find joy in the journey

first day of school 2014

That 5:30am alarm came early on Monday morning.  But everyone got up, showered, dressed, packed lunches, and even practiced the piano without any nagging by Scott or I.  They fell right back into the routine very nicely and that makes me very happy.

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  A chapter of the scriptures.  And pictures outside the front door before it was time for the middle school run.

When we stepped outside the sun was just coming up, directly down the street.  The golden light silhouetting the palm trees was just beautiful!  It was a sign that this was going to be a great day.

Even though this photo is super blurry I still love it.

The 8th grader.  The big man on campus.  At least until next year.  

He knows the drill so I barely gave him a second thought in all the back-to-school hoopla.  And my lack of concern was well-founded as he came home from the first day of school just as chill as ever.  Been there.  Done that.

English, though, has always been a thorn in his side and while I encouraged him to have a good attitude on the first day & an open mind, he came home with this report, "Payton's English teacher greeted him with a smile.  Mine greeted me with 10 vocabulary words and 10 latin and greek roots that I had to look up in the dictionary."

Day 2 he left and came home from school tired and droopy. So we sent him to bed earlier.

And on Day 3 he was a much more peppy version of himself and attacked his Algebra homework as soon as he got home.

His classes:  Honors Algebra, Acc World Geography, Acc English, Acc Science, Advanced Choir, and Health/P.E.

The 6th grader.  He's only 54 1/2 inches tall and I'm sending him off to middle school?!  What he lacks in height he more than makes up for in confidence.

I have to say that I was the most nervous about Payton on the first day.  It's a BIG school.  1700 students.  There are 6 classes to navigate to and don't forget about lockers. And while he can be a confident kid, happy, and sure of himself . . . he can also get frustrated easily.  If there is a situation that is new or difficult, and he doesn't catch on immediately he can go the panic route pretty quickly.

So . . . when he bounded into the car at the end of the day and exclaimed, "This is the best school ever!! I love it!!" I was incredibly relieved and over-joyed!  That was the best news this mom could hear.

He loved his English teacher (a man).  He thought he was so funny.  And he was excited to see a good friend in art class.  They don't sit by each other (assigned seats) but Payton said that when he sits down he can look across the room and has a clear view of his face.  It sounds like all the kids from 5th grade sit together at lunch - table 7.  He has Art for 1st quarter and it must be inspiring him because everyday he has come home and drawn something -- this is totally new for him.

Day 3 and he is still loving it.  

His classes:  Acc English, Acc Reading, Acc Math, Acc Science, Computers (1st semester) / P.E. (2nd semester), and Explorations (he has Art 1st quarter, and each subsequent quarter will "explore" a different topic - it could be Spanish, Brainology, Greek & Latin roots, etc.)

The 3rd grader.  Who actually looks like a 5th grader.  Sheesh!  We keep telling Anna thank you for being in elementary school so we can still feel young.

The most exciting thing about going back to school for this girl was getting to check out the new field!  2/3 of the way through the year they closed down the field, killed the grass, and turned it all to dirt.  Anna suffered through those last few months of school without soccer as a recess option.  It was crushing.  But the field is back and each morning she races to play with all the boys.

We don't know how this keeps happening, but this is the 2nd year in a row that she has not had any friends in her class.  Kind of odd to me.  Being the outgoing girl she is, she took matters into her own hands on the first day of school and made friends with the girl who sits next to her.  She is new to the school and now they eat lunch together everyday.

This year she gets to use an agenda book to record her daily assignments.  She also has a binder with divider tabs for each subject.  That made her feel very grown up.  She says that her classroom is freezing.  Her classroom also has a water cooler which she loves -- she has always complained that the water from the school water fountains tastes like blood.  

So far she has just been eating up the school routine, classroom procedures & incentives, and assignments.  I don't hear a peep from her as she dutifully goes through her papers and homework at the end of the day.  I think that 3rd grade feels a bit older to her and she is loving the extra bits of responsibility and expectation.  So far. 

Skills to master this year:  multiplication facts and cursive.

