San Francisco 2

We went to Coit tower to check out the spectacular views of the city.

Then after driving around looking for free parking for 15 minutes, I found a spot. It was on a STEEP hill, but I had to have my spot. Amazingly enough I parked it. By the way we made the whole trip without a parking ticket, and only paid to park once!We then took the cable car down to the wharf.

I love this shot with the Hyde St. sign behind those two.

I decided to go tour the ships on Hyde St. Pier. It was really amazing to see these old ships still in good condition. This wheel is amazing. I wonder who carved it! What a work of art.

Those look tangled to me.

This room looks cozy. And I love all the wood.

Me on the wooden ferry.

Jeff met up with us later and we toured pier 39. We stopped to see the sea lions.

The next day we slept in late enough to see the fog lift.



We decided to go walk the San Francisco bridge.


Jeff and I kept wondering what the cables looked like inside. And lo and behold after we got off the bridge to stumbled upon this. Miriam is showing off it's size.

Our last day we had to go back to Pier 39 so we could get a crepe. Jeff was the brains behind this. I have to say San Francisco was really great!

San Francisco 1

So I know it's been three months since I've made a blog post. But it's been a nice break. I think I'm back and ready to post more frequently! Anyway I wanted to post some pictures from the trip Jeff and I took to San Francisco. We were lucky enough to have Miriam and Chris join us!

We camped at half moon bay. It was beautiful, especially the first few days we were there. It fogged up later on.
The cable cars were totally as cool as they looked. We enjoyed riding them around the city, especially at night. Cute newlywedsChina town. The best part were the fortune cookies we found.


Jeff took me to prison. But I put him in a cell.
We totally stumbled in on this place (the mussee mecanique) but I'm glad we did, because it was totally fun. Come on Chris!
Shoot those Indians Miriam

The games were so old it was crazy!

This ended up being a draw, maybe when it was restored they missed some parts.

Why does posting to blogs take so much time? I leave you with my SF at night shots, and I'll have to post the rest later!

taking a break

For Valentine's Day this year Jeff taught me how to snowboard at Snowbasin. A few weeks later Jeff took some vacation time so we headed up to Brighton on Wednesday (thanks Jackie for watching the kids). We got home that evening and packed everything up and took the kids up to my mom's house (thanks Mom and everyone else who helped watch our kids there. Seriously we really appreciate it). We slept until 4:00am and then drove up to Targhee and snowboarded there. It was definitely worth it as it snowed all day so we had fresh powder to play in. And I think it's safe to say I really like snowboarding.

Jon and Kanien were nice enough to invite us up to the cabin with them. We cross-country skied in at 12:30 am. It was super fun, until we had to break trail. But we made it and in the morning they cooked us a delicious breakfast!

Skiing at Luckydog. Ahhh, so relaxing.

Yummy. I love eating fresh snow off the trees. No city pollution to worry about.

Dad's little cabin all buried in. That's a door there in front.

Jon's friend from High School married one of my friends from High School, so it was fun to have a little reunion. Thanks guys for leaving your twins to come hang out with us!

On Saturday we all went for a ski. Jon took us on some hills that freaked me out. But we made it back alive and we had an awesome trip!

blooming blossoms

So with no effort, except letting in a little sun, viola. Here are the blossoms about 10 days after I cut them.

A normal 4 petal blossom.

And an unusual 5 petal blossom. The only one I could find. Good luck maybe?!?!

And moving on, I started some seeds today. Not the fanciest set up, but everything the plants need. Just a normal shop light with cool fluorescent bulbs, and a heating pad since they have to hang out in the cold basement. I started lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, and basil. In a few weeks I'll fill up the rest with warm weather vegetables.

Master Gardener Apprentice

So something I've wanted to do for a long time...ever since I decided to get married instead of pursue a degree in Horticulture, is become a Master Gardener. Last fall I applied to the program here in Salt Lake City and then held my breath for two months. I found out I was accepted on Thanksgiving Day (thanks to forgetting to check the mail the day before). The program includes 8 weeks of classes and then you have to complete 40 hours of volunteer gardening during the summer. I've been going to classes for three weeks now and (eeek!) I love it and get so excited every Tuesday and Thursday night. I get all giddy thinking about Spring and being able to plant things in my own yard (aaahhh!!). Here are some forsythia I cut this week to force into bloom. This is the before picture, stay tuned for the after.

Hu?

This is how Owen was watching t.v. the other day. Sometimes I catch him doing a head-stand on the couch.

I went downstairs to see if Jeff was ready for bed and this is what I found. If you look close you can see his earphones in. He was listening to an audiobook and woke up several hundred pages later.


Hannah has decided she isn't a baby anymore and started to refuse to sit down in the high chair. So I finally waved the white flag and moved her to the table.

