Out and About

Up until this weekend, I was telling Cory, I could have been anywhere in the USA. This little bubble of student/family life could be happening in any other great American city. We could have been in Colorado for all I knew. I had ventured far enough from this little house in order to find the grocery store (Lucky's or Safeway -- neither of them double coupons so does it really matter?), Target, Costco, and IKEA. You know, the essentials. Oh yeah, and I have also been close enough to Berkeley campus to drop Cory and his cronies off at the Business School and to see the people who used to live in trees who now just live on the sidewalk. (I guess living in the actual tree broke some public code but camping out on the sidewalk is just fine.) But they are important enough to be close enough to the campus to hear a lecture and to get police protection around the clock. Sometime when I'm brave enough to stop I might include a picture. So, anyway...this weekend we decided to discover our new city.

On Friday we went to the Oakland Temple that doubled as a reunion spot with the parents of my roommate from BYU. And as Erica's mom said, "We were more than just roommates." I was trying to figure out the female equivalent of "my brotha from anotha motha" but I just can't. But here's to you, Erica, my third sister! It was a blast from the past. A lot has changed with me in the last 10 years from seeing them last....it's crazy to reflect on that. But we had a great time visiting our new temple and hope to go one day without the kids. We hope to do a lot of things without our kids. Please pray for a good babysitter to emerge sometime.

Claire enjoying the flowers on the beautiful temple grounds. I think she picked more than she smelled. Woops!

NOW on to SATURDAY:

Our adventure continued as we ventured into the big city of SAN FRANCISCO! Too bad we didn't think to go on a weekday to beat the weekend rush into the island. It was crazy on a Saturday afternoon to get over the bridge. Although we live maybe 10 minutes away, it took us a full hour and half until we actually got over and found parking. Next time we'll be taking the BART. And let me tell you, our kids aren't the best travelers so it was pure torture to be trapped in a car with them for that long, crawling 5 miles per hour. We decided next time we go they are not invited so Cory and I can actually enjoy ourselves. But we had a good lunch, enjoyed seeing the sea lions, and had fun "roller-coastering" through those streets that San Fran is famous for.

The famous Pier 39.

Who doesn't want food from a VW Bus?

That face should be on commercials!