 

Just look at those cute kids.  At the end of the first day I welcomed them home with giant frosted sugar cookies from Great Harvest Bread.  We went through all of the papers (mom homework) and had lasagna for dinner.

As crazy as I know the school year is going to get . . . I'm enjoying this moment, this week and setting them off on a new year of learning & growing.  I know that I won't be in this phase forever (10 year plan) so I am thankful for the chance to be in the thick of it -- the schedules, the projects, the pull your hair out moments, the applauding straight A moments, the drop-offs and pick-ups, the walks to school, the laughter at the homework table, the missing mechanical pencil freak-out, the lunchboxes, the bedtimes, the early mornings, the family prayers -- all of it, right now.  (Note to self: read this paragraph again in mid-February.  And in May.)

hope and kindness

Earlier this month I received an email from "an overwhelmed wife and mom".  I have been thinking about her ever since.  And other women (and men) who feel like her.  At different moments & seasons in our life I think we are all susceptible to feeling under-appreciated & ignored, wondering where to find purpose in the monotony of life, wishing there was more spark in our relationships, and burdened by influences out of our control. And beyond all that, sometimes we just have really, really hard things on our plates.

I worry for, and my heart saddens when people begin to feel trapped in these circumstances.  When it isn't just a moment in life, but it starts to define their lives.  I worry because it can lead sadness, loss of self-worth, and apathy.

I have felt like I needed to share a message today.  A simple message of hope and encouragement.

You are loved.

(please, read those words again)

You matter.  

You are needed and your life has purpose and the people around you need you more than you will ever know and more than they are capable of expressing.

There is no question that your place on this earth, in this life, in your home was meant to be.  

And above all, if you still don't believe that people care about you and it seems that the hard parts of life are too much please know, because I know with certainty, that there is hope.  There is light.  And there is love in the eternal arms of our Heavenly Father.

Go to Him and He will not leave you comfortless.

"Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness.  Hope sustains us through despairs.  Hope teaches that there is reason to rejoice even when all may seem dark around us.  No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives may exceed our grandest expectations." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Watch THIS

And to everyone else may I suggest one thing . . . . kindness.  Whether we know someone is struggling or not (there are many who put on a smiling front while they are suffering inside), these tiny acts can mean so much.  Write the letter, make the phone call, drop off the cookies, offer your help, follow that nudge of inspiration when it comes.  Because kindness is always a good idea.

I have wept in the night
For the shortness of sight
That to somebody's need made me blind;
But I never have yet
Felt a tinge of regret
For being a little too kind.

-author unknown, quoted by Thomas S. Monson

 

everyday browns // vol. 4

We just wrapped up the last week of summer vacation.  Classes start on Monday and I am ready.  Last night after a particularly hairy post-dinner clean up I called it, "ok!  it's time for everyone to go back to school!"

While they won't admit it, I think the kids are ready to go back to school as well.

Here are some of the bits and pieces of what we have been up to . . . . 

I made some Utah-style scones with honey butter for dinner on Sunday night and they were ah-mazing.  Recipe from Our Best Bites.

Anna was SO excited to start practices for fall soccer.  So excited.

The boys started back in piano lessons this week.  When we arrived their teacher reached out and embraced them in a big group hug.  We just love her.  Later she sent me a text: "I so enjoyed lessons today with Conner and Payton!  They both work hard yet they kow how to have fun - they kept me laughing today!"

I joined a couple ladies I know - Katie & Jamie - and a couple ladies I don't know for an art outing.  We visited the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art and had a docent show us around the Painting Women exhibit.  Something I have never done before, but it was really interesting and enjoyable.  I definitely do not know much about art -- especially when compared to these ladies who all have majors/minors in art or art history.  But I conceded that I do like to create (scrapbooking, crafting, in my home, etc.) so it is okay to join a group of women like this and spend an evening appreciating beautiful art.  Even when I mistake the cello in the lyrical art piece for a pirate ship.  Arrrghh!

We had a few monsoon days this week and I love opening the front door and back door so we can listen to the rain and thunder.

