Goodbye Best Friend and Girlfriend

A week ago, Max and I said goodbye to our good friends Natalie, Sammy, and Charly since we were leaving out of town. They're picking up and starting their long drive from beautiful San Francisco today. We're so sad to see them go. Only living 6 blocks away, they have been some of our closest neighbors and friends. I always thought Sammy and Max would be a cute couple--Sammy just gets Max and his screaming, babbling, wild ways. They play so well together that it just seemed inevitable. Some mornings, the only way I can get Max moving and out of the house is promises of seeing Sammy. He just barely started saying her name (more like "Mammy"), and always pumps his hand in the air, cheering for Sammy! Sammy! Sammy! But I guess a light just went on in Max's head when Baby Charly was born. Since Sammy is a little older, and we all know dating an older woman can get complicated, Max decided to make Sammy his best friend and Charly his girlfriend. Max loved holding Charly's hand (and sometimes would not let go), rocking her in her infant carrier, and giving her kisses. And I, of course, will miss Natalie. I have found a life-long friend. I was going to make a list of reasons Natalie and I get along so well, but I think I can sum it up with the fact we both LOVE "Newsies."

We're glad they've left a part of their hearts in San Francisco. Pictures are of Max and Sammy's first (4/06) and last (6/07) San Francisco kisses.

This is a video of one of the kids' favorite thing to do--jump in Max's bed. I'm mostly putting this on here for Max's sake. He could watch this over and over and over.

Good bye Fishers! We can't wait for all the visits!

Save Lake Powell!

I thought our trip to Lake Powell was going to end with the houseboat sinking after the kind of luck I had the couple days before leaving. Not only did I absolutely fry my legs, I fell off the the curb and sprained my ankle (I think I was laying on the sidewalk screaming for quite a while--luckily Blake and Beth were with me), got a $250 ticket for stopping the car (with me in it and the engine running) in a bus zone, barely made it to the airport in time for our flight, tripped carrying Max as I was hurrying across the street to the airport to make the flight, skinned my knee and got a hole in my new maternity jeans, and finally, found out the flight we were running to make was delayed 3 hours and had to entertain an 18 month old for way too long with not enough supplies. (WOW--that was a long sentence.) So, you can see why I thought our trip was doomed before it even started. But with a lot of help from Nanny and Grandpa, some SPF 50, and tons of time to put my feet up, the trip was exactly what we needed. Here are some highlights--
Starting in the top left going clockwise
1. Helping Grandpa drive the boat and honk the horn.
2. Tube wars--only the boys were brave enough to do this one.
3. Hiking to Rainbow Bridge--I made it about 10 feet out of the shade and decided to join Nanny in the boat while everyone else made the 2.5 mile hike. Beautiful.
4. Playing in and eating (only Max, not Blake) the sand.
5. Sleeping...A LOT. Max perfected his sign for "sleep" walking around pointing to all the bodies laying around the houseboat.
6. Tubing. If you notice, Max has both his hands up in the air doing his sign for "all done."
7. Family time--Blake and Blythe were the only two kids to make it to Lake Powell this year. Grandpa says they're his favorites.
8. Knee boarding--Blake took Max for a very fun ride. After they'd fall off and were getting back on, Max would beep Blake's nose. I guess that means he was having fun.
9. Wake boarding.
10. Rafting, but only when the wind wasn't blowing like crazy.

We had a perfect time. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Nanny and Grandpa! We can't wait for next year!

Beth Came to Visit!

We're so happy that Beth decided to come out to San Francisco a little bit early so she could spend some time playing with us. And she picked the perfect week to come, too. The weather reached 85 today, which is basically smoldering hot for San Francisco. So that lucky Beth got to spend some time on the beach with us and the rest of the San Franciscans (Does no one have to work anymore?). Barring the old man wearing a pair of old ladies' underwear that we saw strolling along the beach, I think we had a pretty good time. Here are some of the things we did--

Max played with and ate lots and lots of sand.


Watched the dolphins swim off the shore.
Played smash ball. Doesn't Beth have an amazing reach?And while the three of them were doing these things, this is what I was doing. Beautiful, huh? Blake thinks it's my early lesson so I don't do the same thing in Lake Powell.The day ended with some banana ice cream in Sausalito, yummy tortilla casserole for dinner, and then a rousing game of Boggle. I don't know how Beth is going to want to leave this place!

Time Flies!

Today I've been thinking about all the things that have happened so quickly around me. First off, today was graduation from dental school. That means it was a whole year ago that I was the one going to all the fancy schmancy dinners and lunches, had family visiting, and was jealously watching all Blake's classmates and their families "move-on." This is the 5th graduating class that we've seen pack up and leave our beautiful city. Am I ever going to get a turn?
Second, I am now officially 22 weeks pregnant. Over half way there. Geez, that went fast. It's much different being pregnant chasing a little toddler around rather than sitting in front of a computer researching your pregnancy every day all day. I am already starting to get uncomfortable and feel like my belly is much bigger than it really is. Only 4 months to go--we can't wait for Brother.Third, my little monster is officially 18 months old TODAY! And to celebrate, he cried as soon as we left him in nursery and the leaders brought him to me after only 10 minutes. What's the deal with that? He all of the sudden started to talk so much. It's hard for me to remember when he was just a little baby. But I know whatever stage he's in at the time is how I want him to stay forever. He is so much fun right now. Every night Blake and I spend so much time playing with him and letting him torture us (Blake has proof of the torture on his baby toe). I love this little guy.

