cable cars

on tuesday morning we went back up to the city to ride a cable car and spend some time with the golden gate bridge. we rode all the way from union square to ghiradelli square, and it was so fun to relish the journey with the kids. that powell & hyde line covers a good part of the city and offers some fantastic hills and splendid views.

 

we got some chocolate samples at ghiradelli right as the fog lifted and the bridge popped out to glow red in the sunshine. i was so happy that noah, kristi and the kids would get some quality fogless ggb time in as we headed back through the hills to drive to baker beach. but in true san francisco style, the fog returned just as we drove into the presidio, and all the views were just white. noah was a little crestfallen, but baby bennett was all smiles!

we didn’t have much time to wait for the fog to lift again since noah & kristi had a 9 hour drive back to san diego ahead of them with those awesome kids. we stopped at in-n-out, they dropped me off at my house, and we said goodbye.

four and half days with these guys was such a treat!

san diego eyres in san francisco

after three days and nights of campfire and sleeping in a tent and no showering and lots of eating, we headed straight to the city for some urban adventuring, quite the motely crew. the weather was foggy and dreary, but we had an awesome time nonetheless. it’s pretty much always a party with noah, kristi, mckay, lyla, cubby and bennett.

kristi said something about danny tanner on our drive into the city, so our first stop was to say hi to the painted ladies at alamo square.

we ordered some ike’s sandwiches, played at the stellar new playground at dolores park, and then tried our luck on lunch with a view from twin peaks. as you can see, there was not much of a view. just a wall of white san francisco fog!

we went to chinatown and the kids were delighted by the fortune cookie factory and all the crazy stuff for sale in the markets.

 

and i certainly can’t give a san francisco tour without a trip to my secret rooftop….

we took turns in the tub/shower at my house and then met the boy for a dinner picnic on stanford campus. we took a stroll under the arches and around the fountains.

and then we slept all seven of us in my little bedroom with our sleeping bags fresh out of the redwoods. by morning my room sure smelled like campfire!

it’s the best showing such beloved places to such beloved people.

gualala, round 2

just like last year, my brother and his wife and four kids drove up from san diego and took me along camping at gualala. our cousin ben’s wife ashley’s family has spent memorial day weekend among the redwoods up the coast for many years, and has been so fun to get in on the tradition, 2 years running now! (i was pretty sad the boy couldn’t come with us … turns out becoming a doctor of economics is kinda hard!)

noah & kristi and the kids picked me up friday afternoon and we drove through the city, over the golden gate bridge…

…through lots of traffic past pretty petaluma, out to highway one and then along the sensational coast until we reached gualala river redwood park!

camping at gualala with the bodily family & friends is quite an experience. one campsite is the “kitchen,” and a fridge, stovetop, sink, microwave and (of course!) nacho cheese machine get set up every year. we had thanksgiving dinner one night and crepes and egg & ham sandwiches for breakfasts. the endless variety of available snacks is astounding. there are happy kids running around everywhere, a constant stream of bikes cruising along the trails, a never-ending fire crackling, and games and adventures to be had all day long.

  

it was great to hang out with not only noah & kristi and their kids, but also ben & ashley and their kids, as well as my uncle chris & aunt hedy. ben & ashley’s brand-new baby girl clara was blessed on sunday in the dappled sunshine under the redwoods. isn’t she adorable?!

it was pretty cold in the shade, but on saturday we went down to the river beach where the sun could beat down on us and warmed up. it even got hot enough to take a jump off the log in the river. 4-year-old lyla was super brave and jumped off twice!

i had some pretty epic tandem-bike rides with kristi and with mckay, and every single night s’mores were made around the fire, and we stayed up late talking and laughing. all seven of us – noah, kristi, (their four kids) mckay, lyla, cubby, bennett and i all slept in one tent together. it was quite a party.

on sunday the seven of us took a little trip to the ocean between church (they hold services in the redwood grove since most of the bodily’s congregation goes to gualala for the weekend) and dinner (dutch oven ribs and fresh-caught and prepared abalone). it was so so gorgeous!

 

and back at camp, there was a piñata party to celebrate a few birthdays. the stampede of all those kids after they busted open was spectacular!

being with family in nature with no cell-phone service was sure good for my soul. i’d go for a round 3!

(my signature solo family picture pose)

secret picnic spot

a friend’s instragram picture informed me about the pulgas water temple. intrigued, i took the boy there for a lunch picnic on friday.  it’s such a neat, random little spot nestled into the foothills off highway 280. we ate dried mangoes and carrots and hummus under the sunshiney sun as the tips of the tall trees swayed in the breeze and the couple of little families there cooed over their toddlers. a pretty perfect start to a much-needed long weekend.

a picnic always makes me happy.

flowers of quiet happiness

last night i finished reading anne of green gables. if you can believe it, it’s my first time. surely anne and i are kindred spirits – i’ve so enjoyed relating with her zest and drama as the text has transported me to prince edward island. i love, loved the end of the book – that i got to see anne grow up and embrace the paradoxical beauty of hardship and of adventures that are not exotic but are all-the-more amazing for that.

 

these tidbits from the last pages were so good, i had to share:

but anne, with her elbows on the window sill, her soft cheek laid against her clasped hands, and her eyes filled with visions, looked out unheedingly across city roof and spire to that glorious dome of sunset sky and wove her dreams of a possible future from the golden tissue of youth’s own optimism. all the beyond was hers with its possibilities lurking rosily in the oncoming years – each year a rose of promise to be woven into an immortal chaplet.

the west was a glory of soft mingled hues, and the pond reflected them all in still softer shadings. the beauty of it all thrilled anne’s heart, and she gratefully opened the gates of her soul to it.

“when i left queen’s my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. i thought i could see along it for many a milestone. now there is a bend in it. i don’t know what lies around the bend, but i’m going to believe that the best does. it has a fascination of its own, that bend. i wonder how the road beyond it goes – what there is of green glory and soft, checkered light and shadows – what new landscapes – what new beauties – what curves and hills and valleys and further on.”

anne’s horizons had closed in since the night she had sat there after coming home from queen’s; but if the path set before her feet was to be narrow she knew that flowers of quiet happiness would bloom along it. the joy of sincere work and worthy aspiration and congenial friendship were to be hers; nothing could rob her of her birthright of fancy or her ideal world of dreams. and there was always the bend in the road!
“god’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world,” whispered anne softly.

during my current slice of mortality, i feel that i am really being stretched, facing a lot of uncertainty and experiencing a lot of anxiety. i am impressed by the hope and faith that i feel surging in me. i feel sure about the divine, and i am somehow grateful for and exhilarated by the stretch.

with anne, i’m realizing that surely there’s a wonderful magic in the anticipation of what’s around the bend in the road. and no matter how narrow the path, there will always be flowers of quiet happiness blooming along it.

something to share

i think it’s pretty incredible how linked the human family is in 2013. the internet is truly a miracle that allows for connections that otherwise would be impossible. i have so loved being connected with amazing individuals through this blog, and i’m so authentically grateful for the forum that is the internet that allows us to share.

readers of this blog are well-aware of my passion for family and parenthood. i’ve written about the longing that i personally feel to be a mother. 

 

a recognition of the power of sharing and the supreme importance of family prompts me to give a little shout-out today to friends of a friend. i don’t know shug & paul at all, beyond what my friend brittany has told me about them. we’ve never interacted in any way. but because of the sharing world that we live in, i know about their desire to be parents. and i’d like to do whatever i can to help that miracle happen.

here is their adoption profile
please continue the sharing.

heaven, according to me

 

it was buy two baskets, get one free. i made it more like eat two baskets, buy two baskets, get one free…
nothing like fresh summer produce on a sunny day. and free samples.

26 before 27

in 26 days, i’ll turn 27. doesn’t 27 seem like such an auspicious number? i think it will be a good year.

there are a few things, 26 in fact, that i want to do before my birthday. i hope i can check these all off!

1. finish anne of green gables
2. hike the bird island trail at point lobos
3. spend an evening at the santa cruz beach boardwalk
4. don’t have even one day off of keeping my eating and exercise goals
5. don’t miss a day of real gospel study
6. organize all the pictures on my hard drive
7. give my brother and his family a stellar san francisco tour
8. better organize my budget
9. sleep among the redwoods at gualala
10. perform three random, anonymous acts of service
11. blog about expectations and sacrifice
12. re-register my car
13. go to the temple
14. read at least half of the god who weeps
15. try at least five new recipes
16. see the walton lighthouse
17. redesign my blog
18. visit the pulgas water temple
19. write in my journal every single day
20. talk on the phone with each of my siblings
21. try a new restaurant in palo alto
22. surprise someone i love
23. put my feet in the ocean
24. make summer plans for utah
25. make summer plans for some other travel adventure
26. make goals for the year ahead

growing up is such a trip.

brunching in sausalito

i stayed over in the city on friday night, and on saturday morning kelsey and drove across the golden gate bridge to have brunch in sausalito.

sausalito’s charm pretty much knocks me out every time i’m there. it is just so so lovely, sunny and blithe. we ate at le garage overlooking the marina full of boats.

 

as i’m sure i’ve previously noted on this blog, kelsey and i were born to brunch together. we always get a sweet and a savory and share. we are both really good at enjoying food, especially brunch.

we walked along the bridgeway and then drove across the bridge all wrapped up in fog. the towers majestically appeared just as we drove under them. we looked at each other and said incredulously, this is our life! just cruising across the golden gate bridge on a sunny saturday. that drive will never get old to me – it will always tickle my heart a bit.

when we got back into the city and started driving up and down the hills of the marina and pacific heights, i decided to pop my head out the sunroof. it was a thrill ride! my spirit was smiling so wide. kels blasted the music and i waved at amused pedestrians, the top half of me sticking right out of the top of the car.

 

brunch with a dear friend and sunshine in the city by the bay – healing and enlivening and splendid, indeed.