Our Summer in SLO, Part 10 {Date Night and Port San Luis}

Part of the reason I was so excited to be out here in July was that we would be able to celebrate our anniversary in the same state {and hopefully the same location} where we were married.  We didn't quite make it up to Paso Robles on our anniversary {or anytime since}, but we did get to celebrate our anniversary with a date night out at a nice restaurant with a gorgeous view.

➹ This is what they brought us instead of free desert to celebrate our anniversary.  File that under HUH? ➹

I downed over a half a bottle of wine that night {which is saying a lot since I rarely drink at all}, so the next morning I was not feeling my usual chipper self {eh hem} and so the only answer for that problem was a trip to our favorite DK Donuts.  Man, we are going to miss that place when we leave here.

➹ Their donut holes are the best everrrrrrr. ➹

➹ Clearly she was needing the morning cup o' jo too! ➹

We had been going full speed ahead since we got here and I decided we were just going to take the morning/afternoon off.  It was so nice to relax and stay put for a day.  I had gotten some princess sticker books and Tinker Bell pages for Olivia to color...did I mention she's obsessed with Tinker Bell these days?  And, so while Sydney napped, we colored page after page after page of fairies.  And, I secretly loved it.

Since we are staying so close to the Dunes, we wanted to go by and check those out before we left, so we decided that we would do that after being in the house all day.  After driving over there, we decided to scrap that plan and drive to Port San Luis to walk out on the pier.  I always remember it being so cold and windy there and while it wasn't as bad as I remembered, it definitely was chilly and windy {as evidenced by these pictures}.

➹ We ended up eating at the restaurant out there, Old Porte Inn, and getting a great table with another gorgeous view.  It was fun walking around and seeing the sea lions on the dock. ➹

When we left, it was almost 8, so we decided to head back to the dunes to catch the sunset.  It was freezing, so I'm glad we were only there for about 3 minutes, but it was beautiful and the girls loved watching the sun disappear!

♥ I think it's pretty great when you can have just as much fun on a date with your husband as you can on a date with your husband and your two beautiful girls.  ♥

Our Summer in SLO, Part 9 {B to the F to the F}

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Olivia's best friend {for ever and ever and ever} is Kendall.  These sweet girls have been friends since our first days of Parent Participation classes and I'm pretty sure they will end up being college roommates if their parents have anything to do with it.  {See their first playdate from three years ago here.} They have the sweetest little friendship. When we are back at home, Olivia always asks if Kendall can come over and play or come over and have a sleepover, so we knew that while we were out here, we were going to have to make it happen {sort of again, since they had a sleepover last October while we were staying across the hall}.  So, last Monday, after a fun morning at the museum, Olivia got to spend the night up in SLO at Kendall's house!  She was so excited!  We got Kendall a princess nightgown to match because they just had to be twinsies.

➹ Bee exhibit at the museum! ➹

➹ Hashtag Sydney is not impressed. ➹

➹ Planning their route on the Oregon Trail. ➹

Kendall had soccer with Jacob right before we showed up, so Jacob got to see his two girls right before their sleepover.  I'd say he learned a hard lesson that night because the girls were 1) worked up that he was going to crash their party and 2) not wanting anything to do with him.  Poor guy.

➹ The best picture I could get of the five kiddos.  Hashtag Sydney is not impressed. ➹

While Olivia was off at Kendall's, we took Sydney to dinner with our friend, Ken.  Holy smokes, it sure is a lot easier to eat dinner with just one kid to watch over.  We even had time for a little selfie action.

➹ You guessed it, hashtag Sydney is not impressed. ➹

Sarah kept us posted on the events of the evening with texts and picture messages and we even got to squeeze in a little Face Time with the girls.  I don't think Olivia missed us one bit.  Insert sad face here.

Sarah had fun listening in on the monitor and sent me a text with a transcript of one of their conversations... 

Kendall - I can't wait to grow up.

Olivia - I don't want to grow up.

Kendall - Why?

Olivia - Because then we can't eat lollipops.

Kendall - We can have beer though.  But, I like lollipops.

