When most people think of Las Vegas, they quickly picture the Strip, gambling and all night partying. I get it. But there is so much more to Las Vegas than that!
As the weather begins to cool down, we love to be outdoors hiking, enjoying outdoor movie shows at The District, or checking out one of the fall festivals and art shows. One fun thing we like to do as a family is go to Gilcrease Orchard in the fall. Yup, you read that right. There is an orchard in the desert. They have 60 acres of agricultural land and they grow all kinds of vegetables there. Of course, in the fall most people go to pick apples and pumpkins. We love getting out there and being able to pick our own veggies too. We’ve picked kale, zucchini, beets, and eggplant. The kids love it and it’s lots of fun talking about what kinds of dishes we can make with what we pick.
Once we pick our vegetables and pumpkins, we make our way to their apple cider donut stand. It can be a long line, but it’s totally worth it! They’re are made fresh right there and are delicious. They have a large area with picnic tables where you can sit and enjoy your donuts or other snacks. Don’t forget to grab their famous apple cider to-go. It’s made fresh on-site and is kept frozen to protect it’s freshness.
I recommend getting there early, since it can get crowded. Plus, it’s still Vegas and the afternoons can still get pretty warm.
If you are looking for family-friendly events in the Vegas area, or in your own local area, I recommend checking out Eventbrite. They also offer tools to create events as well – check it out here!
Well, I knew September was going to be a busy month, at least the first part of it, and boy has it kicked my butt! I have tons to share, from recent trip highlights to tips & ideas for you! I can’t wait to get back to it. I thought I’d start with the Disneyland Half Marathon recap today.
I gotta say, I went into this half marathon with mixed emotions. When I first signed up months ago, I was super excited about it, especially since it would allow me to get the Coast to Coast Medal in November after Disney World’s Wine & Dine Half Marathon. However, my training had been pretty sporadic. Although I did get most of my long runs in, I missed a lot of my weekday runs as the race got closer. Plus, I never felt strong during most of my long runs and they were all pretty slow.
I joined a facebook group for Disneyland Half Marathon participants and the folks on there were super helpful and encouraging. If I ever had a question, it was answered quickly. The group was awesome and I highly recommend joining a facebook group for your next race, especially if it’s a big one like the Disney races are. They helped me a lot with what to expect for the expo and packet pickup. I tend to get a bit anxious of the unknown and all their tips and info were super helpful. Thanks, peeps!
Friday morning, Jason and I took the 4 hr drive to Anaheim from Vegas. The kiddos didn’t come along, so the drive was quick without any stops. I’d read people were in very long lines for packet pickup but, maybe because we arrived on the last day of the expo I had no line. I walked right up to get my bib and then up to the expo floor to get my bag and shirt with no wait either.
My shirt said, “Race you to the Castle” it’s from Raw Threads . I bought it at the expo and loved how soft it is! Running skirt & shoes are Brooks .
We had to wake up crazy early, 3:30am to be exact, so we were in bed before 9pm! Getting to the parking structure that morning and to the festival area was all very easy and streamlined. After a quick photo and a potty break, it was time to say good bye to Jason and get to my corral. I wanted to be in the corral early and I’m so glad I did. I was in corral C and I was right in the front and wasn’t shoved or crowded. The announcers did their thing, yea, it was kinda cheezy, but I really liked the fireworks to start the race! At 5:30am, the first group took off and, before I knew it they opened up our corral and we walked up to the starting line for us to go. The wait time between corrals seemed to go quickly. I heard there were some issues with some of the corrals further back, but Corral C had no issues and we took off around 5:50 or even a little earlier.
During the race I never felt like we bottlenecked and it never really got so crowded that I couldn’t keep my pace. Again, I think there was some bottlenecking towards the corrals further back, but I was good the entire time. I stopped to take a photo of the ferris wheel as I entered California Adventure because it just looked so pretty and also at the entrance to Disneyland. That’s right when I saw Jason, between California Adventure and Disneyland. We hadn’t really planned on him cheering me on at any point during the race, so that was a nice surprise. It was really cool running through the theme parks. I really loved seeing CarsLand and can’t wait to take the kiddos there now! Of course, running through the castle was awesome! We also ran through a bit of the back lot or behind the scenes of the park and there were always cast members, custodians, and other Disney employees lined up cheering us on.
