Ladies Night Out

Have you ever eaten at The Melting Pot? If not, it's a crying shame. The restaurant is host to fondue dinners that consist of cheeses, meats, and chocolates...DELISH! For the last couple of months, they have been doing Ladies Night Out on the last Tuesday of the month and the prices are like half off! Of course me and my girlfriends, all good eaters, have taken them up and really enjoyed ourselves!!! See below! : )

Well behaved ladies.

Well behaved ladies on fondue!

My Mini-Vacation

This weekend was AWESOME! I went up to Lake Nacimiento with some family and friends for a quick getaway filled with waterskiing and winetasting. I realize I am selfish, though, and was not satisfied with only three days away. I want to go back!

Lisa and Matt Page, two very dear friends from Sacramento, drove down and met me, my parents, sister, her friend Emily, and my friend Rebekah halfway. Lake Nacimiento is about 15 miles from Paso Robles for those of you who know your wine country.

On Friday, we hit the water around 2pm and jet skied, wakeboarded, and played in the warm water. We cleaned up and drove down into town for some BBQ dinner at a place that actually has a mechanical bull in it. We were all too tired and already feeling the soreness or I'm sure someone would have tried it.

On Saturday, we got a late start and hit the lake around 9:30 for a couple hours of fun, then we ran back, got ready, and hit three vineyards for some delicious wine. We went to Halter Ranch, Tablas Creek, and Justin. I really liked them all, but found that Tablas Creek has an incredible variety of whites. They pulled out an awesome white for me to try, which I bought instantly! At Justin, we met up with the Fitzgeralds, who were on an anniversary trip, and all took a private winemaking tour and then saw the caves. It was pretty cool! We went back to the lake for a couple of hours of wakeboarding, then ate pizza, and played a lot of Apples to Apples...while imbibing. It was hilarious!

Sunday morning at 7:15, we hit the water for some skiing on glass. It was really incredible for some good cuts. It makes me mad that I have to let go of the rope after a while, not because my legs or back give out, but that my HANDS do...guess there's really no exercise for that...
I had an amazing weekend and can't wait to do more of those fun ski trips with friends in the future!

Matt, Lisa, Rebekah, and I

The whole gang at Halter Ranch Taking a swig at Tablas Creek
With Jennifer at Justin
All that glorious goodness
An intense round of Apples to Apples
Making a cut on Sunday morning
The cute Pages

The girls!

Sara-Britt's Bridal Shower

My sweet little cousin is getting married in October and on Saturday, my mom hosted a beautiful shower for her. My mom is the Party Queen and outdoes herself each time she hosts something! Sara-Britt is SO excited to get married! She can hardly contain herself! She's such a special girl and I love her to pieces. The joke was always that she and I should have been sisters with our dark-er hair and tan skin and left Danny, Missie, Jake, and Carlee to be brothers and sisters with their fair skin, hair, and freckles! : )

Sara-Britt and Grandma June. Grandma gives a devotional for all the granddaughters at their bridal showers. This one was special though, because she was teary-eyed as she shared that 60 years ago at this time, she was busy planning her own wedding!
The cake was out of this world! It had an edible photo of SB and Pete and flowers and leaves.

Missie and Bryson (Carlee and Bryan's son) hamming it up for the camera. Bryson is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!!

Congrats, Sara-Britt and Pete! I know you'll be really happy and that the last two months of your engagement will fly by and that you'll be happily married in no time at all. PS - thanks for planning your wedding in Temecula. I really like the wine there. HA!

Grey's Dedication/Weekend in Santa Cruz

This weekend, the Johnsons trucked on up to Santa Cruz for my niece's dedication service. My brother Dan and his wife Shannon were married there in her father's church four years ago and they decided to have their sweet little girl dedicated there, too! What a special thing it was for us all to be there and see them all stand at the front of the church again, this time as a family. My mom, dad, sister, grandparents and I represented the Johnson side of the family and we couldn't have been happier to steal a couple of days with the smallest Johnson!

The Santa Cruz board walk is pretty darn cool. Lots of rides and beachgoers everywhere. They also have free concerts on the beach every Friday night in the summer. We listened to a few songs on Friday night when we got in to town, but it wasn't anyone we'd ever heard of...

Me and my mom goofing around at a restaurant on the pier.

Grammy Stephanie with Grey-bug. Seriously, I've never seen a smilier 6 month old!

I love holding this sweet little baby and making her smile. I kept asking Dan and Shannon if I could keep her, but they just wouldn't agree...

Grey wore the same beautiful gown that Shannon wore for her dedication. It was hand stitched and embroidered by Don's (Shannon's dad) aunts.

Paying attention during the rest of the church service...and playing with an impromptu toy.

With mom and dad!

Does he want to be called "grandpa"??? No, he wants the baby to call him Big D or Papa D. Ha! She got a little sleepy during lunch and he got up from the table and walked her around for about twenty minutes while she napped on his shoulder... precious moment...