She also decided she was too big for her crib.

You have to love the first few weeks in the bed. No, Hannah, the blanket was to catch your fall. As was the pillow.

Jury Duty

Yesterday I did jury duty. The whole thing: went there, was selected, listened to testimony forever, deliberated. It was really interesting. I felt bad for the woman who was at our mercy. She was charged with retail theft from a home depot. How much did she still? $30 worth of merchandise. She was part Asian, so beautiful, well dressed and clean. And she had a little boy. I wanted her to be innocent, but she wasn't. It seemed so silly to me that she had chosen to steal $30. Now she was going to jail for it. What a stupid choice. Well the moral of the story is: don't steal or you could be prosecuted and go to jail for it.

I heart

1. Happy children singing Christmas carols all day long.
2. Being at a Psychiatry Department Christmas party.
3. Getting my car washed.
4. Christmas lights on all the lampposts on our street.
5. The smell of popcorn popping.

Random Thought #2

Buying things online is satisfying. No grumpy workers, no kids crying in the store, no traffic, aahhhhh:)

random thought #1

One of my biggest disappointments of the year is when I got a parking ticket in front of my own house. I backed out of my driveway in a hurry because someone was picking up my free washer. I left the car facing the wrong way for a few hours....and Mr. Parking Enforcement got me.

2-speed-Owen

Owen has 2 speeds.
Stopped and running.
This makes is difficult to walk him to school.
He runs and I say "Stop. You need to wait for me. Please stop. OWEN DO NOT GO PAST THE CORNER."
He stops and waits.
I catch up, walk past him, but he doesn't move.
He is busy watching a garbage truck.
I continue on and finally turn around "Owen, lets go!"
He turns his head and looks at me and then returns to looking at the truck.
"All right Owen, time to walk or we're going to be late."
He comes, running.
He runs past me...and past the 8 people ahead of me.
Now I can't see where he is. So I take off trying to weave through people with my Chariot.
I finally see him ahead "Owen, you need to stay by us. Just hold onto the stroller and walk with me."
O:"I'm tired, I need a rest!!!! My hands are soaking cold"
C: "We need to walk to make the crossing guard. Let's rest after we cross the street."
O: "urgh! I'm so tired."
We cross the street and then he takes off down the sidewalk toward the school.
I keep up but then suddenly...
O:"Ouch! Why do you always run over me?"
C: "well you can't just stop in front of the stroller without telling me."
O: "I wanted to see the water in the road" (the sewer drain)
C: "okay, just for a minute"
We finally make it to the school, coat off, hands washed, name tag on, and a hug goodbye.
I turn around and walk home.
Each step is uniform and identical.
There is no variation in my speed.
I turn each corner with precision and hop up each curb with alacrity.
I smile to myself, but by the time I get home I can't wait to go back and pick up my 2-speed-Owen

I Heart

1. Two-year-olds blowing out candles.
2. The first snowfall.
3. Babies who have the hiccups.
4. The shine of a returned missionary.
5. The quiet concentration of kids digging through their Halloween candy.

2

We're all smiles here today because Hannah turns 2! It's easy to let my thoughts turn back to when she was born and how much fun she has been the past two years. I made a video to help celebrate!

I Heart

I Heart: (thanks Mic for the fun idea)
1. Hannah turning her head back and forth to feel her ponytail flop around.
2. Lots of covers on a cold night.
3. Carving pumpkins.
4. The smell of Fall.
5. The familiar voice of a friend on the phone.

Back East

Wow, Owen and I had such a fun trip! It's good to be home, but hard too. There is always a lull after returning from something really fun. Owen is happy to be back in preschool and I am happy to be back with Jeff and Hannah. The first 24 hrs with Hannah were so fun. She had this very content, happy smile and kept letting me hold and cuddle her. (And if you know Hannah you know that's unusual).

Thanks everyone who let me stay at their place! It could not have been a better trip! Pictures to come soon.

GROSGRAIN MINI STORE OPENING NOVEMBER 6!!!!! AND BIG PREVIEW GIVEAWAY!!!!

So thanks to Kanien, I started looking at this blog of an amazing Mom who designs girls clothes. People are so creative!
GROSGRAIN MINI STORE OPENING NOVEMBER 6!!!!! AND BIG PREVIEW GIVEAWAY!!!!

Fun Times!!!

Owen and I are having so much fun on our trip! We're going to be sad to say goodbye to New York tomorrow. I can't wait to post some pictures from all our fun times. For now here are some shots of our cabin trip the weekend before we left. 

This is why I didn't bring Hannah with me. Her basic walking gear defaults sometimes.

Beautiful sister

Lucky Dog Creek

Herriman State Park