Once we left Disneyland property, I honestly didn’t think there would be much to see or that it would exciting. Well, I was so wrong! In my opinion, some of the best parts of the race were through the city of Anaheim. There were high school bands, cheerleaders, and dance groups about every couple of miles it seemed. There were tons of water stations with friendly volunteers too! My favorites were the almost 500 cars that lined up both sides of the streets as we ran up to Angel’s Stadium. There were all kinds of car clubs from antique cars to muscle cars and everything in between. There were VW Bugs, low riders, Mustangs, Camaros, just every kind of car. The car owners were also there cheering us on! It was so entertaining! I loved how it distracted me from the miles I was running and kept me motivated. The car show finally ended as we came up to Angel’s Stadium. I was feeling so great from seeing all the cars and the energy from the crowd, that when I saw the 2:30 pacer just a little bit ahead of me, I pushed a little harder and ran right past them! At this point we were entering the stadium and I could hear all the cheering as we ran through the tunnel to enter the field. I came out to see half the stadium filled with tons of kids and their parents. I think every girl scout and boy scout troop from Orange County were there! It was so awesome giving all the kiddos high fives as I ran past them. Their energy was contagious and it kept me going all the way to about mile 11! As always, that last mile was tough, but just knowing that I was going to sub 2:30 kept me going at a steady pace. I finished in 2:27:04 and felt great.
I got my medal and called Jason right away to come meet me. He was waiting for me at the family reunion area, so we saw each other right away! We didn’t stay too long because I was hungry and ready to freshen up and stretch. It was getting hot and I was super sweaty and gross after running 13.1! I had some of the snacks that came in our goodie box in the car and we grabbed a coffee at Starbucks. Went over to our friend’s place to shower and freshen up before brunch. You better believe I celebrated with a mimosa and some bloody mary’s! I also had the most delicious corned beef eggs benedict ever!!! Soon after brunch it was time to go back home to the kiddos 🙂 Big thanks to our friends, Linda & Sean, for letting us crash at their house for the night & for being so hospitable! XO
I couldn’t believe how well the race went! It was really so much better than I had anticipated it would be. I had prepped myself to expect massive crowds, delays, bottlenecking, and a boring course through Anaheim. This was all far from the truth! Yes, there were close to 18,000 runners but I never felt overcrowded and I absolutely loved the course! I really enjoyed the crowd support and I’m still in awe of how many residents of Anaheim were out there supporting us runners along the way! I really appreciated it so much and I know it was the reason I was able to push along and feel so good throughout the entire race. Now, I’m really excited about my next Disney race, the WDW Wine and Dine in November!!
Have you ever ran a runDisney race? Which one? Did you love it or hate it? Let me know in the comments below, especially if you’ve ran the Wine & Dine Half 😉
Monday morning was super chaotic in my house. It was the first day of school and we seriously need to work on our morning routine. There were lost glasses, pouty faces, rushing to make lunches, rushing to make breakfast. Then me begging my child to eat said breakfast. There were brand new shorts that didn’t fit. And of course, we had to fit in the obligatory back-to-school picture before walking out the door. That in it of itself was kind of a disaster too.
This was the best I could get. Not too bad, huh? You can clearly see who isn’t excited to start school again…
By the time I dropped them off and watched them get on the bus, I was a little exhausted. I walked into my quiet house and took a deep breath in and out. I joked on Instagram that I would be having a mimosa on the first day of school, but sadly it didn’t happen. My fantasy life looks way better than the real thing. With no mimosa in hand, I walked around my house and took it all in. The dirty dishes in the sink, the crumbs under the table, the dusty lamp shade (heck the dusty everything!), the piles of laundry that needed to be washed. I walked into my office and realized I never got around to making it my oasis of creativity. It still looks like a storage closet with a computer in the corner. Soon panic ensued. I had no idea where to begin. I was overwhelmed by it all. How did it get so bad? When did this happen? How can I fix it? So, I did what anyone else would do, I procrastinated and got on facebook. Bad idea. I soon saw photos of adorable kids with adorable chalkboard signs of the grades they were going to start and what they wanted to be when they grew up. I saw photos of pretty back-to-school healthy breakfasts. Photos of kids in classrooms, which meant parents drove their kids to school and walked in with them. How sweet! I barely walked mine to the bus stop. Yup, facebook was a bad idea, so I quickly stopped procrastinating and decided to get some work done. But soon my mind began to wander and again I got overwhelmed with the thoughts in my head of all the things I needed to do and all the things I wanted to do. I have goals, people. But, without a clear plan those goals won’t be met.
I’d been looking forward to uninterrupted work days for so long! But, now that the time has come, I am completely unprepared. So, I decided to start with a list. Of course, I would start with a list or two or three. First, I wrote down all the big things I want to accomplish by the end of the year. Then I wrote down all the things I needed to do and finish this week for work. I intend on creating a weekly list of goals and deadlines every Sunday night, so that I can be ready to tackle the week. I am now currently in the process of working out a daily schedule/routine so that I am not just spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. I don’t have all the answers and I’m definitely not an organizational queen, but I will be working hard to find some balance and get things in order. I am looking forward to being productive and I’m determined to get things done (insert fist pump here!)
Who’s with me? Anyone else have some big plans to get organized and productive now that the kids are in school? I’d love to hear your ideas! What’s worked for you and what hasn’t. I’ll be sharing tips here too periodically. I’ll let ya know what’s worked and what hasn’t and hope it helps you too! XO
Here we are. Just a few more days and this house will be a lot quieter. Diego is off to 5th grade. FIFTH GRADE!! This is his last year in elementary school. My little man is becoming a man right before my very eyes and I’m not ready for that. My little girl will be in school all day now too in 1st grade. And, as much as I wished she was in full day kindergarten all of last year, I am going to miss having her here in the mornings. I’m going to miss our car rides to the gym singing along to Ellie Goulding or having our own dance parties jammin’ to Tiesto and Calvin Harris. What can I say, she has good taste in music 😉
This time of the year, I can’t help but reflect on how they are doing and how I am doing as a parent. I struggle with the usual and not so usual parenting woes. Am I doing enough? Will they need therapy because of me? Are they being challenged enough? Will they follow their dreams? Am I a nagging mother? Do they know how much I love them? Why can’t they just listen? Is it that hard to clean your room? Why do my kids fight? Does it ever get easier?
I wish I had the answers to these questions. I wish I could be carefree and easy going. I want my kiddos to follow their path, but is it wrong to secretly hope it’s close to the path I want for them? Being a parent is tough business. Yes, it can also be rewarding and fun, but it’s still really hard.
I’ve always been a realist. I enjoy being a mom, but I also enjoy having my own life. I know it’s healthy for them to interact with other kids their age and I know I need my space too, especially since I mostly work from home. Having them around all day is challenging and I am no good at the home-work life balancing act. So while I won’t be a hypocrite and say I wish they didn’t have to go to school, a part of me is kinda sad to see them go. A part of me wishes I was that parent that could home school and work from home and have a clean house….But, the realist knows that won’t work. The realist in me knows I am looking forward to a new and uninterrupted work schedule (more on that next week!). I am looking forward to this new chapter in our family life. WIth our changing routine, I am looking forward to getting myself better organized so that I can be a better parent to them. Here’s to a new school year and all that comes with it! The good and the not-so-good!
Tell me, how are you feeling about your little ones going back to school? Were you happy? Sad? A little bit of both? How will you be tackling the new school year?
As some of you may know already or if you read My Story, I’m a wedding and portrait photographer. I make my living documenting milestone events and moments in the lives of others. It is my dream job. Being able to capture these special moments for people is amazing. As a photographer, I strive to not just tell people where to stand and how to pose, but to capture how they are as a person, as a couple, as a family. I think these photos, with the real smiles, real expressions, and real moments are the ones that tell the story. These photos will tell future generations who we really were. What we were about. What and who we loved. How we lived and what mattered to us most.
So, why am I telling you all of this? Because for the past few years I have gotten away from documenting my own family’s life. Business is going great. I am capturing some great moments for my clients, but when it comes to my own family, I am slacking. I realized I never take out my “fancy” camera unless it’s for work. I got lazy. That’s the bottom line. It’s just so easy to take a snap shot with my iphone, I mean, I carry it with me everywhere I go anyhow. I was also finding that with my pro camera in hand, I missed out on a lot of the fun and I worried about keeping my camera protected too, especially if we were outdoors like at the beach or something. So, a year or so ago we purchased a nice high end digital rangefinder camera that is small and convenient, so we’ve been using that for our trips and leaving our pro cameras at home. And although I love the convenience and ease of the smaller camera, I feel like something is missing. There is something about my professional DSLR camera that I can’t capture in the smaller camera.
