California BABY!

Back in mid-November I took a trip to San Jose to visit Rob, Ariana and the boys.  I was in desperate need of a "get-a-away" and what could be more PERFECT then escaping to sunny California!

It was perfect.

Rob and Ariana have a beautiful house in such a Pretty area - I was very impressed and completely amazed.  What I had in my mind was completely different then the reality of where they live - it was gorgeous!

I flew in on Wednesday afternoon and we spent the rest the day hanging out with the boys at their house.

The boys are getting so big and little Ryan just steals my heart every time I see him.  I could not get enough of that little man!  On Thursday, I went with Ariana to one of her play dates with the boys.  Ariana has made a ton of friends out there and it was so nice to meet some of them  The weirdest was meeting Laura with a son named Blake - seriously?  I thought I was back home...

The house the play date was hosted at was GORGEOUS - I could have moved right in! 

After the play date we headed home to put the boys down for nap and then Ariana and I snuck away for some pedicures and manicures.  Ariana also found an AWESOME Nanny who watched the boys alot so we could hang out - just the two of us! 

After getting pampered for a couple hours we headed to Santana Row to meet Rob at a restaurant to have dinner and watch the Broncos game!  I couldn't believe how many Bronco fans there were!  I always have FUN when I go out with Rob and Ariana and this night was no different.  We ate, drank beer, laughed and watch the Donkeys win!

 After dinner, Ariana and I walked Santana Row!  Again, this place was amazing and so beautiful.  It makes Cherry Creek look like Greeley - haha!

I could have definitely spent more time down there - shopping and hitting up the tequila bar (Next time Ariana!).  We turned in early that night, because 1) Ariana's kids get up at the crack of dawn and 2) Friday was "Ariana and Jenn's Day of FUN!"

Again, Ariana had her nanny stay with the boys all day Friday so we could go to San Francisco for the day.

Before heading to San Francisco we made a quick trip to the beach, Santa Cruz.  I had to see the beach before going back to Colorado.

Hands down, visiting Santa Cruz was my favorite.  I think I could have spent all day there.  It was a tiny little surfer town, with cute shops, and of course a huge beach!  When we visit again I so want to take the kids there for the day or a couple days, maybe rent a beach house! 

We sat and had lunch with of course a margarita on the beach - now that is perfect!

I didn't want to leave, but I only had so much time and San Francisco was still a place I wanted to visit... 

 On our way to San Francisco we stopped in Los Gatos - another favorite of mine.  Again just absolutely gorgeous and so CUTE!  Ariana took me to her favorite cupcake shop, which we then enjoyed on our trip into San Francisco. 

We got to San Francisco late that afternoon. San Francisco is BEAUTIFUL!  I can see why people fall in love with it.  Sometimes I wish I could be twenty years old again, and live in a cool city like San Fran!

Oh well, but I did get to enjoy the city for a quick 24 hours!

 As soon as we checked into out hotel and stepped outside to start exploring - Boom a RAINSTORM!  Why is it every time I visit a city it rains - New York, Nashville and now San Francisco!  But no worries, we still had a great time!  That's what I love about Ariana, she just goes with the flow and makes it fun no matter what!

Since it was raining we hopped on the old Cable Cars, so we could see the city and stay somewhat dry.  I don't think I really ever understood what a cable car was or how cool they are.  I just always saw them in the TV show "Full House" and wanted to ride one!

They operate on no power - just gears!  So the conductor would have to crank us up and down the hills - it was crazy and totally felt like a roller coaster - the hills are HUGE in that city!

 WEEEEE - down the hill!

 We took the cable car to Union Square - which was so cool!

I could have literally spent an entire day in Union Square - SHOPPING!

 They had every store you could possibly imagine!  Again, when I return this is on the agenda - TO DO!

The weather cleared up for a bit, so we walked around and saw as much as could before it got dark and we started to freeze to death,  Public transportation in San Fran is awesome!  As soon as it started raining again we hopped on a bus and headed to Fisherman's Wharf.  By now it was dark and we were cold, but we still walked the Pier at Fisherman's Wharf.  My favorite were the sea lions just hanging out and talking up a storm!

We stopped and had dinner and tried to warm up a bit!

