Around Santa Rosa

On Friday we tried to squeeze in some simple family activities around Jeremy's race prep.  One of the most surprising stops was Wicked Slush in Healdsburg.  The kids had just driven the race course and were bored out of their minds.  We thought they deserved a little treat for not complaining about the drive. The splits were layers of soft serve ice cream and slushy.  They came in amazing flavors, banana, mango, sour watermelon, orange dreamsicle, sour lime, and about a million others.  We couldn't decide so we made sure we all ordered something different.  No one was disappointed with their choice.  

While the boys had some down time at the hotel, the girls and I went to explore the Charles Schultz museum.  It felt like we were in the comic strips.  

The museum mostly entailed Charles Schultz's comic strips hung around with explanations about his inspiration or themes he would visit.  We just enjoyed walking around reading them and laughing.  

I don't remember Rerun, but this comic strip seems like something Daxton would say.  

After we wandered through the museum for a bit we found a classroom where the kids could just draw.  We practiced drawing all of the Peanuts characters before it was time to leave.  Here are the girls with their favorite drawings. 

 I think we have some new Snoopy fans!

Bodega Bay

The kids were all very anxious to go spend a day at the beach.  Well, they've never spent much time at a northern beach before and were completely surprised by how cold and windy it was.  Frankly we were unprepared and completely forgot our jackets in the hotel!  The only thing we had to keep ourselves warm as we explored the cliffs of Bodega Head were the pool towels from the hotel.  

The views were stunning!  It's too bad the kids had a hard time enjoying it with all that wind.  Daxton was in full blown panic mode.  He was screaming with all he had and ended up spending most of the afternoon in the car.  

McKenzie was a little more adventurous and walked along the cliffs with Jeremy and I. 

 The waves were not forgiving and even though Jeremy climbed down there to go exploring, McKenzie and I stayed topside.  He said it was beautiful once you were down there, and a lot calmer than up on top.  

It's easy to tell how much wind these cliffs get by that one lone tree.  

We drove up the coastline a little bit more until we reached Carmet Beach.  There was sand and the girls wanted to go find some sand dollars, so it was worth a stop.  We still had to huddle in our towels a little, but it wasn't as bad as Bodega Head.  As we explored the beach, the biggest problem Kelton had was the wind blowing and stinging his legs.  

Down near the water the sand was wet and didn't blow so much, so that was better.  

The girls miraculously found a sand dollar!  They were pretty proud of themselves.  We hunted up and down the shore until we were positive there weren't any others then hopped back in the car to warm up.  

We passed a salt water taffy shop and decided to stop.  I admit, normally I'm not a fan of salt water taffy.  It's tough and bland in my opinion.  So take this as a glowing recommendation; that taffy was delicious!  We bought two small bags for $1.50 each, but after we sampled them in the car we turned around for more.  It was soft, flavorful, and incredible.  I now have a candy bowl full of salt water taffy sitting on my kitchen counter.  

San Francisco

We had one short day in San Francisco before heading up to Jeremy's race.  It's amazing how much you can squeeze into one day when you really want to.  I began the day with a gorgeous run along the bay.  As I approached the Golden Gate bridge the sun started to peak through the clouds and seemed to make the bridge glow.  

It was a nice and quiet run across the bridge.  I saw a lot of locals on training runs or training rides and it was nice being part of real life before all the tourists woke up.  As I stopped for a fuel break I saw this view and just thought it was beautiful.  

Shortly afterwards the sun hid behind the clouds again and I ran through the fog (and the rest of the runners who decided to wake up) back to the hotel.  I had booked us a couple of rooms at the San Remo Hotel.  It was so charming.  The outside was very unassuming, the main entrance nestled between two different restaurants.  

Up the stairs we found hallways in every direction leading to small rooms just large enough for a couple of beds.  The shared bathrooms were down the hall, and the kids were tickled that they had to flush the toilets with a chain hanging from above.  When we checked into the hotel the night before both boys were asleep.  When Kelton woke up that morning and didn't immediately see Jeremy and me in his room he wandered around the halls and asked, "Where are we?"  The poor guy was so confused.  