For the past month, the boys have been getting together with their friends, Seth & Jonah, a couple days a week to play Dungeons & Dragons.  They love it and always get really into the game.  I know that Dungeons & Dragons has the stereotype of being a nerdy game, but after watching them play I will take on any nay-sayer.  The amount of creativity and imagination and story-telling that it fosters is just amazing.  I love seeing the fantasies in their minds come alive in game play.  

On one of the rainy days this week we stayed indoors and I baked cookies.  I also got the heart-breaking news that a young family from our ward in Oregon lost their husband and father.  Their oldest son was in Payton's class and I worked with the mom in Primary.  So incredibly sad.  All day I just wanted to hug my family tight.  (A fund has been set up to help the family with funeral costs HERE.)

We took the kids to Spring Mountain Ranch to see Shrek!  It was a beautiful evening, but we were a little unprepared for how cool it got - 65 degrees!  I could have used an extra blanket for sure.  We arrived early and killed the time by eating pizza and playing Uno on our blanket.

Friday was Pick Up Your Schedule Day at the middle school and Meet Your Teacher day at the elementary school.  6th grade was a rough year the first time around - more expectations, the homework load (the homework load!!), and just a big transition in general.  So I'm gearing myself up for round 2 and hoping we can make it through this year with fewer tears & frustration and a little more of my sanity left in tact.

This morning Anna and I attended a quilting activity at the church.  She and I tied two baby blankets and although she didn't say much, I could tell that she was totally into it.  Focused, working fast, and paying attention to detail. I love quilting activities and I was glad that I could introduce her to this.  To me, activities like this are the heart of Relief Society.  As a group we completed 14 blankets and they will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House.

Tomorrow I get to teach a lesson in Primary (for the 4-11 year olds) about the Sabbath.  "The Sabbath is a day of rest and worship."  Here is what we have planned for the day:

• watch Music & The Spoken Word 
• go to church
• eat chicken quesadillas for dinner and rootbeer floats for dessert
• prepare the kids' backpacks for school
• and Scott will give a father's blessing to each child.  A tradition.

kids' craft fair

Kids love to create.  Right?!  Give Anna a box of paper, fabric scraps, pipe cleaners, ribbon, and bells and she will create a masterpiece.

My friend Danielle came up with this fabulous idea to put on a kids' craft fair.  This was actually the second time that she pulled one off.  The first was held in December (think handmade Christmas gifts) but I wasn't able to go.

The idea is very simple:

• Kids work on crafty creations at home -- rubberband bracelets, clay art, magnets, paper airplanes, bath salts, bookmarks, homemade treats, bean bags, perler bead creations, manicure/massage station, etc.
• Pick a home to host.  Set up tables.
• Everyone arrives and sets up their craft shop.  Most craft items range in price from 25 cents to $1.
• Kids bring their own money and the buying and selling of craft items begins!

A couple tips:

• Provide snacks.  Little shoppers get hungry.
• As a mom, come with a lot of quarters.
• Keep the fair open for 1 hour.  That is plenty of time for the kids to work through their inventory and make buying decisions.
• Watch for the shops that aren't selling as much product.  The moms were great about this and made purchases around the room.  You want every child to have a good experience and feel good about the things that they created.

Anna had her shop set up an hour early and sat on her chair anxiously waiting. Everything on this table was imagined in her mind and created with her two little hands. And I love that you can tell that it was made by an 8 year old.  I tried to give some input, but quickly realized that I just needed to let go. :)  She was so proud of her creations and really, really enjoyed the craft fair.

heading to college and the 10 year plan

I love my friends.  And I love that I can easily say they are family.  We often comment that our kids are like cousins and I do feel an aunt-like love and watch-care over their kids.  So it only makes sense that we watch out for one another, text each other late at night for parenting advice, play the cheerleader, the sounding board, and help each other during transitions.

Last week I felt so lucky - SO LUCKY! - to be able to help out Jenn with one of these transitions.  Her oldest daughter Alyna just graduated from high school and is going to attend college in southern Utah.  She flew from PDX to Vegas last week and I got to pick her up - along with two very big suitcases - and drive her to St. George.  But first we made a pit stop at Purple Penguin for snow cones.  Of course.

