California Days 1 and 2

Hiiiiiiiiiiii!  How have you been?

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook or Snapchat, then you know Reid and I just got back from a little Vaca.

We went to California.  My first time to California!  It was a lot of fun!  A little before Christmas we had decided on heading to California, where we would stay a few nights in San Francisco and then drive the coast over a period of a few days and eventually fly out of LA.  Reid agreed to go, as long as I wouldn't be overly detailed in planning so that we were free to do what we wanted and not tied down to a schedule.  I obliged and Reid was overly impressed :)

We knew it was going to be a sight seeing trip and not one where we'd come home with a tan.  We also knew that it was a gamble for what the weather would be like in Cali, but I was hopeful as the Super Bowl pictures were blue skies and brilliant sunshine.  I didn't expect MN to have warmer weather than Cali.  Oh well, we still had an awesome time and when we really needed it to not rain, it didn't.

Sooooo some recap for you, but really mostly for me so that I can some day look back and remember.

Grandma came down Tuesday night because we had an early flight Wednesday morning.  Early, as in, we left the house at 3am.

We were hopeful that a Caribou would open before our plane departed...it did. Hoooray!

I also wanted Reid to take a picture because it's a rare seen to see me travel with just a purse!!

Cheers to some unscheduled no kiddo few days

 We had a layover in Denver.  Daddy spotted this Eagle, can you guess how much it would be to buy?  $6,000 and an additional $600 to ship!

 The girls did fantastic (thank you Grandparents!).  Before we left, I was surprised at how sad Sally was.  She was nervous for us to fly.  A few weeks prior she had read an article for school on Amelia Earhart.  Yep, she was sooooo brave, but her plane crashed in the ocean and she was never found.  Not awesome information for a 1st grader who's parents are about to fly over the ocean.

We had a little talk about Faith and taking chances and trusting in the Lord and not living a life in fear.  Eventually she came to and gave us her blessing to go.  Throughout our departure day there were little things that I sent to Grandma so she could reassure Sally.

One was seeing the sunrise from up in the sky (pay no attention to the dirty plane window)

 Drinks before our flights, with a little Mountain View

Our plane was delayed an extra hour, we enjoyed our time of just hanging out, kid-free

 Another reminder for Sally is her love for Bunnies and how she named her bunny Nimbus, after cumulonimbus clouds.  The plane we rode was Frontier and each plane has an animal associated with it, our plane's animal was a bunny names Jack.  If you look closely you can see it on the wing, pictured with cumulonimbus clouds below :)

We had looked ahead at the weather forecast and knew it was pretty likely that Wednesday, the day we landed would be the only day without rain.  We had really wanted to rent bikes to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge.  We had researched that that was the best way to experience the bridge.  We "pushed" through.  Even though we had been up since 2am, we still rented those bikes and bike and the bridge.  I'm so glad we did.

It was a lot of fun and a lot of giggles!

 Easy on the breaks, Craigy ;)

The selfie stick came in real handy during our trip :)

Uber was an awesome thing throughout our time in San Fran.  We didn't schedule a rental car until we were leaving town so relied on Uber quite often.

After we dropped off our bikes (Sports Basement (reference of where we rented bikes)). We ubered back to the Wharf area where our hotel (Zephyr) and had a quick drink and dinner at The Wipeout

 The next day we had breakfast at Hollywood Cafe.  The kind around the corner where the locals go--Thank you Trip Advisor!! It was delicious!  We reserved our tickets for our bus tour and prayed for the rain to hold off as long as it could.  It held out for 2 of the 4 hours, but we braved it!

 I always think the bus tours are very much worth their price, a great way to experience the city!

Thankfully they handed out raincoats.

Quick stop for a turn around after the Golden Gate Bridge

After our bus tour we head to the pier for some Chowder to dry off

We walked around and checked out the Sea Lions

Alcatraz in the background.  We didn't take the tour of Alcatraz.  Reid did it way back when he came to Cali with his mom in 1994 and since we only had a few hours in the city we wanted to explore more.

