Happy Birthday to Chris

Girls at the Beach, originally uploaded by brrtha.

This weekend was one heck of a celebration for Chris' 43rd birthday! I had such a great time ... it felt like it was my birthday!

Bettina still has pictures on her camera that we need to upload ... but ... in the meantime ... you can check out all my pictures on my .mac photo album ... or my flickr album.

The celebration was kicked off on Thursday night ... when Chris picked up her best friend, Bettina at the airport. Bettina was kind enough to leave the sunny weather in Seattle ... to commiserate with us in the rain in California. After weeks and weeks of beautiful ... dry ... sunny ... weather ... Mother Nature decided to let it pour for our friend from Seattle. Fortunately ... we did have some breaks in the rain on Sunday .. which allowed us to be extra obnoxious in the sun ... as we cruised the coast in the Caddie.

As is typical ... Bettina came ... bearing all sorts of gifts for Chris, myself, and Lucky!!! The favorite gift of all ... had to be the entire Season 1 - DVD Set - for the "Girls Next Door"!!! Now, Chris and get her "Kendra" fix any day ... anytime.

The next day, Friday ... I headed to work ... while Lucky, Bettina, and Chris headed to slothville. They napped the entire day!!!! Which I guess ... was a good thing ... because it allowed them to have all the energy they could muster ... to deal with my hyper ass when I returned home from work.

Saturday we did what we could ... to take advantage of the breaks in the rain ... yet we had to pace ourselves so that we wouldn't be RUINED before dinner at Shadowbrook that night. Chris made us a fantastic breakfast ... and picked up coffee at Coffeetopia ... while I went for a champagne/wine/vodka run at Albertson's. After breakfast and booze ... we headed out ... to make the most of the day. The weather couldn't stop us ... as we took pictures and strolled through the "Casino" at the Boardwalk. Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch and drinks at Cafe Palomar by the Harbor ... and then ... it was time to go home ... so that Bettina and Chris could enjoy a final nap before dinner at the Shadowbrook.

For those of you who haven't been to the Shadowbrook in a while ... lemme tell you ... this place is better than ever!!!! Props to our server, Phillippe, and the rest of the staff at Shadowbrook. The service ... the food ... the wine ... the ambience ... were absolutely superb!!! Moreover, the restaurant was absolutely packed ... so ... the fact that they were able to give us such a special night ... while so completely slammed ... was quite impressive.

Needless to say ... we didn't make it to church the next morning. Even still ... we felt quite blessed ... as the SUN finally came out!!!! We didn't waste much time ... piling in the Caddie ... so that we could soak up the rays ... as we cruised up and down Santa Cruz ... from Capitola Village to Natural Bridges. One of the most magical times ... we when we frollicked with the Monarch butterflies at Lighthouse Field.

Monday was a SAD day ... as it was time for Bettina to head back to Seattle. We will miss her ... but ... we can't wait for her next visit ... or better yet ... Chris and I can't WAIT to head up to Seattle!!! ROAD TRIP!!!!!

- Bertha