What a Weekend!

Pajamas! Bikes! and Broadcasts! Oh My!

I don't really approve of the Wizard of Oz reference, but I had quite the day. First, off to the church for the primary pajama pancake breakfast. We were celebrating our fantastic primary program from last week. I opted not to walk down the street to the church in my pajamas, but I did quickly change when I got tot he church. It was very difficult to decide which pair of my many PJs to wear, but the Mary Englebright (black with bright cherries) from my sister Laurie won out. They were a hit. The kids had a good time, and my favorite was one little guy in my class who was wearing his batman PJs. He told me that they made him run fast, and I got a demonstration after pancakes. He screwed up his face and concentrated really hard and then took off running. He was right, he did run fast.

I left the chapel (after changing out of the PJs again) and was off to pick up lunch for the YM/YW bike ride. The kids were riding across the Golden Gate Bridge and I was going to meet them at Crissy fields for lunch. They turned out being later than anticipated, so I got to shop around Costco very leisurely and kill a little time. Oh darn. Actually, I did use some restraint and just bought groceries.

It was an amazing day in the city - one of those perfect sunny warm fall days. Just about everyone in the city was down in the Marina - which made for some very good people watching. I finally got a parking spot clear down at Fort Point, and then walked back to the warming hut. I was actually really glad because the bridge was so beautiful and I got a few pictures what the waves. (Of course those pictures are still on my camera - so just imagine it). The kids had a great time on the ride and gobbled up the lunch quickly. It was fun to see some of the girls and a few of the leaders from camp. After a lovely picnic I headed home.

As I was winding my way home - trying to avoid the traffic I found myself on Union street. I had been trying to get myself down to the Sephora store to buy some make up for weeks. I was terribly lucky to get a parking space (but only 30 min). So I dashed over and picked up the foundation package and got back to the car just in time. I even got a good parking place when I got back to my apartment.

Saturday night was the Relief Society broadcast, and I invited Hillary over to watch it at my place. After such a day we were very happy to kick back at my house to take in the broadcast. I even put together a little dinner for us. Well most of it was left overs from the bike ride, but I did make pasta salad. The broadcast was wonderful. I really liked how President Eyring said that the heritage of Relief Society was passed from one heart to another.

On Sunday I was off to teach my first lesson in Sunbeams. I have really enjoyed working with these little guys - they are just so funny. Our lesson was about being a friend, and it cracked me up how they wanted to all tell me about their friends. Mostly they wanted to rat out their friends and tell me all f the wrongs that were committed by these friends - but not by the members of my class. They are apparently perfect friends. We had a good time, and I think they might have remembered something from the lesson - well at least for a few minutes anyway.

It was a whirlwind weekend, but lots of fun.

I'm Moving!

My brother in law Dave says that I am on a three year cycle. Apparently, according to David, I need a major change every three years. I am not at all convinced of David's theory, but I am here to announce that I am moving (and it just happens to be three years since I last moved).

My wonderful friends Hillary and Roger manage an apartment building just down the street from me. They have been showing me available apartment for over a year now, and I finally decided to move down and join the fun. The apartment is bigger - 750 square feet one bedroom will feel like a vast castle after my 525 square studio. I can hardly think how I will fill up the space.

The moving party is October 17th. I will even break my healthy food only rule and have lots and lots of treats for my helpers.

Thanks to Roger for the very through pics. I am very excited for the new adventure. Since it is honestly less than a half a block away, not too much will change. I do feel some IKEA trips coming on. I need my sister Cathy to come and organize and my sister in law Susan to come and decorate!

Thanks to all who have expressed concern over my Brother Craig. He is getting used to the idea. I think as long as I keep the futon he will be ok. He did mention that he was trying to figure out how he could rent the old place. :)

View from the front room

View from the bedroom

Closet/office off the front room

Front room

Walk in closet

Kitchen

More kitchen

Hallway

Bedroom

Bedroom Bay window

Bathroom

Honestly - it is like a mansion.

My Eternal Family

It is that time again - Primary Program season! Oh how I love a primary program. I think I judge the primary program differently than the primary leaders. I rank a good program based on the number of nose pickers. The kids get up there and are kids - that is what makes it so great.

Our program was tons of fun and a huge success. I was on the stand, so I can't vouch for any nose diggers, but we had plenty of other kid like behavior to make to a success. The sunbeams were on the front row, prime location for a good display of kid behavior. Everyone made it through great - did their parts - sat pretty quietly - and stood up and smiled when they were supposed to. We had only a few altercations when someone stood at the spot that someone else thought was clearly there real estate. Those three year olds can pack a punch! :)

I wish that we did the program more than once a year. I was just getting the hang of that builder song.

