Party Hats & Candles

We like to put the Happy in Happy Birthday....and that does require party hats!

Wine Country Visit

I think this might just be our very first wine tasting trip of 2013.....we are working way too much.  Off we go with our Wine Rock Star friends to a "pairing" at St. Francis.

The weather was perfect and the grounds are absolutely beautiful. The staff is friendly, unpretentious, and they all are informed and passionate about wine.  They were debuting a new menu and everything was really tasty. The wine is very good quality and the prices remain a good value (especially since our friends are wine club members so we share the discount). We were hoping to find a few items for a wedding shower gift and we did score several nice items in their gift shop. We loaded the car and were off to the other side of the hill, to Napa.

Sequoia Grove is a sister winery of St. Francis so our friends get free tastings and super discounts. This is a very small winery located in a grove of redwoods, hence the name. We had a great time here. Our pourer was Sarah and she was fantastic. We tried a few wines, she took us down for a quick tour of the cellars where we did a barrel tasting (and I'm pretty sure I need to come back in a few years to buy some when it's ready), and then we sat at a table in the grove tasting the high end stuff. Sarah's pours were very generous and we had reached out limit...or some of us had reached our limit. We did find a couple more items to add to the shower gift, SCORE!

We had a stop to pick up wine at Onward, chat with the winemaker Faith, and play with her new little girl, Chloe. Our final pick up was at Acacia. We arrived just after they closed, so we knocked and they actually opened up and offered us up a quick tasting while they got the wine club shipment. We did buy a few bottles so everything worked out for all of us.

By now it was the commute time and we had been tasting all day (except for our DD, designated driver). We wisely chose to grab dinner and then head home.

Our wine closest is now full. Time to kick back on the patio and open a bottle.

See Ezra Ride His Bike

I may have mentioned, once or twice, that my grandchildren are "over achievers". Well, here's a video of E riding his bicycle, without training wheels, just shy of 3 1/2 years old.

http://theswensonfamily.blogspot.com/2013/06/so-proud.html

They had to reshoot the video because his mother was SCREAMING with excitement. Go ahead, take a few moments to watch the video of the amazing feat....once or twice.

See, I told you he was an over achiever!

Water Baby

If there is water running, or water that T can make run, he's going to find it and get very wet. Great photo J.

Hair Cuts....Theo's First!!

One of our duties as grandparents is to have the boys' hair cut. Do you remember when we found the most wonderful place to have the boys hair cut? Well, we went back and might even be happier this time, if that's possible.

First one up was E, he thinks he should go first because he's the big brother. We think he should go first so he can show T how it's done. It was a little difficult to keep him away from the toys. He whipped his head around to see all the toys, making it very challenging for Erika to cut his hair.

She worked her magic, going for a very layered surfer boy look....looking good.

Next, it was T's turn, time to cut the baby mullet and get rid of his gorgeous curls....

Erika gave us his curls in an envelope so I can include it in his album....if I ever get back to working on it and bringing it up to date. He still has some curls and Mama approves...although she was afraid to look at him when she picked the boys up since she though she would cry.

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Looking at these images makes me want to hug and kiss their adorable faces!

Fathers' Day at The Pool

We headed to the pool for swimming and dinner. After only a few visits to the pool, the boys are getting very comfortable in the water. They can stay in there until their lips turn blue.

The place was busy and Jessica visited with one of her friends from middle school. They run in to one another around town and their children know one another. T played with Ryder and was impressed to find they both wear teething beads, although Ryder has an anklet and T wears his around his neck. E and Lily spent their time climbing the tree. Jessica? Well she mostly enjoyed a Mai Tai while the Fathers took the boys in the water.

I got to hold V, she was particularly cute in her swimsuit.

Let The 2013 Wedding Season Begin!

Our sweetest and most favorite niece is getting married!!! To a fabulous guy!!! We love them both and are so excited to attend the wedding next month. They invited us to their family "couples" shower and we had a blast. We are so excited for the the couple and everyone LOVES them both. We had so much fun meeting our new family and catching up with the family members that we haven't seen in a very long time.

We are so happy for Michelle & Scott