Season of Gratitude

One more activity under my belt. This time we had sort of a hybrid event combining Thanksgiving and Christmas. We called it "Season of Gratitude". Our committee is down to 2 people now and so I was put in charge of all of the food and my cohort took care of the decor and program. It was lovely to be reminded that being grateful is something we must show, not just say. I am really starting to enjoy our ward family. Adam was speaking to some of his coworkers the other day and they were telling him that if it weren't for their job, they wouldn't know anyone around here. I felt sad for them. I cannot imagine how lonely life would be if not for the instant support system and fellowship offered by members of the church. Does that background look familiar?

Thank heaven for frozen lasagna!

No shortage of desserts in this economic crisis. Just plenty of comfort food!

Julianna

I have a rough job. I have to go to the park, eat snacks at regular intervals, watch Dora the Explorer, color, and I don't even have to do any of the ugly discipline, because at the end of my shift I just give her back to her mom. She is a fiesty little 3-year-old with big, brown eyes and a some sort of new england accent (I love how she says breakfast "brekek" and Christian "chish-chin"). Adam and I think she is hilarious. I wonder what she will grow up to be.

Craft Night

I was a little worried at first that there wouldn't be a very good response to all the planning and preparation that I have been doing for the past 6 weeks to get ready for craft night. Relatively speaking, for this tiny ward, it is was a raging success! I was glad to get to know some of the sisters I never see because I am in primary on Sundays. Here are the photos of my limited crafting abilities and the publicity I did for the event:

Fondue at its Finest

On Halloween night we decided to stay far away from any crazy costume parties that may have been taking place in the city. However, it is hard tell those who come to the city in costume to celebrate from those who inhabit this interesting part of the globe.

We opted for a relaxing dinner at a restaurant that we have been wanting to try since we moved here. The Melting Pot is not unique to the area, but they did build it inside of an old brick kiln in Larkspur, so it makes for great ambiance.

The premise of the restaurant is an entire meal where every course is fondue-style. We started with spinach-artichoke cheese, moved on to the main course of cooking raw meats in a seasoned broth and finished off with a Flaming Turtle...a chocolate, carmel, pecan fondue set on fire for our dining pleasure. Since it was Halloween we got the dessert for free, but that hardly made a dent in the very steep bill. It was a charming experience that I recommend doing just once.

Lindsay Takes Over San Francisco

My sister Lindsay came to visit for over a week and I was so excited to have someone to show around my new stomping grounds.

So, before we could do any "stomping" we got ourselves some awesome pedicures!


The day after she arrived we took her to Six Flags-Discovery Kingdom, which is about 45 minutes away from our house. She rode the 3 biggest coasters they had and then puked 3 times in a row...way to go Lindsay!

Can you guess what Adam was for halloween?

Some people thought it was his real hair. One girl thought he was Richard Simmons. I laughed about that one for a while and told him he should've worn short-shorts. The missionaries were about the only ones who recognized him as Napoleon Dynamite.We all dressed up and went to the ward halloween party. Lindsay was just glad to have an excuse to put colors in her hair. I sorta looked like a $2 hooker, but since we were at the church I just told people I was that doll at the bottom of the toy box that nobody plays with anymore.

Our next door neighbor, Bruce, gave us some fresh trout that he had caught that day. Adam was pretty excited for dinner that night.

Sunday we went up to Rocklin to visit one of my mission companions, Michelle Porter. She took some photos for us, so don't be surprised when you see them on our Christmas cards!

Monday we went to the Jelly Belly Factory. They gave us a free tour and showed us how they make millions of jelly beans everyday. We had a lot of fun there tasting the new Coldstone flavors they are making.

Wednesday is looked kinda gloomy, but we were determined to see San Francisco. We took the ferry across the bay in all the fog and wind.

Luckily, when we got there it was nice and sunny, which is rare for SF. As we walked down to the wharf I was trying to tell Lindsay about this giant yacht that I had seen in Sausalito and as we turn the corner it was docked right in front of us. It is touted as the largest privately owned yacht in the world and cost over $150 million.

You can't come to SF without visiting the famous Pier 39. It is full of all the souvenier shops and you can get some great sourdough bread as well.

Lindsay liked the street performers, but I wasn't impressed enough to give him a tip.

Ghiradelli Square was what I really wanted to see that day(even though I've seen it several times already). This place never gets old. They pass out free samples of chocolate and you can't leave without visiting the ice cream parlor next door and tasting the hot fudge!

By the afternoon the fog had cleared enough that we decided to take a boat cruise around the bay. On our way out we passed by all of the barking sea lions. They always remind me of the days when I shared a bedroom with all of my siblings. Each one is fighting for their space on the dock and when one moves they all get mad at each other. It is fun to watch them.

When Lindsay came out and helped us move, she never got to see the bridge before she left because it was always too foggy. She finally got a glimpse of it when the boat when right underneath.

The things I do for my sister. It was freezing in the bay!

The cruise had a recording that was explaining all the sights we saw. It sailed us around the infamous Alcatraz prison. I have yet to go inside, but it has a very interesting story behind it (I recommend the 1979 Clint Eastwood film Escape from Alcatraz).

It was a really great day until we were going to get on the ferry to go home and I discovered that somewhere in the last two blocks I had LOST my wallet! It had our ferry tickets in it, so we called Adam to come and pick us up. Luckily, we only live about 15 minutes outside of downtown and paying the toll was cheaper than buying new ferry tickets.

The next stop in Lindsay's California adventure was Muir Woods. This is an awesome national monument that is full of big beautiful Redwood trees. Now, they are not the giant redwoods that you can drive your car through, but they are pretty intimidating in their own right. Plus, the park is just a lush, green rainforest so I could spend all day there.

I knew Lindsay would meet her soul mate in California!

She fits right in the with all the real tree-huggers around here.

Right before we took Lindsay to the airport in Oakland, we stopped to show her the temple grounds. Now, when we were there it was actually pouring rain, but it really is a gorgeous temple. We even went in the visitors center and saw a sculpture tour of the Savior. Is was a really nice way to send Lindsay off.