A Fun Saturday with Friends

Last night I was baby sitting for Hillary and Roger. It was the cushiest babysitting gig ever. Will was already in bed when I got there, and then I read stories with Sarah and she went to bed. She likes to sing songs before she goes to sleep, and she is currently a big princess fan. I could not remember the words to the princess songs, and she found it terribly funny. She was laughing and laughing at me. When Hillary and Roger got home they made sure that I was going to attend the ward temple trip in the morning. Good thing they kept me honest and on track. I was considering ducking out and sleeping all morning, but they were a better example to me than I am to myself.


We had a lovely morning at the temple doing sealings. And then we went over to the Redwood Valley Railroad at Tilden Park in the Berkley Hills. It is the cutest little train. We took several trips around the track and then headed home.

Thanks for a fun Saturday!

Bye Bye Baby Wyatt - Oh and Mary and Brandon Too

No no no! I do not like people moving away from me!

Just when Baby Wyatt had arrived, off he goes with his silly parents. Just because they got a new job they thought that was a good enough reason to move away. Honestly.

I will miss you Baby Wyatt, and your parents too.

To JJ and Zach!

My amazing, beautiful, darling, loving cousin JJ was married this past weekend. We gathered for the big event and my Aunt put on a great party. The bride and groom were as cool as punch at the wedding brunch. Yummy food of course.

Saturday was also niece Camille's 16th birthday. Can you believe it? My baby Camille. She drove us all over town - and I can report that she is a fabulous driver. Isn't she also beautiful?! She has also promised to one day name one of her children after me - he loving aunt - who does not have one child named after her. A travesty that Camille has assured me she will remedy. What a good girl.

The bride with my sister and niece. Can you believe this woman was getting married in just a few short hours. Not nervous at all. She was just so happy all day and really enjoyed the festivities. I am so glad it all went so well.

After breakfast we ran over and I got a mini pedicure while Anna got blue and pink nails. I did not choose to alternate colors. She sat perfectly still and loved getting pampered. I might have started this little treat a little too early. Oh well....it really is my job to spoil them.

The location was beautiful. It felt very comfortable and private as well as elegant.

JJ had all of her nieces and nephews in the wedding party. This is all but three of them. They were the hit of the day, and had so much fun. They clearly love cousin time.

Mom, Dad, Cathy, David, Uncle Robert, Aunt Dixie, and Steve waiting to start.

This is my wonderful cousin Beth who is the maker of all of my fun jewelry. Isn't she adorable? She helps me with a little fashion and is a great consult on all needed beauty tips. Beth and I were two of the nine bridesmaids. Yes, I said nine! JJ never did do anything small. :) I did not have to stand in a line - just a walk down the isle and a few pictures. Plus I got a new dress. What a deal!

Here is the birthday girl in her new formal. Not only is she beautiful, but she never complained about having to spend her birthday at a family wedding. She is lovely and kind and so grown up. I just love her to pieces.

I realize by now I already have too many pictures, so I here are a few collages of even more picutres. This one is of the bride and groom. Did I mention that JJ married Zach? He is great. A wonderful man who clearly loves our JJ. He is not even put off by our very large and very crazy family! Zach has a very cute little 4 year old boy Alexander. He is just great, and he totally loves JJ. Who wouldn't? I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of Zach's parents - Gary and Kirsten. They are just great, and also accepting of our crazy family. Gary made us a great BBQ pulled pork dinner after the rehersal. I could have eaten all night!

And here is a little collage of all of the family having fun at the wedding. We do love a party and can't keep ourselves from getting together.

And then the party was over. Well, after some very good food, cake (which my cousin Tricia made!), and of course dancing. I loved these t-shirts JJ made. She has a great sense of humor and fun. Little Alexander got a t-shirt too. They are such an adorable little family.

David and Todd made sure that the car got decorated, and JJ's brothers made sure she got "kidnapped". A little Canadian tradition - stealing the bride. Zach was a good sport, and they were off. It was a beautiful wedding and we are all very happy to have Zach and Alexander in our family.

That evening we headed back to Laurie and Todd's and did some more birthday festivities for our Camille. Being the most frugal teenager I know - she was most excited about her new toothbrushes! She also got tools and equipment so she can learn to make her own oboe reeds. What talent!

A Visit to Aunt Cyndi's

My sister Cathy promised me that she would come to visit me this summer, and I have been looking forward to it for months. There is something really fun about people coming to town to visit YOU. It is fun to go to Grandma and Grandpa's and see everyone, but sometimes I feel like an afterthought. So I was so excited when Cathy, David and Anna arrived Friday night for Labor Day Weekend, and we had a wonderful time.

Friday was David's birthday, so we started with a party. His favorite cake is Costco sheet cake, so even though there were four of us we got the cake that serves 24.

