Family Visit Part 2

All right, here is the rest of last week. Friday, we didn't have much planned so I decided I would go get my drivers license. I still haven't switched it to California. Sooo...I went and was sent home to get my marriage license since my maiden name is on my birth certificate and my married name on my social security card. So I got my marriage certificate and went back, waited forever and then was told that the marriage certificate was from the church and not the county so it wouldn't work. I went home really frustrated and looked through all of our important documents. All I could find was a marriage license, but they said that wouldn't work. I was too frustrated at that point to go back, so it was all a big waste. But I am curious for anyone else who's married...do you have a marriage certificate from the county or is yours also just from the church?

After all the DMV drama, we went to Dreamworks to have lunch with Jon. Good times, good food. I love being able to go have lunch with Jon when we can.

Dad, Noah, Mom, and Abby at Dreamworks

After some much needed naps, we went to the Muir Woods. It is a beautiful drive and the woods are so quiet and pretty. Such a contrast to the city. Here are a few shots of the woods.

One of the few pictures of Noah we got

This is inside the same log that Noah's sitting in. Emma and this little boy climbed all the way up inside and played for a long time. We couldn't get them to come out.

How is it that we have two strollers with no kids in them???

A baby deer that was right by the path

We got home just in time to go to bed. It was a good day.

On Saturday we got up early...well, that was the plan at least. Really Mom and Dad came over and we had just gotten up. We were so tired that we all ended up sleeping in. So, we got ready and went to the beach. It was cloudy at first, but the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. The water was still cold but Jon and Abby didn't think so. They were out in the water looking for sand dollars and jelly fish. Noah ventured in a couple of times but decided it was too cold. Emma played in the sand and Dad took tons of pictures...which was a good thing because nobody else did. I don't know why I didn't think about it. Thanks Dad!

I thought this was a cool picture of Abby.

A cute pose

The two adventurous ones

After the beach we grabbed some dinner and then Mom and Dad took the kids back to the hotel with them so we could work on our talks. Thank you Mom and Dad!

Sunday we had church first thing in the morning. After Church we watched some family home videos which was great. I love watching old home videos. Jon's parents had invited us all over for dinner Sunday night so we went out there in the evening. It was fun to visit with everyone and dinner was great. It was a great way to end the visit.

It was so fun to have family here. If anyone is ever out this way or wants to come out, we'd love to see you. We love visitors!

Family Visit Day 1 and 2

This might take awhile so to make sure I get something posted, I'm going to break up the week into separate posts.

Last week was so fun. Dad, Mom, Noah, and Abby came on Wednesday and stayed through Sunday night. Dad and Emma had just had birthdays so Wednesday night we went to Red Robin to get their free birthday dinners and ice cream sundaes. That is one of my favorite restaurants so it was nice to have an excuse to go there.

Thursday was definitely our busiest day. I had gotten some family names ready to do sealings so we started our day at the temple. Jon got work off and Mom, Dad, Jon, and I went and did sealings while Noah and Abby babysat Emma and Matthew at the visitors center. Thanks guys! It was a great session and I enjoyed being there with family.

The Oakland Temple

We had a little picnic lunch at the stake center next to the temple.

After the temple we headed into San Francisco. I really do love that city...not going into it so much as just seeing it. It just looks so cool...the skyline, all the water around it, the rowhouses going up and down hills as far as you can see, all the bright colors. It's just so cool. Anyway, we went to Pier 39, where all the touristy stuff is. We went on a cruise around the bay which was cool-in more than one way. It really was beautiful but it was so cold! It was also really foggy. So foggy that we couldn't see the Golden Gate Bridge until we were right under it. It's crazy how something so huge can be hidden so well in fog. We also circled around Alcatraz and learned about the history of San Francisco and how it was in the early days of the city. Very interesting.

This was all of the Golden Gate Bridge we could see. Abby is in the picture.

Mom and Emma trying to stay warm

After the cruise we went to the Bay Aquarium to see all the sea life. They had quite a bit to see. In part of the aquarium you walk through some glasses tunnels and all the fish and sharks are around you. They also had some small touch pools (I'm not sure if that's what they were called) where you could touch the animals. Lots of fun. By this point though, Emma was getting very tired and we were all pretty hungry. We had been planning on going to the Muir Woods, but decided to put it off. We grabbed some dinner and called it a day. We did make a stop at the candy store by our house for some treats and left with way more than we needed. But it was so good.

