Lake Tahoe 2018

My brother called me on Wednesday letting me know he was in Reno visiting his friend Jesse and asked if we wanted to meet them in Tahoe on Friday.  I immediately texted LaVor to see if he thought he'd be able to take the day off.  Within a few hours, he said he was off and I let me brother know we'd be at the beach with bells on.

We haven't seen my brother and his family for two years, since my dad's heart surgery, and we hadn't seen Jesse and his family since The Lime's baby blessing (say what?!?!).  We all picked up right where we left off, including the kids, and had a wonderful few hours under the sun.

Our boys (the little ones) immediately jumped in the frigid cold water and just about froze their buns off.  They'd get out of he water, complain how cold they were, then jump right back in.  This process was repeated multiple times throughout the day.

Other brave souls jumped in the lake but I was not one of them. Unless I was sitting directly in the sun, I was cold and I knew the second I went in the water, I'd never be able to recover. And honestly, I hate being cold so exposing my skin to the harsh Lake Tahoe sun was good enough for me.

We saw fellow beach goers jump off poles into the middle of the lake, a mama duck and her babies, and more geese and ducks than we wanted (dang, do they beg!).

The wives chatted, the husbands chatted, everyone snacked, and the kids played until it was time to go. We had to be back home for The Lime's baseball party so on the road we went but because I'm my father's daughter, I had to take a few group photos before packing up.

We've realized we've visited Lake Tahoe for the last three summers and don't know why we don't visit more often. We'll see what happens in the next 12 months.

Expressing Gratitude - Day 25

I've been looking forward to this day since the last time we went to San Francisco!

LaVor and I were discussing where we should take family pictures this year and he suggested we go somewhere (other than across the street). "Like San Francisco," he said.

I got right on it and started researching good spots to take pictures. I came across Buena Vista Park which just so happens to be up the street from Memphis Minnie's, our favorite BBQ spot that we also wanted to visit. Over the next few weeks, I tried to put together a semi-acceptable wardrobe and prayed the weather would work in our favor. Last night, I charged my camera, got the tripod all set, and showed LaVor what everyone would be wearing. "It's too much," he said of my shirt. I showed him another outfit and he said it wasn't enough. Since it was 10:00 and I had no other options, I ended up choosing the too much outfit.

We woke up bright and early this morning and were on the road by 9:00. We were estimated to arrive around 11:30 which meant we'd be right on time to lunch at MM. We always have such a good time there and can't get enough of their food!

With extra full bellies, we drove up Haight Street and found THE perfect spot to snap some pictures. Except, I forgot the screw that attaches the piece to my camera that inserts into the tripod. Sooooo, LaVor's dad was our photographer. Bless his heart! I'm SO grateful they were with us or else I would have been a wreck.

Look at that view!

And this one!

Good golly, I love San Francisco.

We wrapped things up and drove to the Mission so LaVor could go to his knife shop and I could finally poke my head in Tartine. LaVor found a prime spot and we both accomplished our tasks, mine being a little sweeter, and we were off to our next destination.

I've never been to the Legion of Honor but it's apparently a very popular spot. And the park rangers are jerks there. So we continued north to the Presidio.

Unfortunately, Doodlebug fell asleep and was just a tad crabby when we found a parking spot. He wanted nothing to do with getting out of the car, let alone taking more pictures, and complained of his tummy hurting. He's a pretty regular boy but hadn't pooped in a day so I knew he just needed to relieve some pressure. And that he did.

Magically, his little personality changed and he was more energetic than I wanted him to be :)

Needless to say, everyone was "done" by this point so we tried to capture what we could and called it a day.

The boys really wanted to go to the beach so we skipped on over to Crissy Field to catch the sunset.

Doodlebug was thrilled to interact with the dogs and kick the sand.

And The Lime was grumpy we wouldn't let him get in the water.

We needed to get on the road but wanted to make one more stop to see the Christmas tree in Union Square. We braved the 30+ minute drive to go 3 miles (and understood why we don't ever go there!) only to arrive and have The Lime complain of starvation when 10 minutes earlier I asked if anyone was hungry and he said no. It got to the point where he thought he was going to pass out so LaVor snagged him a Jamba Juice and that didn't seem to hit the spot :P The apples I had with me, all along, did the trick.

At least we got to get a picture with the tree!

I love this city and feel so blessed we live close enough that we can visit it often. I'm thankful for all the memories I created here while going to school and that our family had created. I'm grateful for its beauty, character, joy it brings me, and the people who make it so special.

It was the perfect spot for our pictures this year and I'm thankful LaVor suggested it.

Post-Summer Vacation Fun

The day The Lime started school was the same day LaVor's family arrived in California from Hawaii and Colorado. Since they flew into Oakland, they stayed put on Wednesday and Thursday but drove up to see us on Friday. We took The Lime out of school just a tad early so we could have some fun with our family!

