Celebrating our 10th and 11th

Anniversaries.  Last year, we didn't really celebrate our anniversary much, other than going out to dinner.  Our focus was on getting through the summer as a family, so we vowed that, as long as everyone was healthy, we would celebrate our big 10-year anniversary with a little trip (and celebrate our 11-year anniversary at the same time).

We were just babies.  Fresh out of college.  High School sweethearts.

{  Yes, this was before all photographers went digital. #weAREthatold  }

We wanted to go somewhere we had never been before, just to mix it up a bit (without leaving California or going too far).  So, we headed up to Northern California, with a stop in Napa for lunch, to a really pretty hotel...in the middle of....hardly anything.  Alas, we did lots of driving.  And made lots of jokes along the way. So by the time we arrived, we were ready for dinner...and there was, conveniently located RIGHT next door, a fantastic "saloon" with delicious menu options.

{  Only 20 feet from the door of our room!  }

The next day we did a little exploring and wine tasting in the surrounding areas...but only after our morning massage appointment.

The biggest winery we went to, Ceago, also grows and harvests their own lavender.  Though we were only a few weeks late before they harvested it, they were kind enough to send me home with a dried bouquet.

{  The grounds and building were lovely  }

{  More lavender, and it smelled wonderful  }

We did some more driving and made our way through some towns that had another winery or two, including one town smaller than our hometown.  We asked the tasting room attendant what she would recommend for lunch, and she offered three pizza places and a sandwich shop.  The sandwich shop won (and was truly delicious), but that doesn't keep us from laughing at that "podunk winery town."

We wound up later that evening driving into St. Helena (which we love, but was still an hour and a half from the hotel) for dinner.  We stumbled upon this "cute little restaurant," named Archetype, and decided to have dinner there.  When we walked inside, we were amazed by how big it was and it became an instant favorite.  Light, airy, the perfect decor (we could've moved right in), an open kitchen (which is always fun), and food that was simply to DIE for.  Smoked salmon stogies.  Strawberry smash for sipping.  Salmon with fried artichokes and fennel.  Bacon-crusted halibut.  I. have. no. more. words.

{  Archetype...amazing from top to bottom  }

When we drove back to our hotel after dinner, the restaurant was abuzz and it looked magical.

{  Future back yard ideas noted  }

We drove the next day to Fort Bragg and walked around a bit, did a bit of beer tasting (nothing to write home about), and explored the botanical gardens.  HANDS DOWN one of the most beautiful places, ever.  It certainly didn't hurt that they have a dahlia garden that was in full bloom and dahlias are my favorite.  I may have taken a hundred hundreds of pictures, but will spare you with just sharing a {hefty} handful of favorites.

{  AKA "Heaven on earth"  }

{  I don't remember the name of this flower, but the ruffled petals were deliciously breathtaking  }

{  "Prince of Peace" fuchsia  }

{  A full, beautiful bud  }

{  Ready to pop  }

{  Dahlias and succulents anyone?  }

{  Dahlias "as-big-as-my-face"  }

{  Sweet, little blooms  }

Needless to say, I was in heaven.  And hubby lovingly obliged while I snapped photos of each dahlia {no joke}...then took a panoramic on his phone for me.

We ate a delicious steak dinner in Fort Bragg that night, before driving down through Mendocino and then starting the two-hour drive back to the hotel (where we probably stopped for drinks and dessert).

Our last morning, after packing up and enjoying breakfast on the patio, we drove towards Sonoma to stop at any winery we decided sounded good along the way (but not too many because we had an IKEA trip to make before heading home).  It had been too long since we had been to the area and explored some wineries.  Out of the blue {it's really so hard to miss, don't you think?}, we saw one winery we had been to a couple of times before, and we knew they had a nice deli and picnic area so we could enjoy some lunch.  It had been ten years since we'd been there, and it only seemed to have changed a little.

{  Ledson Winery  }

Quaint, isn't it?  We went inside for our tasting, grabbed an $8 bottle of cold riesling in the deli, along with a mini baguette and a prosciutto and mozzarella roll, which they kindly sliced for us, then headed out onto the lawn in the beautiful 80-something-degree weather...plastic cups in hand.

{  Picnicking on our quilt!  }

{  A close-up of their glorious fountain  }

{  Some sweet ladies were kind enough to swap photo ops with us  }

It was fun to tell the kiddos we picnicked at a "castle."  We must've spent two hours eating our lunch. It was the perfect, relaxing way to finish up most of our trip.  A detour to IKEA and some traffic later, we were happily home to pick up our littles, who were pretty darn excited to see us, too.  We were so grateful to be able to celebrate our anniversaries the right way this year.

Now, is it too early to plan for next year?

Dancing Her Heart Out

Our little ballerina had her first "on stage" recital in June.  She was excited and adorable.  Last year, she couldn't make it to the "big show," so she had a little show at her dance school of her own, with the girls in her class.  She wasn't the least bit nervous this go-round and was really excited to wear a bit of "mommy's lip gloss and cheek stain."

She had behaved the entire show and performance, so she finally got to shake the crazies out with a bit more dancing.

Once the show was over, she enjoyed a Denny's root beer float.

She's looking so grown up, these days.  I'm so proud of her for not being nervous and just being herself.  I hope she is always set on being her own person, the person God created her to be.

Given her spunk, I don't think that'll be a problem.

The Biggest Big Red Heartiversary

As the end of the summer has arrived before we were ready, I'm finally starting to recap all of the fun we were able to have...which was a FAR CRY from the summer of last year.  We wanted to start it off with a bang.  A really big, fun, super-crazy, super-surprising BANG.  One that had been in the works for a year.  In whispers.

