Of Babies, Anniversaries, Weddings, and Big Cities...

...where Ben and I have realized that we have NO idea what to do.

We LOVE small towns, cozy little fun places to window shop, hit the favorite cafes, soak up local color, etc...  But when it comes to big cities, we are completely at a loss!  Maybe we like the small towns because you can just go to one and find plenty of things to do without much planning, but large cities require maps, working around traffic, knowing where you are and where you want to be...and what in the world you want to do.  Maybe it's because we are very laid back, old-fashioned, very old world kind of people.  We love the slow pace of small towns and hate the busyness that is so normal today.  We're weird...we know.

So, the last few weeks have been somewhat busy.  Life is starting to get back to normal...I think.  Okay, so maybe after the upcoming homeschool convention and a friend's wedding...maybe after that.  Or maybe this is the new normal.  But I don't think so.  

Our anniversary was in May...I still can't believe that we've been married for two wonderful years!  Since we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our niece and I had been traveling back East, we decided to wait until June to go anywhere.  Since we were already going down to LA for a very dear friend's wedding, we thought we'd save some money and celebrate our anniversary at the same time!

 This little cutie-pie wasn't coming on this trip, though.  Her top teeth were coming in, so what is better for that than a good coconut creme pop?!?  We dropped her off with Granddad and after she got over her initial confusion when we split up, I think she had a good time up at the ranch!

 Ben and I hit a fruit stand to get some goodies for the road...nothing like a bag of fresh cherries!

Once we made it down to LA, we grabbed some iced coffee while we waited to check in to our room...no pictures of that, however...we were tired!  Then we freshened up and went to a lovely wedding.

 The groom (on the right) was just so happy!  I mean, he's always happy and smiling, but we have never seen such joy and bliss before.  Our dear friend Hohn was about to marry his best friend, and we are soooo happy for him!  What an honor to be at his wedding!

The radiant bride, Heather, and her parents.

And they are living happily ever after.

The next day we went to the only winery left in the city of LA...the San Antonio Winery.  We read about this place in the Smithsonian magazine's food issue, so we had to go!

 It was such a treat!  A must-see place if you are every in LA!  

 The winery has been family owned and operated since it was founded in 1917. 

I had no idea that they stir wine...

Surrounded by goodness.

Two years and still so in love. 

And then Ben took me to a rather gross place for lunch....definitely a guy place for food!  The birthplace of the French Dip sandwich...which ISN'T French...

...but he made up for the manly lunch by treating me to a suite on the 11th floor of the historic Biltmore Hotel...where the Oscars were held many years ago. 

 It's always nice to know where the fire escape is...

11 stories up...

...means it's a long way down. 

AH!  The Tiffany Room!  Love the columns...and the ceiling...and the doors....okay, so I love it all!

Ben is totally in his element. 

More iced coffee!

Appetizers in the club lounge.  It wasn't quite time for dinner, so we grabbed some snacks to keep us from starving. 

Back down in the gorgeous, very Art Deco lobby, Ben is asking about the best restaurants in town. 

 More hotel beauty...and a good looking guy, too!

YUM!  Must go back....

Dinner was goooooooooooood.  I love pasta.

The next morning we had breakfast at another very popular local restaurant, just a few blocks from our hotel.  Oh, the pastries and breads reminded us of Spain!

The many chefs.  

We had our very first Macaron cookies.  We have got to learn how to make those!

Off to the Getty Museum!  The weather was perrrrrrrrrrrrrfect!

Ben fell in love with this piece.  

Enjoying the warm sunshine. 

A day bed from 17th Century France.  Very pink...

See any resemblance? 

And then we began the long drive home.  It was a very fun trip, and it was very relaxing.  No diaper worries, or nap worries, so snack worries...wow, it was very different!  But,  it was also kind of sad.  Every time we saw a bird or a dog, Ben and I would get so excited and turn to find Lilyana and show her...and she wasn't there. :(  So, we've decided that we'll keep her around for a while.  She's too fun, too cute and such a sweetie pie....and we love having her around!  