I think the family traveling from Hawaii (they stopped in Salt Lake on their way from Europe to Hawaii, so they'd been ALL over the place) was a bit worn out so we decided to go bowling.

Although we hadn't seen LaVor's brother and his family since our visit to Colorado last year, the boys were able to pick up right where they left off with their cousins. I think The Lime wants a big brother because he was glued to his cousin, Jacob, the entire time they were here. And Doodlebug took a liking to his cousin who also happens to be his twin (just 10 years older).

After bowling, we came back to our house and chatted for a bit before we headed to the outlets so they could use their gift cards before heading back to Switzerland. It was also extremely convenient that one of their favorite Mexican restaurants from when they lived here was just a hop, skip, and a jump from the outlets. Since they can't get Mexican food in Switzerland, they stocked up while in California.

By the time dinner was over, we were hitting 8:00 and everyone was getting tired. Since they had a 2 hour drive back to the bay area, we said our goodbyes and planned on getting together the following day.

LaVor's cousin was having a baby shower on Saturday and a majority of the extended family would be there. LaVor and the boys drove down and met up with his brother's family & parents. I think I overdid it with the nachos, mozzarella sticks, and Mexican food the day before so I decided to stay home where I slept off the yuckiness. They were gone all day but arrived just in time for me to head off to work.

We woke up Sunday with plans of meeting up with everyone one last time before people started heading home. We weren't planning on going to an A's game but were thrilled when LaVor's mom said that's where we were headed. We got ready as quick as we could and headed to Livermore in a flash. Unfortunately, driving through Tracy is never quick (especially when there's a motorcycle on fire) so we ended up missing the first couple innings. But it all turned out great and we had SO much fun!

The Lime REALLY wanted to get some players' signatures so we snuck down to the infield seats (and got yelled at) right before the game finished. On our way there, we ran into Stomper so we had to grab a photo with him. We also had an employee ask us if we were going to go onto the field. Huh? He said after every Sunday game, they allow kids to run the bases.

The Lime was only able to get Matt Joyce's autograph but we told him it was fine because that gave us a reason to come back.

We took the employee up on his offer and got in line as fast as we could for the chance to run the bases. The staff had you moving quickly but it was still a fun experience with the kids.

We had several hours to spare before we needed to head to the airport so we took a detour to Alameda for some bagels and beach time.

As we were leaving, I told LaVor I really wanted to find a field of sunflowers somewhere (not necessarily in Alameda) to take pictures of. We literally turned a corner and a home had a patch of sunflowers in their front yard. Ah! It made me so happy.

We had to visit La Piñata for one last Mexican dinner and we made it out just in time to get them to the airport. It was a weird/chaotic departure from our car so we didn't get to hug them or say goodbye but we did wave and wished them luck.

After one more bathroom break and a quick photo with Grammy & Papa, we were on the road back home. It was a quick three days but also wonderful to see everyone and catch up.

The following Sunday, we had some friends from Southern California invite us to their cabin in Lake Tahoe. We missed an opportunity to see them when we were at Disneyland so we didn't hesitate when they asked us if we wanted to join them.

The last time we saw them was when The Lime was about 2 so we were really excited to introduce them to Doodlebug (because Christmas cards can only do so much). Carol was kind enough to buy some toys for the boys and they had lunch ready to go as soon as we got there (yummy hamburgers!).

I actually met Carol on some message board that I joined WAY back in the early 2000s. The first time we met Joel and her was when they came to our wedding reception. We then met up with them for dinner when we were in Southern California for our honeymoon and then we got together in about 2012. But we've maintained contact over the years so it's nice to be able to see them in person every once in a while.

It took no time at all for the boys to jump in the lake. Surprisingly, it was not that cold. Well, for them. I hesitated for a long time getting in and only stayed for a short while. I much preferred sitting on the beach, chatting with Carol.

For the next several hours, the boys took turns going in the lake and playing in the sand. They could have stayed there all day but the clouds were coming in and I didn't think thunder and lightning would be as much fun to play in.

We took a few photos before saying goodbye and we promised each other it wouldn't be another 5 years before we got together.

The weekend after that happened to be our 11th anniversary AND the A's were in town. It wasn't a hard decision to make that we needed to head back to Oakland, just like we did 11 years ago, for a fun-filled day. Except, I left the camera charger in the car so there are no pictures of us at the game. It was really hot (but not as hot as the following weekend!), the boys had fun in the updated Stomper Zone, I managed to convince an usher to let us move from the bleachers to the shade, and The Lime didn't get any new autographs. Two baseball games in two weeks meant we were pretty happy.

I asked LaVor to take us up to the temple so we could re-enact our wedding photos...just kidding :) But it was fun to be in the same spot we were just a few years ago, celebrating our family where it all began.

