Mother's Day

I knew mothers day this year was going to be a tough on for me. So I was very intentional about how I spent it. I knew I wanted to be with my kids, and husband- and not solo. And I knew I wanted to be with a couple girlfriends...

I chose to invite the Weston's and The Melendez's to the winery for a picnic lunch- and it was the perfect way to spend my day! We took my mom here a few years ago, and although she didn't drink, she loved how gorgeous the property was and the fun, yet relaxed atmosphere there. So I feel a connection to her every time I visit here. And back in the day, she loved her wine!

Wendy, me and Christine-

Wendy doesn't get along with her mom, and Christine's mom is also deceased, so I joked that I picked the right friends to spend the day with!

The guys planned everything- packed the bags, bought the food, everything-

It was a very relaxing day-

A few of the reasons we all get to celebrate mothers day!

While sitting and chatting, all of a sudden out of no where, a large stick came down and just barely missed hitting me by inches. There was no wind and the leaves on the branch were healthy and green. When it fell, I was telling a story about my mom. Jose started joking that it was a sign from my mom. I loved thinking that, and kept the branch!

While on our cross country trip from Cali to DC, my mom was sitting under a tree resting with our dogs while we took the kids into a museum. Seconds after she walked away, a giant limb fell exactly where she was sitting. She was in shock, as it surely would have knocked her out. Here she is with the branch, exactly where she had been sitting-

So I like to look at my little branch and just smile, thinking of her on our trip and at the winery on mother's day...

And in typical "Mclendez" fashion, we can't ever end the day too soon, so we packed up- 

And headed back to our house, chatted on the deck while the kids played, and Brian opened a super special bottle of wine we brought with us from California-

Needless to say, it was an amazing first mothers day without my mom. She would have loved everything about it- the weather, the friends, the food- everything.