See, one of the first pictures they took was Layla with bugs in her hands. :)
They stopped at the San Diego temple and the beach.
And then loved it up at SeaWorld and the zoo.
I’m so glad they got to take this time together!
Showing posts with label Eric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eric. Show all posts
We created the tradition that each child gets a surprise one on one trip with one parent the year that they are ten years old. It was Eric’s turn to take Layla so he planned a trip to California so they could go to Sea World and the Zoo. It was a perfect plan for these two animal loving humans!
See, one of the first pictures they took was Layla with bugs in her hands. :)
They stopped at the San Diego temple and the beach.
And then loved it up at SeaWorld and the zoo.
I’m so glad they got to take this time together!
See, one of the first pictures they took was Layla with bugs in her hands. :)
They stopped at the San Diego temple and the beach.
And then loved it up at SeaWorld and the zoo.
I’m so glad they got to take this time together!
Eric is 40! While the actual day was celebrated on our family vacation to Disneyland, we had a second celebration when we got back home. (Followed soon after by a third celebration. More to come on that later.)
How cheesy is this. What a good sport to hold still for a picture.
We had one table filled with all sorts of different kinds of bottled rootbeer. Everyone could sample and then vote on their favorite.
There was also a name that rootbeer table to guess which rootbeer was which.
We sang happy birthday to the old man.
The aftermath of the table.
The votes came in and Teddy’s was the favorite rootbeer.
The only picture I got of Eric with any of his friends.
I’m so glad this man was born and for all the ways he blesses my life on a daily basis.
Happy 40th birthday, E!
Cheers to 40 years! We invited friends over for a Rootbeer tasting party and a smoked meat dinner. We had a house full and it was loud but such a nice night.
How cheesy is this. What a good sport to hold still for a picture.
We had one table filled with all sorts of different kinds of bottled rootbeer. Everyone could sample and then vote on their favorite.
There was also a name that rootbeer table to guess which rootbeer was which.
We sang happy birthday to the old man.
The aftermath of the table.
The votes came in and Teddy’s was the favorite rootbeer.
The only picture I got of Eric with any of his friends.
I’m so glad this man was born and for all the ways he blesses my life on a daily basis.
Happy 40th birthday, E!
Eric and I have officially entered into the world of ballroom dancing.
We went to our level passing to be judged to pass off our social foundation level and to move on to Bronze level. Yes that’s right. We have committed for at least another year of dancing.
We loved watching all of the other dancers at their different levels! Then there were some fun solo dancers.
Ballroom dance is a whole new world for us and we are enjoying it immensely. It pushes us out of our comfort zone, teaches us new skills, offers us time together, and is so much fun. Excited to see what next year brings for us on the dance floor!
We went to our level passing to be judged to pass off our social foundation level and to move on to Bronze level. Yes that’s right. We have committed for at least another year of dancing.
Because we passed off our social foundation level, we got to perform an honor dance at the Trophy Ball in Scottsdale. We danced our cha cha with two other couples on our level.
After our dance, we received our certificate.
After our dance, we received our certificate.
We loved watching all of the other dancers at their different levels! Then there were some fun solo dancers.
The highlight of the day was coming back in the evening for the ball. We got to dress up in formal attire and dance around the ballroom to live music. Then we got to watch the professional dancers put on a find Christmas show. We loved it!
Ballroom dance is a whole new world for us and we are enjoying it immensely. It pushes us out of our comfort zone, teaches us new skills, offers us time together, and is so much fun. Excited to see what next year brings for us on the dance floor!
Eric and I had been planning our second trip to hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim pretty much since we stepped onto the top of the south rim and finished our hike last year. We made reservations to sleep at the lodges six months ago. I had been training and hiking and planning food and water. I was so excited to do it again. However, the week of the hike came and our baby girl left and I was deep in grief. And I knew the Grand Canyon is not only physically challenging but it also takes a lot of mental and emotional strength. We just weren’t sure that we were up to something so intense as we were grieving. What sealed our decision, though, was the weather. It was supposed to snow and drop into the 20s! They were turning a lot of the water off in the canyon, too. I definitely did not feel up to cold, ice, or any snow on the trail!
So a few days before we were supposed to leave, we canceled our Grand Canyon trip and rerouted ourselves to San Francisco. Yep, we decided to keep our child watch plans and embark on a different adventure. We would hike the city.