So, there you have it...our random, rather unorganized adventures of being in a big city.  Like I said, we didn't really know what to do, so we didn't do much.  We just walked a lot, and talked and spent time together, which was very nice...but next trip we'll stick to a small town.

 When we got home, we waited for Grandmum to bring this sweet little face to us.  She was tickled pink to see  us, which was nice, because we were tickled pink to see her, too! 

And because she wasn't on our trip, and therefore not in very many pictures, I'll post a few extra of just her. *grin*

Have we mentioned that she LOVES corn on the cob?

A teething ring and the wooden rings that actually go on the stick...but she was impressed with her stacking skills.

And I just heard Lilyana calling me, so I had better run!

Thanks for all of your well wishes and congratulations!  You are all very sweet!

Well, when I wrote the last post, I wasn't planning on being sick and spending the next three weeks on the couch! Hopefully things will be getting better soon, because if they don't, I may go crazy...crazier than I already am...and that would be pretty wild. Well, I hope you have some time on your hands, a good drink to sip on, and maybe some soft music playing the background, because this is going to be a long post. A quick overview of a week and the big California reception!

When Jessica and Melissa arrive, that means lots of coffee will be made! My little French Press saw lots of use the week they were here, and the girls said that the coffee tasted better when it was brewed that way. I happen to agree...when I'm in a coffee mood...which I haven't been in lately. I think Mel liked our couches, too. I like her, and those white mugs.

Okay, so you can't come to sunny California without stopping at the famous In-n-Out burger joint! Though I personally think that Culver's burgers are better (they use real lettuce....I mean, seriously, that's always better than iceberg!), our local In-n-Out is the best I've had out here. Yes, I was daring enough to compare In-n-Out with other (better) places on the blog....terrible of me, I know...but I'm a Texan. *smile* Thanks, Mama Sanford for treating us to lunch!

Next destination: The historic part of town...which happens to be full of really fun antique stores, boutique shops and bakeries! We spent several hours meandering through town, walking along the shady streets and just having a fantastic "girly" afternoon. Oh, Ben had to work, which is why he isn't in the pictures. Jess and I have always loved getting "in the mirror" shots at stores while wearing ridiculous things....

Oooooooh, that's a loverly hat, Mel! This store had some great finds and very reasonable prices! I've got to go back with he-who-holds-the-check-book.... :)

So Ben thought he needed to show off his fancy head gear since we tried on some crazy hats earlier that day. If you followed the OT Hector blog, you would know that Ben has this thing for head gear....

Oh, what fun! McDonald girls in my kitchen!!!!!!!!! Behind Jessica is my apron collection, and I always have plenty to spare. There is nothing like sharing good stories, catching up on recent news, and laughing like crazy while preparing food! Did I mention that we like food around here?

Lotsa people in the living room. The family came down from the hill to spend the day preparing for the big party up on the hill. So we all crashed at our place for the day...the quiet before the storm. And yes, even 18ish people is quiet compared to the hundreds that would be showing up for the party!

Hurray! After weeks of getting all of the appropriate pieces for our washer and dryer, Ben squeezed back behind the dryer to finish putting things together. Jess happened to think that this was awfully funny, so she snapped a picture. I was just tickled pink to know that I could do laundry in my own home!

Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day. Breakfast is not my favorite meal of the day, so I've tried to do new things instead of eating the same old same old every morning. With fresh fruit being readily available, fruit salad and chocolate chip banana bread sounded pretty good. Once I start feeling normal again, maybe I can get back to making new things for Ben instead of the other way around. I think that he would like that very much.

Pack 'em up, load 'em out! The Suburban is full of food, things, and very happy people. Our destination....the river. Just before this big visit, Ben and I went down the river with friends and family, so we thought we should take my family out to enjoy the fun...

