SAN FRANCISCO

None of us had ever been to Lake Tahoe. We were expecting warm sunny weather with lots of poolside fun. not so. Lake Tahoe was cold. and wet. there was still snow on the ground in fact.  We spent the first day driving around Carson City. It rained all day. The next day was just as stormy. We weren’t really sure what to do or how we were going to spend the rest of the week in Tahoe, the weather forecast wasn’t looking good. so what did we do? We took a little three day trip down to San Francisco! we were pretty worried about how Henry would do, we were already a week into vacationing and he was starting to get worn out. but it was either go, or stay cooped up in the condo for a week. and we are so glad we went! Henry did great! We packed a lot into the few days we were there and we had such a fun time! I had never been to San Francisco so everything was new to me, so of course…pictures, pictures, pictures!

We got to San Francisco late Monday morning and headed straight to the waterfront (along with the other tourists) where we walked along the piers. We of course had to see the sea lions at Pier 39.

they were the funniest. and oh so smelly. next we headed over to Fisherman’s Wharf where we enjoyed some fish and chips and clam chowder at the Chowder Hut.

We kept walking until we found ourselves at Ghiradelli Square where we promptly spent $40 on chocolate. that’s okay right? only on vacation. this is also where we enjoyed a delicious ice cream sundae (cable car) and salted caramel hot chocolate. I was too busy throwing all my anxieties aside and finally nursing in public (I was discreet) to get any pictures of this stop. but are you noticing a trend? our trip revolved around food…

We drove around the city, saw beautiful houses and parks. took a windy drive down Lombard street and ended the day at Coit Tower where we enjoyed amazing views of the city:

alcatraz

Lombard Street

on Day 2 we took advantage of the nicer weather to do some sightseeing. after a delicious breakfast (more on that later) we made our way across the Golden Gate Bridge.

we took a beautiful drive along the coastline.

We drove through Sausalito, the cutest little town and then through the Muir Woods. We didn’t get out of the car, so no pictures. We were trying to keep Henry asleep because that night we had tickets for the Giants game! hooray! we knew Henry wouldn’t make it through the whole game so we got cheap tickets ($3 each!) and enjoyed the beautiful view from way up high.

We only made it to the 5th inning but we still had a great time. We ended the night with a little drive through Berkeley.

Day 3- we were lucky to have sunny weather again! after another amazing breakfast we drove around Presidio and took a little peak at Lucas Film (their grounds are beautiful) at least what we saw of it. and we just couldn’t stay away from the bridge. this time from a different viewpoint.

Chris’ face…..

we couldn’t leave San Francisco before eating one more time. Tony’s Pizza. and that ended our spontaneous trip to San Fran. We loved it even more than we thought we would.

{WHERE WE ATE} -because this deserves to be mentioned.

Mama’s- a cute little café right across the street a park and a beautiful church. we enjoyed warm apple crumb cake, various types of eggs benedict, and yummy French toast. Vegetarian Eggs Benedict- avacado, tomato, mushrooms, delish.

Smokehouse- on Telegraph in Berkeley. we were trying to find somewhere open, it was late, and this was one of our only options. we lucked out. they have great burgers, hot dogs, fries, shakes, etc. perfect for a 1030 pm dinner….

Brenda’s-probably my favorite. oh my goodness. we were told to go there for their Beignets but those weren’t even the best part. everyone ordered something different and everything was good. Shrimp and grits, Maple Pecan French Toast, Croque Monsier. I had a little love affair with my salad: brie en croute on top, dark greens, dijon vinaigrette, red onions, candied walnuts, grilled chicken. we. must. go. back.

Tony’s Pizza- definitely worth the last minute stop. we tried the:

*Margherita (which one the world pizza cup in 2007,hooray)   

*Cal Italia-(asiago, mozzarella, italian gorgonzola, sweet fig preserve, prosciutto de parma, parmigiano, balsamic) this won the gold medal at Food Networks Pizza Challenge

*The New Yorker- my personal favorite (mozzarella, pepperoni, italian fennel sausage, ricotta, chopped garlic and oregano) I usually don’t like meat pizza’s but this was amazing, especially with the Ricotta

Tartine: we were told to go here for the best sour dough bread in the city and it did not disappoint. They also have amazing desserts and pastries.

We weren’t hungry for days after this trip. We had one day left in Tahoe before our wonderful vacation was over. We were happy to have good weather. which (sorry to be obnoxious) means one last vacation post….

Yosemite

*Sorry in advance for the picture overload and many notes, but I have the need to document everything and so it cannot be helped.* our trip started with a stop in Las Vegas. Not only was this a desirable stop to break up the 14 hour drive to Yosemite, but it is also home to our wonderful Skouson friends. There’s always something going on at the Skouson home. This time we were entertained by their new parrot, Pickles, who was quite the character. We still aren’t sure how Henry felt about him.

We stayed with them for a couple of nights before heading on to Yosemite.

Its hard to describe Yosemite in words. simply put it is unbelievably beautiful. we both agreed it was one of the most amazing places we had ever been and we hope to go back.

Day 1- We got our first look at Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View. So pretty it was unreal.

After taking some pictures we drove around the valley, we did this a lot, everywhere you look there’s something amazing to see. We stopped for some lunch by the river before making our way over to the visitors center. We browsed around the Ansel Adams Gallery (exciting for me especially since I did a project on him for a Humanities class), then took a short walk to the base of Yosemite Falls.

(big tree. notice Henry’s “rock on” fist pump. awesome. this tree is dated back to 325 AD.)

 

(Yosemite Falls)

Day 2- We spent the morning in Mariposa Groves, where the BIG trees live. since we forgot our camera that morning all our pictures are courtesy of Chris.

