Nana & Papa in San Francisco

Last weekend, Chris's parents came to visit us! William had finally mastered calling them "Nana" and "Papa" when looking at their pictures and now had the opportunity to see them face to face! He still took a little time in warming up to them, playing shy, but also wanting to show off all of his toys. 

The weekend was warm, we have been experiencing an actual summer for a couple of weeks! We took them to Glen Park Canyon for a little hike and time at the play ground. We really enjoyed getting outside together. Glen Park is really close to us, but we have only managed to get ourselves there a handful of times.

 

On Saturday night, we took Bob & Sheryl out to eat. Chris had been introduced to Hot Pot the week before and wanted us all to try it. Its a type of Chinese food, where they bring you raw meats, vegetables and noodles and you cook it yourself in a bowling pot right on your table. They had four types of broth you could cook the food in and all were delicious! 

After the meal we headed to Golden Gate Park for an evening walk. We ended up at Stow Lake, which again, we have only been to twice. It was a gorgeous walk and I was reminded again of the beauty our city has and the importance of taking time to see it.

On Sunday, after church, we had lunch and played games while William napped. Then once he was awake, we headed to the park.

 

We loved having Nana and Papa visit! We were so blessed by their time with us and I know William misses them already.

Last weekend, Chris's parents came to visit us! William had finally mastered calling them "Nana" and "Papa" when looking at their pictures and now had the opportunity to see them face to face! He still took a little time in warming up to them, playing shy, but also wanting to show off all of his toys. 

The weekend was warm, we have been experiencing an actual summer for a couple of weeks! We took them to Glen Park Canyon for a little hike and time at the play ground. We really enjoyed getting outside together. Glen Park is really close to us, but we have only managed to get ourselves there a handful of times.

 

On Saturday night, we took Bob & Sheryl out to eat. Chris had been introduced to Hot Pot the week before and wanted us all to try it. Its a type of Chinese food, where they bring you raw meats, vegetables and noodles and you cook it yourself in a bowling pot right on your table. They had four types of broth you could cook the food in and all were delicious! 

After the meal we headed to Golden Gate Park for an evening walk. We ended up at Stow Lake, which again, we have only been to twice. It was a gorgeous walk and I was reminded again of the beauty our city has and the importance of taking time to see it.

On Sunday, after church, we had lunch and played games while William napped. Then once he was awake, we headed to the park.

 

We loved having Nana and Papa visit! We were so blessed by their time with us and I know William misses them already.

Six Years of Marriage

Last weekend, we celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. It's not a monumental number or anything, we passed 5 and are still a ways from 10, but it's a year worth celebrating none-the-less.

Chris brought me flowers and a lovely card. We spent the evening together at the same restaurant we went to for our 2nd anniversary -- Flour & Water (delicious homemade pasta and pizza). We had a wonderful conversation and reflected on what we've done the past year and what we hope to do in the next one. I love our anniversary dinners and this intentional time to dream and make plans.

Then we went downtown to a movie - Inside Out. It was a perfect "us" movie -- Chris loves Pixar films and I'm not one to turn down a movie that brings me to tears (It's about a girl who moves from Minnesota to San Francisco... how could I not like it?!).

The evening was really lovely, and I left my camera in my purse the whole time.

Six years sounds like nothing when you expect and hope to grow old together, but at the same time, it feels like we've always been together. Life has a certain routine and it's always been the two of us . . . until I remember all those years I spent looking for him.

This year wasn't about big adventures or trips. We really didn't travel outside of San Francisco much at all. But big things did happen! I invested some more time into my photography "business" and Chris finished the second draft of his novel. We really tried to partner together in ways that allowed us time for our own hobbies, for personal development and growth. (Last year we were completely caught off guard by how babies take away our personal time!) Chris would take William to the park every weekend so I would have some time alone and I would take William on an outing so Chris could write. It was great for getting stuff done, but we didn't get to do a lot together.

I think one of our hopes for this next year is to have more time for our family of three. The few times we did go out to brunch together or to the park were my favorite memories and I want more of those.

My marriage and my family continue to be the very best parts of my life and I look forward to the years and years to come being with my Love.

Last weekend, we celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. It's not a monumental number or anything, we passed 5 and are still a ways from 10, but it's a year worth celebrating none-the-less.

Chris brought me flowers and a lovely card. We spent the evening together at the same restaurant we went to for our 2nd anniversary -- Flour & Water (delicious homemade pasta and pizza). We had a wonderful conversation and reflected on what we've done the past year and what we hope to do in the next one. I love our anniversary dinners and this intentional time to dream and make plans.

Then we went downtown to a movie - Inside Out. It was a perfect "us" movie -- Chris loves Pixar films and I'm not one to turn down a movie that brings me to tears (It's about a girl who moves from Minnesota to San Francisco... how could I not like it?!).

The evening was really lovely, and I left my camera in my purse the whole time.

Six years sounds like nothing when you expect and hope to grow old together, but at the same time, it feels like we've always been together. Life has a certain routine and it's always been the two of us . . . until I remember all those years I spent looking for him.

This year wasn't about big adventures or trips. We really didn't travel outside of San Francisco much at all. But big things did happen! I invested some more time into my photography "business" and Chris finished the second draft of his novel. We really tried to partner together in ways that allowed us time for our own hobbies, for personal development and growth. (Last year we were completely caught off guard by how babies take away our personal time!) Chris would take William to the park every weekend so I would have some time alone and I would take William on an outing so Chris could write. It was great for getting stuff done, but we didn't get to do a lot together.

I think one of our hopes for this next year is to have more time for our family of three. The few times we did go out to brunch together or to the park were my favorite memories and I want more of those.

My marriage and my family continue to be the very best parts of my life and I look forward to the years and years to come being with my Love.

Summer Reading

This summer, I signed William up for the reading plan through the library right away. (Last year I didn't find out about it until the last month and scrambled to fit in 10 hours of reading to the little man.)

It turned out that reading was Williams #1 requested activity for two weeks straight and 10 hours was completed in no time! He loves reading and is much more engaged with it than he was a year ago. He even knows the key phrases like "Whoosh" or "Achoo" and "Of Course!" and chimes in at the proper times! Reading is a lot of fun. And for a while, we read everywhere: at the breakfast table, on the potty, in the bath tub.

Some of Williams favorite books include:
* Any book by Sandra Boynton -- if it can be sung, even better!
* Good Night San Francisco
* Moo!
* Cars, and Trucks and Things that Go
* Corduroy!
* Vehicles (or any book with trucks in it)
* Where's My Mommy?
* The Lazy Ladybug

This summer, I signed William up for the reading plan through the library right away. (Last year I didn't find out about it until the last month and scrambled to fit in 10 hours of reading to the little man.)

It turned out that reading was Williams #1 requested activity for two weeks straight and 10 hours was completed in no time! He loves reading and is much more engaged with it than he was a year ago. He even knows the key phrases like "Whoosh" or "Achoo" and "Of Course!" and chimes in at the proper times! Reading is a lot of fun. And for a while, we read everywhere: at the breakfast table, on the potty, in the bath tub.

Some of Williams favorite books include:
* Any book by Sandra Boynton -- if it can be sung, even better!
* Good Night San Francisco
* Moo!
* Cars, and Trucks and Things that Go
* Corduroy!
* Vehicles (or any book with trucks in it)
* Where's My Mommy?
* The Lazy Ladybug