our trip | san francisco

{en route}

we stayed a night in reno on our way and jude was so excited that our hotel was called "circus circus". i think he was more than a little disappointed.

{our hosts}

my oldest brother bryce and his family hosted us at their home. they were the ULTIMATE hosts and my kids were so excited to be with their "cool" cousins.

you don't hear much about bryce on my blog, he kind of has a strained relationship with our family. i wish there was more of him (and his family) in my life. it's funny how someone that has pretty much been gone for 18 years is so familiar to you after 2 minutes with them. he's my brother, he's always been there, we are the same, and forever intertwined. i love him. like i said, i wish things were different but i will take what i can get. it was wonderful spending a week with him and his family, seeing their wonderful life, and getting to know them all over again.

{the city...part 1}

we may have chosen the worst day to go to the city. this was our view when we crossed golden gate bridge but even in fog & rain the bridge took my breath away.

instead of braving the rain we decided to take the kids to the exploratorium. have you been there? turns out it is amazing, i think trevan and i enjoyed it more than the kids. if you have the chance run, don't walk.

lisa & mirabelle

lisa & asher (bryce had a last minute call and couldn't join us)

miranda is an angel.... always has been. she was so adorable with both my kids but especially greta. i barely saw or held greta the entire time we were there. she was mesmerized by her oldest (and most beautiful) cousin.

i had to document jude's time out tantrum after he wandered too far.

after the rain passed through, the city was GLORIOUS. we went to chinatown and loved seeing everyone getting ready for the huge chinese new year parade they were having the next day.

the kids all got chinese pajamas, of course jude had to match asher. they are both karate kids (more on that later) after all.

greta has the new smile/face, she pushes her jaw forward and grins. all you see is her bottom teeth and its hilarious.

{armstrong woods}

how do places like this exist? so beautiful.

i need northern california in my life.

meet champ....

the baby of the williams family. he and greta were best friends and ever since we left her favorite word is dooooggggg.

worlds biggest slug.

where bryce and lisa live is so beautiful. they are 45 minutes away from the most beautiful places. i don't know why anyone would want to live anywhere else, i certainly don't.

the root system of a redwood tree.... these trees are seriously impressive.

{fort ross}

fort ross is an old russian settlement in jenner. i did not know places like this existed in the united states. i thought for sure i was somewhere in great britain not california.

beautiful miranda

.... a closer look at jude's cannon face.

i so love you sir jude.

100 ft from the fort lies the ocean, in all is majestic beauty.

angel girls.

{a day at dillon beach}

i love lisa.

i can barely remember a time when she wasn't around. her laugh is contagious and she is one of the most free spirits i know. lisa is a sprite and totally belongs in another generation.

greta was unsure of the sand for about 10 seconds and then decided she was in love.

my brother, bryce.

(how is this the only picture i got the entire trip?)

handsome father & pretty daughter

the kids played and played and played until eventually jude fell in the ocean and greta had sand in every crevice of her body. i am so glad i let myself get talked into going to the beach.

we had a great time staying with bryce and lisa. they treated us like royalty. our wish was their command and they even took us out to the coolest steakhouse in san francisco for an adult dinner. a good time was had by all, trevan got to go on scenic bike rides with bryce and jude found a new best friend in asher. we will most definitly be making this exact same trip next year.

{the city part 2)

we had always planned on staying one night at paige's but after a rained out city i knew i needed more. paige kindly offered to let us stay and extra night at her house and my wish was granted.

trevan and i went on our honeymoon to san francisco. we were there for a week, with no car. needless to say, we got to know the city pretty well. i fell in love instantly. it my kind of city, my heaven. all you new york lovers? well, you can have it. i'll take my san francisco any day. my heart literally races when i am in the city. i know it sounds lame, but the city loves me too. oh, and the golden gate bridge.... don't even get me started. when i was going through some hard times and therapy a few years back my point of strength for some reason was the golden gate bridge. i am in love.

dear san francisico,

i love you.

love,

kennan.

the painted ladies aka the "full house" house

we tried to find these on our honeymoon.... everyone thought we were crazy but full house was so much a part of our childhood. this time around, we knew we had to find it.

me, my bridge, and my kids.

p.s. and now you know.

2 p.s. thanks again to paige for hosting us while being 9 months pregnant. she is my "bister" and i love her.