Sonoma

For about six months, I have worried myself nearly sick about the Leaders Council trip that Jason had qualified to attend in Sonoma, California. There have been so many of these that we have foregone simply based on not wanting to leave the kids. But as they have gotten older and the amount of labor required for someone to help us with them while we are gone has reduced, it sounded like it would be worth a shot to go. And, well, Sonoma. So that helped. 

I believe my final count on pages of instructions numbered twenty, hole punched types pages in a binder. One for each day with the times and plans for that day. With school pick ups and drop offs, and Joshua's musical rehearsal achedule there was bo shortage of checklists for what needed to be packed in lunchboxes and supper boxes for each day. I am certain both Jason's mom and my own are sure that I am certifiably insane after looking at it. Directions to everywhere, money for groceries that ran out, health care powers of attorney for the kids, health insurance info. It was nothing if it was not thorough. 

As a side note, this exercise gave me great insight into why I feel like a crazy person all of the time. When you write down all of the things you are trying to remember to do, you realize why your head feels like it is going in a million different directions at one time.  It is!

I nearly didn't make it out the door to leave and bagged the whole trip when the kids started struggling. Our plans were to leave after they all went to bed on Tuesday night. Our flight left Harrisburg at 6:00 am so we had a hotel room there. We still were up and awake at 3:00 to make it on time. Before we could leave, I had tucked everyone into bed. lauren was over comensating by being silly, which broke my heart. I cried through her bedtime prayer. I snuggled in bed with Mara and nearly lost it when she  put her little arms around me and said she just wanted to "hold me a little more". Bless her heart. As she drifted off to sleep I snuck out of her bed to find Josh crying in the hallway. Of all the kids, he would have been the last one we would have expected to struggle. When we left he was still upset but was settling down. But he absolutely broke my heart. 

We arrived in San Francisco around noon but it felt like about supper time considering how long we had been up. The fog made it hard to see the skyline as we left the city, but I can say we have been over the Golden Gate Bridge and "saw" Alcatraz. Sonoma was about an hour and a half north, and we watched the landscape change from city concrete to lush green vineyards. The rolling foothills were absolutely gorgeous. 

These photos were taken from BR Cohn Winery in Sonoma. They took us on a tour of their vineyard.  My favorite was their Chardonnay with that delightful croissant from a local bakery. And let's just say that some carbohydrates were a welcomed base for about 7 different wines before 11 am. I definitely do not drink enough to live this type of lifestyle for long. 

After a reception on Thursday evening, we met up with some new friends, Ben and Shari, from Erie. We had an amazing dinner at a restaurant right in our hotel called Sante. It is a Michelin rated restaurant, which equals fancy. We love trying interesting food, so this was a treat. I believe I had already had about 4 glasses of  sparkling wine at the reception so that was enough of that. Dinner was fantastic. My green risotto in a parmesan foam "bubble bath" was super!  And the caramel apple tart with apple cider ice cream was really amazing!

On Friday, we had a very relaxing day planned. We were headed to the spa, but our appointments weren't until 1:45. We went to breakfast and ended up meeting a really fun couple from North Carolina. They were one of the only couples there close to our age and we hit it off immediately.  Kids the same age, both of us dealing with the same business travel issues with our husbands and similar philosophies on these kinds of events where the same old chit chat about where you're from just flat wears you out. We ended up sitting there for hours talking. And then met up at the spa and giggles about the "bathing ritual" there (which included dumping a bucket of ice cold water on your head at the end...no thank you very much).  And then we met up to spend the evening together at the gala. 

The gala dinner was in the barrel room at a Napa winery called Artesa. Very artsy-fartsy with a stunning view. And since this was the third rainy and foggy day in a row, the fact that it was beautiful meant that on a day that wasn't soggy and gray, I can't imagine how gorgeous it would have been. We ate, we drank and we even danced. Which may have been helped by the wine. In fact I am sure it was. 

Saturday was a day just for Jason and I to explore some wineries. The first one was our favorite. It was called B Cellars and was the first winery I have ever seen with a gorgeous kitchen as the centerpiece. We had a wine and lunch pairing experience there and it was amazing. We also had a tour of their process and a barrel tasting of what turned out to be our favorite wine- a sangiovese. And you all should be impressed with my wine growth because I didn't even know that was a thing prior to Saturday. We ended up shipping 6 bottles home for when it releases in July. There will be a steak dinner party to go with it for anyone who wants to come. 

We went to three other wineries, none of which paled in comparison to B Cellars. But we did find a bakery in a little trendy part of Yountville around Napa that apparently we couldn't have gotten into if ot hadn't been pouring.  We got some yummy treats there that we enjoyed after we arrived in San Francisco to our hotel for the night.

We are currently en route home and I cannot wait to squeeze my babies. I swear to you, I have missed them so much that it hurts me. But we will be there soon to give them all the love we have been saving for them...and all will be right with the world again. It is always a treat to go away, but no matter where in the world I will ever go, and no matter what I am blessed to experience there, there is nothing better than being home with my family.