Four and a half hours later, we were still friends and all managed to survive...somehow. It was a long afternoon, the sun was warm but the water was cool! Jess and Mel even jumped off of a tree into the river! Our food was waiting at the end of the river and by the time we got off, we really needed it! That was all I could think of towards the last leg of our journey! We won't say who hated the river trip the most...but maybe we should give her an award for complaining and still being lovable! *grin*

Ahhhh, that's better. All cleaned up, showered and back into normal clothes, here we are getting some dinner. My very wonderful, adorable husband treated us to a delicious meal after we spent hours on the river. The new Mexican restaurant in town was in need of our expert taste testing...so we were more than happy to eat there. And the best part was, I got to split enchiladas with Jessica again! It's been years since we've done that! I mean, the last time we did that was before we moved from Houston! And these were gooooood enchiladas.

Los Gallos...a good place to eat...

Well, well, well...you can't drive through town without stopping at Trader Joe's! We quickly grabbed the few things we needed, let Mama Sanford browse this really cool store (first time visitor), tasted the great samples of salad and Chickory coffee, and then we went on our merry way....

...after Mel got a picture in front of her sign, that is.

As we continued our drive up the hill, we were on the look-out for fresh local cherries. Unfortunately, cherry season was pretty much over, much to Jessica and Melissa's dismay. (I've had lots of fresh cherries this year...oh, am I bragging? *smile*) But, we did see some other local goodies at a farm stand on the side of the road. So, Ben pulled over and we grabbed some fresh snacks for the road, and we were off again!

Okay, maybe it's time to go back home! Nic thought that my dress was lovely, but that it would look better on him. So he gave it a try...I think his shoulders are a bit too broad, what do you think?

Food! Oh, how we love food! The evening weather was so lovely, so we ate on the back lawn and enjoyed the sunset and the view of the mountains. Thinking back to all that food is making me hungry...

Wow...this brings back lots of memories! After a quick swim in the pool, we got ready for the big party and had hair to fix. Just a few months ago, these same girls were getting their hair fixed up for the big day...lots of formal curls, long formal gowns, and a fairy-tale day began.

Now, I didn't seem him before the wedding, but I did see pictures of him. I don't think he looks half as nervous for this party as he did for the big one that started this! No need to pretty his hair, he has a cool hat!

Ummmmm, that's just a little odd. It would appear that my head is missing...

Lots and lots and lots of colorful cups! We decided to mismatch the tops and bottoms to add some more color to the....color. I can't remember how many of those we put together, but it didn't take that long. There were lots of willing hands to help get the job done, and we had a smashingly good time.

No party at the ranch is complete unless there are guns involved. After telling Jess that I had already done this, I coaxed her into trying a few guns and join everybody else on the shooting range. She was actually pretty good and tried a few different guns.

Yup....lots of food for lots of people. And those aren't all of the snacks or even dinner! The kitchen crew was fantastic, and everything was just scrumptious!

Now I already told you that Ben has this thing for hats... Before the party, Ben decided that life would be better with a Fez. There are a few reasons behind this (one big one, though, and yes, I bought a yarn mop to complete the outfit), but a dear friend who went overseas came back with some gifts for us...one of which, though she had no idea he really wanted one, was a Fez for Ben. When he got it, his ecstatic reaction reminded me of a character who spells his name T-I-double G-Er. He guards this hat carefully, so if you want to stay on his good side, be nice to the hat.

Oh yes, the slideshow of photos from days gone by... That was hard to watch. Actually, I don't think that I made it through the whole thing without crying. So many good memories have been captured by the camera, and sometimes it hurts to see them.

And what is always a usual occurrence at McDonald parties, became an event at this party. The California wedding reception came and passed by. The family flew out to party with us, and then they were gone. More great memories for us to look back on with smiles, laughter, and tears.

As Dr. Seuss once said, "Don't cry because it's over...smile because it happened."