We wanted to surprise Camdyn with a GIANT, fun, Big Red Heartiversary celebration.  When we had it in the works, we had NO IDEA how many people would be able to come.  Like, NO IDEA.

Slowly, I had started to accumulate some party decor and ideas.

{  Party decor:  Custom cake topper by Dee Dee Motique  }

And as the RSVPs came in, our original plans shifted so we could make room for everyone who wanted to make Camdyn's special day even MORE special.  We changed location from our own back yard to her grandma and grandpa's house, and asked some of our friends/family to bring dishes to share, potluck-style.  

{  Making cookies on the stealth...we were up until QUITE the wee hours...every.single.night  }

A play date with ulterior motives had to happen the day before, too (thanks for the idea, Lisa!).

{  Sweet girls  }

And if planning the surprise party itself wasn't enough, we had to have a photo shoot to celebrate the occasion of her heartiversary, of course.  So I MAY have ordered 3-foot-wide red heart balloons...that were really tricky to fit in the car.  Because there were THREE OF THEM.  You know, one for each open-heart surgery, naturally (#whatwasithinking).

{  Hah, Camdyn looks thrilled  }  

And as ridiculous as they may have seemed, they turned out to be pretty darn perfect.

{  Photo by KimiG Photography  }

We probably snuck in a little family session, too.

{  Photo by KimiG Photography  }

When the big day rolled around, we could barely contain our excitement.  She awoke to a bedroom filled with red balloons, red hearts, and a fancy straw at breakfast (which she helped her daddy make) and then I kept her occupied for the afternoon while the boys went to set up the rest of the party "get some tools together" at grandma and grandpa's house (wink, wink).  We did some shopping, made a stop for fro-yo, and attended her last dance class of the year.

{  A new shirt (perfectly her), and pancakes and eggs for breakfast (heart pancakes for the kiddos)  }

{  Crazy, brave, tiny, silly girl  }

{  HAH!  Unsuspecting surprise party recipient...thought she was going out to dinner with the fam!  }

When we finally arrived at the party destination, she saw lots of cars.  Luckily, I had reminded her that it was graduation party and wedding season, so she quickly chalked it up to that (BAM.  #nailedit).  When her grandma opened the door, she looked through the tiny window between the entry and living room and saw everyone silently looking at her....wearing red.  The shy girl came out and told me sweetly to pick her up (several times).  Eventually, everyone said "Happy Big Red Heart Day!" (they didn't want to scare the poor girl).

{  Such a sweet moment  }

Then her daddy joined us and gladly picked her up peeled her off of me.

{  The look on her face says it all  }

{  Precious  }

It's safe to say she was totally surprised...in the best way (and maybe a little sweetly overwhelmed for the first ten minutes or so).  There were somewhere around 70 or more people that came (I stopped counting RSVPs after that).  And we still wished we could have invited more.

{  Party-goers in red  }

{  A fun view of everyone waiting in anticipation of the guest of honor  }

Once she finally felt comfortable enough, she visited...or rather, was lovingly embraced by lots of her sweet little friends.

It was the best thing to watch as her proud mommy.  And it was so much fun watching her take it all in, with a grateful attitude. Before we knew it, she was off playing and having a blast.

{  It's safe to say all the boys had a "blast"  }

{  "And though she be but little, she is fierce."  ~ Shakespeare  }

{  Party shenanigans...and guests  }

{  Chalk artists  }

{  More sweet moments and fun  }

{  So proud of my big girl  }

{  Red, red everywhere  }

{  Wagon rides  }

{  Water wars  }

{  The water guns were a hit with the boys  }

{  They did this for hours  }

{  These two are so goofy together  }

{  Hula hooping with a red heart cookie on a stick...from off her cake  }

We received the cake through an organization called Icing Smiles and the owner of BC Cakes drove nearly an hour to get it there.  Dedication and generosity.

{  Couldn't have been more perfect  }

It tasted as delicious as it looked for sure.  And was an added "surprise" for Camdyn after the party had begun!

Several of our new heart family friends were able to come (and we missed those who couldn't make it!), so we heart mamas required a picture together, of course.

{  Struggle and strength in these women.  It's such a blessing to know them  }

Camdyn and Eli have the same heart condition.  These shirts were made just for them by one of the heart mamas (Happy Heart Mail).  

{  They were instant buddies when they met...and are just too cute together!  }

The party was only more magical as the night went on.

{  Sleepy, but still going  }

{  Everything is more festive with buntings and string lights  }

And when the party gets late, the pants come off.  Apparently.

{  Still eating cookies and cake  }

{  Sleepy sweeties and a festive heart  }

The kiddos were practically asleep before they even hit the car.  So much fun, so many new memories...almost all of them and more captured by our heart dad friend, Jason (Wedehase Photographer).  We will treasure these images always.  Thank you so much.

Our hearts are full.

{  Guests left their finger/thumb prints...but can you tell which one is Camdyn's?  #outofthebox as usual  }

And our girl feels special and loved.

{  Cookie leftovers for breakfast, of course  }

And grateful...

{  This kid cracks me up and makes me feel warm and fuzzy  }

...even though a stinker ("mom and dad"...she normally calls us "mommy and daddy").  

I asked her later if she had tons of fun because it sure looked like it.  

Know what she said?  

"It was better than Disneyland," with a huge, sweet grin.  

Happy mama tears.  The happiest.