10 Years In Napa

TEN YEARS!  Yes, you read that right.  I didn't even know I was old enough to be married for 10 whole years.  Seriously, where does the time go?

So without sounding like a total sap, I swear, from the bottom of my heart, these have been the very best 10 years of my life.  Without a doubt...hands down.

Three houses, three kids, and at least four different jobs between the two of us, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Naturally, Clay and I wanted to celebrate the big 10 in a big way.  And naturally, I was torn about leaving my kids for too long.  {just can't ever seem to shake this mommy thing}.   Keeping all that in mind, my darling husband planned a four day get away for us to Napa Valley California.

Let me just say...it was amazing!

We flew into  San Francisco and made the drive up to Yountville in the valley.  There were periods of cities and then beautiful landscape along the way.  To be honest, I was just really ready to be finished traveling.  The flight topped off with the drive made for a long day.

It was all so worth it when we arrived at the most incredible hotel I've ever stayed in.  It was luxurious, glamorous, and totally down to earth feeling all at the same time.  Absolute perfection!

We had a "smart room" that adjusted blinds, lights . etc when we came and left.  It also had a steam shower that I fell in love with {and used often to release the wine drinking toxins}.  The food was incredible, the grounds were impeccable and the service was top notch.  I would have seriously moved in if I hadn't of had three littles at home waiting on me.

When we arrived after our long day of travel...this was waiting in our room for us with a dear Happy Anniversary note.  Clay and I wasted no time popping the cork and then taking a well needed nap!

Come evening we were ready to get out and check this beautiful part of the country out.  It just so happened that the pool bar was hosting a concert that evening.  And it just so happened that Clay knew the artist.  Totally unplanned we hit the pool bar and enjoyed a relaxing evening listening to music and, of course, drinking wine.

It was just so meant to be seeing as how the pool bar and restaurant were named after my littlest Cibula.  I couldn't get enough of seeing her name everywhere!  Lucy got quite a kick out of it when we got home too.

Clay and I took a lot of selfies {sans a stick} so please excuse the photography.  But, somehow I just couldn't rationalize lugging my big ol' camera around with me.

The next morning, I begged to sleep in.  Clay let me about "half way".  That's marriage for you ...a compromise.  We started our day with a drive up to the Redwood Tree Preserve.

Okay, so call me a total nerd {which several people already have regarding this issue}, but this was one of the highlights of my trip.  It was unbelievably gorgeous, amazing, fresh, a little chilly and so peaceful.  Every time I turned around I was in awe.

I would have complete, right then and there, but there was no way we were getting out of Napa without visiting a few wineries.

Over the course of the day, we popped into a few and had appointments for others.  Since we were already in the car, we hit a few spots on our way back down through the valley.  Everything was absolutely picturesque....and the company wasn't so bad either.

The following day we decided to forgo our car and travel by bike instead.  It was unseasonably hot, our palates were filled with wine, and we traveled down a pretty serious highway.  It was quite an adventurous day for me.

However, we did start our morning with a delish breakfast at the local bakery.  And lest I not mention, I had a two hour spa treatment in our room before our outing.  Fabulous!  Not a bad way to start the day.

We spent the remainder of the day wine tasting, meeting interesting folks, admiring the beautiful landscape, sweating our tails off, and even visiting Lucy's Garden...I could not resist.

Come evening, Clay and I were both pretty wiped out.  Not to mention we had a flight to catch the next morning in San Fran.  We opted for a casual dinner, but, yummy none the less, at some famous chef's restaurant.  We dined at the bar and enjoyed more good food, more wine, and met more interesting people.

A wonderful culmination to our 10th Anniversary vacation.

I can't imagine any other person I would have rather celebrated this occasion with.  Thank you to the love of my life for the ups, downs, three beautiful children, and this amazing life we have created.  I am forever grateful and in awe of what we have.

Cheers!

Looking forward to 10 more...and 10 more...and 10 more...

Finally Flamingo Pictures

Lucy's 3rd birthday pictures have FINALLY arrived and I've FINALLY had a chance to peruse through them which in turn means I FINALLY posted about her party.

http://thecibulas.blogspot.com/2015/08/lucys-3rd-flamingo-fest.htmlLucy's Flamingo Party!

So, before you take a look, my beloved photographer, Andrea Wood moved {boo hoo!}.  I gave someone new a shot {no pun intended} and I'm not overly impressed {boo hoo again}.

You will see a few pictures scattered through the post that are from my camera.  And let's be honest, I was hardly trying, I did have a professional there.  But, unfortunately some important things weren't captured so I had to throw them in the post for nostalgia's sake.

And speaking of "sake", for organization's sake I put the birthday post back in August where it belongs!

So click the link and tell me what you think!

Off to work on Maggie's party...

Cricut Crazy

It's hard to believe, but this little machine planted so nicely on the left hand corner of my desk has been keeping me away from my BELOVED BLOG.  I never imagined anything could have that power.

I have absolutely become obsessed with my new Cricut {and I assure I do not work for them in any way shape or form}.  This is a creative girl's dream machine.  I must have hem-hawed over this purchase for months before I finally pulled the trigger.  Now I'm just wondering what took me so long.

In all seriousness, I am having so much fun with it {as is my Mom who has spent hours upon hours by my side creating}.  It is a totally reasonably priced machine and the possibilities are nearly endless.

Okay, shall I show off a few of my recent creations?  Now, don't judge...I am new to this...and I'm learning as I go...so please don't comment on any possible blunders.

So as I mentioned, my Mom has been by my side for the past two weekends.  She so kindly volunteered us for the task of Groomsmen and Bridesmaid gifts for Jon's upcoming wedding.  My little office looked like a crafting assembly line for two weekends straight.  Can't lie though...it was so much fun.

