jessicapecota.com

Well, at least she can write ‘Love Samantha’; two of the most important in the English language, in my opinion.

Part of our Valentine’s Day celebration yesterday was a picnic at Tudal Winery.

Discovered on the Napa Vintners site, this winery fit all our criteria: family-friendly, picnic area, low-key atmosphere.

And it was indeed quite low-key as you can see below the manner in which we were greeted (that there is Cheyenne, we found out).

We proceeded to a [...]

The scene: A cave tour at a local winery

Samantha: “Oh no! He doesn’t look very happy!”

Tom and me, simultaneously: “Actually, kiddo, he is REALLY happy…”

Located in the town of Calistoga, Buster’s Southern Barbeque has been offering generous servings of their mouth-watering BBQ since 1965.

Now, I know that folks can be…well, let’s just say picky…about barbeque. But Buster’s delivers just what I think of when I want barbeque: smoky and tender meats with a classic spicy tomato-based sauce, served with a side of [...]

Honig is a small, family-owned winery and was one of the first tasting rooms Tom & I visited when we moved to the Napa Valley five years ago.

That was, of course, pre-kiddo. And while we had a wonderful visit then and have been long-time fans of their wines, we hadn’t thought of the winery as being kid-friendly.

That is, until we [...]

Located in a little strip mall near Queen of the Valley Hospital in the town of Napa, Genova Delicatessen at first appears to be nothing special.

But it’s been a locals’ favorite since 1926, serving generous sandwiches, salads and hot case items such as lasagna, eggplant parmesan, and more.

They also have a grocery featuring a extensive variety of cheeses, authentic Italian pastas, sauces and all [...]

Last night, Samantha turned to us, smiled and said “I have super-fast-double-motion in my brain.”

I don’t know if that is a reference to some kids’ book or show with which I am not yet familiar, but my first reaction was “That’s OK, it happens to me sometimes too.”

I took it as a good sign of her [...]

We used to have to deal only with kiddo wanting to dress herself.

Well. Now that she is FOUR, she wants to do her hair herself too.

Of course we let her have that independence (and she is so creative, if I do say so myself), but sometimes it sure is hard to let your child walk out the door [...]

Below are scenes from our New Year’s Eve 2009 celebration, as seen through the eyes of two four year-old aspiring photographers.

Whose parents were too busy eating, drinking and talking to notice what they were doing with our camera. Our good camera.