After dinner, we headed to some fun restaurants for drinks.  We ended up at a place called The Buena Vista, which is where all the locals hang out - Again, this was one of my favorites.  It was so cute and perfect to spend a rainy evening drinking and gossiping with my sister!  I had my first Irish Cream Coffee which was delicious and warmed me right up!  If we weren't so excited to sleep in our own beds with no kids, we probably would have stayed out all night!

We turned in around 10:30 and slept soundly until 9am the next morning.  I think we would both agree that was the best part!  We visited a local breakfast place which again was so cute and had great food, before Ariana took me to the airport!

It was a very quick trip, but SO fun!  I feel like I got to see a ton of stuff, thanks to Ariana who knows how to get around and finds out about the coolest places! 

The best part though was getting to see Rob, Ariana and the boys, and to see just how great they are doing.  Moving to a new place and away from family is not the easiest thing to do, but they have totally made it work!  I think they really love living there and are soaking up every minute of this great opportunity they have been given.  We miss them so much, but seeing them so happy and comfortable in their new world gives me peace!  I think California suits them quite well - Robbie already looks like a surfer!  And plus, it is the most fantastic place to go visit - way better then Minnesota (Not sure I would want to go there - JK!)  I will for sure be back - Ariana and I already have the itinerary planned...

Thank you so much Ariana for having me visit and for taking me all over the place!  I could have not asked for a better trip or tour guide.  I loved every minute of hanging out with you!

You are the best sister EVER and I can't wait for my next trip!

Give the boys kisses, Uncle Bob a high five and we will see you at Christmas!

Love ya!

Turkey Trot 10K

On Thanksgiving morning I ran in my second Turkey Trot, but this year I ran the 10K and FINISHED!  I was very proud of myself and managed to complete the race in 58 minutes!

Last year after running my first 5K ever I set the goal to train for a 10K hoping I could make that happen exactly a year later.

Well I did.

I love my new hobby of running and loved the challenge of setting a goal and training for it.  I was a little worried I was going to have to bail on the race...

Between getting a head cold with achy bones and my IT Band giving me fits the race was looking slim - My IT Band is down right painful.  That's what bad shoes will do for you, but with great advice from Allie I was able to drug myself up enough so I could finish the race! 

It could have not been a better morning to run a race and the course was great - a bit challenging to say the least, but great.  The weather was even better, my knee did great and I finished.  Just in time to go stuff my face with Thanksgiving food and beer!

I know I look pissed in this picture - but I was really happy and excited...a little thirsty though!

If I can get my IT Band under control I am going to try to train for a half marathon in June - and then I will have achieved all my running goals.

But for now I am very happy with my 10K accomplishment - GO ME!

CSU Reunion!

 Last weekend, my roommate and long lost friend from college, Christy, came to Colorado to visit.  Originally, CSU had planned an alumni party for the Applied of Human Sciences on Saturday night, so Christy used it as an excuse to make a trip back here from California.  Well they ended up canceling the party only a week before it was scheduled - WTF!  Even though the party was canceled we decided to have our own "little" CSU reunion with the girls from Interior Design.  It was so great to see everyone and catch up after what - 8 years - crazy! 

 

 On Friday, Christy and I drove up to Fort Collins aka Fort Fun (haha!) and met Jeanette and her kids for lunch and then a trip to the park.  We got to hang out with Jeanette's boys, Zach who is 5 and Brandon who is 1.  Before going to the park we walked around Old Town a bit and reminisced about the bars we would go to and walked by our old condo - nothing has really changed.  I do remember our Senior year when we got that HUGE snow storm which shut down the whole state, and I remember Christy and I snowshoeing in Old Town visiting all the bars that were actually open - good times! I haven't snowshoed since...

 Here's my little rug rats!  Ashtyn LOVED Christy - loved her!  Before Christy arrived into town I told Ashtyn she was going to have so much fun with her.  When I tucked Ashtyn into bed Thursday night after playing with Christy all evening she said to me

 "I love Christy mom - you told me I would!" - how precious!

Christy played with her the entire weekend which just made her day.  Christy taught her how to play "Starbucks" - she set up a drive through window with Ashtyn's blocks and then would order drinks from Ashtyn!  Christy is the reason I have an addiction to Starbucks.  In college we would go ALL the time, and I just fell in love with Starbucks and could not live without it - I am still in love with Starbucks and apparently so is Ashtyn!  She is always asking Matt and I if we want to play Starbucks! 