Dawn Falls

Blake had a day off today! Wahoo! A rare occassion since he graduated. He is usually teaching on Thursdays, but since there are finals today, and no class--no teaching. Max decided that we needed to get out in the fresh air as soon as possible. He brought Blake his jacket, pulled on Blake's leg and said, "ou-ide." We can take the hint. We went up to Larkspur for a beautiful hike to Dawn Falls. The hike was supposed to be "baby friendly" and only .7 miles, so we thought we had found a winner. We stopped by Jamba Juice on the way up and we're lucky we did. It was the only working bribe we had to keep Max going. After hiking WAY more than .7 miles we gave up on finding the falls and turned around to come home. To boost our spirits for not finding the falls, we stopped by A&W for lunch and root beer freezes. All was forgotten. When we got home we looked up a picture of what we should have seen on our hike. This was it. This little, itty, bitty "fall," if you can even call it that. We do remember passing it, but unfortunately it had dried up anyway. I forgot the camera, but luckily we had our phones! So, I know the pictures aren't great, but you can see how much fun we had!

Recent Family Accomplishments

I hate to brag, but I think my family is so talented. And as proof, here is some of their most recent accomplishments.

First, I have to mention the patriarch of the family. Blake is always trying new things and perfecting old skills, but I have never seen him as proud of one of his accomplishments as I did tonight. For a few months now he has been working hard to master Top Rank Tennis on his Game Boy. The original, black and white, 1989 Game Boy I might add. And tonight he did it. He is now ranked #1 in the world. He is so proud of himself that I took a picture of the screen saying "Congratulations." I also add my congratulations--way to go Blake!

Second, our little Max is becoming a big boy. Not that this is by any means a daily occurence, but this is how I'd like to remember these days of his life; instead of remembering the mess I sometimes have to clean out of the bathtub. He loves sitting on the toilet and LOVES waving good bye to the water after he flushes. I see a bright future for this boy.
I love my family!

A Sad Day in San Francisco

Yesterday was a sad, sad, sad day for our family. We went down to the Metreon with the Fishers to show them San Francisco's best kept secret, virtual bowling, before they move. As we went up the escalator and turned the corner, our worst fears came to life. The arcade in the Metreon is closed. No more virtual bowling! We were so sad--for the Fishers, for future visitors, and especially for ourselves. Poor little Max will never be able to cultivate his virtual bowling skills. The night was not a total bust though. We headed over to Yerba Buena Gardens to do some real bowling. I know, REAL bowling. How Jurassic! The kids had a great time watching their balls VERY slowly roll down the lane and the point of our game soon became knocking out the balls that lost their momentum and got stuck in the gutter. Afterwards we enjoyed some nourishment at Denny's. I had french toast and hashbrowns--the end to a perfect evening.

But I have to go back to the virtual bowling. Blake and I remember once a couple years ago when the arcade closed and then reopened under new ownership. We can only hope the same thing happens again. Until then, here is a slide show of some of our virtual bowling memories.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Ashley!

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our best San Francisco visitor EVER! I think Ashley must love us the most since I can't even count the number of times she's come to see us. It's so much fun to have a sister my same age who loves musicals, reading, and good movies as much as I do. Now, if only I could get her to love Utah. My prayers were answered when she was called to serve in the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission because now she HAS to like Utah. It's part of the unwritten mission rules. I really wanted to put my favorite picture of Ashley on this post, but knowing how much she hates it, I decided to be nice for her birthday. (Ash, you know the one I'm talking about. One word--helmet.) But watch out for future posts! We are so proud of Ashley and the decisions she is making for herself right now and we can't wait to see her again in August! HAPPY 26th ASH!

Memorial Day Weekend

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What a perfectly beautiful and just plain old perfect San Francisco weekend. After Blake picked us up from the airport Saturday night he surprised us by taking us to dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory. We love this place, and since the closest one is in Concord, we don't get to go very often. Max did such a good job eating his macaroni all by himself with his fork. But he got a little frustrated when the spumoni came. So he invented his own utensil which seemed to work much better. Dip the passy in the ice cream, take a lick, and repeat. We thought it was pretty funny. On Monday we decided to go down and explore around the Ferry Building. During our 4 1/2 years living year, I've only been down there once for a work meeting/dinner. It was the perfect place to be on a holiday--not as crowded as the Wharf, but still right on the water with a lot to see and do. Our first stop was Justin Herman Plaza. They have a modern art fountain that has stepping stones around the edges that you can walk on. Max was in heaven, and I was so happy Blake was there so he could be the one to jump in the water in case Max fell in. We played here for so long and even found some pigeons lurking around the water. Water AND pigeons! This really was Max's heaven. After Blake was done chasing Max we went down by the water to look at all the boats, then walked through the Ferry Building to find something to eat. We decided on Vietnamese food at the Slanted Door. Since the wait for a table was over an hour and we had a hungry little guy, we got our food to go and sat across the street at a scenic out door table to eat our lunch. Blake's imperial rolls won first place in the taste-test competition, and Max's corn dogs from the little diner next to the Slanted Door came in a close second. My beef salad was a bomb. After our expedition we all came home and took a nap. Here are some other of my favorite pictures from the day. Happy Memorial Day!

