This year we all dressed up as pirates for Halloween (except for Chris a.k.a. Spiderman, who missed the memo). I’ve never been a big Halloween person but when you have a bunch of friends who like to dress up, you can’t help but join in on the fun.
We also had a sailor to pillage by the end of the day. Yaaar…Happy Halloween, Mateys!
On Saturday afternoon, Reese celebrated her 3rd birthday with a giant Dora the Explorer bounce house in her front yard. She spent all day in there so this was the only photo I got of her before it had deflated.
We were delayed by our perpetually flat tire so we didn’t quite make it in time for the cake but this is what they had – Dora cupcakes!
Here is Reese taking a little break from the bouncing. 
Jack was playing pin the mustache on the donkey.
Reese got a bunch of presents and all the kids were so excited to see what she received. Even Baby Isla was fired up. Big Brother Jack “helped” with a lot of the unwrapping.
After most of the guests had left, we stayed behind for a little post-party dinner. The Bangs showed up in time for that part and it was nice to have a smaller gathering of close friends to do a little more catching up.
Baby Isla was cool with Jes holding her today. He wasn’t sure what would happen because she cried every time Jimmy came up to her at Zoe’s birthday party. She and Kumquat also hung out for a while and it was like seeing the future female version of Bang and Jes. So cute.
I had a pretty good birthday. Turning a year older is so much easier when you’re surrounded by the people who love you.
The celebration started on Friday, my birthday eve, with a dinner at La Briciola with Jason and Jia.
On the morning of my birthday, we woke up early to catch a flight to LAX. The flight was full but we got to LA in one piece. My mom picked up my favorite treat and I was so happy.
After the baby shower, we went back to the Magical House to rest. Then it was dinnertime!!! 
We went to Lawry’s for our favorite prime rib meal and it did not disappoint. 
The last time Brother and I celebrated our birthdays there was in 2010 and it was good to be back.
On my 38th birthday, I was lucky enough to have 5 different birthday treats.
The first one was at work where I got a tasty lemon tart, ice cream, and warm chocolate chip cookies. Thanks, Patty!
Later that evening, we had dinner at La Briciola and the restaurant brought out a tiramisu for me.
The next was on my actual birthday. Joy had bought a triple berry cake from a place in Manhattan Beach opened by a baker who used to work for Sweet Lady Jane.
On Sunday, I had brunch with Holly and she brought me a chestnut cake from Paris Baguette, which was basically a pastry with a crossaint crust and a tasty cake baked on top. She also brought candles but didn’t have enough room for all the letters of “Happy Birthday” so I got the I, T, and R.
Then that evening we had dinner with Jes’ parents and I got a strawberry cake that tasted like fresh strawberries. Kumquat wanted a piece for herself that night.
We went to Zoe’s 1st Birthday Party on Sunday afternoon in Alameda. There was a dragon theme and there were lots of dragons (including Kumquat) at the party!
Eleen and Jimmy worked very hard to make this party decked out in dragon stuff.
Kumquat scored some crayons and lots of other goodies that day.
Oh and we can’t forget about the Zoe cookies they had made for the party. Hilarious.
When it was time to sing “Happy Birthday”, Zoe really enjoyed herself.
She soaked in all the extra attention and hammed-it-up for the crowd. So cute.
Here is Zoe and her happy parents.
Jimmy’s mom also flew up from Cerritos and it was nice to see her again.
The cake was a rich red velvet with super sweet frosting. Kumquat and I got a couple bites and then we had to call it quits.
Keenan was there and giving his dad (flying solo that day) a hard time during lunch. Funny kid.
The Bangs came too and Isla was NOT a fan of Uncle Jimmy that day. She literally cried every time she saw him.
This is little Athena, Aylang and Dave’s 12-month-old. Look at those curls!
What a fun birthday party! I’m sure this is just the beginning of these kid-infested parties. It seemed like there was almost one child per adult at the party. We’ll wait for Kumquat to grow up a little more before she can have her face painted. Until then, balloons and crayons will do.
Yesterday was Jes’ birthday so Kumquat took him out for a nice steak dinner at Hillstone after work.
Cheers!!
Today, Jason picked us up and we went to Sonoma for the day. (Thanks for driving, DiDi!) Our first stop was Sebastiani and we shared a tasting while Kumquat wandered the tasting room with her snack.
For lunch, we went to the girl and the fig, which features rustic French food.
Apparently I made the right choice for lunch because he wanted to order almost everything on the menu.
Here are the profiteroles that we ordered for dessert.
After lunch, it was too hot to stop at Train Town for Kumquat so we went straight to a second winery called Cline Cellars. It was 98 degrees out in the sun so we spent the afternoon on the porch in the shade sipping wine. Kumquat’s looking extra sweaty in this photo.
Happy Birthday, Jes! We love you!
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