The L.A. Dime

Not seven hours after Tina and Sophie get smashed from behind on the 101 freeway, this happens in our front yard:

This year marks the 4th year I will be participating in the “Light the Night Walk” to honor my grandmother Ruth who passed away due to leukemia and all the others struggling with the disease.

Due to a friend’s wedding, I actually won’t be able to walk this year but am still very interesting in raising funds for this worthy cause. I know times are tough and everyone has something that they support, I would however so very much appreciate any support you can lend. Simply click on the following link to make a donation: http://pages.lightthenight.org/los/WarnerPk09/TRiddell

Thank you so very, very much!!

Nana & Opa invited us our for a weekend get-away to help celebrate Opa’s birthday and enjoy the beautiful wine country just two hours north of us. We stayed at the beautiful Wine Valley Cottages & Inn where due to some AC troubles with our first room, we ended up in the Executive Suite. After checking in and a yummy cheese & wine lunch, we explored Solvang. This quaint little Dutch town was established in 1911 and was full of cultural attributes from the architecture to the bakeries to the clothing selections. Brad and Opa took advantage of a couple of wine tastings while Nana, Sophie and I checked out this fabulous playground. Although it was quite warm, there was a nice breeze but apparently riding the horses and running through the little wooden village made Sophie too hot to wear her skirt (so she took it off).

Opa’s birthday dinner at Patrick’s Sidestreet Grill came highly recommended by the locals.  Brad started with an Heirloom Tomato Bisque which after one bite, I decided to order for myself as well. It was absolutely incredible – creamy, yet light and bursting with flavor. For a main dish, Brad, Opa and Nana all had prime rib while I had ribs. All our meals were prepared on a grill in front of the restaurant with Patrick (the chef and owner) carefully adding just the right amount of wood, watching the smoke patterns very closely and ensuring nothing disturbed the meat while cooking. According to Nana and Brad, it was the best steak they’d ever had. It was a very lovely evening where the entire restaurant seemed to chat with each other, Patrick would float from table to table sharing his wisdom about life & cooking and the couple sitting next to even got engaged!

Sunday morning was a bit gloomy so after Brad cooked us some eggs (which came from Patrick’s chickens, or as he called them “his girls”) and bacon, we headed back to Hamlin House. It’s been a wonderful 2 weekends of having my parents in town and I know we are going to miss the long talks, laughs, enjoying great meals and mostly – just being together. Sophie has woken up every morning since Nana & Opa first arrived asking for them and has so enjoyed having them around. She’s always looking to see where they are, plays with them for hours and giggles when they are together. Thank you M & M for your visit and generosity!

Labor Day weekend was a very special one at Hamlin House as our little one turned two. It began with the arrival of Nana & Opa, opening presents that family & friends had sent and a flourless chocolate cake (which sadly didn’t turn out very good but Sophie liked the candles on it nonetheless). After dinner we took Sophie to her room to show her one last present – her very own kitchen!! Mom-Mom Saundra and Aunts Mandee & Tasha furnished the kitchen with all the necessary accessories and food ingredients to cook up some yummy dishes. Sophie squealed with delight upon seeing it and now plays with it on a daily basis. “I want to cook” is something we hear frequently now and we’ve even seen her line up her dolls and bears to serve them meals.

On Sunday we hosted an “end-of-the-summer/b-day pool party” which included all our closest friends. The weather was in the high 90’s so we were happy to be able to provide a cooling off opportunity with the pool.

On Sunday we checked out the LA Zoo which we decided wasn’t our favorite. There was a lot of construction going on, the animals were very far away from us and there was little shade. Turns out however that while all the other kids seemed to be content sitting in their strollers being pushed by their parents, Sophie preferred walking (the entire 2+ hours) or sitting on Opa’s shoulders to get a better look at the swinging monkeys.

There was a lot of preparing, cooking and cleaning up all weekend, but it was so very worth it to have our family and dear friends surround us.

Happy birthday Sophia — we love you so!!