Because it's what we do, we stopped at La Piñata on our way home and then sat in traffic through Tracy (this time a big rig ran into a tree). Like most Saturday nights, we made it home just in time for me to go to work.

And just like that, our summer came to an end.

Summertime in San Francisco

We woke up Saturday morning with two destinations in mind; Yountville/Calistoga or San Francisco. One was 97*, the other 73*. Guess which one we chose?

We got a late start which meant more traffic, but that's okay! At least we got to go.

At dinner Friday night, we were watching the Giants/Padres game at Chili's. The Lime's first request in the city was to see AT&T park. We walked around the backside of the stadium and got there just in time for them to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". While we couldn't see into the park at this point, we got a show of our own.

LaVor and I don't have the best of luck when it comes to avoiding couples showing a tad too much PDA.

Berlin - 2008

I've never been to AT&T park and thought McCovey Cove was in a completely different spot. Even though we didn't get to go inside, I now have a better mental picture of what the area is like.

I also didn't know we could watch the game from a little spot in the outfield, underneath the Arcade seats. We were about 100 feet from Hunter Pence and I couldn't figure out if he was ignoring the folks standing next to us that were yelling at him or if he really couldn't hear. It was a neat 5 minutes for the boys to be that close.

We wanted to get out of there before the game ended and crowds started flooding the streets. A few more pictures and we were on our way!

After our last fiasco trying to visit Dolores Park, we weren't sure we wanted to try it again. There was a restaurant in the area that had a dessert I wanted to try (the Lumberjack cake, to be specific) so LaVor dropped me off and I went to grab the door when I realized nobody else was inside. I passed a girl leaving as I was going in, who was cleaning out the floor mats, so I asked her if they were open. She said I looked like I knew what I was doing so she didn't bother saying anything to me :) Unfortunately, they didn't open until 5:00 and it was only 4:00. Darnit! It's definitely on my list of things to do next time.

Since we were down the street from Dolores Park, we drove through the neighborhood just to see if we could get a parking spot. Something had to have been going on because the park was PACKED. We decided to forego it, again, and continued on to our next destination.

We agreed on Suppenküche for dinner and planned on visiting a park in the neighborhood until it was time for them to open. We found a prime spot (after driving around and around and around) and spotted a playground for the boys to explore. Actually, they played and I explored. The flowers that surrounded the playground were AMAZING! I should have taken more pictures but we were running out of time (and to be honest, I was afraid my camera was going to get swiped).

Spot the bee?

We walked down the street to the restaurant and were seated right away. I enjoy sitting with strangers, LaVor not so much. But it all worked out and we were munching on our salad and pretzel in no time. We were the only couple with young kids but with the help of devices (as much as I hate it!), you could hardly tell we were there.

Which sort of felt like the case when the hostess gave away The Lime's seat after he got up to go to the bathroom. She also tried taking Doodlebug's plate even though he wasn't done eating. When I fed him his last bite, she literally took the plate from underneath my hand before I had a chance to put the fork down. I've been dining here for almost 20 years and I've never experienced "service" like this before. Normally, we let stuff slide but LaVor couldn't keep quiet after this incident. The manager was very apologetic and assured us this is not how his business is run. The hostess was new and still undergoing training, and he'd make sure to address the matter.

After dinner, we had one last spot to visit - the beach. We asked The Lime if he wanted to go somewhere new but he insisted on Lands End again. It was actually nice to be there when the sun was still shining :) On the way there, we made bets on how cold it would be outside. LaVor suggested 65* and I was certain it would be cooler than that. I think it ended up being 63* or around there.

The Lime brought his swimsuit with every intent on going in the water but we weren't so sure he'd go through with it when we realized how cool it was. I told him I'd pay him $5 if he went into the water, up to his knees. The stinker not only went in the water, he ran in it, let it soak him completely, and whined when we had to go.

Doodlebug and Daddy were content on staying on the sand, but Doodlebug did put his toes in just for a quick second.

Excited The Lime was having such a good time

LaVor claimed he'd never seen me go in the ocean in the entire time we've been together (17 years) but I had to in order to get The Lime swimming. I just wasn't expecting some of the waves to soak my pants.

There was a couple taking wedding photos on the beach and the brave bride and groom toke some photos IN the water! She got up and I heard her exclaim, "My dress is SO heavy!" I really hope they already got married and she doesn't have to try and clean that dress!

The Lime really could have spent all night in the water, bless his heart. It reminded me of when we went to Pacifica almost exactly 5 years ago. He could have cared less that the water and air were freezing, he was just living life. Another little boy joined him for a few minutes and I loved that they didn't know each other, didn't care what the other one looked like, or where they came from. They were just two young boys having fun!

It was after 8:00 and we needed to get on the road so I could be at work before midnight. We dried off, wiped the sand off our feet, and took a few more pictures before departing our favorite city.

Until next time, San Francisco! Thanks for the memories!