This is one great girl.  I so enjoyed our conversation during the 2+ hour drive as she shared her thoughts and excitement on starting this new chapter.  There is apprehension about the unknown, many reality checks ahead (which she is preparing herself for), and a good dose of courage needed to be yourself in a sea of new people & experiences.  What an exciting time!

She is going to do so well and I am super proud of her for stepping out, getting involved in campus leadership (as a freshman!), and doing something that feels right for her.

I couldn't help but think of the adorable 6 year old that I met 12 years ago when we moved to St. Helens. Just a few months after we moved in we had an end-of-summer BBQ, which became a yearly tradition for about 5 years.  We invited a few families we wanted to get to know.  In the beginning it was the Waites, Cluffs, Habels . . . And the rest is history.  This photo was taken in 2004 at the 3rd annual summer BBQ - she was 8.  Isn't she cute?

I guess my point in sharing all this is . . . .

• Connections built up over a decade+ are awesome.
• Time is a crazy thing.
• Beginning to see the fruits of years of parenting (even through friends) is a wonderful blessing.

I can't help but think that in just 5 years Conner will be graduating from high school and heading to a mission and college.

And in 10 years Anna will have graduated from high school.  Yep, we are on the 10 year plan.

I don't think I can predict exactly how I will feel when it is my turn for those big transitions -- I think everyone experiences/feels it differently.  But I have enjoyed getting to be a small fly on the wall as I see my friends help their chicks leave the nest.  And I know they will be there for me when it's my turn to figure out prom, graduation, and 18 year olds who just want to move on already!

25 hours in San Diego

Thursday afternoon the kids swam while Scott and I sat by the pool. I began going through my calendar for the upcoming week -- just trying to be mentally aware of what is going on during our last week of summer vacation and making sure that Scott is on the same page.  I realized that we had nothing scheduled for Friday.  And Saturday.  Just saying it out loud gave me little butterflies of excitement - two whole days with nothing on the calendar?  Yes!

Then Scott said, "You want to go to the beach?"

And 30 minutes later we had a hotel room booked in San Diego.

Spontaneity at it's finest.

We left Friday morning at 7:00am.  En route we stopped at a sports supply store for a shade tent and two boogie boards.

About an hour away I finally narrowed down which beach we would visit after reading many reviews on Yelp.

12:30pm we pulled into the packed parking lot at La Jolla Shores and miracle of miracles . . . . we scored a parking spot!  After reading many reviews that included parking horror stories we couldn't help but clap and cheer.  This was the first great victory of our little trip and set the tone for a pretty amazing day.

It was a beautiful location.  The water was so clear.  And warm even!

The kids boogie boarded endlessly.  You can walk out pretty far and the water is still shallow.  Scott stationed himself way out in the surf to assist whoever was boarding at the time, giving them a big push to keep up with the wave.

On our last beach trip, Payton did not want to try boogie boarding at all.  No matter how much we tried.  And this trip started out the same way, although we didn't push the issue at all.  He just waded in the water, played in the sand, and was pretty happy.  While Scott, Conner, and Anna were out in the waves I invited Payton to come swim in the water with me.  We walked out further and further, jumping with the waves.  I could see him becoming more comfortable and enjoying it.  Scott waved at me to bring Payton to him.  Ooo {I cringed}, too soon. I knew he wasn't quite ready so I silently motioned back "5 minutes".  Less than a minute later Payton said, "I want to try boogie-boarding!"  Jackpot!  Having him decide to do this completely on his own was the score of the day.  Almost better than that amazing parking spot.

And he loved it.

We took a walk down to the pier.  I loved the variations in water color from aqua to blue.  And there's just something about a pier that is just so romantic.

Little blue jellyfish washed up on shore in the afternoon.  I thought they were just beautiful.

