Tourist for a Day

We went to SF for the afternoon to do many of the tourist sights.

We rode the trolley. The best part of the ride was on our way back. As we were going up a VERY steep hill the trolley had to stop before it reached the top and couldn’t get the momentum to start again. So all of us had to get out and walk to the top of the street. Once the trolley reached the top we could all get back on. It was a very funny experience.

Stephen wrote love messages in the sand.

We snacked on cookies while watching the waves at the beach.

The highlight of the day was taking a boat ride under the Golden Gate Bridge. We did this years ago when we came with Chiara our foreign exchange student. That time we took a really small old fishing boat. It only took 5 passengers. This time since we had kids we took a slightly larger boat, maybe carrying 25 passengers. This boat felt a bit safer than the other.

Stephen’s lucky he doesn’t have long hair to get in the way.

It was a VERY foggy afternoon. We didn’t even see the bridge until we were right near it. Even when we were under it we could barely see it. Though It was still very beautiful. It was an amazing feeling being so surrounded by fog in the bay.

We all really enjoyed the boat ride. As Stephen said, “Mally’s brain was bursting with joy.”

A street performer gave this balloon to Mally.

It was fun being tourists for the day. We saw a lot of sights, used up a lot of energy and spent a lot of money, but isn’t that what vacations are for?

While the Mom’s Away the Cats will Play

I watched a friend’s daughters the other morning. Trying to entertain the girls, I told them I would paint their faces. The girls loved the idea. I imagined painting simple stars and flowers. The girls had a greater vision and wanted a dragon, pink tiger, sea horse and cheetah. I am NOT an artist, but I gave it a try. Well, almost. I didn’t think I could paint a dragon. Luckily, she was a good sport and opted to be a green cat. Each seemed very pleased with her new face.

Later that day I took my girls to the zoo and they fit right in with the big cats there.

The Play By Play, Day By Day

Saturday, July 2nd. I got my hair cut. I may write about the experience some other time, because it was an interesting experience. I’ll just say for now the gentleman who cut my hair was older than I expected (like in his late 70’s), with a thicker accent than I expected and I didn’t get the haircut I expected. That afternoon we went to the Exploratorium in SF and then picked up Marshall on our way back home. He stayed the weekend with us. The girls LOVE Marshall. Eva wants to marry him. Too bad he is already married. We went swimming that night. Marshall opted to not swim and just stay poolside and watch. The girls kept saying “I love swimming with Marshall.” Just having him near is total bliss to them.

Marshall joining in on the bedtime story routine.

Sunday, July 3rd. We went to church and like always Eva cried through all of nursery. After church we were invited by Stephen’s co-worker to join his family and some friends at the beach. Marshall stayed back, fortunately for him because what was supposed to be an hour drive south turned into a 3 hour drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic in 100+ degree weather. Through the heaviest part of the congestion it took us 2 hours to go 20 miles. It was a MISERABLE drive. Luckily, the heat knocked the girls out and they slept most of the long drive. Once we got to the beach town Capitola it was so crowded I figured there was no way we would find his co-worker. But finally luck was on our side and by chance we put our towels right by Stephen’s co-worker’s friends. Within minutes his co-worker arrived and introduced us to his friends. We were quite and international group. His co-worker and wife are French, and their friends were French and Iranian. Our girls made fast friends with their daughters and we all had a wonderful evening at the beach.

His co-worker brought juggling pins and tried to teach others how to juggle. We joked that all French have to learn an act to perform on the side streets of Paris. Stephen tried to learn juggling, but at one point he threw a pin up and missed it and it came crashing down on my nose. Man, that hurt. I don’t think Stephen is taking his act to the streets.

Monday, July 4th. We went to our Ward’s Scout Fundraiser pancake breakfast and ate way too many chocolate chip and strawberry covered pancakes. Later that morning the family fun began. Stephen’s sister Sarah and her husband were visiting from Utah and his other sister Laurie and most of her kids drove down from Sacramento to play. The plan was to drive to Half Moon Bay, but as we were driving the traffic looked very congested and I got scared that we would have a repeat of our miserable drive yesterday so I recommended we go to a park by the Bay in our town.