Our first stop after an amazing breakfast was Lombard Street.  We made the kids walk there and they were less than thrilled about all of the hills they had to climb.  We found the bottom of the zig-zag street first and walked up the stairs to the top.  As Daxton climbed he told Jeremy, "No like it."  It was a lot of steps for his little legs.  The view from the top though was really pretty.  We could see so much of San Francisco spread out below us.  

The kids liked the trip down the stairs a lot more.  Some of them slid down the banisters, some of them ran down, and Daxton had a super bumpy ride in the stroller.  He laughed and loved it until he had gone down nearly 50 steps and started complaining that it was too bumpy.  

Jeremy and I were kind and didn't make the kids climb up the next hill leading up to Coit Tower.  The view from there was harder to enjoy.  The trees had grown in so much that we couldn't see over them and the viewing machines were pretty useless.  Inside we perused the murals on the main level but headed out pretty quickly and Daxton ran around touching everything labeled, "Do not touch."  

Alcatraz Island in the distance.

We stopped by the cable car museum next.  It's not just a museum, it is the actual cable car hub of the city.  It was so cool!  The four cable cars that run through San Fran are all pulled by the cables in this building.  We could see the machinery for each line and how it all worked together.  I didn't understand at all how the cable cars actually functioned and Jeremy and I both thought that this was really, really cool.  

Naturally we had to ride a cable car next.  We picked up the Powell and Hyde line and ended up with some fabulous seats right up front.  The girls were able to hang on the side with Jeremy while I just tried to keep the boys from falling off.  Trying to stay put with those cable cars going up and down the steep hills of San Francisco is a challenge! 

 Unfortunately we didn't know that the routes were only one way.  We were kicked off at the end of the line and had to wait for another cable to car going the return direction. 

The cable car operators were all so kind.  The brake man even let the girls try their hand at braking the car.  The girls said it was really hard!  

By now we were all pretty hungry.  We knew exactly where we wanted to go for lunch, Bodin's.  Cambrie is in love with sourdough bread.  I can't say I blame her when it tastes fresh from Bodin's!  The boys loved the bread tracking through the factory.  

Cambrie and McKenzie loved all of the creative shapes the baker's created.  We couldn't resist and bought some sweeter treats from the bakery after lunch.  Cambrie even picked up a cute little sourdough turtle.  

Jeremy and I went to San Francisco on our honeymoon.  While we walked through the city one night we stumbled across a dilapidated arcade.  There was fog rolling in, no one in sight, and a dockside warehouse filled with ancient games.  It was all surreal that for years Jeremy and I thought the whole experience may have been a dream.  Imagine our surprise, and relief, when we realized that the place really does exist.  In daylight the Musee Mechanique is a very different experience.  

We exchanged $10 worth of quarters and introduced our kids to the world of old entertainment.  We watched marinettes shake and dance, water buffalo examine a fallen Indian, toothpick Ferris Wheels spin around, and looked into flip-motion movie machines.  The kids were so confused!  

Cambrie tested her strength against an arm wrestling champion and was beaten soundly, but the boys managed to whacks those moles into oblivion.  It was a blast!  

We decided to make one more kid-friendly stop before driving north to Santa Rosa, we stopped at a park that reportedly has an amazing slide.  They weren't kidding, it was long and fast!  The kids loved it and played until they were out of energy and ready for another stint in the car.  

San Francisco was a blast!  I wish we had another day. 

Welcome to my Saturdays

My Saturdays lately have been absolutely insane!  If it wasn't for good friends willing to drive my girls to or from games, I wouldn't be able to do it.  This week we had a volleyball game, two soccer games, and a gymnastics meet all in one day.  Cambrie has really enjoyed volleyball and her team won-again!  Then she was off to her soccer game.  (This picture is from a previous game).  She's learned a lot and is improving her speed.  I love watching her team work together to do amazing things.  

Kelton is one amazing little soccer player.  He is quick and fearless when going for the goal.  I'm curious to see how he grows into it.  We even had two little buddies on our team this year, Max and Madelyn so that was great.  

McKenzie's second meet went well, it was bigger than her previous one and she didn't place like she had hoped.  It's a lot of fun watching her perform because you can see how hard she's trying.  And that big grin on her face is adorable!  

After the last soccer game I finally rounded up all of the kids from their various fields and gyms and we just played at the park.  It's awesome seeing my kids in all their different jerseys.  My Saturdays may be insane, but I absolutely love this part of motherhood.