Old Town Temecula

Steve and I had a little bit of a busy weekend and we are really looking forward to staying home next weekend. We started off with Friday date night. Monica was able to come over to watch the kiddos for a little bit, which is always nice on a Friday. It has been busy at work now that the holidays are over so we look forward to having some quiet time and then finish up the night snuggling with our boys. We decided to have dinner at Zona’s. It was fun. We watched the Blackhawks game for a little before the band started.  I ended up getting something new on the menu and it was d-lish. I got the shrimp scampi with polenta and a side salad. Yum! Or like what the boys say, Yum Yum Yum. J

We got home to snuggle with the boys. Whenever we get home I like to ring the doorbell to get the boys' attention. It is so cute to hear them running through the house, Mama…Dada, Mama…Dada…! This time they greeted us at the door in their jammies with such big smiles. They were in the playroom at their table when they saw us pull into the driveway. What is even cuter is they look at Monica (they call her Mon Mon), wave, and say bye-bye. They will also give her a hug if they are not too preoccupied with other things.

The boys slept in a little longer Saturday morning. We got up and played like crazy. They have been so creative lately when it comes to playing. I crack up listening to all the sound effects that go along with their toys. For example Zach has started to give his trucks air brakes. Hilarious! I hope to catch it on video one day. They also are really into construction---go figure. J Steve and I have friends coming out to visit at the end of January. We decided after that weekend to begin remodeling the boys’ bathroom.  Discussions have been underway about what to do and I cannot wait to see the finished product. Steve will tell the boys to go work on their bathroom. Sure enough they run upstairs. We eventually make our way upstairs to check on them and they are sitting in the bathtub with their safety glasses on using their pliers and wrench pounding away. I have to try and remember to snap a photo of this one day.

Later that morning Steve’s parents came over to take care of the kids until Sunday early afternoon. Jason, a new employee Steve recruited to DPR started last Monday. We had a DPR…ahem…“teambuilding event” in Old Town Temecula. There were 5 couples and we stayed at this little Inn. I just want to forget about that experience but because it was so interesting that I feel like you should have the opportunity to explore it with us. Steve and I started our trip by having lunch in down town San Clemente at Beach Fire. We have really enjoyed that restaurant and try to stop when we have an opportunity. After lunch we made our way into Temecula. Steve and I decided to take a little walk since we were early. We stopped at The Collective, a wine bar. It was such a beautiful day and they had an outdoor lounge. We ordered a glass of red wine and decided to kick our feet up and relax. It was awesome. I do have to add this town also has a lot of bikers showing off their Harley or custom chopper. We witnessed a few that passed by with knives and even guns attached to their pant leg. I guess it is okay as long as they carry their permit...so we learned. HA. Shortly thereafter couples started to arrive. It was then when we got the unveiling of our hotel room. Awesome! J To help paint a visual, there are 7 rooms and any and all females share one bathroom even with the public and the same goes for the men; one stall, shower, and sink. It gets better. Inside our bedroom we had a heater that you plug in and an old rusty sink, which I was afraid to turn on not to mention use. Yikes. I am not even close to being a hotel snob but this really made the Holiday Inn Express look like the Hyatt. HA. In any event we walked around town for a little before dinner at the Cowboy Gambler. Dinner was good and I was really surprised since I was not sure what to expect. We passed around some lobster mac and cheese and boy was that goooood. Yum. I ordered the Jalapeno ribs and they fell of the bone--tasty. Steve got lobster, which was cooked to perfection---it has been a long time since he ordered a lobster tail. By the end of dinner I was ready for bed. We walked back to our Inn and there was a small band so we decided to stay for a little. These two guys were really good. The lead singer had a voice that resembled John Mayer. After they got done performing I thought it was time for bed, but nope. We decided to walk across the street to Stellar Cellar as another band was performing. The owner of the bar is from Chicago and he has been here for a few years now! As we were making our way back to the Inn, we stopped at The Edge, a restaurant and lounge that apparently turns into a night club once the clock strikes 10pm. I am not a fan of clubs but we decided to stop in and have a drink. This was clearly a good idea gone REALLY horrible, to say the least.  Chad’s (Steve’s coworker) fiance, Denise, got into a fight with another girl. They exchanged words and next thing you know you see hands and hair pulling. Yep, this was your typical girl on girl debacle. In any event, security was there is no time to break it up and escorted both out of the establishment. I stood there looking at Lisa, the new employee's wife, like I cannot believe this just happened. Good grief. I guess when security was getting Denise off this girl that he slipped and fell on top of her, causing her to black out a little. The ambulance and even the fire truck appeared. What a night. All Lisa wanted to do was to have a low key night away from their 2 month old. Steve and I just wanted to have a quiet, nice evening away. In any event, Denise is okay but obviously went back to her room to sleep it off. This sort of put a damper on the rest of evening (you think) so we all just went back to the Inn. As we were getting ready to get our beauty sleep in our cozy beds,J we hear talking across the way. There was another young couple staying there too. I am not sure how this unraveled but next thing you know Lisa, Jason, Steve, and I start talking to this couple and her parents. I eventually went to bed while they all stayed up until 4 in the morning. No way and no thank you. I was so nervous getting into the bed that thankfully I packed a hoodie so I put the hood on, pulled the strings, and tucked my hair in. Oh, I also plugged in my heater too. HA!

We woke up around 9ish to have breakfast and eventually made our way home to see the boys. I surely did miss them. We got home just as Steve’s parents put them down for a nap. I felt bad for Jack as I am not certain if he woke because of a dream but he started to cry an hour after he went down for nap. Since they are in big boy beds I thought for sure he would have come downstairs but I went up to get him and he was sitting in the corner with sheet marks on his face and hair standing up. Clearly he was sleeping hard and still don’t know why he woke up crying. I asked if he had a dream and he said no. Zach was still sleeping through the commotion. I brought Jack downstairs and we snuggled on the couch for the rest of nap time. I LOVED IT! Jack instantly fell back to sleep, on me. I cannot tell you the last time when one of the boys fell asleep on me and so it was a moment I absorbed for the next hour.  Zach was so cute when he woke up from nap. I greeted him at the end of the stairs and his face lit up; such a happy camper he was. They slept for two hours and we played and played, washed cars, and they helped me with laundry and get dinner ready. I really missed them and look forward to a mellow weekend. I think we are going to have dinner with Steve’s cousin Brian, his wife Tiffany, and their newest addition, Reese. They moved into a new place shortly after Reese was born.  I cannot wait to see their house after the remodel.  

Traditional Date Night Kodak Moment - Zona's

On our way to Temecula

HA, only in California.
"Just Married" with surfboards through the windows!

The Collective, Dining Room

The Collective, Tasting Room

Cheers

Cheers

Ding Ding *the white car has Illinois license plates*

Our Luxuary Inn (Chad, James, Steve)

Stellar Cellar (before the chaos): Me, Steve, James, Chad, and Denise

Our Room

I love the decor, especially the emptied (hard to see in photos) wine bottles sitting on the shelf

Steve getting ready for din-din, and waiting in line to use the bathroom

The Band

Back at Stellar Cellar

w/ James (this was at 11:30---SO TIRED)

I felt like we were in dorm rooms, Steve, Natessa (our roomie across the way), Jason, Lisa, Me (all in our jammies)

Lisa and Jason, (Welcome to DPR)

Entry to our rooms

Old Town Temecula had some neat things to see, great shops and restaurants. We think Old Town Temecula had more to offer than Old Town San Diego, but it was great to experience both. Steve and I will make a point to go alone or with another couple so we can have a more ahem peaceful trip. J

Until Next Time…

Julie