Our Church History Vacation

I can't believe this vacation is over and how much we did. We logged about 2,000 miles on our 12-passenger van (hey, luggage for 8 people takes up a lot of space, especially when one of those people is a Max) in 8 days. And I'm pretty sure we saw every historical marker, grave site, and tourist attraction Independence area and Nauvoo have to offer. Here are some highlights--

Day 1: Liberty Jail--after we all arrived, our first stop was Liberty Jail. The presentations and tours were wonderful and we got our first glimpse of what this trip would be like with Max. We each took a turn running around outside and walking up and down and up and down and up and down the steps with him while the others did part of the tour. Tony took most of this shift since he claims he has seen Liberty Jail dozens of times. I didn't know that there was a building actually built around the jail to preserve the original structure. And I loved learning all the little details and interesting stories that surrounded each circumstance. Seeing the tiny, dark, cold place that the prophet was kept for about four months added so much to the importance and relevance of the revelations received here. Afterwards Tony took us through the back roads of Missouri. We saw the graves of David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, Hiram Page, Martin Harris, and many other people. After all that driving and looking we refreshed ourselves with some authentic Missourian BBQ! YUMMY! While we were there we saw a member who invited us over to play pool after we were done eating. I don't remember what the game all the boys played was called, but I do remember that my husband was the champion! I am such a proud wife.
Day 2: Independence Visitor's Center--The Visitor's Center in Independence is the only one not by a temple. Kind of cool. We took lots of tours and learned about the history of Indepence. Max, again, spent a lot of time running around outside. I think all the Sisters there want to date Tony when they come home. When the rest of us were ready to leave they just kept talking and talking and talking to him. Those silly Sisters! We did a walking tour of Independence and saw a lot of parking lots that used to be something. We ended the night with some pizza in our hotel room, watching the Suns lose to the Spurs. It's official--our brackets really stunk this year.
Day 3: Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum--While the rest of the family drove to Wichita to take our missionary-neighbor to lunch, Blake, Max, and I decided to go to the Harry S. Truman museum. WOW! You could spend forever in that place. And there was a park right across the street and Wendy's was within walking distance, so Max was in heaven as well. They even have a 45-minute movie about Harry that Max and I watched (slept through) 3 times. We now know everything there is to know about our 33rd President.
Day 4: Far West, Adam-ondi-Ahman, and Haun's Mill--After going to church in Excelsior Springs and having Tony called out of the congregation to bear his testimony, we finished the Missouri highlights. Even though there weren't any buildings at these places we could really feel a special spirit. I would love it, though, if they built a representation of Haun's Mill. In some of the stuff Tony had left out there, we found a football, so all that open area was much appreciated. Even Max participated in the scrimages. After all that touring we had to say goodbye to Blake. Man, it stinks to have to go to work.
Day 5: Carthage Jail--After our 5 hour drive up to Illinois and some Baby Einstein in the car, we decided to first stop in Carthage before going to Nauvoo. Amazing. I can't believe the original door, with the original bullet hole is still there. I could tell this was a special place because Max was so good as we went through the jail. He sat quiet the entire (almost) time. It's amazing how the spirit can touch everyone. After the jail, we drove to Nauvoo, ate a tastey family-style dinner, and swam in the pool. Max slept very soundly that night!
Day 6: Nauvoo--WOW! We had no idea we could spend an entire week just in Nauvoo. We started out in the Visitor's Center, looking at the exhibits, and watching some short movies. Then we took a carriage ride, then a wagon ride learning about the people and place of Nauvoo. And, geez, where from there? The bakery. The family living center, where we learned to make cloth, bread, candles, rugs, ropes (I got to keep the rope we made--I played an integral part in the process!), and barrels. Pioneer games, where we could have spent an entire day. The gun shop. The brick yard. And of course, the beautiful temple. That night we went to a musical performed by the couple missionaries in Nauvoo. I loved it. I just kept thinking of my dad or Blake, standing up there in the men's kick line. I really hope Blake and I go to Nauvoo on a mission. I would love to be in the musical, and I would LOVE to watch Blake in the musical.
Day 7: Kansas City Royals Baseball Game--After hitting some gift shops, we hit the the road back to Missouri to catch the Kansas City vs. Cleveland baseball game. The stadium was so much fun (but not as much fun as PacBell, or SBC, or AT&T or whatever the name of the park is now). There was even a little park for Max to play at. So, he spent most of the game down there. The first few innings were very exciting--lots of homeruns and scoring. The Royals won and the game was a perfect ending to our vacation. Everyone came home still friends, chigger and tic-less, and very sleepy, so the trip must have been a success! Thank you family for an unforgettable week! We love you!