The other problem I have with documenting life is that photos rarely live outside of a screen. With sharing on Instagram, facebook, this blog, or my photography blog, I’m not getting photos printed. I remember being a kid and getting so excited when we’d develop a roll of film and eagerly flipping through the photos, careful not to get any fingerprints on them. Or as I got older, making scrapbooks and putting the pictures in albums or small “brag books”. Remember those? I want that for my kids. I want them to be able to sit down and open a book and look through the images and remember all the fun we had on a certain vacation, hiking our favorite trails, or just on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
After giving this much thought, I’ve come up with a plan. Because, come on, you know me, there is always a plan! First of all, I’ve got to be realistic. I know that I won’t carry my pro camera everywhere. It’s just not who I am. So, there will still be lots of documenting with my iphone on instagram. However, I’m excited to check out Chat Books. They are small 6×6 60 page books where every photo you shear to Instagram creats a page in your book series. The best part is that you can easily remove photos and add captions to create perfect book each time. Because come on, I post a lot of photos of food and running that probably don’t need to be printed each time. The best part is that each book is only $6 and they also offer subscription plans. I can’t wait to try them out and let you know how they are!
My days of scrapbooking are over. Who has time for that?!? But, I do love the photo books from My Publisher. I made one for our 2013 summer vacation and the kiddos love looking through it! I know I said I had a plan, but I’m honestly not sure how I want to go about these books, yet. Ideally, I would love to make books for each season of the year or at least from each of our family vacations. Any ideas? Please share them in the comments!
Lastly, like I said, I know I won’t take my pro camera with me everywhere we go. But, I will make it a point to take it on longer vacations and periodically on hikes and stuff. I want to document, not just the special occasions, but pieces of everyday life too. Because it’s the everyday adventures and shenanigans that make up our life. It’s the forts made out of sheets in Elysee’s room, the cool kendama tricks Diego does daily, the family game nights, the bbq’s with friends. It’s these moments that make up our life. It’s these moments that are worth documenting.
Bonus: In an effort to keep up with documenting our lives, I ask that you join me too! I know I am not the only one struggling to take out the camera, be it the point and shoot, camera phone, or DSLR. I challenge you to document your life for the month of August. Let’s see how much we can photograph and document in one month. I’ll be sharing my favorite moments here on my blog and if you are also a blogger, I’d love to have you share your favorite photos on your blog. Maybe this could even become a monthly or weekly blog swap! Who’s in? We may be surprised to see that the ordinary moments are the ones that make life extraordinary.
We’ve officially got about one more month of summer left and so far we’ve had our fair share of, “I’m bored!” and too much TV and video games. We’ve also had our lazy days of summer where it’s just too hot to go out or days when life’s boring tasks of cleaning, running errands, and doing laundry take over. But, we’ve still managed to have some fun times. This is why it’s so important for our family to have this Summer Bucket List done early in the summer so we can not only have fun activities and events to look forward to, but to also make the time to make it happen. We don’t want to get so caught up in our daily routine and life’s demands that we forget to have fun!
Our summer has also included days at the pool at my parent’s place and our friend’s place, a fun day boating on Lake Mead, a weekend camping in Utah, jumping at SkyZone, making ice cream, evening bike rides, and watching some family movies!
We still have a few more things to mark off our Summer Bucket List but so far we’re having a great summer making memories and going on adventures! How’s your summer going?
Our first camping trip as a family was a great success! Jason and I had been on few camping trips in Florida before we had the kiddos, but it’d been 12 years since then. Plus, camping with kids is way different. The kids had been asking to go camping since last summer, so we decided to make it part of our summer bucket list this year. Our trip was 2 nights and I think this was just enough for us. It was long enough to make the effort worthwhile, but not too long to get boring or overwhelming. We went out to Navajo Lake, UT, which is about a 3 hr drive from Las Vegas. This was a good distance for us. Far enough that it felt like a getaway and the scenery was completely different, but close enough that we didn’t have to drive for too long.
Of course, I don’t by any means think we’re camping experts or suggest we had a flawless trip, but I think we did pretty good and I’d love to share some of the ups and downs (but mostly the ups!) of our trip and share 5 tips that helped make our first camping trip fun!
1. Make a list! There are tons of websites you can find online or on pinterest with extensive checklists on what to pack for your camping trip. REI had a great one we used, here. These lists are pretty long and detailed, so you may or may not need all of these items for your trip, but it’s a good idea to print one out and use as a starting point. Camping requires lots of stuff. I still can’t get over the amount of things you have to take!
2. Prepare! Go on some day trips and/or family hikes if you aren’t used to the great outdoors. Our family loves to go on hikes & picnics together, so overnight camping was the natural next step for us. If you’re new to the outdoors, start off slow with a picnic at a park and walks through natural settings and work your way up to longer hikes.
