Time at "Rancho Notso Grande"

I know. It has been awhile since I last posted. I would like to say it was because I have just been so busy doing awesome things I haven't had the time, but that wouldn't be completely true. I mean, I have been doing awesome things, but frankly have just been too lazy. Moving on...

This past weekend was Labor Day and that means...a 3 day weekend! I was very fortunate to spend this holiday weekend with three of my most favorite people. We went to our friend Tori's cabin for three days of rest and relaxation. The cabin, dubbed "Rancho Notso Grande," is up in the mountains near the Calavares Big Trees, which means...no cell phone service!! I love it. The ability to completely "disappear" for three days is simply divine. Anyway, we arrived Saturday afternoon and spent the day just relaxing on the back porch, drinking a few beers, and catching up with one another. There was music, hysterical dancing (not by me, but trust me, if I had...it would have been hysterical) and a ton of laughter. On Sunday, Tori and Kathy had arranged for all of us to go golfing! Now, let me put this into perspective for you...Richelle and I have NEVER been golfing before; Kathy and Tori, golf all the damn time! It was an experience that is for sure! Kathy and Tori were great though, they gave Chelle and I pointers, were incredibly patient when it took us forever to even move the ball a few yards (I must admit, I can throw the ball (and did) further than I can hit it) and laughed right along with us when we swung the club and connected with nothing but air. Sunday night Tori made an amazing dinner and we just relaxed, played some games and again, laughed a lot! Sadly though, all good things must come to an end and we had to head home today.

I love going to the cabin. It is just so peaceful and relaxing; sitting on the deck, taking the dogs for walks and not having the constant distraction of "everyday life." I know eventually (much sooner than I would like most times) we must return to the everyday tasks we all have, but it is always a great reprieve to spend these weekends together. I know they say you can't choose your family and I suppose that is true; you don't get to pick who your biological family is (although I am fortunate, I have an amazing bio-family and wouldn't trade them in for anything), but you do get pick your friends and if you do it right...you are picking a second family. That is exactly how I view these three ladies. They are part of my chosen family and I wouldn't trade them in for anything! Until next time...

Weekends like these...

There are times when I really miss New England. They are far and few between, but they exist. I always miss my friends on the other side if the country, but as far as actually living there...not so much, but there are days when I wish I could go back. Luckily for me, I am constantly reminded how lucky I am to be where I am and it is weekends like this one that help me remember.

This weekend was simple, but amazing. Friday was league night and that is always a blast. Saturday morning I went to the gym with my mom (as usual, she put me to shame. My mom is beast in the gym!). It is our quality time together. I know most mother/daughter combos might go shopping or out for a meal as their quality time, but my mom and I, we aren't like other mother/daughter combos. The only thing we seem to agree on is that gym time is sacred and fried pickles are worth every calorie they contain. So we go to the gym, laugh and push each other for 60-90 minutes (almost) every Saturday morning. I love gym time with my mom. Saturday night it was dinner with the girls! The girls are friends from elementary and junior high. I am lucky to have friends in my life that I can say I have known for 20-25 years at the young age of 29. These aren't friends that I lost contact with over the years and we found each other again later; no the six of us have been the best of friends since day one. Some of us are married with kids now, but we still manage to get together every couple of months for dinner and to catch up. We still rely on each other when we need something, we still call each other with the good news (and the bad) and we all know, no matter what, we will always have each other. Although there are times where months go by without seeing one another, we always pick back up and can spend hours together like it was just yesterday we saw each other. I cherish these times with my friends.

Love me some funnel cake

Today was....Stanislaus County Fair day! I love this day! I haven't been able to go to the fair in five years and I missed it! The food, the people, the exhibits; it is all great. The food especially. When I go to the fair, I have a mission. It is to consume, in no particular order, a lingucia sandwich, an egg roll on a stick dipped in sweet & sour sauce and a funnel cake with strawberry topping, powdered sugar and whipped cream. Today the mission was accomplished in record time (less than 2 hours)!! I would have added fried zucchini to the list, but I couldn't seem to find them this year :(  I seem to remember the fair's exhibits being more entertaining in years past, but thankfully the animals were still awesome! Pigs, cows, chickens, rabbits, etc...all great to look at. This year I went to the fair with two friends and we had a blast. We chatted, we laughed, we ate incredibly unhealthy food (me more than them) and had just enjoyed hanging out.

It is weekends like this one that when I start missing New England, I can look back and remember why I came back to California...

Grease is the Word!

Nevaeh & GG on the way to the show

I love this musical! I am talking had the movie memorized, owned a copy of the script, made my parents suffer through me singing the soundtrack constantly loved this musical. I had seen the stage production twice before when my grandma called to see if I wanted to see it again. Of course I said yes, so my sister, two nieces, grandmother and aunt piled ourselves into the cars and made our way to Sacramento to see it last weekend. It was a great time. This production was done on a round stage (which I have never seen before, but really enjoyed), so the staging/timing of things was a little different from the previous times I had seen it, but it was just as awesome as I remember! What made it even more enjoyable was being able to share the experience with my nieces. Nevaeh is an old pro at going to theatre productions (she goes with GG all the time), but Katarina (the eldest niece) had never been to a show before and it was so much fun to listen to her thoughts about it after. The trip to the theatre definitely made me miss spending summer days tooling around NYC and taking in a show! Perhaps next summer, I will be able to get back there!!!


