ER on a Tuesday

When your week includes a trip to the ER on a Tuesday night....Friday just seems a little sweeter.

Having dinner with two BF's from college is very rare. It was Erin's birthday and she was visiting her brother's family for the week. Bubba set up a surprise dinner for Erin and our 11 kids. Yes that's correct.... between Erin, Alison, Bubba and I we have ELEVEN kids total. The picture below looks calm solely because Jack is being restrained.

After dinner the kids needed to burn some energy. Jack took it upon himself to start a game of chase. Needless to say it didn't end well for his brother. Nate tripped while running full speed and landed head first into a cement bench.

Since his face went pale and he looked like he would throw up, I made the decision to take him to the ER. Doug was working late, so luckily I had the best friends in the world with me. Alison got the ice, while Erin's husband, Trey, drove my car to the ER, and I iced Nate's head in the back seat. Erin followed behind in the car with her brother.

Doug met us at the hospital, just as we got there, so timing couldn't have been better.

It's times like this in life when you are so thankful to have best friends nearby. The outcome: No factured skull, no concussion....and rest needed for mommy over the weekend!

The Grizwolds on Vacation!

It's Wednesday...the day we've been waiting for all week.

It's the first day of our camping adventure/vacation.

It's 9AM, we're only two hours behind schedule and the car is packed....to the brim.

I was feeling pretty good about my packing job; thinking I must take after my Dad. He always managed to pack the car in a very organized fashion. It's the engineer in him.

This is what the car looked like when I was thinking, "Oh this isn't so bad!" "We've got this, no problem."

And this is what I found upstairs.

So I started thinking..."Do we really need clothes?"

Then I came back to reality....sort of....and decided to strap the bag to the roof rack.
We've never used our roof rack, but no time like the present. It's either the roof rack experiment, or no clothes.

If the Grizwolds can do it, so can we.

If you happen to be driving down 101 between noon and 4 today and you see a large black duffle in the middle of the road, please return to sender.

Puttin on the Ritz

My friend Jenny and I met in Kindergarten, and have been friends ever since. Ironically we now live less than a mile apart in Menlo Park. Jenny's little boy Tommy turned one yesterday, and she invited us to their secret hangout to celebrate.

As far a secret hangouts go, it's top notch.

About 10 years ago a Ritz Carlton was built in Half Moon Bay. The only time we've been was for an Easter brunch when it was first built. We still talk about the $50 hamburgers we ate. Little did we know there were other cheaper ammentities we could enjoy.

There is a public beach attached to the Ritz. Jenny and Tom showed us how to get there, and it was truly a slice of heaven. We spent the entire afternoon enjoying perfect weather, catching up, building sand castles, and chasing Jack off the rocks.

After a long week away for work, it was just what the Dr. ordered. When you see these pictures, you'll understand what I mean.

We ended the day with terrific Mexican food, cooking smore's in the Ritz's firepit, and listening to Bagpipes play while enjoying the breathtaking views of the ocean. It was a $2000 vacation for under $20 bucks.

I felt like we stepped into an episode of "$40 a day". It's a show on the Food Network, where Rachel Ray asks the locals how to enjoy paradise without breaking the bank. In our case, our "locals" were Jenny and Tom.

Tommy might not remember his first birthday, but we will for sure!

View of the Ritz, and the path to the firepits.

This actually makes me want to take up Golf.

Jenny and her birthday boy.

Doug enjoying the view

$.99 cent balloon that kept Jack entertained for hours and his favorite rocks behind him.

Path down to paradise!

Move over Thanksgiving

I used to rank my holidays.

Top 3
1. Thanksgiving
2. 4th of July
3. Halloween

Frankly though it was always a tie between #1 and #2, but this year I've decided it's time for change. Move over mashed potatoes and turkey....the hotdogs are now on top!

Since Summer is my favorite season, it only makes sense to put 4th of July on top. Thanksgiving is just one day, but 4th of July is an entire weekend of summer time fun. The beach, barbeques, fireworks, parades, family, friends, swimming. Really???? How can Thankgiving even compare. It's so obvious to me. I feel the need to apologize.

4th of July please accept my apology. I've kept you at #2 for too long! And to Thanksgiving, I'm sorry I've lead you along for all these years.

When I was a kid, my sister and I would decorate our bikes and ride in a parade around my grandparents neighborhood. Afterward we head to their pool to bbq and swim. At night we would head home just in time to light our own fireworks, (the days when they were still legal).
Which by the way on a side note, I think I'm happy they may be illegal now that I have kids. It's amazing how perspectives can change when you learn more about burn units.

We celebrated this year by picking my parents up at the airport on Saturday morning, decorating the kid's bikes for the Menlo Park parade, and then heading to the beach for dinner.
When we moved to Menlo Park I heard there was a community parade, with a party at the park afterward. I knew we picked the perfect city. Watching Nate and Jack ride in the parade with just as much excitement as Julie and I did, is a perfect way to celebrate the holiday.
The tradition took 30 years off, but it's back in the swing now. It was a perfect summer weekend, and it's not even over yet. We have one more day of pure summer happiness.