3. Go with friends! Even before Jason and I had kids, we always went camping with a group of friends. The more the merrier. Going with another family was perfect for us. The kids had friends to play with, so they weren’t always looking for us to entertain them. Don’t get me wrong, we did get some, “I’m bored!” What can we do now?” but I know it would have been tons more had it just been the 4 of us.
4. Plan some activities! Yes, I’m a planner and the idea of just going on a trip without any set plans is not within my comfort zone. This trip was pretty spontaneous for us and we didn’t have huge plans for when we got there, but the few things we did have planned were just enough. It doesn’t have to be anything huge and you definitely do not need to plan every minute, but having a few activities for the kids was super helpful. Jason took some supplies for a little battery-electicity science experiment for the kids, we had them do a scavenger hunt, and the highlight of the day was going fishing! We have an awesome book titled Camp Out!: The Ultimate Kids’ Guide and it’s packed with stuff for kids to do on camping trips. (Tip: this book is also great for day trips and hikes)
5. Get the kids involved! Camping is a lot of work. There’s the setting up camp, putting up your tents, making a fire, cooking, cleaning, etc. Just unloading and loading up the cars is a lot of work. Kids love helping out and feeling useful, so get them involved in “camp life”. We gave our kids small tasks they could handle depending on their age and with some supervision and direction, they were all able to help out.
No trip with kiddos is guaranteed to be stress-free and some trips will be better than others. We had our share of issues from thunderstorms, leaking tents, and a few kid meltdowns! But, nothing we couldn’t handle with a little flexibility and a good attitude!
I’ll admit before this trip, I was pretty nervous about taking the kids camping. But, with a little preparation, I think we’ll be ready to go again soon. There’s something special about being outdoors without all the comforts of modern daily living that helps ground you. I think it’s important to let kids “rough it” for a few days, get dirty, and disconnect for a bit. I’m looking forward to our next camping trip, for sure. Any expert campers out there have any additional tips for our next trip? I’d love to hear them!
Back in September I entered a facebook contest to win a free race on Pace Per Mile‘s page. All you had to do was leave a comment on which race you’d like to win and one random person would be chosen. The only stipulation was that it had to be a race in 2014 or 2015 that was not sold out or was not a lottery. On a whim, because whoever really wins these things right, I wrote I’d love to win an entry for Walt Disney World’s Wine & Dine Half Marathon in November 2015. Jason and I had been talking about taking the kids to WDW in Florida in either 2015 or 2016, so Florida was on the brain.
Later that week, I got a message from Pace Per Mile, saying I’d won! WooHoo!! Once the initial excitement wore off, it was time to start planning our trip to Florida. This free race did not come with plane tickets for a family of 4 to fly cross country! Nor did it come with hotel stay, car rental, or park admission. We did have over a year to plan for it and well, now we are getting close – it’s just 4 months away!
We’re all super excited to be going to Florida. Not only will I be running the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, we also signed up the kids to run the 1 mile kid’s race earlier that day. Plus, Jason purchased a ticket to join me for the Finish Line Party! We’re really looking forward to some yummy food from Epcot’s Food & Wine festival and some of the attractions will also be open for the after party. I just hope I have the energy for it all. I’m pretty sure I’ll have the appetite for the food & wine, though 😉
Before I run the Wine & Dine Half in Walt Disney World, I’ll be running the Disneyland Half Marathon in September! While reading about RunDisney, I came across an article that talked about all the fun challenges they offered during their race weekends. The Coast to Coast challenge quickly caught my attention. Basically, you get the Coast to Coast medal when you run 2 Disney half marathons, one in Disneyland and one in Walt Disney World, in one calendar year. I knew that it was now or never, so I quickly figured out a way to get an entry for the Disneyland Half thanks to a friend!
Now guess what? In May, I ended up winning another half marathon registration via Enjoying the Course‘s blog giveaway. So now I’ll be running the Laughlin/Bullhead Half Marathon here in Nevada this December. Talk about a winning streak!
So, like the title of this post says, “Let the running begin!” I’ll be starting my half marathon training this week using one of the trusty Hal Higdon Training Programs. I’ve only used the Novice I and II programs, but I’m tempted to try out the Intermediate Training Program this time around. I ‘ll be running 3 half marathons in 4 months, with a Tough Mudder in between in October, so I’ll really be focusing on running! Who knows, maybe all this running will make me want to finally sign up for a marathon, maybe….