Anna was not too sure about my studio apartment. She looked around and then said, let's go to your other room now Aunt Cyndi. In the morning she told me that she was new here so she needed a tour. I walked her around the room and told her this is the family room, this is the office, this is the bedroom, this is the kitchen, this is the bathroom, this is the big closet, this is the small closet, and this is the backyard. This seemed to ease her concerns. She did like how we all slept in the same room, because it meant that we all had to go to sleep at the same time. A dream of all 4 year olds!

Anna got a lovely make-up kit in a gas station on the long ride down to California. She was my make-up artist, don't we look lovely?

Saturday morning we jumped out of bed and headed off for a day of adventure. We took the cable car down to Chinatown. Anna had been watching a cartoon about a little girl who lives in Chinatown, and she was very excited to have real life adventures just like the show. She is rather obsessed with shows.

The little girl in the show eats Moon Cakes, so we stoped off at the bakery. Luckily they had some without filling - have you ever tried those? Not my favorite. We really liked the pineapple buns. Yummy.

We went all through Chinatown collecting treasures and soaking in the atmosphere. They we took the bus down to the farmers market and arts and crafts fair at the Ferry Building.

It was an amazing day in the city. Look at the blue sky!

We had a little crash while checking out the scuplture, so after a scraped knee Anna and I took a little break and sat down and had a drink. David and Cathy checked out the arts and crafts. They can always find something unusual. David collects coins and is a huge Denver Broncos fan. He found a guy cutting logos in quarters. It really was cool. Anna was rather jealous!

Anna really liked all of the street performers. She was in charge of giving the really good ones some coins.

We all wondered over the Ferry building and walked through the farmers market. Anna was playing here while we were waiting for Hillary, Roger and the kids to meet up with us. And here is where she left her lovely gold purse (recently purchased in Chinatown). Later in the day we would travel back to Chinatown to replace the lost treasures. Thank you Hillary for the door to door service on this silly trip.

After our personl consierge (Hillary and Roger) picked us up, we headed over to Baker Beach for a picnic. It was a little foggy on that side of the bridge, but still plenty warm.

Anna went right down to the water and got nice and wet, and then came back up and rolled in the sand. Sarah had fun playing with Anna in the sand.

We ate yummy food and relaxed by the ocean. What is it about the water that is so relaxing? We also saw pelicans diving in the water for fish, and three seals swimming right up near the shore.
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We went pant-less after the sea water/sand experiment.

We headed home after our picnic and kicked back in the backyard.

After our second trip to Chinatown, we had Hillary, Roger and the kids over for dinner and birthday cake.

Sunday morning we got up and ready for church. It was my second week in Primary (just got called to teach Sunbeams). It was fun to take Anna to primary, she is a great little singer!

After church and a yummy lunch we decided to take a nice Sunday drive to see a few more sights.

The Golden Gate Bridge

The Legion of Honor

The Lion Stairs

The Palace of Fine Arts (where we took a lot of pictures)

Monday morning we headed over to the Academy of Sciences with Hillary, Sarah and William. It was so fun to have friends with us, plus Hillary took in Cathy on her pass and I took in David on my pass. 7 people at the Academy for free. Yeah! I love a deal.

We saw the entire place.


Dinosaurs!

Rain forests with butterflies!


The Amazon tunnel. I love watching those fish swim over me.



After we got totally hot in the rain forest we headed over to see the penguin feeding. We got great seats.

We watched turtles eat.



And then we went outside to eat our picnic. Anna wanted a penguin after we watch the feeding, so of course we headed over to the gift shop. She got a baby penguin and named him Hershel. Not sure where she came up with that name, but she told us all that he looked like a boy penguin and so his name would be Hershel.



After lunch we went back in and checked out all the fish in the aquarium. Anna took the little cards and found every fish on the card in the tank. I could have sworn that she would not be able to, but she is very patient and through.

We loved sitting and watching the fishies swim by.



Then up to the roof to see the flowers. Anna really wanted to pick the flowers.

After the Academy we went over to ride the Carousel. The girls got three rides, and could have gone all day long!

I went down the slides with Anna. At the top I said - oh maybe Aunt Cyndi won't fit. She looked at me and looked at the slide and said...well maybe not! But I did fit and I went FAST!

We came home and ordered dinner from Dino's. Best pizza in the city. Cathy David and Anna drove up to Auburn Monday night. I was sad to see them go, but Anna told me she checked with her Mom and it was ok if I came to her house anytime! I was telling her how I had to go to work everyday just like her Dad. She said, yea Daddy goes to work when it is still night night and then he is gone all the day long. Then she said, Boy I am glad Mommy does not do that!

It was a great weekend. I loved having my family with me and sharing this fun city. A great big thank you to Hillary and Roger - who not only joined us for several of our activities, but also provided parking in their ally, loaned their bus pass, and drove us all over! So fun to have good friends!