We didn’t do any planning besides a quick hotel search and glancing at a map of hikes in the city. We flew in on a Thursday night. And found a fun Italian restaurant to eat at. We had a basil lettuce Caesar salad that was so refreshing.
The next morning we started out through the city. And we got an education on life in the streets. My heart has always been drawn to people who are homeless with compassion and I don’t carry much judgement about it. I know they are children of god, same as me, with stories and experiences. However, it was hard to walk through street after street of homeless lining the sidewalks and huddled in groups, shooting up drugs in front of us, smoking pot, passed out with a pipe in his hands, peeing against a building, walking with butt cracks hanging out, and one man even pants down pooping on the sidewalk at the bottom of the stairs. It was hard to see. It wasn’t all over the city, but it was in pockets. And we learned where those pockets were that first morning.
The painted ladies Full House spot…
A stop for an açaà bowl outside of golden gate state park…
The lake at golden gate state park…
At the top of the hill at golden gate state park…
The waterfall…
The wind mill (no tulips this time of year)…
We left the park and grabbed lunch at a sandwich spot near the beach. Then continued on our way.
The cave near the baths…
Along the trail at Lands End…
The beach…
A seal came right up on the beach…
Trails through Presidio…
A cute park with a perfect view…
Yummy salt and straw…
Eric got his first massage when we did a couples massage. And he is now a big fan of the Thai massage.
We went to our first dueling pianos…
Donuts in the morning…
A walk up Nob hill…
On to Alcatraz…
Lunch at boudin…
A walk through fisherman’s wharf…
Ghirardelli square…
Palace of Fine Arts…
Across the golden gate state bridge…
A stop at ghirardelli for ice cream…
A walk down Lombard street…
An escape room…
In two days we walked over 40 miles! It was actually my favorite vacation of all time. I think hiking a city is going to become a tradition for us. It was all of my favorite things—walking, talking, and a physical challenge. We could stop and eat along the way whenever we needed to. We could create detours and stops and go at the pace we wanted to. We relaxed with massages. I had time to read and write at the hotel. We got out to listen to live music, dance a little, and played an escape room. Pretty much all of my favorite things! And with my best friend. It was the best trip.
I’m so glad we had the time for this adventure together.
The next morning we started out through the city. And we got an education on life in the streets. My heart has always been drawn to people who are homeless with compassion and I don’t carry much judgement about it. I know they are children of god, same as me, with stories and experiences. However, it was hard to walk through street after street of homeless lining the sidewalks and huddled in groups, shooting up drugs in front of us, smoking pot, passed out with a pipe in his hands, peeing against a building, walking with butt cracks hanging out, and one man even pants down pooping on the sidewalk at the bottom of the stairs. It was hard to see. It wasn’t all over the city, but it was in pockets. And we learned where those pockets were that first morning.
We passed by this pretty government building on the way and stopped to admire it. And then I came up with a plan for us to take a jumping picture at each stop on our adventure that day. So we did!
The painted ladies Full House spot…
A stop for an açaà bowl outside of golden gate state park…
The lake at golden gate state park…
At the top of the hill at golden gate state park…
The waterfall…
The wind mill (no tulips this time of year)…
We left the park and grabbed lunch at a sandwich spot near the beach. Then continued on our way.
The giant camera…
The Sutro baths…
The Sutro baths…
The cave near the baths…
Along the trail at Lands End…
The beach…
A seal came right up on the beach…
Trails through Presidio…
A cute park with a perfect view…
Yummy salt and straw…
Eric got his first massage when we did a couples massage. And he is now a big fan of the Thai massage.
We went to our first dueling pianos…
Donuts in the morning…
A walk up Nob hill…
On to Alcatraz…
Lunch at boudin…
A walk through fisherman’s wharf…
Ghirardelli square…
Palace of Fine Arts…
Across the golden gate state bridge…
A stop at ghirardelli for ice cream…
A walk down Lombard street…
An escape room…
In two days we walked over 40 miles! It was actually my favorite vacation of all time. I think hiking a city is going to become a tradition for us. It was all of my favorite things—walking, talking, and a physical challenge. We could stop and eat along the way whenever we needed to. We could create detours and stops and go at the pace we wanted to. We relaxed with massages. I had time to read and write at the hotel. We got out to listen to live music, dance a little, and played an escape room. Pretty much all of my favorite things! And with my best friend. It was the best trip.
I’m so glad we had the time for this adventure together.
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