Sawyer's GR8!

This kid. This spirited kid who has a mind of his own and the sweetest heart - he's 8! And, he's GR8! We celebrated his 8th birthday all day yesterday.

First of all, it's not every Thursday when you go outside to pick up the milk delivery and find a HUGE sign in your front yard. Yes, some people do like to wear footie pajamas in June and I've found it's best if you don't ask questions. Like Elsa, just let it go.

After breakfast, Madelyn, Sawyer, and I went to Red Rocks and hiked. It wasn't terribly hot when we got there but we were quite sweaty by the time we finished. It was also fairly crowded. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. It is Summer and Colorado and Red Rocks are both destinations. 

The birthday king requested McDonald's for lunch so we honored his request. We finished up decorating his birthday cake in the afternoon. Had the local grandparents over for dinner last night. Sawyer discovered his love of shrimp and other shellfish in Lincoln on his 7th birthday last year. At his request, we had lobster macaroni and cheese. Honey brought her orange sunshine Jell-O salad. No birthday is complete without cake so we ate cake. Yes, that's a cat cake.

We took some more pictures in front of the birthday sign after dinner. Who knew that the birthday yard sign could also be used to play yard sign hide and seek?!

The birthday celebration will continue on next week when he goes to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner with friends. He's already committed to catching shrimp in his mouth. Fingers crossed I can capture that in a picture!

Thank you, everyone, who sent cards and gifts, called, and texted Sawyer yesterday on his birthday. He's special to me every day but extra special on his birthday. Your remembering and your love mean a lot.

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY, SAWYER!

40th birthday jam.

The big 4-0 calls for a family vacation. After a last minute switch-a-roo, we decided to go to San Francisco instead of Cabo San Lucas and we couldn't have been happier with our decision. The following is a quick summary, in mostly pictures, of our trip -

Thursday

Stayed at the Westin DIA again as Griff was flying in from a client's meeting that day and we had an early flight out on Friday. Luckily for us, the pool was open and the DIA zip line was up and running. We had some happy kids.

Friday

Early flight out but arrived in San Francisco around 9:00A PDT. Took an Uber to our hotel - Westin St Francis in Union Square - and had a little breakfast at Lori's Diner. Madelyn claimed this place was THE BEST. She still goes on and on about how that Belgian waffle from Lori's is the waffle all others are compared to. Considering how hungry we all were, it certainly hit the spot. Picked up our 3-day MUNI passes and headed off to AT&T Park.

Took the MUNI over to AT&T Park but arrived a little early for our tour. Luckily, there was a San Francisco public library nearby. You know how much my crowd likes libraries. So, we ventured in to kill a little time and add another library to our list of California libraries we like. (Coronado is still the best.)

Toured AT&T Park. It was pretty cool. I really like how they've gone to great lengths to recreate some of the charming characteristics of the old parks. A game here would be cool but we had other things to do and see.

Our room was in the newer tower of the hotel. You had to swipe your card in the lobby and enter your floor destination. Inside the elevator were no floor buttons. As such, we had quite a fun time constantly trying to trick each other into pushing the buttons in the elevator. Because, there were no buttons. Ha ha! Gotcha. People thought we were crazy...which we are but we're also fun.

Dinner was at Cafe Zoetrope in North Beach. A friend of mine recommended it. It's heavily influenced by Francis Ford Coppola and was incredible. I highly recommend it.

After dinner, we were hanging out in Union Square, enjoying the evening. And, you'll never believe what we saw. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. There was a man with two bengal cats on leashes in Union Square. Those were the most beautiful cats and they were loving all the stimulation. For a while after our trip, the kids would say the bengal cats in Union Square was their favorite part of the trip. Sheesh.

Saturday

We walked down the hill from our hotel to get in line for the Powell-Hyde Cable Car. We waited and waited and waited and finally got on one. San Francisco in August is a busy time for tourists. Thank goodness we have incredibly patient and cooperative kids.

Rode the cable car and got off at the end for breakfast at The Buena Vista. I can't even tell you how much I like this place. When Griff and I came to San Francisco in 2007, we ate breakfast here every morning. And, when we passed through SFO in 2011 on our way back from Hawaii, we had breakfast at The Buena Vista in the United terminal at the airport. Not as good as the original but good enough for a fix. There's really nothing special about The Buena Vista. Maybe it's the destination and the atmosphere. Regardless, we shared a table with two Australian men on holiday and filled our bellies for the day.

Walked down through Fisherman's Wharf and made our way to Pier 33 for our bay tour. The tours of Alcatraz Island were sold out through the end of August. So, we took their recommended alternate boat tour of the bay. On the water, it was so foggy. It was so foggy that even when we were under the Golden Gate Bridge, looking up, you could barely see it. On a clear day, it would have been a neat experience. But, in the thick fog, it was something else, very surreal.

We picked up a sourdough turtle, sourdough bear, and a ham and gruyere croissant at Boudin on our way back toward Ghirardelli Square. We sat in the grass at Aquatic Park, overlooking the Maritime Park and the Golden Gate Bridge, and passed the turtle, bear, and croissant sandwich around. I would definitely call this carbo-loading. We let the kids run around and chase birds for a few minutes then went up to Ghirardelli Square to get our free sample of chocolate.

