Nate and Christiana

For my mom’s 60th birthday, she wanted us to take a family day trip to San Francisco. We all piled into my Aunt Mary’s 15-passenger van, which she had thoughtfully decorated with banners, confetti, and little party bags for each of us. It was the Party Mobile! Our first stop was the newly remodeled California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. They had several fascinating exhibits, including an albino alligator, monkey frogs (that actually swing from the branches), corral reef aquarium, penguins, flashlight fish, and a myriad of other mesmerizing sights. After having fun with the critters, we had a wonderful picnic lunch in the Botanical Gardens. The boys played football, while the girls chatted. It’s amazing to think how fast our “little” family of seven has grown! We then walked around Stow Lake, where we hopped aboard some paddleboats and sailed around Strawberry Hill (with an occasional ramming of each others vessels). After the strenuous paddling, we headed over to the Conservatory of Flowers, and wandered the beautiful outdoor flower beds. We then jumped back in the Party Mobile and took a brief driving tour of San Francisco. We found a few great beaches, that I was not previously aware of, and also made time for a photo op in front of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Our last stop was a wonderful Moroccan Restaurant, called El Mansour. We ate the traditional way–no utensils, and thoroughly enjoyed the hearty meal placed before us. Apart from missing David and Shannon, who weren’t able to make it from San Luis Obispo, it was a great day. Excellent idea, Mom!

After visiting us in Burbank, Bethany and Joe headed to Palm Springs (Rancho Mirage) for a few days. Since it was only about 2.5 hours away, and since I’d never seen Palm Springs, I braved the vast desert to meet them (Nate had to stay home and study). Because my AC is not the best, I got to experience the desert heat firsthand, although I was told that 94 degrees was actually “cool” for Palm Springs. Bethany and I had a great time hanging out, while Joe was busy with work.  Bethany treated me to my first pedicure in many moons, and then we had lunch at a great Mexican place in downtown Palm Springs (Consuela’s ?). We then walked the main strip. Honestly, Palm Springs really wasn’t that impressive. The resort they were staying at, however, was quite impressive! After touring downtown P.S., Bethany and I headed back to the resort where we donned our swimwear and experienced “Splashtopia” (yes, that’s the name of the water wonderland) in all of its glory. It was basically like a mini raging waters with a “lazy river” and waterslides! We had a great time playing in the water and then I headed back home to Burbank to avoid traffic…haha…is that possible in L.A.?

Downtown Palm Springs

Splashtopia!

Nice…

Driving back…note all of the windmills

Beautiful sunset

Bethany and Joe, Christiana’s sister and brother-in-law, spent the night on their way to Palm Springs. They were our second overnight guests, David Norris, being the first. It was wonderful to have them visit! They went with us to church at Grace Community in Sun Valley, and then we had a great brunch at Foxy’s in Glendale.

We look like we just woke up…guess what! It’s true!

A little more awake at Foxy’s

After Bethany and Joseph left for Palm Springs, Nate and I drove a few blocks to “Americana” in Glendale (sort of like Santana Row). It was fun to walk around the quaint outdoor mall. They had some sort of Halloween thing going on (hence the pumpkins and hay bales).