San Francisco

We had the best time in San Francisco! Thanks Angie for inviting us. It was a blast. The 'crooked street' - Lombard Street.
In Pacific Heights admiring some Victorian Homes.

Chinatown was super fun. Greg served his mission in Hong Kong so it was fun to hear him communicate with some people. We ate great Chinese food and Asian pastries.

The best part of Fisherman's Wharf is definitely the food! We got clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl to warm us up and yummy shrimp for dinner.
Riding the cable cars.

The tower at Union Square.
We weren't planning on going to Japantown but we happened upon it so we walked through!
I couldn't help myself and had to buy these cute little Chinese outfits for my kids. They love the shoes especially a lot. Now if I can only convince them to wear them for Halloween...

The kids had lots of fun with Grandma. Thanks so much Lorraine for watching them.

Muir Woods

We decided to drive north to Muir Woods National Park and see some redwood trees. I had never seen Redwood Trees before so I didn't know what to expect but they were AWESOME to say the least. I was blown away. I know there are bigger ones other places but these were amazing.
We had to take a picture of McKay's awesome parking spot. There were people parking close to a mile away and McKay told us he gets lucky with parking spots so he drove to the front of the lot and low and behold - someone was leaving! I think you had to have been there to appreciate it but it was very cool.

There was parts of the forest designated as quiet zones as to not disturb the trees. A little quirky but cool nonetheless.

Biking the Golden Gate Bridge

We got brave and decided to rent bikes and bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. We had never rented a tandem bike so we thought we were extra brave. It is great couples therapy as good communication makes for a much more enjoyable ride.

I rode on the bike with former All-Camarillo Biker man in the front. He was a stud! Some of the hills I would have walked he refused and we kept right on peddling.
It was awesome on the bridge! A little windy but very cool. It is such a different experience riding on the bridge versus riding in a car. I highly recommend it! A slightly disturbing sight were the crisis counseling signs. A little fact I learned that since it was opened in the 1930's over 1,000 people have committed suicide on the bridge.
The ride back was mostly downhill so we made record time. I was a little nervous with no braking power and McKay's desire for speed but I survived. Besides having very sore rear ends from the bike seats (the padding was about as think as a sheet of toilet paper) it was well worth it! We just got reminded how much fun we had every time we sat down.
McKay trying to bring back pegged-legged pants. We definitely saw some interesting styles in San Fran.

Alcatraz

We started our trip off with a stop at Alcatraz. Besides being somewhat stunned from the slightly cold temperatures of San Francisco it was a great way to start.

I had to include this picture of Angie's great hair! Needless to say, it was pretty windy!
I really wanted to take a picture of this beautiful hydrangea. McKay thought it was funny I wanted a picture of a flower, but I thought it was such a pretty sight among the ugliness of a prison.

Hearst Castle

We stopped in San Simeon At Hearst Castle. It was one of the homes of publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst. Our tour was almost two hours and and we didn't even see a quarter of the place - HUGE! It was beautiful; a little over-the-top for me but what do you expect from a castle?!

The Drive

On our way to San Francisco we decided to drive up scenic Highway 1. It was beautiful! Plus it was really fun in McKay's new car. It was great to chat and not have to worry about kids.

The elephant seals in San Simeon.

The Rock in Morro Bay. BTW - I am freezing in this picture - a sign of things to come!

Mac Learning to Walk!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This is a video from Rachel Lou. It is from July 25. He is getting more steady everyday. We are so excited he is walking. He wasn't showing any interest there for awhile.

The Best Chocolate Cake EVER!

I wish I could say I made this cake but our awesome neighbors gave it to us! It was so pretty and good Anna said we should take a picture and put it on our blog. It was honestly the best chocolate cake I have ever had. It was so big I wasn't even sure how to cut it!
I might have to go have another piece right now...

More Swimming Pics

I just love these two cute faces! Carly is getting more and more confidence swimming - she doesn't want to just 'relax' at the pool anymore - she wants to swim!

This a quick video of Anna learning to dive. She will only do it with her teacher Violet because there is a sign at our pool that says "NO DIVING." And being the rule follower that she is, she intends to follow that rule!

Daddy's Work Party

I think after Christmas this is my kids favorite day of the year! It is known as "Daddy's Work Party." The kids have so much fun playing on the jolly jumps and eating as much popcorn, snow cones, and Capri Sun's as they could handle! They were sad their cousin Lori couldn't come but were happy that Whitney and Adam (friends from church) were there.
I didn't even have to look to know if my kids were going down the slide because each time was accompanied by a loud girly scream! I knew it was them.

Carly had so much stuff on her shirt that when I took her name tag sticker off there was a perfect white outline on her shirt from where it had been! Needless to say it went immediately to the Oxy bucket. Such a fun party. Anna announced that every year she is going to have to help more and more because she will be older and older. They loved 'helping' set up, pass out tickets, and help Rachel and Loreal with popcorn and snow cones. We're counting down the days to next year!

The Fair Affair

We headed off to the fair on Wednesday afternoon. It was lots of fun! Well, not every single second was lots of fun, but I would stay 90 percent of the time it was great! If you got there before 3 pm then it was only a dollar (better than the 9 bucks it usually is!) We were still in line to park at 2:54 so I got out and ran to the ticket booth to make sure we could get in for a buck. Once we got inside and walking around we needed a refresment from all that hussling! It is a good thing we made it in for only a dollar because we ended up spending $30+ on food and rides! The kids had a blast and McKay and I were giving each other props for attempting to be fun parents.
It got a little chilly and the kids had to have their jackets on. Plus it was really windy when we were trying to eat all of our fried food (corn dogs and funnel cakes.) It takes a little bit of fun out of eating fattening food when you are freezing! We decided we had had enough fun for one day when the girls were huddled in the stroller freezing and Mac hadn't had a nap for a really long time.
Anna posing for a picture in a cop car. Carly refused to get in.
Every animal is a dog to Mac. Sheep, goats, chickens, they are all "doe! doe!" to Mac.

Yoga!

I checked out a Yoga Video from the Library thinking it would be something fun for me to do and help in my flexibility. Anna and Carly like to do it more than I do! Carly will even play Yoga with Anna and be the instructor. I find taking pictures of my kids doing Yoga much more entertaining than actually doing Yoga - I haven't caught the vision yet. They only like it for about 10 minutes then they are done. Notice the matching sippy cups with blankets for when they are so parched from stretching they need a drink. Such cutie pies.