And we're pretty sure that Payton spotted a leopard shark while wading in the shallows.  I had read that leopard sharks frequent the shallows at this beach.  But we made sure not to share that piece of info with the kids before we got in the water.  Anna would be freaked out for sure.  So on our family walk to the pier, wading in and out of the waves, Payton came running over, "I just saw a fish!  It was this long [his hands stretched 2-3 feet apart], and it was black and grey and white all swirled & spotted together."  Scott and I looked at each other with a silent, tight-lipped smile.  "That's great Payton."  And moving on . . . 

Saturday morning we grabbed a quick breakfast in Coronado and headed to the beach.

The sand was amazing!  White, fine, soft sand with glimmering specks that looked like gold in the water.

We arrived early enough (9:30am) that we snagged a parking spot right on Ocean Blvd with no problem.

There were seashells everywhere and Anna collected them all.  She even scored several whole sand dollars!

We walked down to the rocks in front of the Hotel Del Coronado and explored when the tide was out.  Crabs, sea anemones, clams . . . . I was climbing all over the rocks and I'm pretty sure that I enjoyed it more than the kids.

(I need to give a little shout out for Hapari board shorts!  Love them! It doesn't hurt that I scored them on sale last week for $4.95.)

The boys built a sand castle named The Citadel and added a moat, a wall, and another trench to protect it against the incoming surf.

Anna was also proud of her kelp-adorned castle.

It was another beautiful day and we were sad to go but eventually we had to leave.  At 1:30pm we packed up and made our way to the showers to clean up (as best we could) for the drive home.

It was a such a great trip.  We packed little.  We used Yelp alot.  I only brought my iPhone for photos and decided that I was not going to worry about capturing it all.  Just enjoy.  (As you'll notice there are zero boogie boarding photos).  

We came to San Diego and got exactly what we wanted . . . two beautiful days at the beach.  And we went home happy.

La Jolla Shores

PRO:  great boogie boarding waves, clear water, perfect water temperature (even warm in spots), plenty of lifeguards stations, bathrooms & showers, the pier (you can't walk on it, but it is pretty to walk under), leopard shark sightings

CONS: crowded (unless you walk way down to the pier), parking is nuts (unless you get lucky), leopard shark sightings

Coronado Beach

PRO: beautiful white sand, great sand for sandcastle building, sea shell collecting, tide pools, lifeguard stations, bathrooms & showers, beautiful Hotel Del Coronado backdrop, not as crowded

CONS: surf was a bit rough for boogie boarding, water was colder, sandier, and in the afternoon it was pretty sea-weedy

* * * * * * * * * 

Do you have a favorite San Diego area beach?  We are just getting to know the area.  I really enjoyed going to two beaches because they each had different things to offer.  Together, they provided us a pretty well-rounded beach experience for the weekend.

back to school shopping

Last week I took my TWO middle-schoolers back to school shopping. Yep.  This year I am going to have two kids in middle school - 6th and 8th grades!  Craziness.

After a lunch date we made our way over to the outlets.  At one store I walked up to the register with my purchase and the sales girl's eyes went big,  

"Oh my gosh you look just like Rachel!  She works here.  Ya, you could totally be her mom!"

Ouch.  Her mom?  Really?  

Thankfully, the sales girl at the next register who had been pulled into the conversation back-pedaled to help out her clueless co-worker, "Oh ya, you look like you could be her sister."  Thank you for your customer service.

But really . . . her mom?  Thanks for making me feel super old.  Yes, I know I have wrinkles and bags under my eyes.  But I'm only thirty-freaking-four years old!  I am not ready to be compared to an adult someone's mom.  Maybe I need a new haircut.

One of the items on my shopping list was church shoes for Conner.  My kids have always had pretty small feet and Conner just barely made it into men's sizes.  But holy cow, the men's shoes are a whole lot more expensive!  At least in the Sunday shoe category.  I'm talking, 60-70 bucks.  No thank you.

We went in and out of 3 different shoe stores with this same experience.  Finally we ended up at Target and I found him a pair for $29.99.  That is totally doable.  So we bought them - the last item on our 4-hour shopping excursion - and made our way home.

At home we spread out all the goods to show Scott and I told him the story of going to 4 different shoe stores to find something for Conner.  "What?!" he replied, as he stared down at Conner with the evil eye.

