Fairyland

It is so fun to do things with Andrew that I remember doing when I was a kid!  While my parents were here, my mom, Oma and I took Andrew to Fairyland.  Oma still has the magic key from when I was a little girl and gave it to Andrew to use on the boxes.  Andrew wasn't very interested in what the boxes were saying but he liked using his special key.  The second Oma pulled the key out, it instantly brought memories back.  It is still on the very same key chain that we used as a kid.  Andrew is the perfect age for Fairyland right now.  He could go on all of the rides and had fun exploring the park.  It was a perfect day!

 My little piggy

Using his key in the box

There were butterflies everywhere and I'm pretty proud of this picture I got!

Coming out of the Alice in Wonderland maze.

Pretending to be a pirate on the ship.

Gma and Andrew being silly!

Birthday Boy!

Andrew is such a lucky little boy!

4 Years Old

Dear Andrew,

I told you to stop growing up and another year has quickly gone by.  This last year has been a whirlwind of excitement.   We moved into a new house, you started skiing this winter, you flew to Texas without mommy and you are potty trained.

As quickly as you are changing, some things are still the same.  You are still the most easy going little boy and I get told frequently by strangers how good you are.  You are a great sleeper, although you have realized that you can get out of your bed and have been known to get into some "trouble" after mommy puts you to sleep.  The best is when I heard water going upstairs and went up to find you washing your sheets in the bathroom sink.  I think mommy may need to turn down her OCD when you are around!  You still love to snuggle and ask me to hold you like a baby.  At least once a day, you want uppies and to rock with me.

You have quite the imagination and I have to stay on top of whether you are a dog, caterpillar, robot or some other creature each day.  You have a "pet" spidey that comes with us frequently which is really just your hand that you crawl up people's arm.  You also have an imaginary friend named Izzy (she is a pirate on Jake and the Neverland Pirates).  The good thing is you know I can't see her so you tell me if she is coming with us each day or staying home.

You are becoming very artistic and your artwork is quickly filling up the house.  You love to make things at Gina's and show me when you get home.  You are very proud of your creations and love to show them off.   You love to do all kinds of art: play-doh, coloring, painting and drawing with chalk on the sidewalk.

Daddy and I are so lucky to have you as our little monkey boy.  You bring a smile to my face every day and are so sweet.  Each morning, a new adventure starts and I am so excited to see what the day has in store for us.

I would ask you again to stop growing but I know that is impossible.  So instead, I will ask you to enjoy every moment and continue to explore the world.  You are my favorite little man and mommy loves you.

Happy 4th Birthday!
Love, Mommy

Inside the Mind of a 4 Year Old

Each year, I am going to ask Andrew the following questions.  This was pretty funny when he gave me his answers.  I can't wait to see how the answers change over the years.

How old are you? I'm four!  (said with enthusiasm)

What is your favorite toy? Trains

What is your favorite animal? A doggy (then he proceeded to start barking)

What is your favorite thing to eat? Quesadilla

What is your favorite TV show? Octonauts (on Disney channel)

What is your favorite movie? Bolt (in all fairness, we just finished watching this movie)

What is your favorite game? Hungry Hungry Hippos

What is your favorite color? Black

What is your favorite song? The Ants Go Marching

Who is your best friend? Grevin

What is your favorite thing to do with mommy? To help me

What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? Play with me

Where is your favorite place to go? To Grevin’s house

What is your favorite book? The Very Hungry Caterpillar

What do you want to be when you grow up? A truck driver and pilot

 

Mickey Mouse Pirate Party!

Andrew had a very creative imagination this year and asked for a Mickey Mouse Pirate Party! Most kids ask for a Mickey party or a pirate party but my child had to combine the two and I couldn't let him down. He was so excited the day of the party, waiting for all of his friends to come over. We are so blessed with the best friends and Andrew had a fantastic time. Thank you to everyone who made Andrew's birthday extra special and participated in our Mickey Pirate fun!

