San Francisco 2009

We had a great opportunity for a fun weekend....Cody's uncle Scott sent us an invitation for a Family Reunion in San Francisco. They own an apartment on a ship called The World and it was docking in San Francisco in June and he wanted us all to come for lunch on the ship and spend the afternoon together. We decided we were going to do whatever we could to make it and I'm so glad we did! We had such a fantastic time! San Francisco has never been on my short list of "Places to Go" but it was so much more fun than I ever thought it would be. Cody's mom was so sweet to watch our kids for us so it gave me and Cody some time away, just the two of us! It had been a while and we needed it! Not to say that we don't like spending time with our kids....but it's nice to get some time together too. We went with Cody's sister Polly and his brother Bryce & Lisa and their twins. We all stayed in the same hotel and had a great time together. We stayed down by Fisherman's Wharf so we walked everywhere and took in as much as we could. We could've used an extra day, so much to do and we ran out of time, but that will just give us an incentive to go back soon.

Polly, Cody & I took the Alcatraz night tour. It was so much fun.....I watched Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood every year when I was little so I was really looking forward to it. It was so fun to take the boat over in the evening and hang out over there as the sun went down. We didn't get very many great pictures of the city, but it was amazing and what a view! Loved the tour....it was really an amazing place and it was fun to learn the history and we got to see some of the areas that the people in the daytime hadn't been able to see. Great experience and now I can say I've been to Alcatraz.

We spent Saturday afternoon on "The World" with our family. It was so fun to see everyone and what an amazing ship! We took a tour and then had a wonderful steak and lobster lunch that still makes my mouth water. The whole reunion was to get the family together and Cody's grandma and grandpa were the guests of honor. They were really looking forward to going but the week before the reunion, Cody's grandpa started having some medical problems and ended up in the hospital. They weren't able to make it and that was disappointing for everyone. Cody's aunt and his dad also decided to stay home to care for his grandpa so we missed them as well. It was a fun afternoon and so very generous of Scott to share this incredible experience with his family. We loved it and hope to see everyone again very soon!

My cousin Erika & her husband Jensen live in San Francisco so we were able to spend some time with them while we were there. It was so much fun! I wasn't prepared for the cold nights and Erika shared her warm gear with all of us Southern Californian's. It came in handy on our Alcatraz excursion because the trip over was a little chilly. They picked up me and Cody one of the nights there and took us around the city. We went to dinner and then went to this fun ice cream shop that people stand in line for every night. We then went down the "Crookedest" (is that a word?) Street because you have to do that if you go to San Francisco. Glad we got to do that and our picture is horrible, but it was fun. We also went across the Golden Gate Bridge and they took us up to a look-out place so we could see it from above and it was really amazing. Our pictures didn't turn out very good there either....I guess I need some lessons, but that was really cool. They also had us over for dinner the day we left. They have an amazing apartment on the top floor and the view was incredible. They took such good care of us and we loved every minute of it. Thanks guys!