Jared and I celebrated our 13-year wedding anniversary this week. Jared had the day off so we went to explore somewhere new (my favorite way to spend a day). We checked out Sandy Beach at Yuba Lake. The water was pretty, the sand was soft, and it was a weekday so we had the beach all to ourselves. We had a great time! When all was said and done our takeaway was that if you aren't boating, but just playing in the sand and doing kayaks, there are other places closer to our house where we can have that same experience. But this scratched the"explore somewhere new" itch and I do think we'll go back again sometime.
Later in the week my parents stayed with the kids while we spent some time at Jared's parents' nearby home, which they haven't moved into yet, to save money but still have a short anniversary getaway together. We had a funny and abrupt end to our "staycation" when they called to tell us they were (surprise!) driving to Utah and would be at their house in an hour. They had given us their blessing to stay at their home any time, but Jared apparently hadn't let them know we were going to be there those exact days. We packed everything up and scrambled to leave the house cleaner than we found it. Luckily it was already nearly bedtime and we were planning to head home the next morning anyway. The next day I made Jared fess up that we had just been there, and it sounds like they just laughed it off and reiterated that we are welcome there anytime. While we were there we had a fun time doing a short hike to a waterfall, going out for an anniversary dinner at an Italian restaurant. We also spent a morning using our Lagoon passes to go on some bigger rides without the kids, and looking at some nurseries to buy a little mountain mahogany tree for our backyard. It was good to have some time together. Big thanks to my parents for staying with the kids.
And now for some pictures from our week:
^^Our anniversary at Yuba Lake. Alice made us pose for a photo shoot. It was adorable and hilarious.
^^I brought a swimming suit for Alice but she asked if her dress was waterproof and opted to spend her beach day in her "waterproof dress" instead haha. I love her, she's such a vibe.
^^New clothes! She was really pleased about this outfit.
^^Our anniversary dinner at Mastra. I got the pesto lasagna (insane) and the onion focaccia (also insane). Fancy!
^^Ugh. I am bracing myself for some yard drama. It hasn't begun yet, but our backyard project is nearing the end, and this is about the point when our next-door neighbors started having big problems using the same landscapers we're using. The work is getting sloppier and more sporadic by the day, and they just asked for an extra payment ahead of schedule, which wasn't in the contract, so they can have the funds to finish "purchasing shrubs." When they got to this point with our neighbors they essentially took the money and told them they were too nit-picky and they wouldn't finish the project anymore. There have been lots of red flags. We are being smart. We will stick to the contract and won't pay any more until it is finished. But I do worry they are about to run out on us. Truthfully this is good in the long run because we will need to do our research and hire a company that does better work. But in the short term it is a bummer because the yard wouldn't get finished and fenced likely until summer is over. Send good vibes. This is why you never go with the lowest quote (tough advice to follow when the highest you can go with your budget is the number the lowest quote gave you. In the future we'll save longer to be able to hire someone more reputable.)
^^My favorite way to wake up way earlier than expected.
^^Took the kids to Tibble Fork to kill some hours and escape the smoke today. They had a great time together! Next time I may bring a swimming suit and join them. Today I felt like a champion because I popped up the shade canopy by myself, so I just lounged the whole time.