"I just bought you church shoes last week!  And you wore them to church!"

Oh my word.  

Apparently, over their weekend in Idaho (while I was in California) Scott had bought the needed church shoes for him.  But Conner - being 13 years old - had no recollection of this. When we did the pre-shopping inventory of his closet he even pulled out the new church shoes and told me that they were too small.  I didn't question him on it because they were identical to his previous pair that were in-fact too small.

Oh my goodness.  So in my earlier post when I told myself that I need to remember that Anna is just 8 years old . . . . I also need to remind myself more often that Conner is just 13 years old and while we may think he's able to function as a young adult, his brain is still working out the kinks.

It's a good thing I like these kids so much.

hike big trees

I remember hiking at Big Trees when I was in high school.  My mom had taken all 5 of us kids camping in the state park.  By herself.  All in the name of making memories.  

This park is absolutely beautiful and I was really looking forward to this part of our cabin stay.  The North Grove trail is perfect - an easy 1.5 mile loop.  

These trees are just so big you can hardly wrap your head around it.  It is an amazing thing to look up, up, up, and still not see the very top of the tree!  Though, I think the girls were more entertained by the squirrels and chipmunks that were all along the way. "Awww, how cute!" was heard about a hundred times.  

After the hike we walked through the visitor's center which included a gift shop, of course.  And they sweet-talked Papa into buying them each a stuffed animal.  Anna and Carlee chose matching baby deer, named them Bambi and Bambette, and carried them everywhere for the rest of our stay at the cabin.  Including this photo of their matching "china girl" dresses.

the cabin

Last summer, after cousin camp, my parents went on the hunt for a cabin of their own and found one.  For the past year they have been decorating, roofing, chopping, remodeling, building, hot-tubbing, and doing so much to make it a comfortable place for family and friends (but mostly family) to gather and just get away from the world.  

I was so glad to finally see the cabin on this trip!

I thought the antique doorbell was fantastic.  It is from an old firehouse in San Francisco.  Notice what's at the end of the chain?  A cable car!  So cute.

The cabin is such a cozy, peaceful place.  I just loved it.  

The upstairs bedrooms are just adorable.  Anna and Carlee stayed in the Three Bears and I stayed in The Nest.

The girls loved the hot tub and the fact that there are spa robes for everyone.  

They swam, and played lifeguard, and when the front of their swimsuits filled up with spa bubbles they admired and laughed.  (A few days earlier Anna and I had just read the chapter about body changes & bras in her growing up book.)

We cooked tin foil dinners in the fire

and ate them outside.  SO good!

With so much dust & dirt around the place that meant always taking care to remove shoes before going inside.  And then pausing to put them on before heading out.  Cute to see Anna help Carlee with her laces - they were in a hurry!

 It was just such a wonderful setting!  Like I said, cozy & peaceful.  You totally felt like you were deep in the forest, away from everything.  But - get this - there is actually a grocery store 2 blocks down the road!  When you are at the house - indoors or outdoors - you would never even know it.  I think it is the perfect balance of getting away from it all, while having the necessities right at your fingertips.

And we were close to several great activities.  Over the next two days we visited

Calaveras Big Trees State Park - Giant Sequoias!

White Pines Lake - a fantastic little beach park and the water was great

Columbia - to see The Sound of Music at the Fallon Theater

Moaning Caverns - the tour takes you 165 feet down into the cavern

Also, my mom writes about the Cabin at her blog HERE - decorating & projects, their visits, and a few times a year she hosts weekend retreats/classes for groups of women.

the reality of exploring the big city with an 8 year old

So my trip with Anna was pretty great.  It was a wonderful opportunity to spend some time together and explore and experience so many things.  We had fun and I loved watching her when she was happy.

But then there were the times when she was not.  And I wanted to pull my hair or spank her right there on the city streets.  (Yes, I spank my children.)

She pouted because I ordered water for her instead of lemonade.  When papa was the hero and got her the $3 drink she took one sip and was done.