Emma showing Scuba Sam her shark toy.

One of the touch pools at the aquarium

Abby touching a leopard shark (I think...I know it was some kind of shark)

We passed this building driving home. They nailed all sorts of furniture on the outside wall. They also have furniture sticking out the windows. All sorts of weird stuff.

Emma's favorite store...Powell's Sweet Shoppe. She seriously knows every time we are within 2 or 3 blocks of it and starts singing "I love candy". So funny.

Busy Busy Busy!

I feel like we have been going nonstop for the last couple weeks. I have tried to keep up on reading everyone's blogs but have been horrible about commenting. Sorry!
I just realized today that July is halfway over, which means summer is halfway over, and the year is well over halfway over. Where does the time go?
My family was here last week and left yesterday. It was so fun to have them here. We stayed so busy and were all so tired. I will do a separate post later once I go through all our pictures.
Yesterday was busy. We blessed Matthew in church yesterday which was really neat. I love hearing the blessing and being able to feel how special each baby is.
Jon and I were also asked to speak in Church yesterday. That had me stressed all week. I have only spoken in church twice in my life and the last time I was still a youth speaker. And I'm just not a good speaker. It was also hard to find time and motivation to work on it because my family was here. But, it turned out okay in the end. Just glad it's done. :)
Today we had a busy morning. The kids were both due for well child visits-Emma for her 2 year and Matthew for his 2 month-and I had a postpartum appointment. Since our doctor is 30 minutes away I just scheduled all the appointments for this morning so we would only have to make one trip. It made for one really long morning. But, the kids are doing great. Emma weighed in at 25 lbs and is 32" tall. Matthew is 10 lb 15 oz and 22" tall. Luckily only Matthew had to have shots, though he didn't do well with them at all.
Anyway, sorry for the quick rundown. I'm hoping to get pictures and a new post up tonight.

Memories

I thought this was a cool tag and wanted to join in on the fun.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Birthday Fun!

Yesterday was such a fun day! It was a full, busy day but we had a blast. It really was one of the best days we've had as a family in a long time.

Emma's birthday just happened to be the free day at the San Francisco Zoo so Jon took work off and we headed up there in the morning. We saw quite a few animals, but the highlights for Emma were all the non-animal things. :) They had a steam engine train that you could ride around the zoo. We went ahead and rode it which was fun, but really I think Emma enjoyed watching it from the ground more than actually riding it. They also had a big playground in the middle of the zoo that she played on for awhile while we had lunch. Another favorite part was the petting zoo. She thought the goats were so funny and had a blast feeding them. We were all worn out by the time we left. Emma fell asleep before we even got out of the parking lot and the rest of us took naps when we got home.

After dinner we had her little party. We gave her a tricycle and a puzzle. She was SO excited about the bike. She has been riding it all over the house since she got it. She even rode it into my room this morning to wake me up. It was really funny. Anway, she played with her presents for a little while and then we had cake. It's nothing fancy or amazing but we all had fun decorating it and she loved it.

We had a nice relaxing evening, just enjoyed being with each other. It really was a perfect day.

Riding the turtle at the zoo

Feeding the goats

This is all of us on the train

We parked next to this car at the zoo. It is covered in sea shells. It was so cool. If you click on it to make it bigger you can see all the little details.

Emma running when she saw Jon bringing out the bike

This is a bug puzzle that has a net with a magnet so you can "catch" the bugs. So cute.

The masterpiece

Blowing out the candles

She blew out the candles and started clapping and yelling yeah. It was so funny.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Happy birthday Emma! It's hard to believe she's already two! From the very beginning of my pregnancy, Jon and I both felt like our baby had a very big spirit and personality. And even though she was a tiny 5 lb 6 oz, she proved us right. She is such a smart, funny little girl. She loves to make people laugh and always seems to know just what to do to get the best reaction. She is usually a very cheerful girl and is content to read books and sing songs. I love walking in on her singing Primary songs to herself. It is so cute. She brings such a special spirit into our home. I'm so grateful to have such a sweet, special little girl in our family.
So, happy birthday to our book reading, song singing, candy loving little girl. We love you!