oh so behind aka wine tasting with kids 2 weeks ago

Man, I've let the blog go.

That's because we've been hosting friends in town and going 90 to nothing all day long.

Good times, but I must be getting old because I'm exhausted.

Two weeks ago when Mark & Crystal were in town we decided to spend the day in Temecula, which is about a 45 minute drive inland for us.

It's wine country light.

We had heard about it, but never been because who takes kids wine tasting?

Apparently, we do.

First stop

We loved this place. It was cute, and quant, and had good wine.

Oh, and they didn't judge us for bringing these two along.

We parked the mini van right up by the door, put the CARS movie on, and enjoyed our tasting.

Then we drove around a bit and took in the scenery.....not too shabby.

Mark & Crystal had a private tour here.

They didn't pay for a private tour, but here's a tip.....go on a Tuesday.

No one was there.

It was a great day.

Adults were happy.

Kids were happy.

And we got Golden Spoon on the way out.

Can't get much better than that.

The "Mother Ship"

Last week Andy and his brother, Mark, decided to check something off the bucket list.

Surfing.

After doing some extensive research (2 minutes on Yelp & Google), Andy called up the San Diego Surfing Academy.

He talked to the owner of the establishment and got some basic information and was given directions to meet him the next morning at a cross street near a local resort.

"Where exactly should I meet you at the resort?", Andy asked.

"Well, we're not really part of the resort.", Pat, the instructor said.

"Just meet me at The Mother Ship."

and he hung up.

So a couple of hours later, Mark & Andy found themselves here.

and met Pat, their instructor.

Whom Andy insisted looked "just like" the Dos Equis most interesting man in the world.

"No seriously, you have to put his picture there, because that was our guy".

Crystal and I decided to give the guys two hours to brush up their skills before meeting them at the beach to document.

That and we had two kids to handle.

One which nearly gave me a heart attack that morning.

Hint on which one: Her

Oh look! There are the surfers!!!

My kids were neck deep in sand in about 2.5 seconds.

They weren't really appreciating the surfing lesson so much.

And oh my Lord, THIS girl....

I really can't even talk about it.

Let's just say that she picked up a flat beach rock the size of a dinner plate and chunked it into the sand pit, missing her brother by less than an inch.

Oh, and her brother had a little accident in the car and after searching high and low, I realized that I hadn't restocked my emergency set of clothes in about a year, so he ended up wearing this.

Look!

They caught a wave....kind of.

That night we went to dinner at Poseidon to celebrate Mark's birthday.

And while we're on the subject of eating....

we had to document our team effort best dinner ever from the night before.

One more Mark & Crystal post to come.....

Wine tasting.

FYI....it CAN be done with kids in tow.

Brunch at the Brig

These cute fun people left yesterday. =(

And I'm just trying to catch up on the all the fun stuff we did.

Sunday....yes, I'm way behind.

Sunday, we went to The Brigantine for their champagne brunch.

It as the best brunch I've ever had.

Granted, I've probably only been to brunch about 3 times in my life, but it was the best, I'm sure of it.

They had $3 bottomless mimosas.

For real, the best.

And we had an amazing table....looking down on the racetrack.

Addison did great

She had nothing to complain about.

Chocolate muffins, french toast, grilled cheese and bottomless juice.

The girl was happy.

And she got to color with Aunt Crystal, so that was bonus.

I got to love on my little guy.

We're already missing them, but have much more to share.

Up next.....

Surf lessons, tantrums, adult time, and wine tasting!!!!

Mark & Crystal do the OC

Yesterday was a super exciting day.

1. I got to go get a haircut. Like at a real salon, downtown no less.

2. My husband was totally supportive because it was free. The color, the highlight, the new cut...all of it, free.

*** I will interject here and say that the reason it was free, was the wonderful stylist, Megan, who has been cutting my hair out here was starting work at a new salon and they needed a hair model. To say that she had to twist my arm to get me to help her out would be a lie.

I will also say that the entire process took about an hour for every inch I got cut off and I'll just put it on the table that I'm about 7 inches lighter.

3. A few of our favorite people came to visit us.

Andy's brother, Mark, and my sister in law, Crystal flew in from Savannah, Georgia to hang out with us and the kiddos for a few days.

To say that we are so excited is a huge understatement.

After I got back from my full day hair appointment, we headed for the OC.

We were going to hit up Lauren Conrad, but she apparently now lives a little further up the 5.

Here's a quick glimpse of 7 inches shorter.....

Addison has been a weeee bit obsessed with Uncle Mark since he got here yesterday

And let me just say that my daughter from a couple weeks back has been no where in sight this week. This little girl has been an absolute angel for the past few days.

Aww, it's days like these that make you almost forget about those other times.

I mean, truly...angel.

She has come up to me several times just saying.....unsolicited ...

Mommy, I just love you SOOOOO much.

So I'm documenting it so I don't forget it during those....ahem....other times.

But I think this one might be stepping up his game to take her place in the "challenging" box.

Constant fits. It's good times, really. It's so funny, you just have to document.

So we finished our little walk and headed back to the PCH to grab some tacos before heading home.

And so began the gluttonous week of eating that fun company brings.....

Let me just say that it's the first day of my new weight watchers week and all of my extra points alloted for the week have been used.

FYI...there are about 15 points in 1 sprinkles cupcake. You are allowed 29 points a day.

My first pair of skinny jeans that were purchased today after a successful month on WW might just be making a return back to the store.

A quick attempt at a family pic....

And my new haircut debut.......

I will have lots more pics to share soon because tomorrow Andy and Mark are going to take on surfing for the first time ever.....and Crystal and I are not going to miss that!