Bay with My Bae

Chris and I took a trip out west earlier this month to celebrate my cousin’s wedding at an idyllic California vineyard. We left the kids at home while we enjoyed four days in the sunshine.

The last time Chris and I took a kid-free trip was SEVEN years ago when I was pregnant with Vivian. Preparing for that trip was so easy. We brought the two kids, aged 4 and 2 at the time, to my parents’ house in the country and off we went. I was quite pregnant with Vivian, but that didn’t stop us from having a great time as we rode the rails through Belgium, Germany, and Poland for a week.

This time around, with SIX kids ages 2-10, I needed months to plan and prepare. The three middle kids stayed at our house with a trusted babysitter, and the twins – chaperoned by their big sister Evie – went to my Aunt Sheila’s house in the suburbs. There was a fair amount of anxiety from all involved parties leading up to our departure, but everyone survived and everyone had a fun weekend with their adult supervision.

As for Chris and me? WE HAD THE BEST WEEKEND EVER.

Bar crawl through San Francisco’s Chinatown with my sisters and brothers-in-law:

Ride over the Golden Gate Bridge:

Napa Valley winery tour on a bus (Real Housewives style!):

Hike through Muir Woods:

Many times during the weekend I stopped to feel grateful. Grateful for the beautiful weather. Grateful for my family members gathered at the wedding. Grateful for the opportunity to take a nice vacation.

But, mostly I felt grateful for Chris. Grateful for his kind heart. And his sense of humor. And his willingness to drive the rental car so I can look out the window. And his willingness to grow a beard (even though it is itchy) just because I love the way it looks.

I so needed a tip like this. Kid free and full of time with Chris. We had an unspoken deal that we’d leave the stresses of our current life behind and just have fun.

And that’s exactly what we did!

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2 Comments for this entry

  1. Carrie says:

    Sounds like a wonderful time! Hope to make it to Napa Valley, San Francisco and Muir Woods with my husband in the next year or two. I live way out in Oswego, IL and love your blog!

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