Oh Where To Start?

Why not start with the drama? The middle of June was progressing easy enough...that is until my Sequoia was stolen. I know what you are thinking...didn't their truck just get thefted from in front of their house back in December. YES! To make a long story very short (as most of you have already heard the story and or don't have the time to hear about it) we left my car running in front of our house while we loaded kids into Tony's truck parked in the driveway. Some hood jumped in my car and drove off. Two days later they crashed the car, ran from the cops and the chopper found one of them. A week after that they caught another winner with 3 of Tony's credit cards. RIP Sequoia. You were nice while you lasted.


The day after the car was crashed the kids and I jumped ship and headed west to Cali. We needed a break from the drama and the chaos! We had so many highlights from our trip it is hard to pick just a few pictures to share. I absolutely love my friends and family!

Cienna Enjoying The Jump-Itz At Pixie Playland


Riding The Teacups With Mimi La Rue


On The Carousel


Hangin With Granny


AJ Having A Blast

We also went to Fairyland in Oakland. Cienna was the perfect age to enjoy all that it had to offer!


Welcome To Fairyland!


With GrrrrrrrAnie!


With Her New BFF's (Tana and Lala)


Awww...My Mr. Mr.!

And of course we did a ton of hanging out with friends!

Posing With Ms. B


My Girls B and Rachel After A Night Of Gossiping


With Dena


Our Kids At Studio Grow

A big shout out to Jenny for being my partner in crime at both Arties and The Clayton Club. Both places can really get you into trouble. Thank God neither one did.
And thanks to Lindsay for keeping my mind right at Chris's party! Mike and Kara - Can't wait to see you in August! And DJ and Melanie for the yummy screwdrivers!

The latter part of the week got a little crazy. Tony flew in to celebrate his brother's 40th b-day and our 6 year anniversary. Thank GOD I didn't take any pictures at the party. Not sure I would have even made it home with my camera. It was a lot of fun but I am really glad that he only turns 40 once!

The next day was our anniversary which we spent in the most logical place that we could think of after a night of drinking...boating on the Delta! Well, technically it was boating since we had to be in a boat to get to the crazy island of total debauchery, but it was mostly just standing around and drinking in the sun. Crazy times!

This Really Is The Place That Your Parents Warned You About

Lastly, I wanted to share something really special. Tony and I were married at the Gardens at Heather Farms in Walnut Creek. In the middle of the rose garden there are several brick paths, which you can purchase bricks to commemorate births, deaths, weddings, etc. Well now our path is complete!


The Rose Garden


Path 6


6 Years Of (Mostly) Wedded Bliss And I Would Do It All Over Again In A Heartbeat!

An Update From The Home Front

Ah yes. We have been home for a little less than a week and it feels good to have the house clean, the laundry done and be back into a little routine. That is until Tuesday when the kids and I travel back to the Bay for a 2 week trip! Yes, you read it correctly...2 weeks! But before we embarked on our next vacation of sorts I wanted to provide an update from the home front.
We have been working a lot on remodeling the outdated parts of our 1950's home. Of course nothing goes smoothly and everything takes twice as much time as we planned but I am proud to say that we are 99.9% done with what we have started. So here are some pics of our blood, sweat and tears (literally. I am not good with projects.)

Kitchen Before



Kitchen After



Laundry Room Before


Laundry Room After


Guest Bathroom Before


Guest Bathroom After


"Shed" Before


"Shed" After


And the most important revision of our home came when we added a garden area to our backyard. This little project has been a huge source of pride for me, as I run out daily to check on the status of my little gems!

My 1st Jalapeno!


Yep. This is my first tomato. Cienna proudly plucked it so that she could show me. I still don't have any new ones growing as of yet....

Playing Catch-Up

Even as I sit writing this blog I am aware that I will have to do this in stages. Summer is upon us and things are crazier than usual...which means that they are really insane. But I wanted to take a moment to catch up on the last few weeks.

When we returned from Mexico, Cienna had her first dance recital. It was cute beyond words and Cienna absolutely stole the show. Now I am not just saying that because she is my daughter and I am being one of those crazy stage moms. In the middle of the dance routine she stopped and waved like crazy followed by this little boogie down move and then she blew kisses to the audience. Well she was actually blowing kisses to AJ, but the audience didn't know that and every one erupted in laughter. It was adorable. Such a character!

Our Dancing Diva

A few days later my friend Lindsay flew in from CA for a Memorial Day weekend visit. We went up to the cabin for a little rest and relaxation and to see our good friends Beau and Heather get married. I have to give credit to the groom. It was the most creative entrance that I have ever seen. He arrived via a boat in the Rio Grande, fishing off the front!

www.BeauMeyer.com

It was a great wedding and we ran into our old friends Ian and Paige. Paige and I were bridesmaids in each others weddings but had lost contact over the last few years. I was glad to hear that she and her husband were doing fab and we had a lot of fun catching up over keg beer.

The rest of the weekend was spent doing yard work (blah) and indulging in buffalo steaks. I absolutely adore Lindsay, and we always have a ton of fun even when we don't do much. When we returned to ABQ on Monday night we saw a late showing of Sex and the City 2. A perfect ending to a perfect visit!

Lindsay and Cienna

Two days later we were off to Vegas! Firefighters Mike and Jackie White were generous enough to invite us to their timeshare just off the strip and we made quite the road trip out of it! There were a total of 7 of us, including their 2-year old daughter Adriana. We spent 3 days poolside, and discovered that the resort had a lazy river that was to die for! Even though it was 107 degrees, we managed to stay cool between the pool and the air conditioned rooms. We only ran into one problem...3 days just wasn't long enough!

Daddy and AJ on the Lazy River


Cienna - Posing As Always


AJ Enjoying The Sand Pool

Well that catches us up on the last few weeks. I heart summer!!!