(The Fallen Monarch)

(this day was cold. and wet.) Note for futures trips, the stroller wasn’t the smartest idea. Our little Maclaren was pretty tough through this hike and so was Henry. With the cold, the rain, and the off-roading we were surprised that both the stroller and Henry did so well. but a front carrier or a backpack would have made a lot more sense. we got quite a lot of stares carrying the stroller up some of the rougher parts of the trail.

(The Grizzly Giant)

(Wawona Tunnel Tree)

(Faithful Couple. Two trees that grew together, cute.)

Mariposa Groves left us cold, wet and with a tired baby. After a little break at the cabin we drove up to Glacier Point, where you can get one of the best views of the Yosemite Valley. there was a lot of filming and picture taking.

Day 3- we started our day by stopping at El Capitan to watch the climbers.

El Capitan is amazing. It’s the largest piece of solid granite in the world, and I am so impressed by those who are skilled enough to climb it. The climb to the top takes more than one day so the climbers will pitch their tents against the wall for the night. I can safely say I wont be doing that anytime soon. or ever.

After El Capitan we went on a hike to Vernal Falls. We started out the hike like this:

the hike was beautiful:

our goal was to make it to the top of Vernal Falls, but our out of shape bodies and sleepy/hungry baby made it so we only made it to the base. just another reason to go back I guess. and so we ended our hike like this:

while henry slept in the car we went to see more of the sights.

whew. quite a post. Yosemite was heavenly. We were sad to leave, and felt like there was so much left still to see. We are already dreaming about going back.

We left Yosemite for Lake Tahoe where we decided to take a surprise side trip to San Francisco! but that is for another post.

 

 

 

 

we are back.

we are back from our vacation and we’re not too happy about it.  playing all day and sleeping in every morning is really too much fun for our own good. and although henry was a dream, travelling with a baby is quite a task and we are still trying to recover. we are also trying to get back into normal everyday life.

we don’t need to mention how many pictures we took, but it was a lot, so hopefully I can get to posting some pictures in the next day or two.  but for now just a picture of baby boy, he turned 4 months this weekend.

rainy days

I have to admit, I have love love loved the weather in utah lately. I know most wouldn’t agree, and don’t get me wrong I love the sun too, but rainy days are probably my favorite.  they’re cozy. and the rain makes everything so fresh and green and I just happen to think our little utah county looks  so beauteeful right now.

our rainy days have been filled with lots of relaxing in our sweats. we have been staying current with the playoffs,

 

and reading some dr. seuss,

as much as we like the rain though, its time for a little sun. I have a little one who absolutely loves being outside and it has been wonderful getting out and enjoying the nice weather the last few days.

I have to share a photo mckay took of the birds nest near our front porch.

it’s basically like a planet earth episode right in front of us : ). we’re pretty excited to see those pretty blue eggs hatch.

exciting news of the week: chris got his mission call today. orsono, chile. it looks like an amazing area and we are all so excited for him.

in other news. saturday we are leaving for what has been called the last big family vacation since chris will be leaving (oct. 12), mairin will be moving to new york in august, and who knows where we will be. we are spending some time in Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, both places neither of us have been before. we are pretty pumped. mckay and no work for two weeks = heaven, and I am delighted I’ll get to spend so much time with both of my boys.

love them.

3 months

our baby turned three months old today. I really can’t believe it. we celebrated of course by enjoying a bubble bath and a nice long nap (henry, not me), playing with monkeys, watching a little how to train your dragon ( he loves watching the bright colors and lights):

a little stroll outside between rainstorms,

and dancing in the kitchen with grandma. we sure do love our sweet boy.

 

 

mothers day and our other blog

Mothers Day might just be my new favorite holiday. Henry’s present to me was starting to sleep 7-8 hours a night this week. I’m starting to feel human again.

it was so fun to spend the day with family, and to talk to brother adam in Israel and brother marty in Australia, at the same time, on speakerphone. 

also. we started another blog. I decided to start a food blog to keep our favorite recipes all in one place. mckay contributed by coming up with a title. check it out if you wish : )

henry goes to the beach

the trip. like I said, it was wonderful. we left saturday morning, the day after graduation. at this point husband and I had a total of 8 hours sleep in the last 48 hours, and we were tired. skeptical of how the 10 hour drive would turn out we left early in the morning hoping for the best. we just so happened to be blessed with a child that does great in the car. he slept practically the whole way. we did have to stop to feed him a few times, which added quite a bit of time to the already long drive. and we are also entering into the world of massive blowouts. im pretty sure we went through 4 outfits by the time we got to carlsbad.

sunday came. easter. I was disappointed I hadn’t had enough time to put together baskets for henry or mckay. I realize henry isn’t even 3 months old yet, so I’m sure he didn’t mind. but it was his first easter. and I didn’t even take pictures of him in his cute easter outfit. fail.

the majority of the trip was spent eating amazing food,  shopping, and relaxing.

we are lucky enough to have family to stay with in Carlsbad. Henry loved being around the Greenwood ladies. he also met Cooper, the Greenwood’s king charles spaniel who desperately wanted to be henry’s friend.

we took a few trips to the beach, the weather was perfect. we learned that henry ray truly loves being outside. whenever he would get fussy we would take him outside and he would quickly calm down and look all around with big wide eyes.  this was especially the case at the beach.

we also made a trip down to the San Diego temple to walk around the grounds. henry seemed to enjoy that as well.

 

mckay and brother chris accidentally matched that day. cutesy.

it was a good day : )

and a good trip.

baby blue eyes

we are back from vacation. it was so so wonderful. although I must say travelling with a baby is completely new territory for us and we are quite exhausted. I’m hoping to write more tomorrow….or maybe the next day.