Olivia - Me too.

Kendall - The raspberry ones are my favorite.

Olivia - Me too.  I love you Kendall.

 We can have beer though! These two are going to be trouble in college.  Love them to pieces!

Also, have to post these pictures from the next morning -- I took cake pops to everyone {and coffee to Sarah} and the girls were all dressed alike!  

Our Summer in SLO, Part 8 {Just a Regular Ol' Weekend}

The loose schedule we've sort of had since we've been out here has looked a little something like this:  Wake up and have breakfast, head into SLO for a play date/adventure with friends, have lunch there or back at home, put Sydney down for a nap, head back out for fun with David, eat dinner out or back at home, bath time, bed for kids and then clean up from the crazy day.  It's been a lot of fun and the girls are loving it {and so am I}, but it is also exhausting to constantly be on the go.  Last weekend, I knew I was going to need some down time, but I also wanted to be able to do some fun things with the kids and David.  Unfortunately, David needed a lot of down time on Saturday, so the kids and I took a little, relaxed trip up to to SLO by ourselves.

We had a little Chipotle lunch date, just the three of us, and I have to say I had the cutest little lunch dates Chipotle had ever seen.  We couldn't go all the way up to SLO without hitting up Target, so we picked up a couple little treats for the girls while we were there.  I've been dying to get Sydney a Cabbage Patch Kid and finally pulled the trigger this trip.  Olivia walked away with a miniature Tinkerbell figurine.  {Girl is obsessed with Tinkerbell these days.}  I couldn't resist doing her hair like her doll's hair -- can't believe she actually let me and then kept them in for the rest of the day.  

➹ This smile she is doing these days.  Ha ha. ➹

➹ Internet, meet Rileigh Jaiden ➹

Olivia had been bugging me since we first got here to make a Trader Joe's pizza from scratch, so we finally did Saturday evening.  I am clearly doing something wrong because every time I try to make it, it is super dense and just sits like a brick in your stomach.  I think I'll stick to ordering pizza delivery.

Sunday morning we decided to head up to Pismo Beach for a little bit.  Going to the beach always seems like a great idea until we are actually there and sand is getting everywhere and sand fleas are swarming around the kelp on the ground.  Not so glamorous after that picturesque description, is it?  But, we really did enjoy ourselves for the hour or so we were out there.  

We were all pretty worn out after the beach trip so we came back home and relaxed for awhile.  Sydney slept until well past 5, so by that time we were ready to get back out of the house.  We wanted to stick around fairly close to home so we headed over to the Nipomo park for a little playtime.  

It was really nice to have a laid-back weekend while still enjoying lots of what this area has to offer.  

Our Summer in SLO, Part 7 {A Day in Avila}

Apparently we didn't get our fill of animals at the fair because the next morning we headed up to one of our favorite spots, Avila Valley Barn.  We met up with our new friend Erin {who helped me while we were babysitting Avi and Mila} and the sweet little boy she nannies for a quick bite of lunch and a round of feeding goats, donkeys and bunnies.

I attempted to take some pictures of my girls before lunch and then after lunch and, well, they just aren't always the most cooperative.

➹ Erin told the girls to give me a kiss and Sydney jumped up to go give her one! But I still love this shot. ➹

➹ So excited when the goats ate her lettuce! ➹

Even though we rode ponies the night before, I couldn't resist the urge to let them take another pony ride at the barn.  Luckily, we were able to upgrade to a real horse this time!

➹ Can you tell we got some taffy before the ride? ➹

➹ Thank goodness that wobbly helmet is providing so much protection. ➹

➹ I do love this one...these girls. ➹

After Sydney's nap, we headed back up to Avila for the Friday night Farmer's Market.  David loves dancing with the girls and we were lucky to run into Olivia's friend, Macy.  {And a cow giving out coupons for free froyo!}

I'm getting a little sad that our time here is winding down.  We only have one full week left {and a couple of days into another week...}.  It's been so great being out and about every day and catching up with great friends.  Here's to getting caught up on these posts before we head back home!