My Birthday Weekend

 I am so blessed!  My parents watched Helena and Bennett for 3 whole nights so I could travel to Northern California to see Chris for my birthday weekend!  It was a really nice getaway.  I've been full of anxiety lately and stressed out about what the future holds and not knowing.  With Chris only home 3 days a week that doesn't give us a lot of time because we have the kids etc..., and having him all to myself for 3 full days was so nice.  We were able to just focus on each other which is something you take for-granted pre-kids. 
I flew out on my actual birthday Thursday January 19th into Sacramento and on the way to Napa we drove through Fairfield (the town he works in) and he showed me the hotel he stays in and the hospital he works at.  Then we made the hour trip to Napa.  We got checked into The White House Inn (the cute bed and breakfast we stayed in) and walked the half mile to our first night out.  We ate and this amazing sushi place called Eikos.  The sushi was so good and so fresh!  It had been more than a year since we had had good sushi, and this place didn't disappoint.  The atmosphere was fun and the drinks were strong, so we had a great time.  We got a cab ride home.

The next day we went on the Napa Valley Wine Train.  The whole experience was meant to reflect something out of the 1920's which I loved, and it was so relaxing.  We sat in the "Vista Dome" which is the car that has windows curved all the way up the train, so you truly get a panoramic view of Napa Valley.  We were welcomed with some champagne and I got the Sweet Wine Flight that I had throughout my 4 course meal: appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert!  We were on the train from about 11:30am to almost 3pm, and it was so nice.  We saw an amazing rainbow and winery upon winery.

After the wine train we walked over to a place called The Oxbow Market.  Think of a small mall but with food.  We did a casual walk through and enjoyed all the of the sights, but we were so stuffed from our fancy lunch that we ended up just sitting and talking and eventually calling a cab to give us a ride back to the inn.
Once we got back we did a little bit of exploring before the weather turned nasty and we briskly walked back to our room.  We just hung out while it rained, and later found a place for dinner.

The next day we did a Platypus Tour!  This was so much fun.  There were 8 of us and we went to 4 different wineries.  The whole experience was so nice, and each winery so different.  There are over 500 wineries within the Napa Valley region and our tour guide took us to ones off the beaten path, which was so nice.
By the third winery I was definitely zoning out, but the experience of that one was so cool: the wine was paired with chocolate!  By the fourth stop I couldn't have anymore, but enjoyed the atmosphere.

That night we ate at a steak place called Cole's, which was just ok.  The food was great, but our service was not so great, which definitely took away from the overall experience.
Thankfully overall the kids did great!  We were able to facetime with them in the mornings and Helena was excited to be all over Grandmasita.  Bennett unfortunately didn't sleep well there.  Only took 10-15 minute naps, and got up in the mornings super early.  
I flew out of Oakland, and when I called my mom while I was waiting to board my flight to check on things my mom immediately exclaimed she was so excited for me to be home later that day.
Leaving Chris was hard but I definitely missed my babies, so I was ready to come home.  We stayed in Albuquerque on Monday and I was up with Bennett Tuesday morning from 3am to 6am.  We drove home Tuesday afternoon.  I really don't like that drive.  Since then Bennett as thankfully been sleeping much better.
I wish that the freeness and ease of my vacation followed me home, but being back home immediately brought back my anxiety of not knowing what the future holds, and being a single parent 4 days out of the week.
Sunday nights are super hard on me.
I'm just so thankful for my parents, for taking care of my kids so I could get away for the time that I did.  It really was a great trip, and I love traveling for my birthday.