She sulked because nothing at dinner in Chinatown looked good to her.  Eventually she warmed up to the idea of food, asked for bites of every dish, and stuffed herself.

At another dinner, despite the fact that she loves steak, baked potatoes, and carrots, she wouldn't touch her food, curled up in a ball, and cried later because the food was too cold.

Sometimes she didn't want to be touched, talked to, or bothered.  Which I totally understand and I'm happy to give her that space, in reason.

She ran around in the wet grass on Crissy Field and then freaked out when her shoes got soaked.

She was tired of taking pictures . . . . often.

Then there was the time we stood around and waited for her to eat a cinnamon roll to calm the wet-shoes & I'm-done-with-pictures meltdown.

Maybe I forgot that she is just 8 years old.  

 

In my mind, here we are on this grown-up trip hosted by my parents and she needs to act more respectful and thankful.  !!!

In her mind, here we are on a trip in the city where there are no chicken nuggets in sight and I just want to run around.

I know she remembers it as a great trip.  I do too!  But from time to time I need to share these vacation-reality blog posts to help me to remember what it was really like.  It's not always taffy & roses. :)

 

This little trip did help me realize a few things:

• There are some things we need to work on in the category of manners & politeness.
• Snacks & treats in my purse would have been a good idea.
• I'm glad we haven't taken our kids on a big trip yet (like, Hawaii).  Another year at least.
• Grandparents are way more patient than mothers.  Maybe they just hide it better.

san francisco // day 2

Aren't cable cars just the cutest?

First thing in the morning we walked down to the Powell & Market turntable to get in line for the cable cars.  Yep, a rather large line, on a Tuesday morning.  But we waited through it because when you're in San Francisco you MUST ride on the cable cars!  

Loved our ride through town and getting the chance to see so many homes and neighborhoods as we made our way down to the pier.

Doesn't this girl look right at home?  Taking the whole city experience in stride.  What a cutie.

We started things off at Hyde St. Pier which was just awesome . . . sailing boats, historic ships from the 1800's, a boat making shop, telescopes for viewing the Golden Gate Bridge, and a tiny beach with kids playing in the sand.

And right behind us we had this beautiful backdrop of the city

 It was a beautiful sunny day as we made our way down Jefferson Street to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, making sure to stop at all the classic touristy spots and photo ops.

Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl was also on my list and we checked that off - with a view of Alcatraz - at the Fog Harbor restaurant on Pier 39.

After lunch Anna declared that it was time to have some fun!  Translation: ride the carousel.

She was so giddy and happy and silly it was just entertaining to watch.  This was my view on the carousel with her . . . 

And this was my parents' view from the ground . . . 

 Oh, all that energy, exuberance, and joy . . . . it's pretty awesome being 8.

Having "fun" also included a trip to the candy store.  Papa handed her a bucket and they picked out a bunch of salt water taffy.  5 pounds of taffy!

It was always so cute to look over and see my parents holding hands or my dad's arm wrapped around mom.

Then we had even more fun when we went to the Exploratorium on Pier 15 and followed Anna around for a couple hours.  So many fun exhibits, experiments, and things to tinker with.

I think her favorite spot was the shadow box.  We also had a lot of fun with the slow motion camera.  And this outdoor play structure made her just so happy.

Meet her new friend Ottery, or Ottie for short.

We took a taxi back to the hotel, ventured out for dinner, and later again for an ice cream treat two nights in a row.  It was a great, full day.

We woke up the next morning to a beautiful cloud of fog blanketing the hill.  After making a detour down Lombard Street we made our way out of town and up to the cabin.  There was still so much we could have seen, but I feel like we had a great San Francisco experience in the 2 days that we were there.

Very cool city.  Be sure to bring a sweater, a hair tie, and good walking shoes.

 

san francisco // day 1

Helloooooo San Francisco!

The last time I visited San Francisco was on our honeymoon - 15 years ago - so I was very excited for the opportunity to come back!  Anna and I made the 8 hour drive to my parent's house, spent the weekend there, and then drove into the city on Monday morning.  My parents treated us to a wonderful trip -- a few days in the city before heading to their cabin in the mountains.  We were pretty darn spoiled.  (At the end of the week when I was thanking my parents for spoiling us Anna was totally confused, "we're not rotten" -- and I had to explain to her the other meaning of spoiled.)

