My 35th birthday

I was treated to a Mexican fiesta in honor of my birthday while we were in Houston.  All of Papa's family came out to help us celebrate, along with Jen and Corinne.  I celebrated by having a Margarona (margarita with corona mixed in) and it was awesome!  Took the sting out of 35 :) Theo and  Papa had matching fedoras and looked SOOO cute together.  My mom made me delicious cupcakes and had everyone over after dinner. She also made an awesome picture frame for me from all of my pictures growing up.

We returned home and celebrated my actual birthday at home.  Some of my book club friends took me out that night and showered me with sweet presents.  I feel so blessed!!

Four Muskateers

Dave had some work to do over in Texas when we returned from our travels, so the kids and I headed over to Aunt Jen's house for swim time!  The Texas "cousins" loved seeing each other again and had a BLAST together.  Jack and Corinne were thick as thieves.  Theo discovered Barbie and took her for a swim :)  Little Parker was in the mix as well and has become such a big boy!  The boys begged to stay at Jen's and I told them she'd rename them if they stayed.  So, Colby and Dash are their Texan names now.  Ha!!!

San Francisco and Oakland

We left Seattle bright and early on July 1st and flew to San Francisco, landed, and were taken straight to the stadium.  Dave upgraded our seats for that game and we on the 26th row.  The Giants vs. Reds game was a huge crowd of nearly 42,000 fans (the largest game we attended) and it was great!  Came down to the last play!  We left the game and met my high school friend, Avi, who used to be on drill team with me.  She lives in San Francisco now and we hadn't seen each other for nearly 16 years.  We had the greatest time with Avi :)  I love when you can literally pick right back up with someone you haven't seen in years.

The next day, we headed over to Oakland for the A's vs. Red Sox game.  Oakland is a "rougher" crowd than the Giants.  The A's happen to be Jack's favorite team, so we picked up some gear, and that helped me fit in :)  The A's won handily and Dave and I really enjoyed that game.  The stadium reminded us both of Tiger Stadium.

The next day my local friends picked me up and we had a picnic at Crissy Fields, which boasts a fabulous view of the Golden Gate bridge!  I got to meet all of the kids that are all Theo's age and their siblings.  My main job was holding baby Willow and I relished the time with her.  She was content to sleep under a blanket, which was good since the sun was shining that day!  The cool breeze disguised the sunburn I formed on that beach. :)

Dave and I had a quick drink with my friend, Val and her friend, Brett, before ducking off to a photo shoot...... more on that later!!

Seattle

Dave and I arrived in Seattle a day early and ventured all over the city.  Our hotel was in the Queen Anne district, a hip, non-touristy area that we LOVED. We saw the EMP museum, had Thai food, delicious coffee, and enjoyed all that Seattle Center had to offer.  The next day was a reception at the Space Needle for our tour group.  We went all the way to the top (reminded me of our trip up the Eiffel Tower last year) and I had to enjoy some Starbucks coffee while up there (when in Rome, right?).  We attended 2 games in Seattle (both vs. the Red Sox) and were pleased when each team scored a win!  Dave and I milled around the Pike Place Market and I got a fabulous print to have framed (a nice bonus of having a craft room!).

I found Seattle to be a hip city with a really fun feel to it.  The weather changes every 10 minutes, it seems, between sunny, cloudy, drizzly, muggy, and so forth.  I was often hot there during the day and freezing at night.  No in between! I went to Sephora and got hair mascara and loved brushing that in my hair at night.  It washes out and that makes it fun to change up!

The last Mariner game was Viva Las Vargas in honor of that pitcher, who didn't end up pitching, so everyone got Elvis glasses.  They set up the Chapel of Glove for people to get married by Elvis.  We just posed for a picture with Elvis :)  It was fun!!

Meet Up in San Fran

I met up with three of my friends in the Bay area and their kids at Crissy Field on our last day in the city.  We picnicked , I held baby Willow, the kids played, we chatted, and I got sunburned! Such a fun day with friends :-) I shielded baby Willow  from the wind and sun.  I loved the doggy  water fountain by the bathrooms. Gotta love  California!!!!