. Greaaaaaaaat, I goofed up hubs efforts on the romance. Dinner at Roy’s was just perfect, so the evening was a huge a success none-the-less. Hubs asked me across the table if I was buzzed and I said “yes” with a big grin on my face. Dude, I had one beer and one glass of wine. Total lightweight. Here is another photo documenting my state-of-mind:

strike a pose.

wishful photo shoot?

On to Saturday. Saturday consisted of hubs and I dropping in on my GIRLS from back home, whoorl and caroline. It was so great to see the little whoorlito and whoorl’s main squeeze, but we three girls really know how to catch up and pick up where we last left off in a short amount of time. You should have heard our topics of convo. (loved every minute of it.) Luckily, hubs is really good at ignoring thing he shouldn’t concern himself with. I believe whoorl is providing most of the footage from our shindig, but I’ll add a couple to the mix:

3 Chicks, unite!

Made in Oklahoma. Awee Yeah.

(Back in San Diego) The rest of the day and night was filled with another dip in the pool and a short drive down into La Jolla Shores for a casual night’s snack. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. Something about the weather, the mood, and of course, the hot piece sitting across the table. To top the NY style pizza and caesar, we split the pear/strawberry crisp. (Dude, give me anything with crust, and
I am so set.)

Sunday started off with breakfast down in La Jolla at The Cottage. I had “the world’s best” granola, which I personally do not recommend, (it had roasted pecans that I just couldn’t get passed) but it wasn’t that awful either. I just should have ordered my staple, eggs and bacon, and called it a day. I even got a piece of coffee cake to offset the wholesomeness of the granola. It was the size of my entire hand spread way out. We lugged it back with us and ate the rest of it over the course of a few days. That afternoon, we met one of hubs co-workers at the Coronado Bay docks and spent the afternoon sailing the bay with gorgeous views of downtown San Diego. Can we say relaxed?:

Chillin.

Sailing in Bay. Something is up with my hat, but whatever….

Later on in the day was spent at the hotel, I believe, in the pool again and at the local outdoor cafe on the property. What was going to be ONE cocktail and chips/salsa turned into a couple more drinks, shrimp quesadillas and halibut tacos followed by a group Salsa lesson. Who would’ve thunk it or planned something like that? Way cool. Since we didn’t know what we were in for that night, the camera was not present……

Monday was our last day in paradise. We took a lovely morning walk on the beach and then headed back to Coronado where hubs left his sweatshirt on the sailboat the day before. We decided to tool around the area and made our way through the Hotel Del and ate lunch at a local 50′s diner. It wasn’t that sunny, but that was no bother. We get sun everyday back home, (so done with the sun), so fog and clouds are joyous.

wayyyy close up on beach near Scripps

Hotel Del Coronado

And that pretty much wraps up the much needed little getaway with the hubs. It truly is amazing how once the little one is out of view for just a few days, the moments and the magic with hubs is so on, (thank God, I was beginning to worry. Well, not worry so much as missed those moments. I guess kids can really kill the mood, huh?)

Thank you hubs for making this all happen. When’s the next vaca?

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