Scenic pictures of our day...

Alcatraz....

The Golden Gate....

The Bay Bridge into the City.

A day off....

Well the boys had Friday off from school for a teacher work day, so we took advantage of that and headed to San Francisco. It was Steven, Jackson, my mom and me. We left here around 10 a.m. and didn't get back to our house until almost 11 p.m. but it was worth it --we had a wonderful day!

First stop was drive thru Starbucks... once everyone had their drink (me: venti iced nonfat caramel macchiato, mom: grande soy white mocha, steven: tall vanilla bean frappaccino, jackson: tall hot chocolate, no whip!) we were on our way....


Once in SF we parked, and headed to the terminal for our Alcatraz tour. We had already bought the tickets online, but had to pick them up. I realized we were about 1/2 hour early for our boat, so I inquired if we could get on the earlier one, leaving in a few minutes. We were able to! So off we went. The boat ride is short -about 15 minutes and then we were there. We listened to the ranger at the dock, then took in a movie of Alcatraz history and saw some exhibits of the past and then we headed up the hill to the cellhouse. A quick stop by the boys (waiting for us, no doubt) at the morgue -they were fascinated. Then up, up, up the hill we went.

We started the audio tour (along with 100 other people it seemed) and after about 20 minutes, Jackson decided he was done with that -so he & I went outside while Steven & Grandma finished the tour. We looked at the gift shop and he read a book about "Prisoners of Age" and then he took a bunch of pictures -which I haven't downloaded yet.

Steven & Grandma finished out the tour... Steven LOVED it! He said he learned alot and it was really interesting. At this point it was a bit chilly and already 4 p.m. so we jumped on a boat back to the mainland.

Once off the boat we ditched our coats and things at the car and went to Pier 39. The boys hadn't been there before and our plan was to grab something to eat and then go to the Aquarium of the Bay... So the boys wanted to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe .. it was yummy and not too crowded. After that we headed to the Aquarium only to find out they were closing early for a special event. So no aquarium for us that day. The kids & my mom got souvenir pennies in the gift shop and then we walked around the pier.

We hit the HUGE sports store, the Christmas decor store, the Carousel, the puppet shop, the Ireland store, the sports memoribilia store and then decided we should have dessert.

So we headed back to the car and went to Ghiradelli Square for a hot fudge sundae! The ice creams were huge and we all enjoyed them. Then we headed to Union Square to see the Christmas tree and lights ... Jack was tired by this time it was already after 8 p.m. so we just drove thru the square a few times and then headed home.

It was a busy and packed day full of adventure --I can't wait to go back!

Grateful.....

I looked and looked for a picture that would work with this topic. A lot of blogs I read focused this weekend on what they are grateful for. With Thanksgiving last Thursday, I can see why. I find I am grateful for the same things as many others... my family, my friends, a healthy family, a nice house, plenty of food and a wonderful church community.

But I will take it a step further and look at the little things, things that make a difference in my life. I am blessed to live in a place with wonderful, mild weather. My kids have friends they can count on. My parents and brother live near by. Many stores to chose from nearby. A great farmers market most of the year. Health Care is a biggie! Schools where my kids are safe. Massages.
Working from home. Daily opportunities to learn. The internet. A van that works. Washing machine and dryer.

Little things that add up to big things. I feel like we sometimes allow ourselves to get too busy. And it is nice when we take time to slow down. We have been in slow down mode for a while. Things are about to get more busy.. Steven is starting Basketball. Jackson is still doing Karate -in fact he has his belt test in less than 2 weeks! Both are starting Hard 90 Baseball academy sessions to prepare for their upcoming baseball tryouts in February. Plus school and friends and family --it's a lot. But I am grateful to be a part of it and to be here.

My Christmas shopping is done. The packages that need to be mailed will go tomorrow. The holiday season is upon us and we intend to spend time together at home, instead of me running all over the place looking for the best deal. I am pleased with the deals I have gotten so far and will accept them as final. I am ready for a stress free, easy holiday. And for that I am truly grateful.

Final Weekend Photos

Papa and his sister....

The boys outside... Jack was trying to get the shot -but his camera wasn't fast enough.

The kids and Maggie

Cyn & Ciera

More pictures from the new camera...

River ... he didn't even flinch since there was no flash!

Ciera & Maggie snuggled in my chair....

Jackson was taking pictures right along side me, the showing them to his grandma.

New Camera and the Long Weekend...

I got a new camera! It is a Canon Rebel and I love it. It isn't too heavy or too light. I only have one lens right now, but another is on order. I wanted to share some of the shots I took with it this weekend. Maggie was here visiting and it was great to capture that
on film too! We had a great weekend... lots of visiting, shopping, deserts and fun. Ciera & Logan even had a sleepover with us on Friday night --everyone had a good time.

Steven and Logan --playing basketball out back

Logan didn't object to the pictures at all -which is unlike him....














River loved Maggie ... she took him for walks and let him up on the bed with her.. they are lifelong friends now.

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful day. I am typing this on my new computer (without Picassa to load my pictures into) so the photo's will have to come later....

Maggie is here visiting and we spent most of the day at my parents house. Kids, great food, shopping ad's and family time... there is nothing that could be better.

Relaxing, relaxing day... now I have to head off to bed as I am shopping with my mom & Cyn at 4 am!!!! I can't really believe stores are opening that early, really I can't. I know they wouldn't if people didn't come, and I am going to go... but still.....

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Finally home. We had a great trip...

Finally home. We had a great trip to New Jersey. Steven, Jack, and I enjoyed going to Coney Island and the acquarium, also Central Park with Grandma and Papa. It was a real neat trip, the boys are so amazingly old in the way they do things now. They played hard with their cousins and visited with lot's of relatives. Travelling with them is actually a lot of fun now. I can't wait until our trip to Ireland in March.