We also purchased a little something at Ghirardelli to take home with us. Our plan from here was to take the cable car back up the hill to the top of Lombard Street. However, by this time, everyone else was wanting to go back that same direction so the cable car line was L O N G. On paper, from Ghirardelli Square to the top of Lombard Street, it's really not that far. What you can't see is the hill. But, we bribed the kids with chocolate - When you get to the top and haven't complained very much, you can have a piece of chocolate. And, we did it. They were such troopers. Madelyn encouraged Sawyer and Sawyer just kept trucking along. (Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.)

There was an enormous crowd at Lombard Street which was kind of a buzzkill. So, we looked and left.

Went back to the hotel for a bit. Then over to Chinatown to get some high quality Chinatown souvenirs. Madelyn got a fan and Sawyer got a fortune kitty.

We ate dinner at The Daily Grill and went back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Sunday

Picked up danishes, coffees, and milks from the Starbucks downstairs at the hotel for breakfast. Today was our free day. We walked down to Market Street and rode the Market Street Railway over to the Ferry Building.

We walked down the Embarcadero and settled on The Exploratorium. The price of admission was high but it was worth it. It made me realize how much value we, as citizens of Denver, get from the SCFD which subsidizes the big museums in Denver. Anyway, The Exploratorium provided hours of scientific entertainment.

We made a sweet still-frame, animated video called "Daddy vs the Bull Snake" but didn't get a video of our video. It was awesome. But, alas we were getting hungry.

So, we went back to the Ferry Building and had lunch. After lunch, we rode the street car back down to Pier 39 to see the sea lions again. I could stand and watch the sea lions all day. From there, we went back to Ghirardelli Square for another free sample of chocolate. A little tip here: Don't bother waiting in line for the soda shop. If you walk into the gift shop, they give you a piece of chocolate FOR FREE.

We picked up a bus and headed back toward the hotel. Of course, we stopped at the Cable Car Museum. It was hot and loud in there but it was really cool to see the cables that pull the cable cars and how it all works.

We also walked down to the Chinese Fortune Cookie Factory, located in an alley between a few streets, for some fortune cookie scraps and purchased a bag of cookies. At this point, I don't have as many pictures due to sheer exhaustion. But, I'll tell you that we just finished off our bag of fortune cookies this last week.

Dinner was at Puccini & Pinetti in Union Square. It's right across the street from the hotel where Griff and I stayed in 2007. And, I shouldn't forget to mention that right around the corner from there, we saw a restaurant called The Old Siam. Sadie! We didn't go there though.

After dinner, we had 7 minutes to get to Ben & Jerry's before they closed. We literally ran into Ben & Jerry's at 5:57P with 3 minutes to spare but the woman shook her head and told us no. Boo, Ben & Jerry's. Boo. We found a Pinkberry nearby and had that for dessert.

Our flight back to Colorado was on Monday. After 3+ busy days of travel, fun, WALKING, and good food, we were spent. San Francisco was truly the fun adventure I anticipated when we switched our plans from Mexico. I would absolutely do it again. Sawyer keeps asking me when we're going back to San Francisco. He wants a Giants uniform although I'm not sure why. The other night, Madelyn saw a clip on the TV of a baseball game at AT&T Park and she exclaimed, "Mommy, they're in San Francisco! I recognize Levi's Landing." So, needless to say, our kids enjoyed the trip as much as we did.

Thank you, Griff, for taking us on a fun adventure. And, thank you, Honey and Poppie, for taking care of the Young Siam while we were gone. 40 is just another year and it's just another birthday but if someone wants to take me on a birthday jam, I'm game.

Hoppy Easter to you.

I hope Easter treated you well. We had a great weekend.

Madelyn and Sawyer are at such a fun age. Sure, there are times when the never ending competition that exists between siblings rears its ugly head. BUT, most of the time they are so sweet...especially with each other.

Ready to dig in to those eggs and see what goodies they hold.

Clowning around.

On Saturday we had a triple header featuring two soccer events plus a birthday party egg hunt for one of Madelyn's school friends.

On Sunday we slept in and enjoyed playing with the goodies the Easter bunny delivered. We went to late service (1100A) at Honey and Poppie's church - Our Father Lutheran Church. It was the non-traditional service with a band. Normally, those aren't my thing but I really enjoyed this one. Madelyn LOVED singing along with the songs. It was fun to point out some of the parts of the Easter story to her as the service went along. Bringing it full circle is what I'm doing.

After church, we joined Grammy and Grandad at Honey and Poppie's for brunch. We had an egg hunt, delicious food, and lots of good conversation.

Doting grandparents.

Hunting.

And, more hunting.

There were also plenty of sweet treats and goodies to go around.

The rest of the day was spent quietly at home. All in all, pretty good.

Pardon the sour puss face. Someone is finally WORN OUT.

Gingerbread house: Success!

This year's gingerbread house was a success. Not only did it not collapse on us but the little ones did an awesome job decorating!

The directions instructed you to wait 3-4 hours after assembling before decorating. That may have been our crucial mistake last year. I guess sometimes it does pay to read the instructions! Although it was a buzzkill on Tuesday afternoon, luckily, the kiddos were patient enough to wait until after school and lunch yesterday to decorate.

My job was chief frosting put-er on-er. The kids were chief decorators. They shared the candy both in decorating and in eating.

Camera 1.

Camera 2.

"Look at me and say 'Gingerbread house!'" All around success and two happy kiddos.

And...an Elf named Skippy who thought he might help himself to it today. Oh, Skippy.

14 days to Christmas!