This past Wednesday was, of course, the 4th of July. This is hands down my favorite holiday. I am sure it is because any day where I can bbq with the family, have a couple of drinks and then blow stuff up is bound to be a splendid time, but I also think it has something to do with the fact it is one of the few holidays that has not been commercialized and hasn't turned into a "retail" holiday (*cough* Christmas *cough*). Anyway, bbq with the family, have a couple drinks and then blow stuff up is exactly what we did! There was good food, lots of laughter and as I always say, most importantly good people!



This summer is shaping up to be even more awesome than I had hoped! My weekdays are busy, but I am cramming in so much on the weekends it more than makes up for it! This weekend though, is going to be kind of mellow...perhaps just taking in a movie tomorrow and relaxing on Sunday. I need to save some energy for the next big adventure...The Stanislaus County Fair (July 13-22)!!! Bring on the linguica sandwiches and egg rolls on a stick!

Family. Nothing like it.

It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted, so I will give you the brief(ish) version of what has been going on. Last weekend when it was a thousand degrees (well 106, but above 100, who the hell can tell the difference?) outside I moved into my own apartment! Yah! I am forever grateful to my dear friend Richelle for letting me stay with her until I was able to get everything settled and prepared to move. The move was going smooth, until...all of my furniture arrived damaged! Anyway, an impromptu shopping trip was in order so I could, you know, sit in my apartment. I am sure there are people who would be thrilled to go shopping, but if you think I am one of them, well, hello my name is Heather and it is nice to meet you. My parents were a huge help in this process and as you can see, a day with me in super hot weather will drive anyone a little crazy. Nice hat Dad! All of my stuff is unpacked and most of it is put away, but I am finding somethings difficult to place and others needing to move because it just isn't functional where I had it. I suspect it will take a few weeks before everything is put away and I am actually settled, but oh well, I have never done anything quickly, why start now?

This weekend was Nevaeh's birthday party! She decided she wanted a swim party at grandma and grandpa's so that is what she got. It was a beautiful day out there were lots of laughs from both the kids in the pool and the adults (and myself) sitting around on the porch. There was good food (cheesecake stuffed strawberries!) and good times. Nevaeh seemed to have a blast and loved every minute of it. And of course, she got a rockin' helmet from her Auntie to go with the new bike she got from grandma and grandpa! There is no blending in for this kid!

These past two weekends have reminded me how incrediably lucky I am to have such an awesome family. I love being able to watch my niece grow up and just to enjoy the little things in life. This is what summer is all about...fun in the sun with the people who matter most!

Caverns and Zip Lines!



This weekend was awesome! For Nicole's birthday she decided she wanted to go to the Moaning Caverns in Angel's Camp and walk around and do zip line!! We decided to go on the walking tour of the cave first. It was a lot of fun, but very humid! It took about 45 minutes for the whole tour, but I am fairly confident that is because our guide REALLY liked the sound of his own voice and talked A LOT! After the cave tour we decided it was time for zip lining!!! None of us had ever done it before, but we are all (well, except for Christina) are adrenaline junkies, so we are all stoked to give it a go. Once we got all in set in our gear (ps: no way to make that look good) we headed off to the top. Christina did really good (although, I lost circulation in my arm after a few minutes of her death grip) on the way up and managed to keep her freak out to a minimum! No one chickened out and we all made it safely across! Next time though, we are going to try the superman zip line and go at it head first! Our last stop of the day was to Columbia, an old gold mining town where we walked around and justified buying a ton of candy because you can't go to Columbia and not buy candy. While we were there, Nicole decided we should take one of those old fashion photographs. We were all down and it turned out great...as you can see. All in all it was another awesome day in this summer of awesomeness and we shall let the shenanigans continue!!!!

This is just the beginning!

Sunset in Moss Landing

So this summer has been dubbed the “Summer of Awesomeness,” and I have no doubt that it will live up to its name! There are a lot of fun things planned (and some that have already happened). The picture above is of a sunset in Moss Landing on the annual Freitas Family Camping Trip (more on that in a moment). The purpose of this blog is just for me to document and remember this summer of awesome and hopefully others will enjoy the shenanigans that I get into as much as I do! I hope to update it weekly, but to be perfectly honest…it will probably be more like bi-weekly, but I am going to try!

On our way to the beach

As I mentioned before, the Freitas Family Camping trip took place (last weekend) in Moss Landing this year and as usual, get 14 Portuguese (or Portuguese by marriage) in the same area and a good time is bound to happen! We took the kids to the beach to watch the sunset, went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (who, by the way, has a new Jellyfish exhibit!!), hung out by the campfire and had an all around good time! Grandma bought all three kids Green Machines for the birthdays which they absolutely loved! For those of you are not up to speed on the latest toys for kids these days (join the club!) Green Machines are a type of trike which allows for the execution of nearly flawless 180s. All three kids had a blast and I won’t mention which 5 adults it took to put them together. In all fairness though, not all 5 worked on the same machine at the same time. We seemed to rotate in. Of course it would not be a trip to Moss Landing without a trip to Phil’s Fish Market! We took over a few tables and had a great dinner (best Haddock Fish & Chips EVER!). Needless to say, it was another successful Freitas Family Camping trip and aside from the nasty sunburn I managed to get (totally my own fault) I would do it all again in a heart beat!

Phil's Fish Market!