WOW. I just realized how FREAKIN MANY pictures I took in July! There was just so much going on and so many people to see and so many great memories. After my BFF left on a Saturday, DH and had plans for dinner in Old Sac. It's QUITE a ways from here but it's usually a lot of fun and it got us outta the house ;-)

We aimed to be there around 7 so we decided to have his mom come to the house to watch Lil Miss (can't call her Terrible Two anymore since she's 3 ;-) so we could leave at about 4ish - thinking that would mean we ACTUALLY left around 5. Well the weirdest thing happened ... we were READY and OUT of the house by 4! Who'da thunk it?

So we got there a bit early, bout 6, but we figure the more time we have OUT of the house the better! So we just walked around Old Sac, went into the shops, took a bit to sit by the river on the doc and just enjoy our time alone. And of course took pics ;-)

We got to the restaurant a little early so we took a seat in the bar and ordered a cocktail. Their Mangotini's are the FREAKIN BEST! They're made with that Mango Puree drink stuff and OOOOH boy were they good :-D

We had a GREAT time sitting there and talking and laughing, just like we always do. The food was pretty great too! We left a little late and didn't end up getting home until almost 12! But we had fun together so it was worth it :-D

The following Monday I met my BFF and her sister at the beach for a little beach fun before she left for New Mexico. The girls had fun ... diggin a hole

And eating sandy cucumber (note to self: NOT the wisest snack for a beach trip)

Then it was time to torture our children by dragging them kicking and screaming into the frigid water against their will for a photo op ;-) LOL j/k girl

The kids had a great time even though it was a TAD windy and overcast.

LOLOL OH MAN this pic cracks me up. Where ever we go, my BFF and I and her sis are ALWAYS snap-snapin away trying to get the best pics we can. So I did my best to really capture the moment when she tried to get her kids together for a pretty beach photo ... I think I did pretty good ;-)

She then did the same for me. And what you DON'T see here are the eleventy hundred pictures before this one that had Lil Miss CRYING and actin a fool, and featuring BOOBZILLA (aka ME leaning forward and unaware of my tanktop issues). THIS was the BEST ONE...SIGH

For some reason the beach makes my children and I mildly narcoleptic...
Hehehe Lil Miss doesn't like to be used as a pillow...
But doesn't mind using ME for one...

Like I said, it wasn't the BEST weather, but we all had fun.
Me and Tween
Me and The Boy
Me and Princess
Me and Lil Miss

The next weekend we had all the kids which doesn't happen very often anymore so we decided to do something fun on our last Saturday all together. Not to far from here is a cute little old mining town with a population of like FOUR on a little river. It has a lot of 'old time' stuff including the cutest little ice cream parlor! The people there were so cool too. As a special treat we took the kids for ice cream FIRST! The ladies behind the counter let them get sprinkles at no charge, and the next customers through the door didn't have enough cash on them (this place is old school and didn't take cards) so they just let them get whatever they wanted and pay what they could ... WHERE do you hear of THAT these days?!?! So much fun...

After dessert we went down to the river to BBQ for dinner. While the ice cream settled and the coals heated up we played in the water.

DH taught Tween and Boy how to skip rocks and Princess and Lil Miss took the opportunity to SOAKING wet and locate, catalog, and showcase EVERY ROCK on the shore.

It was awesome though. We just relaxed and played and had so much fun all together.

LITERALLY soaked from head to toe...

I don't know what it is about BBQing and eating outdoors but it just makes food taste better! Even something simple like hot dogs and green beans tastes awesome :-D Maybe it was pure exhaustion from keeping 4 kids from drownding in the river ... that could be it too ;-)

Since we had all the kids that weekend, the following weekend it was just us and the baby. DH had to finish up some work in the bay area so we decided to go with him. He worked, we went and played at a near by park, and then we headed into the city! - OH and Lil Miss REALLY likes choclate ;-)

Since we really had no plans or any idea what the HELL we were doing, we finally took that exit off the bay bridge that says "Treasure Island". It's one of those things you always see and say 'One time I wanna see where that road goes...' but then you never go. Well, we went to Treasure Island ... and all I got was the crumby photo ;-) It was ok, the was just this road that kinda wound around and dead ended at a naval base ;-) So we got out and took a pic of the lovely view of the city and went on our way.

The first thing we did (after selling our soul for a parking space) was walk down Fisherman's Wharf. They had never seen the Rainforest Cafe so we popped in there for a snack. I love this place. If you're never seen it, it's really worth finding one. They have anamatronic jungle animals throughout the place and close to our table was a bunch of HUGE gorillas that would put on quite the show every few minutes. Lil Miss LOVED IT, I thought it would scare her but she kept asking for more! At one point she decided they were just cranky and said "Mommy, monkey needs a HUG" - LOL




This has to be the cutest picture of the 3 of us *I* have ever taken. All 3 looking at the camera, all 3 smiling, all 3 looking good! I am STILL stunned.

After a great time playing in the city we went to our fav place for dinner, the Rogue Brewery. We always stop here whenever we're in town. We had a beer, awesome dinner and hung out for awhile...

She had a great time too ;-)

Last but not least, July 31st was the anniversary of our first date :-D Yeah, we celebrate little stuff like that, keeps us reminded of what it was that brought us together in the first place and helps us to maintain our couplehood in the midst of the chaos that is our big ol family ;-)

Well, this year we didn't have the opportunity to get out of the house to celebrate since he worked late and we didn't really have a sitter. So he brought home dinner and we opened up a special bottle of wine we'd been saving. The baby went to bed so we were alone and decided to have dinner outside on the porch. We had just settled in and started talking when I noticed a cat just off the porch by our open door. DH got up to close the door and the cat got scared and ran off. A few seconds later I heard something that sounded like a tiny little mouse ...

I looked over the railing and that's when I saw Bessie :-D The cat had within an hour had given birth to this tiny little kitty! We left her there crying for a bit and went inside, hoping the cat would come back, but she didn't. And the Bessie cried and cried! So finally my uterus could take it no more and we brought her inside.

She was so tiny and needed food so we tried to feed her with the turkey injector ;-) We knew she couldn't drink cows milk so DH took off - at 9:00 at night - to find a place that had kitty formula. While he was gone I cuddled the baby to keep her warm, took ten hundred pictures, fielded calls from his mother (a known cat hoarder), decided she was a girl and since she looked like a little miniature cow her name was Bessie, and loved just fell in love with her :-D

He couldn't find any formula so we were starting to get worried! His mom ended up having a cat who had recently givin birth (imagine that!) and was nursing her liter so he took her over there hoping the mama cat would adopt her. Her kittens were older so I guess they don't nurse as often so she had plenty of time and attention for this little one. All accounts are that she is doing GREAT and thriving!

So we decided ... we will be keeping Bessie ... provided of course that she is not an asshole by the time we get her back. And since his mom is raising her, it could go either way. Cross your fingers for us, I kinda miss Bessie ;-)