What races do you have planned for the fall? Have you ever ran a Disney race? I’d love some tips if you have them!
Since the summer of 2010 we’ve been putting together a family summer bucket list. We’ve had a blast putting these lists together each year and coming up with fun activities to keep the kiddos entertained and happy during our hot Vegas summers. A few things have become summer traditions such as going to Southern California in August, picnics up at Mount Charleston, and movie nights. But, it’s always fun to add a few new things to our lists each year. In 2012 we started to get creative with displaying our list because it’s important to see it and plan around it. Otherwise, we tend to get busy with our regular routine and forget about all the fun plans we had for summer.
We usually put our summer bucket list together around Memorial Day, but this year has been wonky with Jason’s broken ankle and year round school for both kids! So, we waited until our kids went on their summer track brake to really focus on the fun summer activities for this year. They’ll be on summer track break for 3 weeks. Then they’ll be back to finish off the school year for about a month, before having another 2 week break before the new school year begins again. It can get confusing, but that’s where a little preparation and being intentional about making the best of summer comes in handy! We’re determined to make the most of our time together as a family, be it summer or any other time of the year. This year, I purchased this cute chalk banner at Target for displaying our list. I got the kids to each write a few of our activities and then we hung it right over the kitchen window. We’ll definitely be seeing it constantly!
Emeric Family Summer Bucket List 2015
End of Summer SoCal Beach Trip
Family Bike Ride (I plan to just run alongside them, since I don’t know how to ride a bike. They think they’re going to teach me to ride. We’ll see what happens!)
Mystery Adventure
Bonfire
Art Day
Sky Zone
Picnic at Mount Charleston
Make Ice Cream
Camping
Family Movie Night
Swimming
Feel free to check out our 2012, 2013, and 2014 lists for more ideas for your own summer bucket list! It’s not too late to get started on having a super fun summer! What kinds of fun activities, trips, or projects do you have planned for your family this summer?
The past 6months have been quite a roller coaster for our family. Jason broke his ankle in January during the Spartan Sprint in Temecula and has had 2 surgeries since then. He is now going to start physical therapy to help get his range of motion back and basically get back to normal. He’s been so strong and resilient this entire time. Sure, he’s not happy about his situation and it totally sucks but he is dealing with it amazingly well and taking it one day at a time. Of course, this injury put our family travels and trips pretty much on hold this first half of the year, so being able to getaway earlier this month for 5 days was truly much needed.
I found my street!
As wedding photographers, we sometimes get to travel to photograph a wedding and when this happens it always turns into a little mini vacation for us afterwards 🙂 This year, we photographed a wedding in San Francisco and planned a trip to Napa and Sonoma Counties afterwards. We flew into San Francisco Friday evening. The next day, after a quick workout in the tiny hotel gym, we spent our morning and afternoon walking around Fisherman’s Wharf before meeting up with our couple for their rehearsal. Sunday was the wedding and it was beautiful. You can check it out HERE.
Check out the Golden Gate Bridge in the background! Plus, Jason totally rocks that boot, huh?
Monday morning we rented a car and made our way to Napa Valley. We started our getaway with a picnic lunch at Alpha Omega winery and it totally set the tone for our relaxing trip. We then got to visit one of our favorite wine’s winery, Sequoia Grove. That was just awesome. Of course, the wine tastings did not disappoint. Just wish we could have stayed there longer! lol
The next day, we spent touring Sonoma Valley, which we had never been too. We hit up a few wineries and ended the day at Sonoma’s Tuesday Night Farmers Market. One of my favorite wineries that day was Deerfield Ranch Winery. The tasting room is right inside their wine cave. They had comfy chairs to sit and really gave you a nice experience. Our flight was booked for Wednesday night out of San Francisco, so we were able to squeeze in 2 more wineries before it was time to head back. We visited my favorite winery of the trip on this last day and we became wine members! Benzinger Family Winery was just lovely and the wines were delish! I wish we would have had time to take their tour of the biodynamic vineyard and farm. I guess we’ll just have to plan a trip back there soon 😉
All in all, it was a great trip! Like I said, it was a much needed time away from the routine and a nice escape from reality for a bit. Jason and I were able to reconnect and it totally revived my love of traveling and I cannot wait to go on more adventures with my family again soon!
Till next time, San Francisco!
Tell me, do you love wine as much as I do? What’s your favorite wine? I always love to try new ones! xo
It's a Messy Life 