The best week!

SO I feel pretty lucky. I got my little sister all to myself for an entire week! She was coming from BYU Idaho and could only find a ride to Sacramento. It was meant to be because we had the most amazing week! 

 We took advantage of the rain and went for a hike along the Roseville bike trail where Sam could splash in the puddles with his new rain boots. I discovered this new trail with Bethany. I love living in a beautiful place.

He's showing off, you can tell.

 

Sunday night we went to the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Roseville and the hour long ceremony turned in 10 minutes because of the pouring rain. It was pretty memorable.

 

We headed to Sacramento on Monday and had to see the Capital. Notice that the Governer's office still says Schwarzenegger.

 Sam was telling me all about the building's construction and design.

In order to keep Sam sane we headed to the Train Museum where he had much to inform us about.

Naturally a walk through Old Town Sacramento followed. Of course, I was with Bethany so a sweet shop stop was a must!

Recently Sam is getting even more cuddly with stuffed animals. We found this dog made from real Albaca fur. It was so soft and Sam was just tickled by it's cuteness. He kept mimicking how he thought it would sound, then held it and kissed it over and over. Of course the first thought that came to my head was "maybe he would sleep with this thing...I should buy it!" I held back knowing from experience that most implosive buys to get Sam to sleep more usually don't work.

Here comes the highlight of the week! San Francisco. Hank took the entire day off so we had to take a trip. It was amazing! Here we are in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. I loved the design, the history and view. Really spectacular.

Another fun event was the Golden State Park where we observed a staggering amount of homeless people wandering around. The walks were gorgeous and the company even better.

I actually took an insane amount of pictures but I feel like this post is getting long already. Another highlight of the day was China Town. I was pretty amazed how close to China those San Francsico streets were. We happened upon this Chinese Restaurant. The feel, the smells, the chill of the place just brought us back. The food was so delicious and Bethany humored Hank and I as we reminiscent.

 

Thanksgiving was just delightful. We spend the day at McKay and Laree's place. Trevor and Lindsay joined us as well a s the Busby family. We cooked, chatted, swung on swings, climbed trees, played games and just had a great time.

 After an insane morning of black Friday shopping we headed back to Sacramento for Christmas Festivities. We went to an holiday arts and crafts fair and just ate everything up from the hand woven hats to the homemade pepper jelly. If I ever become rich I am going to buy everything from fairs.

 

Old Town put on a holiday show

with staged lights, music and storytelling. Sam was impressive and it really made me feel the spirit of Christmas. Kids really have a way of making you getting excited about holidays.

Bethany got to stick around for another day because of a snow storm and got to experience our second Thanks giving. My friend Tracy's husband is a pilot so his work schedule always conflicts with holidays so they just move everything around. Isn't that the coolest table with the coolest centerpiece! Tracy designed the centerpiece and I am basically in awe of everything she does.

Her son is a little older  than Sam  and I like to pretend they are best friends but in reality I think they might notice each others existence once in a while. Anyway, it's fun to see them interact.

                                           Look how pretty Bethany is! Oh I miss her already!

A Wonderful Visit

I felt very blessed this weekend because my parents came to visit. It was short visit but very satisfying. Here are the highlights.

 

We spent the morning at a bird sanctuary and nature preserve. My mom has recently discovered her true passion in life which is identifying plants in the Santa Monica Mountains. I think she was having a blast comparing north to south at the perserve. I know my dad enjoyed himself because he said it would be a perfect place to paint and that next time they come up we should just drop him off there for a couple hours. Sam also enjoyed himself as there were a few bridges, lots of rocks and puddles. All in all it was a big hit.

 

Here we are looking at an Madiu Indian grinding spot. It was pretty cool. The whole time my parents were here Sam keep pointing at them and yelling. He obviously knows who they are and probably is wondering why they aren't around as much as they used to be.

Our next venture was to Auburn where we had lunch downtown and enjoyed the scenery of this little historic town. We found a museum that talked all about the gold rush and how Auburn came about. I love that I live in such a historic area. My mom's other passion is history so needless to say this was also a big hit.

Sam amazes me everyday. He sees no reason why he can't play on the playground equipment like every other big kid. He is now climbing ladders, swinging on bars, balancing on balance beams and basically climbing up and down on everything no matter the height. He is really quite talented and I often find myself in awe of his playground abilities.

 

In case you were wondering his hair still disappears when it gets wet.

Old West Park

 

One of Sam's joys.

 There are several old west themed parks around here. I think they are so cute and fun so I took some pics. Sam's trying to figure out how to get the free loaders off his train.

I can tell when Sam is happy with an activity because he gets very busy and intense with his playing and then all of a sudden he'll smile with an "EEEEEE" sound. Recently he's added a few dance moves to his happy expressions. I think having Dad with us made the experience that much more exciting and "EEEEEE" worthy.

I seriously get such a kick out of these themed parks. I would have loved to play here when I was little. I really feel like I vicariously live through Sam sometimes, especially when he discovers things for the first time. For instance on this day he discovered the joy of stomping in dried leaves. I have been trying to show him how fun that is for weeks and he finally realized it. Hank and I just watched him played as he ran up and down the sidewalk kicking and stomping on the leaves. I told Hank I couldn't imagine doing anything more entertaining than that. He agreed.