One More Day Touring the Bay

We went over four bridges on the bay this week. This, of course, was our trip over the Golden Gate.

We hiked around Muir Woods to see the redwoods and enjoy some of God’s beautiful creations.

I’m not sure why, but Aiden loved this exhibit. I loved that there was a little Asian boy reading the plaques (dates representing when the rings of this old tree grew, labeled with events like the Revolutionary War) and asking his dad, “So this tree watched the Americans fight the British? Dad, really?” I didn’t hear his dad’s answer, but I was impressed the tiny boy had a general idea of the Revolutionary War even though he didn’t seem to see that a CA tree would not see that particular war...

After Aiden landed on his knees in the mud, he walked around like this, saying “Ick!” Even after we wiped off his hands, he was worried about his pants and walked for awhile without bending his knees so the pants wouldn’t touch his skin, and he kept staring at the mud spots. It was so funny; maybe he has a little of me after all!

The temple lighting was Saturday night, and we went to see it after the initial rush. It was beautiful, as always. I love to look at the lights and the beautiful temple and the nativity and feel how much our Heavenly Father loves His children to bless us with so much.

The perfect ending to a great week: Fenton’s ice cream. Have you seen the Disney movie, Up? We were tempted to sit on the curb with ice cream cones, but it was FREEZING outside. We certainly enjoyed our ice cream inside though.

Spending Black Friday Outside

We spent the morning in Santa Cruz, at the beach and driving along the coast, past the lighthouse with the surf museum. We ate lunch at Flames, and the BYU students joined our ward’s youth at the temple that night.

Aiden was dying to take off his shoes and socks and walk the beach… until the water actually washed up over his toes. Then he wanted UP, UP, UP!

This otter swam so close to the pier we were on! It was awesome.

I was a little bummed to see that the mall was CRAZY. There was no parking anywhere remotely close, and there were more parking attendants and police here than at MLB games. Well, close, you know. I don’t feel like I missed out though.

Thanksgiving

We had SO MUCH delicious food for Thanksgiving, and it was SO FUN to see a bunch of friends and family! I’m so grateful to everyone, especially my mom, who put together such a delicious meal.

Aiden warmed up to everyone pretty quickly. I’m thankful to have a little boy who will hang out with other people and isn’t afraid of people he doesn’t see every day.

Our visitors from BYU… I’m so thankful they could visit!

Naturally, Aiden would do anything but slow down for a picture. I’m grateful for him anyway. He brings lots of joy to our family.

Some of us went to see a movie that night while others stayed in to watch a movie while Aiden napped. I am grateful Isaac let me go out for a fun outing without my boys—it’s nice to have some girl time sometimes.

A Day in the City

We were so excited to have our sisters Mandy & Sarah come out for a Thanksgiving visit! They brought Mandy’s boyfriend Bryant and Sarah’s friend Emily and took turns driving Mandy’s car for the long drive. The first day they were here, we went to San Francisco and saw the coastline, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Ghirardelli Square, among other things.