Women, Wine, & Running

Every once in a while you just need to get away. I was "due" for a girls getaway and last fall my friend Autumn invited me to join her for a destination race in wine country in July. I love running and wine so naturally my answer was yes and my bestie from college, Rachel came along too.

We started in San Francisco and rented bicycles to ride over the Golden Gate Bridge. We landed in Sausalito, shopped, ate, and rode the wrong ferry back to San Francisco which left us riding bikes throughout the very crowded streets of San Francisco.

We met up with Rachel's brother, Jeff, and sister-in-law, Patti (a mom to be) and they drove us to Santa Rosa with many amazing stops along the way. Apparently I'm becoming prone to motion sickness as I age and ended up needing to ride shotgun which pushed pregnant Patti to the back. When did I become such a grandma?!

On Sunday we ran the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon. Northern California has the best weather for running. I didn't set any new time records for myself, but I did set a new personal record of drinking wine and Guinness during the race. When in Napa, right? A festival of wine tasting afterwards followed by a winery stop on the way home made for a runners high times 10. 

The next day we were picked up in a senior citizens type bus for a wine tour with a curly gray haired driver that may or may not have been a former Beach Boy. I have not perfected the use of the "dump bucket" as I feel that spitting out good wine is absolutely ludicrous. After 9 hours of wine tasting though I learned its smarter to dump out the wine on your own terms rather than your digestive track's terms. Next time I'll be smarter.

Overall it was a fantastic trip and the kids did a great job without me at home too. I laughed a lot, exercised a lot, and drank a lot of wine. Those are the key ingredients of a perfect girls getaway in my book. 

The hotel we stayed out was very dated. We thought Elvis was going to walk in at any moment.

Mile 10.5 of the race. I love this picture.

We did it!

My favorite winery, St. Francis with Jeff and Patti Anderson

Everything was so beautiful and fresh here.

At one of the wineries our server had a striking resemblance to Tom Cruise in Risky Business.

We toured Korbel Champagne Cellars. The Korbel brothers middle name is GRIT.

We visited Armstrong Redwoods. I saw a tree that was 1400 years old!

The roots of a redwood spread out and intertwine with neighboring trees' roots for support. Redwoods roots are like women friendships, they help each other grow strong.

Red White and Whew!

When GG said it was going to be a 24 hour Fourth of July blitz this is what she meant:
14 kids
15 adults
4 dogs
2 horses
Coolers lining the garage
Zip lining
Kayaking
Power wheels and "real wheels"
Jumping on the trampoline
Bean snapping
Horseback riding
Drone Wars
Produce picking
Rodeo pageantry
Dock jumping
Sand box digging
Baseball playing
Road apples
Fireworks
Enough food to serve an army
Whew!

 

 

God bless America (and GG & Papa)

This is Sam's happy place.



Sam kayaked nonstop for an hour!

Power wheels will never be the same after this experience.

Ellie is a rodeo queen inside and out.

Sam and Zach were inseparable. They're relaxing in Papa's massaging chair.

Cowboy take me away!

Watching the drone

Cowboy Hudson!



life.is.good

 

Mermaid Sightings

Oh Laura, how you crack me up and remind me of my younger years.

The other day Laura saw a girl at the pool swimming with mermaid tail. This was a GAME CHANGER!  Earlier in the summer we had asked at Cascade Falls pool if mermaid tails were allowed and were told that they are not so we assumed mermaid tails would also be illegal at the Prairie Ridge pool as well. Apparently the two pools in Ankeny don't have the same rules. A few days later we were preparing for an afternoon at the pool and Laura told me she wanted to put the mermaid tail on in the car so people would think she was a real mermaid when she arrived at the pool. I reminded her that I bring a lot of gear to the pool and it would be nearly impossible to carry her and my 31 bag full of stuff through the very packed pool parking lot. She figured all would be fine if she just transformed herself in the locker room. 
We got to the pool and there was a sign that said someone had pooped in the pool and it would be closed for the rest of the day, but the splash pad was still open. The wheels in Laura's brain started to turn and she said she would just change into her fin behind a tree. I asked her what her plan was once she had her fin on since the splash pad is just a bunch of fountains for kids to run through. She told me she would be fine just sitting next to a fountain. (Obviously the objective of this day was not get wet, it was to allow others to experience a mermaid sighting). After she turned herself into Ariel behind an evergreen, I carried Laura (Charles Ingalls style) to the splash pad while Sam struggled to haul in my 31 bag into the splash park area. (He's going to be a great husband some day.)
Lo and behold there was a daycare at the splash pad and all their eyes were on Laura the mermaid.  She just knew they thought she was a real live mermaid. Yeah, we're making memories this summer!

36

I turned 36 last Thursday. Perhaps having a math endorsement has permanently given me the math curse, but the number 36 automatically makes me thinks of the factors of 36. Such as:

Half my lifetime ago I was 18!

Laura is 6 and I've lived 6 times as long as her!

Sam is 4 and I've lived 9 times as long as him!

I've been teaching for a third of my life!

I was reminded over and over how lucky I am by my family and friends on my birthday.

Eric planned a whole day of activities including breakfast in bed, a family run to the beach, lunch at a park, a facial, a scavenger hunt of gifts, and Zombie Burger for dinner.

My sister send me the sweetest letter with a beautiful necklace that I've worn everyday since receiving it.

Two of my favorite neighbors left notes and gifts for me. 

Birthday cards from my parents and inlaws were in the mailbox wishing me another great year and reminding me of the great year it has been.

Endless texts and FB posts from friends and family filled up my inboxes.

The number 36 has a lots of factors, but friends, family and love are the common denominators in my life right now. Feeling blessed. ❤️

We can't celebrate anything without streamers in our house these days.

We went to the Iowa Speedway for Father's Day. One word: HOT!

At the race, we had a pageant queen sighting...Miss Iowa USA



She let Laura try on her crown.

We got lemonade for the kids. They each got a quart. Good Lord!

Happy Father's Day, Eric. Let's never come here again. :-)

 

Strawberry Festival

Ah yes, it's Strawberry Festival season. We just got back from Long Grove for the annual Strawberry Festival. I've realized that it has been 30 years since I ran my first race at the Long Grove Strawberry Festival. 30 years and so many things haven't changed. See my examples below.

Waiting an eternity for the race to start

My first race! 1986 (I'm #77 on Papa's shoulder)

Sam's waiting with his hands in his pockets



Laura's checking her sports bra.

Pushing it

1989

Pictures with cousins

1989

 

 

Plenty of disappointing finishes

1986

But...every once in a while, all the stars would align

1987. 1st Place in 1 mile race

2016 1st overall female finisher in 1/4 mile race

The overall 1/4 mile and mile winners



Sam got a trophy! Whew! Fourth place in his age division for 1/4 mile.
 

Laura got to ride in a float too. She waved like a pageant queen. I'm not sure why?



Oh, Long Grove...the town that time forgot. 

(Please don't change)

Landscaping

It took one month and one day to complete the landscaping project we Eric worked on and it looks great!
We may have been focusing a little too much on the landscaping though. The last day of preschool everyone was to share one thing they're looking forward to over the summer and Sam shared that he's looking forward to watching the landscaping grow. ;-/

Enjoy the pictures from Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Liz's latest visit for Dam to Dam.

Preschool Spring Sing

Sam's first year of preschool is coming to a close. He had a great year and looked so grown up standing on the stage today singing away and getting his certificate. Oh my heart!