So I would like you to meet the very scary bears of Yosemite:

okay no, it’s a squirrel

And TWO squirrels! (no we did not feed them. Some old guy did. Tsk tsk.)

So no, over the weekend of July 18th that we spent in Yosemite, we saw less wildlife than we see at our house. But that’s okay because we did get to go on some adventures, like renting bikes and rafting down the river…

Cale got a way short bike. It was kind of hilarious.

adventures around mirror lake

Seeing some cool waterfalls…

Cale, Brent, Cait, and my dad climbed up through the rocks to get to the falls. My mom and I hung back and were chatting it up with some locals. Because we’re cool like that.

Posing at viewpoints because that’s required when you’re a tourist…

Cait’s head is covering half dome. Psh overrated.

Okay there’s half dome for y’all

That’s an armshelf/legshelf combo you’re looking at right there.

And taking more pictures…

Cale’s got the shot, don’t worry.

I’m in there!

How about capturing some running water

It was a great weekend, and I loved not only hanging out with my family, but getting to see Yosemite. Cale treated us all to some great cooking, and we had fun getting use out of the cabin my mom rented for the weekend: its hot tub on the deck, .5 billion DVDs, and pool table.

Have you ever visited Yosemite? And most importantly, did you see any bears???

So if you thought I died in Vegas..

You were about half right.

I got back from Vegas with an occasional *cough cough*. You know, those dainty little coughs that come and go.

Well fast forward to last Tuesday, and I was like *COUGH URGGGGJROOOTHSKG COUGH* Phlegm everywhere. Eyes crossed. Fever. Kill me now. That kind of sick. And from there I went into a Nyquil-induced coma whence I emerged today. I dragged my booty back to work, resisted my urges to ram my car into the other lane during my morning commute, because clearly a broken leg or two wouldn’t be as bad as coming into work when I still am battling a chest cold and when my body decided that four days of 20 hours of sleep wasn’t enough because oh-my-goodness I’m still exhausted.

During this coma, I managed to sleep my way through our 2 year anniversary. A day when usually I would write an adorable post about how much I love my husband and we’re meant to be, with butterflies and doves fluttering about. Instead my anniversary will forever be marked by:

but my husband brought me jamba juice, crackers, cake, gatorade, and now getting me french fries. Exactly why we’re been married for 2 years
9:54 PM Jun 10th from Tweetie

There you go, the mark of a wonderful marriage: a husband who indulges your horrendous sick-person-appetite with whatever it is you’re craving because otherwise you’d just rather starve.

Luckily we did celebrate our anniversary properly while in Vegas a few weekends ago. A weekend that involved room service of Jalapeno poppers and Champagne, my first Bloody Mary with breakfast of course, a mani/pedi for me, getting outfitted by a seriously awesome Gap employee, fabulously fancy Chinese food at Fin, the front row at the Beatles LOVE, and Cale doubling up his gambling money before left for our flight home. The Beatles LOVE was AMAZING. I cried. We bonded with the other Beatles-obsessed woman sitting next to us. I almost died from the Blackbird flying 2 inches above my head. It was worth every single penny. Actually, it was worth the entire trip.

The next weekend I flew back to Vegas for a weekend of fun with bloggers. Some I read, some I didn’t. My pre-Vegas-cram-session of reading blogs didn’t end up happening. But by the end of the trip, my faith in humanity was restored. I’m most certainly the textbook definition of an introvert, so flying to Vegas where I did not know a single person “in real life” was without-a-doubt frightening. I was ready to back out. I was literally talking myself up until I was seated in the airplane. I got there and all my anxiety was gone the moment I walked into wishcake’s and my hotel room, helped myself to her wine, and waited for them to come meet me. Everyone was just as nice as I imagined, multiplied by five hundred. I felt a little behind because I missed the group dinner with all the introductions, but spent the weekend meeting everyone and having a good time. I always knew I could stalk their name and other details I missed when I got home. I concentrated on having fun during the short time we had together. It was truly a life-altering experience. I had sunshine paired with a Bud Light at the Luxor pool, amazing pasta at Mario Batali’s, cheap wine at Zefferino, and a tall margarita-dacquiri-something-who-cares-it-was-delicious at the Mirage. There were tons of laughs the entire time. I now know that I have friends all over the United States with whom could have a fabulous time. At any time. And who I fully expect to see next year because we must do this again. And it makes me despise the fact that I’m not called “Steph Corwin” in my “real life”.

Some of the many girls that are my new BFFs. Photo courtesy of the talented and sweet Elizabeth

As if my life hasn’t been exhausting enough, this weekend I am ecstatic to go to Bakersfield to meet my new little brother and sister-in-law, who were born the day Cale and I got back from Vegas. They are both healthy and at home with Cale’s dad and wife. The little boy looks like Cale and his dad, which just makes me so gushy and happy. I am looking forward to spending the entire day trading off holding them and taking pictures of them.

That’s my life in a nutshell. I’m sad that I’ve been out-of-commission the past few days, but if you want to know some good shows to watch while you are sick: Californication and United States of Tara. Though during my bouts of unconsciousness, I did end up having some pretty crazy dreams filled with sex, drugs, and tattoos, most certainly thanks to watching two entire seasons of Californication in the span of two days. Entertaining to say the least.

And I just noticed this is the first video where you see me without the scarf. So don’t be alarmed. I actually don’t wear it everyday, as much as I would love to.

Today is my little sister’s birthday! She is no longer a teenager. This weekend we are celebrating by going to the coast: visiting Hearst Castle for the first time, staying in Morro Bay, shopping in San Luis Obispo, and hanging out with family. I am very excited to get away for the weekend and to visit the beach. Besides our anniversary trip to Carmel, we have not visited the coast at all this summer. Just shameful!

