Great San Fran Restaurant

On Sunday, we made a quick jaunt down to San Francisco on our way to drop our guests off at the airport.  We were hoping for a delicious seafood lunch, and that's what we found at Capurro's!  We all got the lunch special - a half crab salad sandwich with a cup of New England Clam Chowder and Fries - for only around $6.  The restaurant is right off the bay, located in the Fisherman's Wharf area, and it has great ambience.  The staff was super-friendly, the food was out quickly, hot & delicious, and they even had some great options on the kids' menu!

San Francisco is such a great city to visit, and it's always best when you have good weather and a great meal!

Free Wine Tasting for Military!

Napa Valley is one of the most talked-about places to visit in California, and if you have a military ID, Napa Valley is definitely the place to go!  This past weekend, my husband's cousin and her boyfriend visited, and we went wine tasting in Napa and along Route 29, North through Yountville and St. Helena.  We visited 3 wineries, and everyone (except me - the pregnant designated driver) tasted wine for nothing!  At $20 per tasting, this is a valuable tip for anyone wanting the famous Napa Valley Wine experience.

Whether you are stationed out here or just willing to visit the area, wine country is a destination you must experience!  The scenery is beautiful, the weather is beautiful, and where else can military members and their guests try world-renown wines for free?!

This was the second time we visited wineries out here, and both times everyone with us has been able to wine-taste for free.  It is a wonderful perk of being military!

When we told her...

On Wednesday we had our 20 week ultrasound, and we found out the sex of our new baby!  We are having another girl!  Both Andy and I are so excited, and we are hoping and praying that McKenna will be excited too, once she figures out what's really going on.  I wanted to do something cute to announce the sex of our baby, so I played around with some photography and Photoshop, and came up with this.  Just a little joke, since this baby is due 2 days before Christmas.

Check My Reality

Tonight I received a much needed reality check.  While browsing Facebook posts with my husband, we saw that someone he went to high school with lost his baby daughter this week.  His post read: "How can she just be gone???"  As we read down through friends and family offering their condolences, and posts by the little girl's mom and dad, the weight of the loss hit me full force, and I starting weeping.  The family also has a little boy, and he doesn't understand that his little sister will never come home.  It appeared that she got sick the beginning of this week, and by yesterday she was gone.  Of course I think if this happened to my family, my little 18 month old, or our new baby.  I can't imagine the terrible feeling of waking up to a real-life nightmare everyday after a loss like that.  The joy that my baby brings me suddenly being ripped from my life would be nearly unbearable.  With a little more searching, I found out that this little girl had actually been through 2! heart transplants since her birth, and had been fighting ever since to regain a normal healthy life.  She was doing well before she suddenly fell ill.  The whole story is such a tragedy.

While this news immediately saddened both my husband and I, it was a blessing to be reminded that a loss such as this can happen to any of us, and if we don't pay attention to what's important TODAY, we may never have a chance to do it TOMORROW.  I am so thankful for a God who knows what He's doing, and will take small children into His arms and love them in Heaven until we can get there too.  In the meantime, we need to live a little fuller and love a little harder.  We need to always remember what's truly important in our lives, and make sure that we take every opportunity to enjoy every smile, feel every pain, dance every dance, and sing every song.  My prayers are with this family who is going through extraordinary distress tonight, and I know that their daughter's fight in life and their loss will not be in vain.

Saturday Morning in Vacaville

Our new address: Vacaville, California is about 15 minutes from Travis Air Force Base.  Apparently it used to be a little "hick town" as told to me by our current landlord, but it has turned into an artsy little place with outdoor music and food, restaurants and galleries.  Our family of three spent our Saturday morning seeing what downtown Vacaville has to offer.  It was a lovely time.

Eating Breakfast at Pure Grain Bakery -> A cute little cafe' with delicious pastries!

We got breakfast sandwiches, croissants, and coffee.  Very good.

Playtime at Andrews Park in downtown Vacaville.  

Great big place with a creek walk and playgrounds for the kids!

Me, 20 weeks pregnant!

Sideways Sunny Door.