San Francisco--Friday Night/Saturday Morning

We spent our Anniversary weekend in San Francisco.  We decided that rather than do something just the two of us we would take the whole family to celebrate our 14th Anniversary.  My sister Suzy came along with us.  As we were leaving Salt Lake the moon was setting (and the sun was rising.). It was quite brilliant and beautiful.  Friday was a full moon...the second in the month of July...also called a blue moon.   A couple of my friends had posted on Facebook that they would spend the day doing things they only do once in a blue moon...I figure driving to San Francisco could certainly count.

  It was a long drive, but the girls did really well.  We all slept a lot (except Alfredo who was driving...thank goodness!)  The girls watched a couple of movies, played with toys and talked and laughed and ate yummy snacks.  One of the things I had thrown in the box of activities was a book that has stickers for them to decorate paper princesses...adding eyes, mouth, jewelry, etc.  This ended up being one of the most enjoyed activities...except they didn't decorate the princesses much...they decorated themselves.  It was a bit creepy looking to be honest.  But it kept them entertained throughout the trip.

This isn't nearly as creepy as some of the looks Gabby had...but apparently, I never took photos of Gabby or Ella wearing sticker eyes and lips.

We arrived in San Francisco on Friday evening.  After checking into the hotel, we headed to Fisherman's Wharf.  Gabby was especially excited to see the sea lions.  It was fun to see street performers, to see the wharf, and to walk around.

Then we ate dinner at Fisherman's Grotto No. 9.  To be honest, the food was terrible.  Michelle got lobster bisque, which I usually love, but I couldn't barely choke it down.  The little girls got pizza and their pizza was okay, and my lobster sandwich was okay but not great.  Alfredo's fish was not good.  It was disappointing.

Then on Saturday, we had a busy day.  First we drove and walked down Lombard Street--the curviest street in the world--we did both so we had both experiences.

Look at that bright blue house!

Gabby had a bad rash all over as a result of an allergic reaction.  She hadn't slept much and was itching all over.  So she was a bit cranky while we were walking Lombard Street.

Then we went to the Aquarium of the Bay.  It was what Gabby most wanted to do.  Fortunately, it cheered her right up.  It ended up being one of her favorite parts of the trip.  She even used some of her allowance to buy a stuffed dolphin there.

After the aquarium we got in line to ride the Rocket Ship through the bay.  The line was long so I went to buy us lunch...superbly yummy tacos.  (The tacos took forever to be ready so we ate a couple...put the rest in a bag and ate the rest after the Rocket boat ride.  So FUN!)  The Rocket boat is a 30 minute ride through the bay.  The boat goes fast and purposefully stops, turns, goes in other boat's wakes and is a fun, exhilirating ride through the bay. It was Michelle's favorite part of our trip.  I loved it.  Gabby thought it was fun until we got splashed and got wet...she got a bit nervous for the second half of the ride.  Super fun!

temple tradition

On July 26, most of our youth spoke in sacrament meeting.  They were to speak about a family tradition and how it builds family unity and strengthens faith.  It was a great meeting...wonderful to hear the different traditions that were shared and to have the opportunity to reflect on our traditions.  Michelle spoke about how we always stop to see the temple when we travel to any city that has one.  I'm honestly not sure how this tradition started...I don't think Alfredo and I consciously made the decision to do this, but it definitely has become a tradition...one that he is just as responsible for beginning.  We took our honeymoon to Washington D.C. and walked around the grounds of that beautiful temple together just days after being sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.  And a couple of times when we have traveled, he's suggested going to see the temple.   a couple of times I have suggested it...and now we always do.  We just took a trip to San Francisco and this trip was no different.  I definitely think it blesses my children's lives  to walk around the temple grounds and feel of the spirit that is there and see the beauty of these houses of God.

On this most recent trip, we stopped in Reno to stretch and eat...and decided walking around the temple was a great way to stretch our legs.

 Then Monday morning, on our 14th Anniversary, we began our day by walking around the Oakland Temple.  It was closed for some remodeling (opening the following day after 6 weeks of being closed).  But we met a wonderful sister missionary from Utah in the parking lot. We were able to walk around the grounds and go inside the visitors center.  We were able to feel of the spirit there. It is a very beautiful and unique temple.

My girls have been to a number of other temples.  Here are photos of just a few we have visited:

Calgary Alberta temple

Mesa AZ temple at Christmastime

 Mesa AZ

Denver Colorado temple

Portland, Oregon

A few others we have been to include:  Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego (when Ella was a baby and before Gabby was born...none of them remember this), Idaho Falls and many temples in Utah.  Michelle and I have also been to Chicago and Nauvoo.  Now that Michelle is 12, I hope that we will be able to do baptisms in some of the temples we visit rather than just walking around the grounds.  But I know that even just walking around the grounds blesses our lives.  Gary Stevenson said in a conference talk in 2009, "Even our young children have been encouraged to visit the temple grounds and touch the temple. ⁵ President Thomas S. Monson once counseled, “As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us.” 

^{President Monson said,  "}As we touch the temple and love the temple, our lives will reflect our faith. As we go to the holy house, as we remember the covenants we make therein, we will be able to bear every trial and overcome each temptation. The temple provides purpose for our lives. It brings peace to our souls."

I am glad this has become one of our family traditions.