 Pirate Food

Cannon Balls (olives), Salty Bones (pretzels), Catch of the Day (goldfish), Pirate's Gold (cheese squares) and Dead Man's Finger's (mini hot dogs)

All of the kids went home with their own Mickey Mouse Pirate bandana.

A bounce house doesn't fit in our backyard so we had a balloon lady.  She was a hit!

Sword fights.

FYI: Balloons and grass don't mix.  The balloon will pop instantly!

Mickey Mouse Pirate Ship cake

Pirate Andrew

Playing pin the parrot on the pirate

This is what a kid who is high on sugar looks like:

Make-A-Wish 2012

I know I say this every year but I am so honored and privleged to be a part of this amazing event.  Make-A-Wish is an amazing organization that grants wishes to children between the ages of 2-18 that have life threatening diseases.  The North Bay chapter grants 100% of the wishes that they receive!  Where do they get the money to grant these wishes?  By hosting events, such as the Croquet Invitational and auctioning off amazing packages.  They ask you to bid high, adn bid often!  (You may remember that Brian won an auction lot the first year we went.)  The event is a success every year and this year didn't disappoint.  The weather was absolutly perfect, there were 640 attendees plus volunteer and staff and everyone was generous in their giving.  This group constantly thanks me for my invovlement but it is really them that needs to be thanked.  Thank you to Make-A-Wish for giving children and their families hope and happiness.  It is a joy every year to work with you and I can only hope that our small contribution makes a big difference in the life of a child.


This event transforms the winery into party central!

Brian and I all dressed in white.  (The official croquet color)

We take wine pouring very seriously.  The "little" red bottles are a normal size bottle of wine (750ml).  The other bottles are 3L and 5L bottles.  They big ones make the regular bottles look microscopic!

Brian likes to get in the action and help pour wine.

LeeAnne, me, Irene and Loretta.  All pure in white!

This was the best cocktail ever! Korbel Champagne, Finlandia grapfruit vodka, grapfruit juice and sage simple syrup.  I could have drank 10 of these.  Wait....I may actually have.  :)

Me and Vernon Davis!  I'm getting my fair share of meeting famous people this month.  I told Brian that since Vernon and I are BFF now, I get first dibbs on drafting him for my football team.

Vernon signing a bottle for the tasting room.

Brian practicing his skills at croquet.

Mick (our winemaker) and Brian hanging out.

Each of these pictures represents a child's wish that will be granted because of the money raised during the event.  Charlie, age 12, wishes to see Planes, Tranes and Automobiles.  Olivia, age 3, wishes to go to Disneyland.  Charis, age 11, wishes to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Analiese, age 4, wishes to go to Walt Dinsey World.  And all of these children wish to not be sick anymore.

Tour of California - Santa Rosa Soiree

My job is pretty cool but there are times when it is REALLY cool and last weekend was one of those times. Each year, there is a bike race in California called the Tour of California (someone was paid a lot of money to come up with that ultra-creative name!). This year, the start of the race was in Santa Rosa and they were looking for a place to host the opening Gala dinner on Friday night. At the dinner, all of the riders and teams would be announced. One thing led to another and Sonoma-Cutrer was picked as the location. It took months of planning and begging to Mother Nature that it didn't rain and in the end, it all paid off. The event was fantastic, the food was delicious and the riders were so cute! The highlight of the evening was meating Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. They are the announcers for the Tour de France and they are absolutley hilarious. After the event ended and all of the riders went home, Paul and Phil stayed to hang out with us for an after party. It was a great evening and a fun event!

I was able to get Scott out as a volunteer for the event.  During the day he helped with set-up but once the riders showed up, he was their "handler" bringing them up to the stage and back again.  Here we are goofing off during set-up.

Our wine is ready to party!

Who knew how excited I would be over little cow bells for the race!  They were so cute!

The ladies from the winery.

Phil and I

Brian and Scott were actually giggling when they got to meet Phil.

All of us with Paul and Phil.

The warehouse is great for storing barrels and bike riders!

Levi Leipheimer signing bottles for the winery.

This is the part of the evening that got a little crazy!  It wouldn't be a fun after party if we weren't being silly!

Team Sonoma-Cutrer