Sunday, July 25, 2010

Fourth of July FUN!

Natalie & Jackson ride in the big ball
Jackson's grandaddy pulled them up and down the slip n slide,
much to their delight!  What a fun ride  :)
Our adventurous Natalie loved it, of course
And Jackson was the protector, and made sure she was safe
So sweet!!!


LOVE this picture!!!


Jackson making sure Natalie is okay... I love this one too!


Kennedy stayed far away from the water... but she still had fun!


Ken and friend Tyler



She loves to swing!



She did like the bucket of water  :)



Natalie on the slip n slide



Our "no fear" daughter climbing up the slide



Ken, Nat, and Tyler




Thanks to the Moores for having us over for a cookout and for having such fun things for the kids to do on this hot, hot day!!!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

San Fransisco!!!

We got up fairly early Monday morning, because we had a lot we wanted to do! 
That is why there is so much fog around the Golden Gate Bridge
It's still an awesome sight, though!!!





We just randomly decided to stop in a little town called Sausalito and have breakfast
We walked around until we found the perfect small diner and had some coffee
and yummy pancakes




We drove to see some of the redwood trees at Muir Woods






It's really hard to do these trees justice with pictures, but they are very, VERY tall!













We loved walking around the forest and were in awe of what God has created!
I can't say enough that we truly enjoyed every second of this trip... so Muir Woods
was another fabulous sight!!!


Then we drove back across the Golden Gate Bridge and got more pictures









Then we looked through our guide book to find all the best hills to drive down in the Jeep
And of course we had to drive Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world!










Then we met up with Trent & Claire for shopping at Union Square, then dinner at
an Italian Restaurant



We had our first shopping experience at H&M clothing store and both Joel & I bought
a few things!  :)
Then to our 7 o'clock dinner reservations at Kuleto's


After dinner, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and went back to our hotel and sat out on the cool terrace and talked, laughed, drank wine, and the boys smoked cigars.
It was so chilly outside, that Claire & I wore the hotel robes! 


Tuesday morning we got up early again and headed off to breakfast at Sears, where lots of people had recommended for us to eat

When you pay your check, they give you a token to play in their slot machine
We didn't win anything, but posed for a picture anyway  :-)



Then we packed up our bags, checked out of the Donatello Hotel (which was truly fabulous, by the way!) and drove to Coit Tower, where you get incredible views of the city





You can see the Golden Gate faintly in the distance



The Bay Bridge





We drove over the Bay Bridge as we said good-bye to San Fransisco







Our trip to California was unbelievable, amazing, and wonderful! 
Truly a second honeymoon for us  :-)
We loved every second and made the most of each day.  Driving everywhere in the Jeep made it even more fun, the weather was perfect, and Joel & I enjoyed the quality time together.  A big thanks to Aunt Emily for watching our dogs, to Mimi & Grandad and Nana & Papa for loving on our baby girls while we were gone!

And to California - we will definitely be back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Day one in San Fransisco




Our hotel, The Donatello
It was very nice!










The awesome terrace right outside our door






Riding on the cable car on the streets of San Fransisco, on our way to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39














The Rock -  A.K.A. - Alcatraz




We had dinner at the Sea Lion Cafe, where we had a view of lots and lots of.... Sea Lions!



Our first day in the big and exciting city of San Fransisco was super fun!  It was crazy driving into the city at first, with all the trolley cars, buses, one way streets, people walking, bikes, etc.  But once we found our hotel, we were ready to explore.  We had a fantastic time taking the cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf and really enjoyed holding hands and just walking around.  We stopped in to the little shops, and almost bought knock-off RayBan's!  :-)

Us at Thanksgiving

All smiles on the Big Day




Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the One who is leading. ~Oswald Chambers