Trip to North Carolina

Without Emily the RAGE group is just RAG so in celebration of Emily's 50th B-Day - Amy and I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina on April 24th to meet up with our dear friend Emily. Before we spent time with Emily we had a couple of days to drive to Asheville, North Carolina. With our trusty GPS guiding us we arrived in the lovely city of Asheville. Amy and I checked in to our motel about 8pm and then headed downtown to find a place to eat. After a great meal and drinks we started walking outside and noticed commotion up the street. As we headed that way we became aware that Hillary Clinton was speaking and there was quite the buzz. We quickly got swooped up in the Hillary frenzy. We heard a bit of her speech and got caught up in all the Hillary madness. Whether you are a supporter or not this was history and fun to be in the mix. The next morning we headed to the Biltmore Estate. It was beautiful and more than we expected. We spent nearly the entire day doing a walking tour through the expansive house and the gardens. The tulips, azaleas and other flowers were in bloom and the colors were fabulous! After all our walking we drove to the Biltmore winery and sampled various wines and champagnes . The next day we meet my dear friend Peggy who drove up from Tennessee. We decided to explore a state park called Chimney Rock. It was quite an adventure. We hiked up through the eye of the needle and to the top of Chimney Rock - incredible views. In the middle of the walk we encountered a tremendous rain storm. We got absolutely soaked but was such fun and added to the adventure. We definitely were not prepared for what we experienced. We then traveled back to Charlotte through torrential downpours and lightening storms. It is very scary driving when you can't see anything in front of you. We arrived in the lush green city of Charlotte where Emily and Spence have made their new home. Their community is absolutely perfect for them. We had a blast riding the mini Nascars and then actually getting on the Nascar race track, and seeing Emily's new life. Love it!

Happy 21st B-Day

Katie turns 21!
After asking several times what she would like to do to celebrate the big 21st birthday Katie gave a great deal of thought to her request and told us she would like to fly down to Southern California to see Grandpa Bob. Katie has the most loving and tender heart and this request blew us away at how selfless it was. So Megan, Isabelle, Katie and I flew to Ontario on a beautiful morning and spent a grand day visiting with Grandpa Bob Having lunch at Tom's Farm and then flew home that evening. Love Southwest airlines!
As she enters into adulthood we are so proud of the hardworking young woman that she has become. She continues to pursue her degree in business and has a dream of some day working for Nike. We pray that God will guide her, light her path and that His will be done.

ALOHA MAUI

Larry and I departed Sacramento on February 18th for a 9 day relaxing vacation to Maui. The island was gorgeous. We explored just about every inch of the island in the HHR rental car. From the Napili beach to the South end of the island to traveling the road to Hana and the seven sacred pools we loved every minute of our trip. Maui has to have absolutely the most beautiful sunsets ever! We were in Maui at just the right season to experience the whale migration. We took a two hour boat trip with the Whale Research Foundation and saw amazing whale watching the entire time! It was very difficult to come back to reality but we know that we will definitely be going back soon.

Wine Tasting in Sonoma

We enjoyed meeting up with Mike and Linda on a sunny Saturday in February for wine tasting at the St. Francis winery in Sonoma where they are club members for wine tasting and food pairing. We each brought our gourmet picnic baskets filled with fruit, cheese and bread for a delicious picnic of good food, good wine and wonderful company in a picturesque setting of vineyards and beautiful wineries. You can't beat Northern California for quick weekend getaways. Larry and I especially loved the "old vine" Zinfandel and Chardonnay.

Wine Tasting in Sonoma

Northern California is so rich in the variety of things to do on any given weekend. On Saturday February 9th we headed to the Sonoma Valley to meet up with our cousins Linda and Mike to do some wine tasting at St. Francis winery that they are club members of. St. Francis winery is a lovely mission style winery with wonderful wines. We enjoyed sampling the many varieties and pairing with different foods. Larry and I really loved the "old vine" Zinfandel and Chardonnay We all had brought our gourmet picnic baskets filled with fresh fruits, various cheeses, breads and other nibbles and headed to another fabulous winery to have a picnic. Of course once setting up our picnic next to the beautiful vineyard setting we were asked to buy some of their wine which we did and really enjoyed as well. After all it is Sonoma - how could you go wrong with any wine.

Shamrock 1/2 Marathon

After months of preparation leading up to a 1/2 marathon the excitement begins to build. The event itself is like the big party you have been preparing for and there is a great sense of excitement and relief that the day has finally arrived to push your bodies abilities to the limit.
Megan, Janet and I looked forward to Sunday March 16th to a great venue that started at Raley's Baseball field and finished on the field with the medal being put around your neck and hearing cheers from the crowd. A day or two prior to the race my foot was bothering me and started looking red. I thought it would be fine so on the morning of the race at 6am I crammed my swollen foot into my running shoe and hobbled off to the race. Once at the start line I knew things were not going to be good for me. I just told Janet and Megan to have a great race and I would take it slow and see them at the finish. Four miles into the race, I was in excruciating pain. I hobbled back to the start line and sat out the rest of the race waiting for Janet and Megan to cheer them in. Megan finished in a fantastic time under 2 hours - the woman is amazing! Especially since she had just given birth to Isabelle six months ago. Janet finished with a great time also. Once home I decided to head to the Med Center and was diagnosed with cellulitis. It is a bacterial infection that can be very serious. With a quick injection of antibiotics and directive to see my own physician the next day I was glad I didn't try to run any further. There is the American River Parkway race in May that we will begin working towards and hope no more injuries.

Tea Time with Angie

I feel abundantly blessed to have a wonderful sister-in-law who I consider one of my best friends. Angie is the most amazing woman with the brightest smile, so much love and a very patient listening ear. Where ever Angie goes she exudes love and we were so blessed to have have had here visiting in Sacramento this week. Though she was very busy with her clients, we managed to have a pamper day of pedicures and tea and shopping. The evenings were filled with wonderful talks, wine, dinners out, eating decadent pastries and fighting off robbers! Angie was able to meet her great niece Isabelle and spend time with both Megan and Katie. We treasure our time together and always look forward to our next visit what ever part of the world that takes us to.