Zoo Light Safari with Cousins

We had a GRAND time at the zoo tonight with cousins. A word to the wise: it is good to go on a day when there have been tornados and flash floods. We practically had the place to ourselves!

What a cute, sweet group of kids! (And, wow----couldn't Owen and Paul pass for twins?!)

Santa...

In their combined 15 years, we have been to see Santa two times. As I watched them having their picture taken today, I was so grateful for the passage of time since the last photo was taken. Notice Paul in his pajamas (now just little boy clothes covered in chocolate and dirt)...he and I had come straight from the "doc in the box" to meet up with Daddy and the other 2 boys.
They might be dirty and a little ragged-looking, but they are healthy, sweet, fun, smart boys---and for that, we are so grateful!!! : )

Making Christmas cookies

We made Christmas cookies today for both Luke's class and our family. The boys enjoyed baking them, icing them, and most of all----eating them!

Caleb lost his first tooth!

Wow! How did this child get old enough to lose a tooth????!!!!

(The problem with his nose is due to a literal nose dive out of the top bunk. Incidentally, that is unrelated to losing his tooth.)

San Francisco---DAY 3

Our good friend, Kevin, took us to Muir Woods on our third day. Though I did not fair too well on the drive there or back (wow---reminded me of the road to Hana), it was well worth it.

Here's a link that tells more about this beautiful part of our country: http://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm

Chris & Kevin

We pit stopped so I could catch my breath while fighting car sickness. This is on the side of the curvy, curvy road there and back.

San Francisco---DAY 2

This was my favorite day as I got to not only see cool places but I got to catch up with my sweet friend, Leana. She had the whole day planned for us while Chris was at his conference.

First, we went to the Academy of Sciences for a fascinating morning filled with an albino alligator, butterflies in the rainforest, amazing fish in the aquarium, black matter in the planetarium (which has stirred great conversation between Chris & Luke, the family philosophers), and so much more.

I thought this (above) was a cool sign about the differences between tap and bottled water. In short, drink tap water! Then, (below) are Leana and I goofing off in the gift shop trying to distract Caleb and Luke from the "greedy galloping gimmies!"

Next, Leana took us for a drive. She showed us the Pacific Ocean (Caleb's first time to see it!!). The boys got quite wet (and cold), but they had a blast running around the beach.

Then, she showed us the Golden Gate Bridge (and Caleb fell asleep).

Then, she took us to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory which Caleb was happy to wake up for! It was delicious!!!

Then, she drove us down Lombard Street with all its twists and turns.

Then, she showed us Danielle Steel's huge house.

It was truly a PERFECT day---with easy parking, good food & drinks, fun sights to see, and, best of all, lots of great conversation.

THANK YOU, LEANA!!!

San Francisco---an AWESOME city! DAY 1

We had an AMAZING time in San Francisco this past weekend. Caleb, Luke, and I went with Chris who needed to go for a conference. Here we are on the first day....walking around the city (the first picture---with the Christmas tree---was taken around 6 AM when we first started walking).

Here we are after an hour or so and we start encountering hills.

And, here we are an hour after that.....with more hills.

(Caleb is saying, "When can we stop, Mom?!)

But there is lots of cool architecture to see and we still haven't found Chinatown which we really wanted to see......
Then, around 11 AM.....with the help of lots of nice people who giggled at how many times we'd passed it.....we found Chinatown. As promised, it was well decorated and had lots of shops with things the boys would like.


Among the highlights, we saw Porziuncola Nuova---the National Shrine of Saint Francis. Here are better pictures than I could ever take: http://www.shrinesf.org/index.html

After weaving the streets for 7 hours, we stopped for lunch then headed back to the hotel for naps. Around 3 pm, we got up and headed back out for Pier 39 where we enjoyed the shops, the seals, and a good dinner.

Our sweet boys walked ALL DAY---for miles and miles. They are fun little travelers!

We love Tannehill!

We had a great Saturday hiking the trails of Tannehill...it was a beautiful fall day!

Veterans' Day Program

Halloween

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the boys dressed up, but they had a grand time trick-or-treating as Batman, Bumblebee (the transformer), and Jenga Fett (from Star Wars). Here we all are just before dressing up and trick-or-treating.

We love Rickwood Caverns

We love going to The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament