Quick San Francisco Getaway

Michael:

Moved out. I mean not really, but basically. He was gone from Friday of last week until today at two conferences in San Francisco. He spent the week at a pathology conference with the two other third year residents. Then Friday and Saturday he has some down time in the city before he had to give a presentation at a different conference on Sunday. The boys and I drove to meet him Thursday night so we could play together for a couple days in the city. He had a culinary week, full of nice restaurants with no crazy toddlers. But I think he's happy to be back with the crazy... mostly happy :)

Maddie:

felt like it was a pretty long week without Michael around but the boys and I had some fun and got things done. I finished doing my second round of KonMari and it made a big difference to me. Now I'm doubling down on teaching my boys where everything's home is and that everything needs to be put back into it. The road trip to San Francisco went pretty smooth on Thursday night, and it was fun pulling into the city at night and seeing the bridges and buildings lit up. Westin thought the Golden Gate bridge looked like a roller coaster and I realized it was because he thought you drove up and down along the lights along the top when you went across. I love the way kids see the world.

Westin:

told his preschool teachers that his dad lives in a hotel now. Luckily he then told him it's because "he's learning how to be a better doctor" and they then kind of figured it was a work thing. You always wonder what pictures of your family your kiddo is going to paint to people in the world. He was so happy to go see daddy and really missed him this week. We drove home Sunday morning without Michael since he was coming back with coworkers after his presentation, and Westin was back into grumpy mode. Our dynamic is a struggle lately, but I know it's mostly good.

Bennett:

wanted nothing to do with his stroller during his San Francisco explorations and he was a hand full to keep track of. Traveling with kids gets easier in some ways and harder in others and I feel like I'm always having to reevaluate how we do things. He is so funny to watch when he's exploring and watching new things. He did pretty good on our little hikes, but still spends some time in the Ergo or Michael's arms. He slept great in the hotel (still rocking that pack n play) and I even made them both take a nap on Saturday in hopes for a better dinner/evening experience the night before. Hotel naps are no small accomplishment but it did everyone good. 

It was a fun few days in San Fran! I loved a change of scenery and routine and so did the kids.

We'll be happy to have dad home again this week :)

Threw an old sheet down on Friday for a pizza party and movie night. Within one minute both boys had dropped a piece of pizza face down on that sheet. So, thanks, sheet.

Meanwhile, Michael was not eating pizza on the floor.

KonMari round 2! Feels good. Thanks for the push, Netflix.

We have our hard times, but I love this sweet boy. This was after I told him stories about my grandmas and how I miss them.

Watching Wild Kratt's with such reverence.

I can't get these squatters out of my kitchen.

 I had this book spiral bound and I love the difference. 

So much rain this week!

Westin and his friends at school watching and talking about rain.

W for Westin!

Kicking off our double decker tour up high in the front row. The boys were so excited.

Curvy Lombard street! We learned that they put in those hairpin curves because the street is on a 27-degree incline,
and with those curves it changes it to a 16-degree incline.

Headed across the bridge

A little hike to get a view

Bennett was really into this street performer with a pigeon presence. He handed the boys some bird food before I could care too much about germs and Michael helped Bennett feed some. Hands were immediately sanitized. Why do I think pigeons are so gross? Bennett loved this, though.

Palace of Fine Arts

Checking our Rachel and Spencer's favorite, Burma Superstar. So delicious!
We had Samusa soup, Shrimp Curry, Coconut Rice, Sesame Chicken, and Veggie Samusas.
Westin loved the chicken. Bennett loved the soup. Both were crazy.
I asked Michael if he had missed us this week. It wasn't the right moment to ask him.
(For the record -- of course he did. But not at restaurants.)
(Also for the record -- I'm super well-behaved at restaurants, and Michael loves having me around.
The boys are animals.)

That time I ditched my family on an ice cream trip because I couldn't handle anymore toddler verbal abuse and walked back to our hotel by myself. Keepin' it real guys, worn out kids are rough. 

Land's End Trail

Michael's friend Derek from high school was able to meet up with us for our (slow) hike. He's a patient guy :)

Taken moments before Westin fell backward off this wall and was then verrrrrrrry angry about it, so....

.... only us in the final picture :)

Bennett was always up for our late night exploring, he loved those busy streets.

Shark gummies made their day.

Another delicious restaurant, another struggle with the boys.
I just want them to learn how behave at restaurants!
Does this come with time? Or should they be permanently uninvited? :)
This was at Surisan where we had K Tacos and a super yummy Dolsot.

Bubbles on a busy street, Bennett's happy place.

Catch Up: June

My 2016 unintentionally became "The Year I Never Blogged"
because it intentionally became "The Year I Learned How to Be a Mom,"
and I hate the empty space over in those little drop-down year menus to your right.
So, each month is getting a retroactive rewind post.

June:

We finally secured a rental in Fresno while staying with Ali and Matthias after our Bear Lake week. The week before we were set to move to Fresno.. stressful! We couldn't have found our house without my friend Emily's help. I was really looking forward to living by my old roomie again.

After some Northern Utah time, then some Cedar City time, my parents drove out to Fresno with us to help with unpacking and watching Westin while we got things done. We were greeted with 115 degree heat and Michael basically unpacked that whole pod into our garage so we could just stop going inside and out. I knew immediately that being pregnant through those end of summer months while chasing an almost-two-year-old was going to be an experience.

After not even a week of unpacking and getting settled surprisingly quickly, we got back in the car and drove to Las Vegas. From there we flew to Cape San Blas for a Florida week with all of Michael's family. It was really fun to take Westin to that beautiful spot that Michael has enjoyed most years of his life. The travel time was long but the week was such a good time. I remember eating Sally's scrambled eggs the last night when we were trying to eat all the rest of our food, and crying because it felt like I should be going back to Indianapolis and not to Fresno, California. It was time to face the unknown and go figure out residency.

We made it back in time for Michael's orientation, and then he had a few days between that and his official first day of work. So, we signed up for a timeshare presentation mystery shop in San Francisco that would pay for three nights of a hotel plus parking. It was so fun to visit that city for my first time! We explored Pier 39, walked along the bridge, met up with Rachel on the beach, ate at Ghiradelli's, drove up and down those hilly streets and back and forth on Lombard street, and just had fun enjoying each other before the inevitable busy life.

I remember this heavy feeling of suddenly being a "first year" again, after all those years of working through school in Indy. Time for another round of four years.

Back in the car for another long drive to Vegas...

Cousins matching and singing at Gary's baptism in Florida

Michael and his beautiful sisters

I was so grateful that Westin fell asleep on the flight. I did not expect that to happen!

Life as the only sister-in-law :)

I love these two!

Fresno does strawberries right! We made lots of jam that first month.

Building my entertainment center by myself! #residency

Mystery shop dinners with my little date

We were so grateful for Grandma and Grandpa's help moving in