We went to Tahoe last weekend for our one and only ski trip of 2009! There were 9 of us in a rental house (thanks to Jen for organizing!) and it was a beautiful weekend!
Jen & I worked on Friday while Dave and everyone else skied (Jen is pregnant, so no skiing for her this year!)
On Saturday, the entire crew (sans Jen) skied and we had a great day! We were at Alpine and it was really fun.
Dave and I at the top of Summit Six
The Crew during our Lunch Break!
Dave Skiing at Alpine
Jen made a fantastic chicken dinner (with sous chef hubby Alex), followed by a heated game of "Celebrity" that left us all in tears laughing!
Dave, Ali, Monica and Clayton also made use of the hot tub. We have a "tradition" that snow angels need to be made while in our bathing suits and Dave and Clayton decided to relive their 2007 induction. I thought this was HILARIOUS!
Dave and Clayton Making Snow Angels
We drove back on Sunday...it took us 3 hours to get to Tahoe early (4am) on Thursday morning, but 6 hours to get back to SF on the return! Well worth every moment.
It is weekends like this that make me so grateful for our fantastic friends! More photos can be found here:
I had a much-anticipated long weekend in Raleigh last weekend and it completely lived up to expectations!
I arrived on Thursday and we had a "Girls' Dinner" that night at one of the favorite little Italian cafes...Bella Monica.
Half of the table...ahhh, nice to be "home"!
On Friday, we had a kiddie "photo shoot" to let me get extra practice, especially with my new "grown-up" lens (which I'm terrified of).
We started out with fun-fun-fun.... Natalie & Caroline going down the speedy slide
But then.... Sweet Dino BROKE HIS ANKLE!!!
Meg rushed him to Urgent Care and we had a series of less-serious injuries over the next hour until we just gave up altogether!
A few highlights from our playtime: Rives...."On The Case!
Nay & Caroline...precious!
Emerson & Sydney...chillin' amongst the chaos!
Friday night, Nay & Natalie had us over to their house for an adult/kiddie get together. I was amazed and shocked when, one by one, each of the kids walked out to the living room with THESE SHIRTS ON!!!
Seriously? I melted.
Adorable!
On Saturday, Meg and I headed to a baby shower for Lindsay. Her girlfriends did a fantastic job of planning it and Lindsay looked fantastic!
The three moms-to-be...
Mom, Lindsay and me...
Meg and I departing...wine in tow!
We hit the town on Saturday night with the crew...no kids with us this night!
Elizabeth wore this shirt Meg found...a joke from their August trip here to SF
Just getting more and more ridiculous with each other...
Lindsay & Sunita came out with us and pregnant Lindsay was out until 2am with the rest of us!!! She is such a trooper - I certainly hope I am like her someday!
Sunday was pretty low-key. I got to spend time with my cousins who live in Raleigh, then hit up a rooftop bar with Meg & Nicole, then laid low back at Meg's for my last night in Raleigh.
I caught this very quick clip of Meg's son, Dino (the one with the broken ankle...poor thing...) getting kisses from Marco!
Dino swapping kisses with Daddy Marco
THANK YOU, girls, for not just this weekend, but for being the fantastic women of my life. I love you! xoxo
Our friend Katie visited us from the east coast a couple of weeks ago and we had a GREAT time! She and Dave grew up in the same town and then she and Dave were "reunited" when the three of us all went to BC together.
It was her first trip to Cali and we were super-excited for her arrival! She flew in for 72 hours (!), so we had a lot of ground to cover!
Checkin' out the SF Bay
We had amazing weather for the entire weekend she was here and we took full advantage!
On Friday, Kate and I had the day to ourselves. The three of us got coffee together in the morning, then Kate and I biked across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito...
Checking out the GG Bridge Tourist Center...this is the actual width of the cables!
Loving the view from the Bridge!
Ferrying back to SF from Sausalito
After we got back to SF, we biked to Ghirardelli Square. This is about 1 mile from our apartment and I had never been, so I was really excited to check it out! We didn't see too much as we got sidetracked by the first wine tasting place we saw! Two hours later, we finally got on our bikes again and headed home.
On Saturday, we headed up to Napa for the day! I love this picture of Dave & Katie together:
Katie listening intently to the description....just POUR, lady!!
Mustard season just kicked off -beautiful yellow all around!
Dave enjoying my favorite dessert wine of all time...Honig Late Harvest Sauv Blanc
Sweet nectar from the gods....
The doggie at Honig...so adorable!
Sailboats all over the Marina/SF Bay
On Sunday (aka Super Bowl Sunday), we had a big RACE that morning! Dave & Kate ran the 5K and I ran the 1/2 marathon! Our friends Heidi & Beth also ran the half and it was awesome!
The running crew...
Having fun around mile 8....
I was thrilled with my time for the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles). I ran it in 2:07:34....for comparison, I ran the La Jolla Half Marathon in 2008 in 2:45!!! A huge improvement (mentally and physically) over last year (which, at the time, was the furthest I had run in my life). What a difference a year makes!
Short clip of the race...beautiful ocean background!
After the race, we had some friends over to watch the Super Bowl and gorge ourselves on food. I knocked out multiple beers, wings, pizza, various dips, more chips than any human should be allowed to consume, and so much more. And that was just "lunch". Ahhh, it's nice to run 13 miles and then eat like it doesn't count!
