Going back to Cali

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind.

Wayne and I headed to Tahoe for the annual Malibu dealer meeting.  We stayed in Incline Village and had plenty to keep us busy.  Wayne had meetings during the day and we went to the evening functions together (and then Wayne got some good Casino time in after I checked out for the night).  I found a prenatal yoga class on Friday in nearby Truckee which was a treat.  We both agree that Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places on earth!

After leaving Tahoe we made a brief stop in Sacramento to visit Wayne's sisters, Kelly and Christy, as well as the nieces Stella, Vivi and Molly.  Molly is quite a character.  :-)

That same night we met up with friends for dinner.  Scott and Christy Lucia had us over for a wonderful dinner in their new home!  We realized that it had been over a year since we had last gotten together - how time flies.  Brad and Shonda, and their two adorable daughters, Addison and Kendall, joined us at the Lucia's.  Everyone had a great time catching up and generally hanging out.  The girls were very entertaining and surprisingly lasted way past their bedtime.  Kendall had this infectious smile and laugh that reminded me so much of Shonda...

Brad, Shonda, Kendall, Scott, Christy, and Julia at La Casa Lucia

Early the next morning I caught a flight to Los Angeles and Wayne stayed in Northern California and played a round of golf with Scott.  My friend Julie met me at the airport and we headed to Nina's house with Jamba Juice and Noah's Bagels.  Nina is nearing the end of her pregnacy...this was the last time I will see her before she has a baby!  I also got to stop by Rebecca and Chris's place and see baby Wyatt (4 weeks old).  He was SO precious!  We had dinner and "played" with the little guy - which means holding him and admiring how cute he is.  I am so lucky that it worked out that I got to visit with so many people.  Unfortunately there never seems to be enough time to see everyone.

On Monday I made it out to SMT to visit with my former co-workers and students.  It was shocking to see how grown up my last sixth grade class is now that they are eighth graders.  Wayne flew down to LA and we had dinner with Jamal and Julie and Wayne's parents.  We celebrated Jamal's and Marilyn's recent birthdays (14th and 19th, respectively) with a delicious cake from Torrance Bakery.  Yummm.  Early the next morning Wayne and I headed back home.

After a week away from home it was nice to be back.   Knoxville really does have its moments...

The sunset on our drive home...
the picture didn't capture the rays of light coming out from behind the clouds.