Father's Day Weekend

Surprise!

This past May my parents came to visit for my brother's graduation, remember? Well, my mom was fortunate enough to stay a week longer then my dad and when we dropped him off at the airport I was kinda bummed to see him go. I knew that I wouldn't get to see him again until August and even then it would only be for a week and I would have just had Everett, etc. On the way to the airport I got an idea of surprising my dad for Father's Day since he was going down to Sacramento, CA to visit his parents and siblings. It really was a brilliant idea because I have been missing my family down there, will have been missing my dad, and it was just a great opportunity. After we dropped Dad off at the airport I whispered my secret plan to Brett and he thought it was a great idea too.

I emailed my Auntie Marti right away to see if she would mind *hosting* me while I was there. I decided to come on Thursday and then leave Sunday or Monday. My grandpa has had some health concerns lately and I know that's a big reason that my dad was going to visit. I didn't want to step on anyones toes while I was there by infringing upon their time to visit so I asked Marti if her and I could maybe hang out for Thursday and Friday so that I could have some quality Auntie time and my dad could have some time with his parents and sister.

Marti agreed this was a good plan and then emailed me an idea she had for Auntie/Niece time....she says, "how about we go down to Napa, stay at The Meritage Resort and Spa, get some spa treatments, relax, etc." I nearly blacked out at the excitement of this idea. I mean, are you kidding me?!?!!?!? I emailed back and said, "um, yeah that sounds pretty AMAZING!!!!". :)

I arrived in Sacramento on Thursday afternoon where my sweet Auntie picked me up. I was a little nervous flying down there by myself, normally I have a 2.5 year old accessory with me after all. Also, I haven't gotten to spend any one on one time with my aunt before really. I have a lot of extended family down there so whenever I am there, it's usually brief visits with lots of different people. I hoped that Marti would have as much fun as I did and wouldn't get tired of me or we wouldn't run out of things to talk about. That turned out to be a non-issue. I totally believe that Marti and I are kindred spirits and we have such similar interests and enjoy doing the exact same things. It was SO wonderful.

Once we got into Napa we headed to the Greystone Culinary Institute. Everything I ate was SO good and it felt like I was in a Food Network show. We had appetizers, salads, and delicious entrees. I also ordered a "mocktail" made with pears that was SO good.

Cheers!

The Culinary Institute....such a beautiful building in an incredible setting!

After lunch we headed back to the resort for spa treatments. The spa part of the resort is located in a cave underneath the vineyard fields.

The spa treatments were MAGICAL. I got a prenatal massage and a facial. I felt like a new woman. It was so luxurious and I felt so spoiled and pampered. It was just what this pregnant mama needed. After the spa treatments Marti and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery in the spa and chatted for nearly two hours.

We had dinner in downtown Napa and then headed back to the resort. We shared a room and it was so relaxing and I slept great, and normally I can't sleep without Brett very well. Poor Brett didn't sleep well the entire time I was gone and I slept great in fact, poor guy. I think I was just SO relaxed and that just rarely happens for me. :)

The next day we headed into Napa and to Calistoga springs to check out some of the old mud bath spas and explored the area. One of Brett and my favorite things to do is drive around and explore new areas and as it turns out, Marti likes doing that too.

We went to San Francisco for lunch and a little shopping and I was in heaven. The weather, the scenery.....it was just too incredible. We hit the Vacaville Outlet mall on the way home where I picked up a couple things for Ems, didn't find anything for Everett.

The next day my Aunt Debbie picked me up from Marti's and she asked if I wanted to grab lunch before heading to her house. I said yes and she asked where and I thought.....IN'N'OUT!!!!!! Us Oregonians love In'N'Out and can't get it as you know. We had lunch there and then headed to her house where my dad would be meeting us. Debbie had some things to finish up around her house so I got to just relax on the couch and catch up on all the gossip magazines. She loves magazines as much as I do and she had all the latest Peoples, US Weekly, etc. It was great.

At around 3:30 my grandparents arrived at my aunts house with my dad. He came inside and I was just sitting on the couch. He started chatting with Debbie and glanced over at me, not really taking a second look. All of the sudden his jaw dropped and he looked from Debbie to me, to Debbie, to me, etc. He was SO surprised, it was SO worth it and maybe even a once in a lifetime opportunity. We had dinner and enjoyed the CA sunshine until it went away for the night.

I stayed the night at my aunts and then we went over to my grandparents house in the morning and delivered Starbucks. I brought my dad a Trenta Iced Brewed Coffee and he was a happy camper. We hung out there for a little while and then grabbed lunch before heading back to Marti & John's for dinner. I was SO happy to treat my dad to Father's Day lunch at In'N'Out.

We had the most incredible dinner to celebrate Father's Day. My Uncle John is an awesome cook. He made ribs, corn on the cob, and a hearty salad. My tummy was so happy and so was my heart. I adore my CA family and wish I lived closer to enjoy them more often.

Auntie Marti, Grandma, Aunt Debbie, and 30 weeks prego me :)

I had SUCH a fun visit, I almost felt guilty for enjoying myself that much while away from Brett and Emersyn. I'm anxious to get down there again, maybe soon after Everett's born. We'll see!

Thank you thank you to all my CA family for making this girl feel SO special and welcome. I am truly truly so lucky and will never forget the special memories that we made!!! XOXO