 On Saturday Christy and I had a girls day - long overdue!  We woke up, grabbed our Starbucks and then headed to the mall for some shopping - what could be better!  Afterwards we met Hillary, another fellow interior design grad - for pedicures!  Later that night we all went to dinner at Baker's Street and had some drinks!  We joked about how old we feel, because we were all so tired at like 9 o'clock and ready for bed!  In college we would just be heading out to the Rio! 

 It was SO great to see everyone again and find out what we are all up to these days!  I especially loved getting to relax and spend so much time with Christy having "girl" time - (thanks to Matt for watching the kids all weekend).  College was so fun because of her and you forget how much you miss someone when you have lost touched - We all know I am horrible about keeping in touch with people!  Hopefully, I will be better at staying in touch with her and I really hope to go visit - who wouldn't want to go to Sacramento!  Thank you Christy for coming to visit - I do wish we lived next door to each other! 

I will come visit soon - love ya!

NASHVILLE

For my 30th birthday (which I celebrated last week - ugh!) we took a quick weekend trip to Nashville with our best friends Kole and Shannon!  I have always wanted to go to Nashville and visit the famous Honky Tonks and live my dream of being a "country" girl, and I could think of nothing better to take my mind off of turning 30 then partying it up in Nashville.  Nashville was GREAT!  Except for the crappy weather - which is always the case in my world - so we made the best of it and had as much fun as our 30 year old bodies could take...

 So Friday there was basically a tornado that went through Nashville - totally broke Shannon's umbrella!

 With the weather the way it was we decided to jump on the local trolley and tour the city.  Lucky for us, this was the first day for this particular tour and since nobody else was out and about we had a VIP tour of Nashville - Ottis our driver/tour guide took us "all around the city", I mean all around the city, even parts I am pretty sure the trolley was not supposed to go!

 Here's the tornado...

 Riding on the trolley was truly the best way to see Nashville - it would have been great to actually get off and enjoy the stops, but it still was worth it!  We went to numerous parks, museums, drove by Vanderbilt University and down Music Row - very interesting!

 Here's where we spent the majority of our time - the Honky Tonks!  It was so cool to walk down the street and hear live music coming out of every door way - such a great vibe, for us country folk!  Some very good memories in those little bars...

 After the trolley tour we grabbed some BBQ - yum - and then headed to Tooties where Kole knew one of the musicians playing - we were like his groupies!  He went and had some drinks, listened to the awesome country music and got our feet wet honky tonkin'

 Kole bought his CD - Josh Mauer!  Maybe he will make it big one day and we will say we saw him back in the bars! 

 After Tooties, we returned to the hotel room to relax, dry off and change for our night out.  Of course we did some serious drinking and got ourselves all prettied up to hit the town!  Kole had his drinking "cap" on, and somehow he ended up with my necklace on...

 Friday night will definitely be a night I will never forget!  Probably the most fun I have had in a long time, even Matt agreed.  We drank, danced, listened to wonderful Country music, danced and drank!  It was so FUN and the pictures say it all...

 We honky tonked all night (actually I think we were in bed before midnight), so Saturday was a VERY low key day.  We slept in - which was a blessing in itself - and then was able to finally walk around the city a little bit, although it was still freezing.  I wish we would have tried out this Pedal Bar - you always figure out everything after you visit - but when I return its on my list...

enjoyed some ice cream...

and shopping.  Matt bought cowboy boots - so SEXY!

 We rounded out the afternoon hanging out at "The Stage" which I highly recommend.  The bands were awesome along with the atmosphere and of course the drinks - just a great laid-back bar!  Another thing we learned after the fact - is it's better to get a table at the bars around 5:00 when the bands are changing and plan on hanging out there all night because by 9:00 you could not get into the place...

 We visited Wildhorse Saloon before we left Sunday - another great bar we will have to go back for.  I actually ate Fried Pickles here!  They were great - I always cringed at the idea of a fried pickle - but I guess anything fried, dipped in ranch dressing is good!

 I LOVED visiting Nashville - everything about it!  Even Matt said "Nashville is my kind of town!" 
We will definitely be back.  There is something different about the South - It was so nice to spend a couple days in such a laid back city with the nicest people ever - I couldn't believe how nice everyone was!  Nashville is like my "Vegas"!  I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate my 30th birthday or with better friends - so thankful Shannon and Kole made the trip - it would have never been that much fun without them (love you guys)! I would say I am a country girl at heart after this weekend. 

 It was perfect.  Now I wish I could just go back...