Our first stop was Fort Point which is situated right underneath the Golden Gate Bridge.  It is a cool old building made of beautiful, weathered brick.

 

I did my research before the trip and decided that this would be a great spot to get our photos of the bridge.  Up close and personal.

But trying to get a good photo was no small feat because it was windy, Anna soon grew tired of taking pictures, and I kept closing my eyes.

Did I mention that it was windy?

So we relocated to nearby Crissy Field, tucked back with protection from the bay winds, and beautiful wide open spaces for walking, bike-riding, picnicking, and just enjoying the view.

 After dropping off the truck at the hotel (too early for check-in) we walked around the nearby streets and grabbed lunch at The Melt (grilled cheese happiness).  The weather was beautiful & perfect in downtown!

When finally we were able to check-in this was Anna's reaction.  And if you can't tell there is smile spread across her face from ear to ear.

And then we all took a nap.

Because later we would walk down to Chinatown and explore it all.

Anna went home with one of those fans.  And a blue silk "china girl" dress.  I chose a silk robe as my souvenir and I love it!

We ate dinner at House of Nanking at the recommendation of our concierge.  I was very glad we had asked him for a recommendation because honestly, most of the Chinatown restaurants look pretty scary from the outside!  This place was clean inside, the food was good, and they were fast.  Initially Anna stuck her nose up at the food, but eventually tried several bites and ended up loving it.

Later we took another stroll to a nearby Ghirardelli store for ice cream sundaes.  Yum.

And we capped off the night with a bath for Anna and a few moments to enjoy the nighttime city views before curling up in our Heavenly Beds.

 

. . . coming up on day 2:  Cable Cars, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and the Exploratorium

pioneer day parade

This is our 3rd summer in Vegas and our 3rd year attending the tri-stake Pioneer Day celebration and parade.  I can always count on the event being a fun opportunity to get out, celebrate the pioneers, play some fun games, and show our Mormon to the community as we take over a park and half of a city street.  I can also count on being drenched in sweat because, hello, it's July 24th.

I was in charge of putting together the Primary float.  With the bishop's trailer away at girl's camp, busy summer vacations, and being a novice at float assembly I decided to keep it simple.  

This is the part where I nominated Scott to drive his truck and allow me to decorate it for the parade.  After a trip to Party City for vinyl fringe & candy and some poster cutting action from my Silhouette we were in action.

I supplied bandanas for the boys and made a few bonnets for the girls.  They looked ahh-dorable.

Red, yellow, and blue ribbon wands were super easy to whip together.  Just ribbon + shower curtain rings.  (In the past I've also used these for Primary singing time and they are so much fun for the kids to wave around.)

We (my fam) showed up early at 6:30am to get everything assembled.  Scott was great at making my vision happen and as reward got to enjoy the air conditioning of the truck along the parade route.

Not exactly sure when / why / how my pioneer boys turned into gangsters.

Anna kept up the pioneer spirit

And the parade went great.  We had about 14 kids show up, which was just perfect for the size of vehicle that we had.  We kept the little kids in the truck bed and older kids walked behind with an entourage of adults.

The most surprising thing about being IN the parade this year was just how short it was.  My goodness - about 4 minutes of actual parade waving, smiling, throwing candy and we were done!

The next day we watched 17 Miracles (it's on Netflix too!) and I blogged about one of my pioneer ancestors. I'm so glad that we have this pioneer heritage to remember and celebrate.  They were strong, committed, and faithful like nothing else.  I love this quote that comes at the end of the movie, 17 Miracles:

"I hope you never get over being thankful to them.  
Let us read again and again, and read to our children
and our children's children, the accounts of those
who suffered so much."
--Gordon B. Hinckley

 

 

(Yes, San Francisco and Cabin posts/pictures are on their way but I couldn't let this little event slip away without mentioning.)

from the city to the mountains