We made these  Jute bags with their monogram for all 8 bridesmaids.  We were mighty pleased with the result.  They are just beautiful in person.

We are going to fill them with these acrylic wine glass tumblers.  All 8 of them include the girl's monograms and the starfish {it's a beach wedding if I haven't mentioned previously}.  Each girl gets a little starfish notepad and gold pen too.

My mom insisted the girl's have an "Emergency Kit"...brilliant.  We put first initials on all these and filled them each with Dollar Store finds.

And for the Junior Bridesmaid and the Flower Girls {my sweet Mags and Lu}, we threw these little bags together.  The bride really wanted some turquoise and I thought it would be fun to use it on the little girls.

Each girl gets a monogrammed brush, hand mirror, pocket mirror, and a water bottle.  Won't they be so cute getting all dressed up with these goodies?

BTW...Dollar Store finds again!

For the groomsmen I ordered some really cool backpack cooler things.  We had those monogrammed with thread.  BUT...Jon really wanted something personal for each guy.  So he filled us in on each of the groomsmen interests and my Mom and I put together a few water bottles.

Jon has quite an eclectic group in his wedding...a few surfers, a baseball player,  a football coach, a pilot, and a golfer.

We assume the guys could hardly care less about this kind of stuff, so we plan on filling the rest of the bag up with snacks and toiletries!

When I haven't been working on the wedding, which you can clearly see has been very time consuming, I've been playing around with a few other items.

Here are just a few.

Teacher birthday gifts {I plan on filling them up with their fave candy and tying a cute ribbon around them}...

A "test" Halloween Banner...

{BIG spoiler alert!!}  Goody Bags for Maggie's Birthday Party...

And Birthday Banners...

I'm having so much fun!  But, I will be taking a break from my latest obsession here very soon.  It's almost time to celebrate 10 Years with the love of my life!

How did time fly by so fast?

I'll get all the details to you soon!  Oh, and hopefully Lucy's Flamingo Party too...still waiting on pictures...

Labor Day At The Lake

I loaded up the kids {and Grandma} and headed to GG's lake this holiday weekend.  I thought it would be nice of me to offer up a much deserved weekend break for Daddy, considering he does "labor" pretty hard the rest of the year.  The best part of all is that he was seriously worried about "missing us".  Now tell me that isn't endearing.

The kids were beyond thrilled to make the travels to see their favorite Great-Grandmother and you must know by now just how much I do adore her too.  We were all pretty much giddy about the weekend ahead.

Happily, it did not disappoint {even after that horrendous drive in holiday traffic...ugh}.  We spent a lot of time lakeside which was a success all around.  The weather was gorgeous and the lake was just perfect.  

We were so proud of Maggie for earning "Little Hootie" for the long weekend from her Kindergarten teacher.  She was just about as ecstatic as you can get when we picked her up from school on Friday.  Little Hootie was heading to the lake!  This may the first time he has made it out of state.

And lest I not mention, my kids got along most of the time.  Woo hoo!

They even did crazy things like build forts together and sleep in them together.  Because trust me, that is seriously worth noting here lately.

If we weren't at the lake, we were shopping.  What do you expect with four ladies?  I felt the need to lessen the blow for Jack.  I'm pretty sure that is not what he signed up for on his Labor Day Weekend.

So you can imagine both of our delights when we spotted this super trampoline bounce thing right in the middle of the mall.  I'm thinking he may have done this in between each store we visited.  He loved it!  It made the mall completely doable for him and possibly enjoyable {although I'm sure he would never admit that}.

And while Lucy napped and Maggie baked with GG the next day, I also took Jack to a Zip Line Course and to ride Bumper Boats.  See, I did make sure my boy was taken care of.

Jack literally drenched me with water sprayer on the front of his boat.  I was totally not prepared for that or the fact that I had to go home and rewash my hair...and dry it...and straighten it...ugh.

However, it was certainly one of the highlights of my weekend.  I remember these things back on the beach when I was a kid.  I haven't seen one since.  Truly a blast from the past.

We spent our last full day exploring around "town".  My kids adore this place for lunch, farm animals, sweets, shops, and all the other goodies it has to offer.  They must of asked at least a dozen times on the trip up if we would be going to the "animal" place...intermittent with "are we there yet?" and "how much longer?".

 I am certainly glad that we did.  Because look what I scored...

Okay so if you look closely at Lucy's lap she is eating a snowcone in this awesome flower looking shaped cup.  When I saw these I just knew I had to have some for Maggie's birthday party. I asked the teenage clerks where they got them {of course they had no clue}.  Next thing I know they were getting the manager for me. With a little finagling and some sweet grins from Maggie we walked out with  a stack in pink, green, and yellow for free.  Score!

Super excited to fill these cute things up for Maggie's November party...have I ever mentioned I'm a serious planner?

We ended our trip with brownies for breakfast {that's a GG for you} and a slew of hugs, kisses, "I'll miss you"s.  It's always hard to leave the BEST Grandma in the entire world!

Thankfully I know I'll see her and the rest of the fam in about a month.  We've got a wedding to attend!  So super excited!

Thanks for having us at the lake GG!  We love you!

Cheers!

I just happened to have a few La Croix's left over from Lucy's birthday party and it just so happens to be Ms. R's drink of choice.  I couldn't let the opportunity pass to let Maggie's sweet sweet teacher know how much we adore her.

With that it turned into Jack wanting to take one in for his teacher as well.  She prefers Dr. Pepper {which also happens to be my fave}.  To our luck we had one of those in the fridge too.

I whipped up some tags and these "toasts in waiting" are set up in the fridge to go to school tomorrow with two happy Cibula students!

We love our teachers.

Cheers! to two wonderful teachers!