February 2018 Recap

Even though we were in Avila for a good chunk of February we still managed to keep busy when home. In preparation for Valentine's Day Kieran and I went on a lunch date, the boys worked on Valentines, and Reed brought home a very sweet craft from school.

Despite having a Birthday dinner on the coast for Pepe we didn't have a cake or sing Happy Birthday, so we of course had to make up for that once we were home.

After many months of construction we officially moved into a new office at work. One of our own co-workers was the general contractor and the building is a true labor of love for a lot of people. We decided we needed to have an official ribbon cutting but in true HMC style we used caution tape and pruning shears, we can't be too fancy!

 

Reed had a busy month at school, some highlights included getting 100% on his spell-a-thon test which was 27 words long! All of the kids had to set a goal and from the very beginning he wanted to try to get them all right. He also had a teddy bear picnic and book fair night plus a whole Dr. Seuss dress up week. I got a text from his teacher on Wacky Wednesday with a picture of him and one of his best friends (she is actually another staff member not a classmate). The best part is she happens to be one of my friends from elementary school so having a picture of them together is priceless!

Towards the end of the month a group of G-Momma's Northern California friends came down for a visit. On one of the days Grandma picked them up and took them on a drive on the blossom trail. Since a lot of our ranches are on or near the trail we invited them out to the ranch and Jon gave them a little tour. It was neat seeing some of the ladies I hadn't seen in years and meeting the others I've heard so much about. 

Finally after a very dry Winter we have had a bit of rain which means muddy puddles, rain boots, and some very happy (and dirty) boys.

2018 Family Vacation Part 2

We had a few days in Avila by ourselves so we did a few touristy things. First up was a visit to the Avila Barn. We've been there before, but it's been awhile and it is always fun, especially for the boys. There are tons of animals to feed, lots of fresh produce, homemade pies, and lots of other goodies. The kids fell in love with the animals, as did I, especially the baby goats who were beyond adorable!!!

Thanks to C and Tio who gifted us a whale watching tour for Christmas we also got to see a beautiful grey whale that was hanging out in the bay. Other animals spotted on our tour included seals, otters, and tons of birds. We had a great time on the excursion and Captain Mark taught us so much about the animals we saw. We even tried eating kelp straight from the ocean and Kieran decided it was his favorite snack ever. It was definitely the highlight of the week for me and I think everyone else loved it too!

Friday was Pepe's Birthday so we had him open a few gifts and then treated him to a special Birthday dinner out. We went to Giuseppe's in San Luis Obispo and they were the best with Reed's allergies. He even got to eat the bread served from the table - something that never happens - and he was over the moon excited about it.

Later that night the Loveless Family arrived and spent a few days beach bumming with us. It was so fun to spend time with them, especially for the kids to get to play and interact. Amanda and I even managed to sneak away for a quick wine tasting stop and a little bit of girl time!

To finish up the trip we hit up the Avila Beach Aquarium and on our way out of town also drove up the coast to see the Elephant Seals in San Simeon. It was so horribly windy in San Simeon we didn't stay for very long but seeing all of the elephant seals during mating season was really very cool.