Reid's signature look.  Backpack with a rain poncho on.  Careful for the slippery shoes...

 Walking the streets and drying to stay dry

 Drying off at Bob's donuts....because the bars don't open until 3 and 4pm

 A drink at The Cabin

 an exciting Uber ride back to our hotel to freshen up for dinner

 Jack's Bar--Grandma and George went to this same bar!

 Jack and Jack

 Date night--dinner at Capurro's

 and of course, some dessert at Ghirardelli

 Yum!

 For the girls...

Before we headed out of town we needed to see the painted ladies (anyone watching the new Full House on netflix?)

 Weeeeeeeee

 The Offical Full House House :)

Stay tuned for our trip down the coast via Highway 1...it was amazing!

Hi, Hello, How Are You?

More awesome weather.  Saturday, are you kidding me?  Record breaking 59 or something like that?  More to come, too!

If you had any doubt that Emma's Big Sisters loved her, don't.  They're obsessed!

I posted this on IG, not sure if I posted here.  Somehow Miss Libby learned the Pledge of Allegiance.  She claims she's heard it once??? I checked with her teachers and they don't do it at school...

Libby has Jingle, Sally has Nimbus and this has become Emma's little pet...walking her dog

Friday, Grandma made the trek down to join us at our Parish Fish Fry and then we volunteered at Feed My Starving Children.  It was part of her Christmas Present from us :)

 Daddy headed out early Saturday morning for a Catholic Men's conference.  The girls and I headed out for endless outside play time.  It was fabulous, Emma didn't say a peep the entire time. mmmmmm fresh air and vitamin D!

 Can you spot all 3?  Eventually we had to do a U-Turn because there was a steep slope and it was full of ice, I would have had to slip the whole way down with the stroller, and the girls with their bikes, it didn't seem like the best idea.

 Once Grandma and Lucy arrived, we hopped in the car to head to St. Thomas to cheer for William in his swim meet!

 He did great! What a cool experience for him, and how awesome to be able to swim at St. Thomas' pool!  Added bonus, daddy's conference was just next door so he and his friend Ryan got to pop up to say Hello!

 Emma's ability to explore outside leads to new dangers, like falling down the patio steps...you should see the other guy ;)

This might have a little something to do with it...

A favorite for the girls is to take turns picking their favorite church songs and listening to them on youtube and watching the slideshows that go along with them.  Some favorites: Amazing Grace, How Beautiful, Be Not Afraid, Shout to the Lord, On Eagle's Wings...

It was pretty precious how Emma would be playing, but she understood the more "solace" songs and would sit down and snuggle and watch, she'd make sure to point out to Jesus and each time she heard Amen, she'd fold her hands and pray. [No pants, because she was wearing tights and they were too slippery :)]

 Monday, Libby, Emma and I got to celebrate Dr. Seuss at Storytime

 One way to get laundry done...

 Piggies! Getting bigger and bigger every day. She went to "daycare" on Tuesday during my morning group at church.  She did well.  I expect next week not to go so well as soon as she recognizes the room...

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This might seem like a not very important picture, but it's a glimpse to the future.  Slowly, but surely the sisters are finding ways to ALL play together.  Sally and Libby are giggling under their "fort" while Emma comes to find them and destroy the fort and then every one laughs.  This also allows Mommy to get dinner ready without a baby hanging on her hip.

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The Martinson Ladies came over this morning, for what will likely be our last morning playdate until the Fall, as Kari starts back at work soon.  At least we officially live closer so we'll be able to spend more summer evenings together!!

The babies actually played a little more today.

Talking while waiting for lunch:

Cute Little Sisters

 This is how you know when you've maxed out the amount of time allowed to take pictures.  One sticks out their tongue and the other puts a finger in their nose :)

 And then the Big Sisters, as Queens! Thank you for coming ladies, we're excited for Summer!!

Did you attend your local Caucus last night? Was it Ca-raaaaaaaaaaaaazy?  Impressed with the turnout, Reid and I made it too.

Way to represent Rubio, Minnesota!