And while we are gone enjoying our weekend away, our dogs are going to experience something new. We are boarding them this weekend at a nearby kennel. Hopefully they won’t miss us too much, and I’m looking forward to feeling peace of mind that they are being well taken care of.

I don’t think Brodie will be any more the wiser. He’s pretty carefree.

Maisie might be a little disgruntled when we get home.. She holds grudges. Typical woman

I hope you all have exciting weekends planned!

Friday Cale and I decided that a day trip was necessary for this three day weekend. We have very much enjoyed our past weekends spent at home, with plenty of time for relaxation, but a one-day break from the ordinary was needed. I was in desperate need for a girl’s day with my lovely friend Morgan, and thankfully she was up for the company. We thought this would be a perfect opportunity to meet up with our blogger buddies Sarah Marie P and Jimaie at Teazer (that no, is not a strip club as my husband first assumed. It has some yummy teas and juice blends). Of course four blogger ladies could not get together without the opportunity for a mini photoshoot. We attracted a bit of attention (i.e. honks, whistles, and “hey ladies”) being in the Tower District. But it was a great time seeing these ladies whose lives I’ve read so much about. The oddest part was hearing the voices that match the writing, and OMG they’re moving. I can’t wait to go visit again because I don’t think I can go to Fresno now without meeting up again with my lovely friends.

Morgan’s Honolulu.

All the yumminess.

This was a group of some pretty adorable shoes as well.

Morgan and Jimaie

There were many laughs that day

See I wasn’t kidding

These two ladies are such goofy and good friends; you just smile being around them

Me and Sarah

All four of us

Of course during our blog meetup, Morgan and I left our husbands to bond by themselves. We rounded out our day with some chatting at the Gable’s home, a dinner at CPK, and then some book browsing at Barnes and Noble. I think by the end of the day, our two husbands grew even closer than they had already become by playing Call of Duty all week long together.

The only seats available in Barnes and Noble

The hubby and I got our much needed trip out of town and got to spend a day with great friends. I don’t think it could have been any better. How was your Labor Day weekend?

After we got back from our day on the boat, we dragging our sunburned selves upstairs to recoup on the couches. My dad made sure we were well fed for dinner, and I made sure to eat almost the entire container of Red Vines. Exhausted, I headed to bed nice and early while Cale played a hand of canasta. That shows you how tired I was; I could not even make it through canasta, my favorite game. Of course as life would have it, the dogs had other things in mind that night. Both came down with a nasty tummy bug one after the other. I managed the first shift, letting Maisie outside everytime she whimpered, staying awake to make sure bears did not get her while she was outside and then letting her back in. Only to have to let her out again twenty minutes later. Once she was feeling better and I got a hour of sleep, Brodie started up. This would be when I begged Cale that “I need sleep..” and he took over. People have compared this to having children, but I promise I will not just put our kids outside when they aren’t feeling well. Especially since the next morning when Cale let the dogs out again, he saw a nice big bear run up the side of the mountain behind the house. Good thing we didn’t just leave them outside.

The next day, Cale and I were of course not up to doing much of anything besides eating and sleeping, so that’s what we did. Thankfully our cabin had a pool table, so there was entertainment to be had indoors. That evening, we took a trip to get ice cream, and then the kids (us, along with my brother and sister) drove down to South Lake Tahoe for some entertainment and shopping. The next day we had a nice lunch to celebrate my mom’s birthday before heading back home.

Pre-haircut Cale kicks my booty at pool.

And so did my mom. It really wasn’t fair.

My way of getting back at them: hijacking the jukebox and playing three hours worth of The Beatles.

We also brought our Wii along for some Wii Fit competition.

Brodie enjoying the new location for excellent bird-watching.

That evening we did make time for some cuddling.

And Maisie even squeezed into the little dog bed the owners of the cabin left. I’m not sure how long she stayed in there. I was already in bed by then.

Once they were feeling better, the pups got to sleep in bed with us.

And they continued to nap all day long around the house.

This was Maisie’s way of helping in the kitchen.

The result was super yummy.

My sister’s boyfriend Thomas joined us on the last day.

We had a fun lunch at one of the local places.

And then we were on our way home.

Cale made me take a picture of the awesome gas mileage we got on the way out of Tahoe.

So there you have it. Our trip to Tahoe. Finally all wrapped up. It’s hard to believe that was a month ago. It was a wonderful relaxing vacation that may have to become a tradition, minus the dog diarrhea.

I ended up taking much more pictures than I thought I would. So I will just let you enjoy them.

I figured this little glass pitcher would be perfect for fresh squeezed orange juice. Or more realistically, juice that I buy and pour in it. Or flowers. Yes Flowers.

I saw this just as I was going to check out. How could I resist?? Though my recent French lessons had me utterly confused. We three? That doesn’t make sense. A little googling at home taught me that twa is Scottish for two. Yes Scottish. As in Scottish terrier. It all started to make sense.

I had no clue where I was going to put that linen. It is so crisp and nice. I couldn’t see myself wiping my hands on it. (warning OCD incident ahead) So one night as I was just about to fall asleep I had an epiphany. I jumped out of bed, flipped on the kitchen light, and started shuffling around all the magnets on the fridge. The new home for the linen is on the side of our refrigerator. It looks very nice and covers up the blah beige of our old fridge. I resisted the urge to get out the level. Flicked off the light. And went back to bed.

Pushups update: Ouuuuuch. My arms. We did day two though. Total pushups tonight: 54. Though the last few were most definitely in poor form. Because. It. Hurt.