We had our first ever kid-free vacation! Kevin was in San Francisco for the week for work, speaking at the IBM Think! Conference. He flew out super early Monday morning and I flew out on Thursday (Valentine’s Day) to join him for a long weekend sans the kids. Jim and Pat were gracious to watch the boys for us for those five (!) days. We are really grateful and the boys had a fun time with Grandma and Grandpa!

This was the first time I’d flown alone is a super long time. I had a short flight to St. Louis, a short layover there before heading on to San Francisco. Southwest served free drinks for Valentine’s Day so I enjoyed a mimosa while I chatted with my seatmate, a lovely lady who was traveling to San Francisco with her husband for a conference (not the one Kevin was at though, lol). She lived in Nashville and this was the first time they’d left their kids in about 5 years so we had some things in common to chat about. It was an easy flight, thank goodness! Once I landed I took an Uber to the swanky Stanford Court Hotel in the Nob Hill area of downtown San Francisco where Kevin greeted me in the lobby. We exchanged valentine’s gifts (the heart bracelet, below and super good cookies 🙂 I think I received the nicer gift) and then we headed out to meet up with two of Kevin’s coworkers and friends. We spent the next Friday and part of Saturday doing all the tourist things exploring San Francisco. We had a delicious breakfast at Taylor Street Tavern and then walked all the way out to the Ferry Building, stopping to browse here and there along the way. We rode the metro electric street cars up to Pier 39 and enjoyed drinks and appetizers while taking in the view of Alcatraz and the bay. We walked by the seals (oh my, I forgot how t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e they smell!) on our way to Ghiradelli Square. We stopped at the San Francisco Brewing Company and then onward via cable car back to our hotel.

Before we headed out of town towards Healdsburg, we drove down Lombard Street. It’s not nearly as pretty in February as it is in the summer when all the plants are flowering! It was a cloudy and from time to time rainy drive up to Healdsburg, a fun little town in Sonoma County. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge on our way. Once we arrived, we parked and just wondered around the downtown area where there are restaurants, bars, tasting rooms, and shops. We had a fun afternoon going from one place to the next. 

Sunday morning we ventured to a few wineries for tastings. Our first stop: Mill Creek Winery, a cute little family run winery with a small tasting room. Yvonne was great at explaining all of the wines as she poured each sample. We really enjoyed our visit there and left with a few bottles and a wine club membership, ha!

Our next stop was Geyser Peak Winery. We had another great experience there with a bubbly lady who really loved talking about each wine and the various “notes” they have. 

Our quick trip came to an end and when we arrived at the airport and got to our gate, Kevin was A1 for boarding on both legs of our flights home. What are the chances, lol? So I captured his picture which he didn’t love, but Finn enjoyed the photo as we were at gate 28, his bus number.

Grandma and Grandpa sent us this picture of the boys at bath time having so much fun! Our flight back was delayed a few hours departing St. Louis so we arrived home at 1 am, rather than 9 pm. We were super happy when we got back and I couldn’t wait to check on the kids. 

The rest of the month just seemed to fly by. I’ve been trying to take pictures that capture the boys personalities, rather than always taking posed pictures. And I’ve posted some videos too that aren’t really anything fancy to watch, just everyday things I want to remember! I wish I could figure out why and how Reid ever learned to have such crazy table manners. I often sit him in his high chair while I make dinner. The result is that he stays put while I’m making dinner, but as soon as we sit down to eat he’s ready to get up! And he just says “done” and “down” over and over, pushes his plate away (or dumps it) and often launches his silverware across the counter or room. No joke. It is entirely frustrating and doesn’t seem to be getting any better. But, I guess that’s what life is like at less than two years old?

Sir Reid is also quite the climber. He’s climbed out of his crib a few times with me in the room (my back was turned so I didn’t even know he was doing it until I heard chuckling) and once with a sitter! We’ve gotten the door covers that go over the knobs (as he can also open the round door knobs and escape from any room) but he’s already figured out how to get them off the door. This boy is gonna be trouble. 

The boys have been enjoying outside play time with Cole, Cooper, and Abbie lately. One day I arrived home to a front yard game of football with Griffin, Georgia, Ella, and Abbie. 

After church on Sunday, Griffin and I went on a lunch date (we’d gone to church solo) to First Watch. He tore in to his plate of chocolate chip pancakes and we had a nice time together. Daddy and Reid were home napping and catching up on sleep. Reid continues to explore in the pantry and currently loves to stack coffee k-cups. Griffin completed his blue sight word book and received his certificate that included free custard at Culvers. Great job, Finn! 

Millcreek is getting busier with production as we prepare for the spring shipping season. On one of my ventures out of the office this week I snapped some pictures of plug trays that are about ready to be transplanted. It’s like walking through a green tropical rain forest in the conservatory this time of year. 

While we were in San Francisco both Lily and Brutus vomited a time or two. Lily seemed to also really be struggling with her walking, so I made an appointment and Kevin took her in to get looked at. Dr. Mansfield says it is just arthritis, even though it seems her back left leg is the most hobbly. She ran a full CBC of bloodwork, the results of which showed increased levels of the pancreas enzyme as well as a liver enzyme. That along with her decreased appetite, Dr. Mansfield recommended an ultrasound of her abdomen to look at the liver and pancreas. On Thursday the traveling vet from OSU performed the ultrasound and Dr. Mansfield called me with the results. They saw some “very concerning” changes in the thickness and lining of Lily’s stomach. She mentioned the “very concerning” at least three times. It is likely one of two things: severe gastritis (ulceration and irritation of the stomach) or stomach cancer. The only way to know for sure is to do a biopsy, either by endoscopy or surgical procedure. Given Lily’s current health status with her struggling to get around well, lack of appetite, she’s lost 7 or 8 pounds, and he vomiting I wasn’t sure a big medical procedure was the best thing for now. So we’re treating it as severe gastritis and she’s on a myriad of medications (12 pills a day) for the next couple of weeks to see if her appetite improves and she maintains her weight. The also ran a full set of x-rays, which revealed that her arthritis is “significantly” worse than it was just 2 years ago. My sweet Lily girl, I was heartbroken when Dr. Mansfield listed the possibilities of what’s wrong with her. She’s had a tough adult life – tooth extractions, torn ccl surgery, terrible arthritis. It seems Reid was able to tell she’s not feeling well as he’s been all about Lily (yih yee) lately. He sits right up next to her, hugs her, lays next to her and she just takes it all in.  o