Picnic by the Bay.

We spent the day visiting the various areas of the park.

Stephen and Marshall took a quick and cold dip in the Bay.

Hanging out and chatting at the playground.

Stephen couldn’t resist climbing up on this swirly contraption. Sarah, Amber, Erica, Sterling, and Garret all followed Stephen’s lead. Though, Sarah getting up there was the most entertaining.

We ended the fun day with Sarah and Brett treating us all to all-you-can-eat pizza. Then Laurie and her kids headed back to Sacramento and Sarah and Brett took Marshall back to SF. Although it was the 4th of July we didn’t end the day with fireworks, but with chatting with our guests, Sarah and Bret.

Tuesday, July 5th. Sarah and I took and early morning walk. Our walk took a bit longer because we made a detour to Trader Joes to buy orange juice for our husbands. DreamWorks gave all their employees an extra day off so Stephen didn’t have to work today.

We went to the Legions of Honors in SF. It’s a world class art museum full of classical works of art. I was very impressed. I felt like I was back in Europe. The girls were pretty good through the museum. Eventually Stephen took them out while Sarah, Bret and I finished up.

My thinker thinking by Rodin’s Thinker.

A couple of happy couples posing by columns.

The girls enjoyed playing and posing around the columns outside the museum. This picture is our favorite because it so perfectly captures Eva and Mallory’s personality and relationship.

Picnic lunch outside the museum. The grounds were beautiful and constantly had misty fog rolling in.

We ended up going to a playground near the museum. Here’s Sarah posing like The Thinker.

Later that afternoon we went back to our place watched Kung Fu Panda and had dinner. And even later, Sarah and I went to Cost Co. Sarah drove and sadly she got rear-ended right in front of our apartment building. Both cars pulled over and the guy admitted it was his fault and told us he didn’t want any contact with the police and it wasn’t his car and he didn’t have a license. Great, just the kind of guy we want to have contact with. Sarah’s husband came out to take a look at the situation. Fortunately, her car looked okay, so we parted ways with the guy.

Wednesday, July, 6th. Sarah and I went walking again. Stephen went back to work and Sarah and Bret left to go to the Exploratorium, the temple and then back to Laurie’s in Sacramento. We’ll miss playing with them for a few days, but then they will be back again to play with us this weekend. We have all really loved having family visiting and look forward to the fun this weekend.

Back to the Beach

Today I took the girls to spend the day at Half Moon Bay. The sky was blue, the sand was warm and the water was cold like always here. But the cold water never stops the girls. It was a delightful day. We never tired of the sand and waves.

Mally sitting in the hole she dug. She spent hours digging it.

Surprisingly, Eva took a nap at the beach. After lunch she complained of being cold. Playing in the frigid water can do that. I had her lie down under towels and within minutes she was out. She peacefully slept for over an hour while I read a book in peace.

I am in love, love, love with the beach. Lucky for me, we are planning on visiting the beach a few more times in the coming days.

The Happiest Place on Earth

The happiest place on earth doesn’t have to be Disneyland. Last week I took the girls to Happy Hollow in San Jose. It’s a Disneyland-like amusement park and zoo. Happily, we got in for free because of the reciprocal pass we bought in UT. That made me very happy. The park is wonderful. The rides are so sweet and just the right size and scariness level for my girls.  Well, almost. They have a kid sized rollercoaster. There was no way Mally was going to ride it, but Eva was convinced she wanted to try. Eva and I went on it while Mally watched and waited on the platform.  After the first hill and me having to coax Eva to breathe I knew she was NOT enjoying the ride. She was way too scared to scream or even breathe. When the ride was coming to a stop she was waving her hands franticly and yelling “No, No!” I think everyone could see her fear. So, we didn’t go on that ride again. Mally was very happy she stayed and watched. And I don’t think we will have to try another rollercoaster for years to come.

For the rest of the day we went on all the sweet calm rides and we enjoyed the zoo animals which are mingled through out the park. We had a very happy day at Happy Hollow.