A few adventures in San Francisco

We've slowly been making our way through the city and hitting up some popular sites we have been wanting to see. First up for Ella was the row of "Painted Ladies" at Alamo Square because they are seen in one of her favorite shows Full House.

We had to then of course see the actual Full House house and take our picture in front of it.....like so many others there!

We then took a little drive over Golden Gate Bridge to see Muir Woods which contains the coastal Redwoods, the tallest trees in the world. I loved this park and I think the kids did too. They were surprised by how tall they actually were. I remember seeing Redwoods as a kid so it brought back very good memories for me.

We also took the kids to Chinatown where Ella to a stab at using the chop sticks...she did pretty well!

We are starting to feel more and more comfortable with this city everyday. Hopefully, I will be able to drive somewhere without using my GPS soon!

Getting settled in San Francisco

The first couple weeks here in San Francisco have been full of the usual stuff moving involves...unpacking boxes, organizing rooms, and getting utilities set up. The move all in all was a huge success! I mean we really had no huge problems and we were unpacked and getting in a routine in less than 4 days. I hate that I don't have any pictures of that first day moving in but things were a bit crazy and I completely forgot. The kids jumped out of the cars and ran to the new house. They immediately explored every inch of that 1200 square foot house and gave it the thumbs up! I was so happy they were so excited about it. I was nervous that since it was so much smaller and they had to share a room that they would be disappointed but not at all! We got them a new bunk bed before we left so that really helped with the whole sharing room thing and plus they slept together any way back home so I don't think they mind too much. The house has a playroom/guest room downstairs so that really gives them the extra space they made need.
That first night after the kids went to sleep, Lyle and I sat on the couch and just took a deep deep breath. We were finally here. For a whole year we planned this move, stressing about every detail as we tried to figure out the real estate and school systems here in San Fran. We even stressed that our couch wasn't going to fit through the door because our measurements only gave us maybe a spare inch but we had faith and sure enough everything fit without us even having to take the doors off the hinges. We all have felt through this whole process that Eve was watching out for us. We really felt her calming presence.
The lights and water were already on in our new place so that was easy but internet/cable was a whole different story. Comcast earned its place as the #1 company for worst customer service very well. It took them two weeks and multiple phone calls to get someone who knew what they were doing out here to hook us up. But eventually we got everything lined up which really helped us feel like maybe this move was going to work out after all.
Next on the list was getting some food in the house! We scoped out the nearest grocery store and loaded up. I had heard food was more expensive here but didn't know what to expect. I would say everything is at least $0.50 higher....especially the eggs. A dozen eggs for $5.99! What?!! Ridiculous!
Once we started to feel settled, we decided to take the kids exploring a bit. We knew we only had two weeks before Lyle started work so we wanted to do some fun things. First we took the kids on the subway to Fisherman's Wharf. They were dying to ride the subways! They were so funny trying to figure out all the maps and learning the rules to riding the trains. Here is a pic of their first experience:

They were all eyes on that train let me tell you! Lots of "unusual" people. They loved it!
Unfortunately, the sea lions were not out at Pier 39 so we are going to have to go back again some time but it was a good first adventure.
Next up was the beach, we rode the train all the way to Ocean beach and walked around for a bit. We didn't really know what to expect so we were not set up to stay the whole day but kids still had fun and we ate out a wonderful beach cafe on Judah street that we put on our repeat list. The beach was just beautiful and we are dying to go back!

Lots more adventures to share! It has been really fun getting to know this city so far. I think we are going to really enjoy our time here.

Moving to San Francisco!

Normally on July 4th we would celebrate with a cook out and fireworks but on this 4th of July, we (me and my wonderful family including very hard working brother in laws) packed a giant UHaul to move us to California. I pretty much had everything packed and sitting in the garage except for the heavier furniture. It was a very long day but by the end the house was completely empty and ready for us to drive to my parents the next day. Lyle had to work but got home the next morning to help me clean the house (we are renting it so we had to get it ready for the renters). We took this final picture in front of our sweet house:

                                         

Lyle and Luke drove the UHaul with the Corolla behind it to my parents' house where we spent the night before starting the long 30 hour drive to SF.

                                         

We woke up the next morning and left my parents' around 8:30 am. The plan was to drive 8 hours each day which would allow us to arrive in SF around 2 pm Thursday July 9th when we told our movers to meet us there.

                               

We had to park the UHaul in the big field down from the house because it wouldn't fit down the driveway. It was a 27 foot travel plus the trailer. It was a beast! And let me tell you it was no fun filling that thing up with gas. I think we got about 10 miles per gallon. It was super depressing. Lyle and Luke drove it the entire way. They called it the Blue Crab for obvious reasons:)  I drove the girls in the new Explorer.

Grandma had to teach AB how to call the cows before we left...AB still does it to this day anytime she is standing near a window. These two have a special relationship:)

                                             

After a rather difficult goodbye we jumped in our vehicles and started what will surely big one of the biggest adventures our little family will ever have! I wouldn't say I am 100% happy about moving...I really love our life in Little Rock but I am excited for the kids to experience something different for a little while. Character building right?

                                         

Our first stop for the night was a little ways passed Amarillo, TX. It was a solid 8 hours and I have to say it was the hardest of all the days driving just because the scenery was pretty boring but the kids did a fantastic job! Lyle got them a hotel with a swimming pool every night which always made them excited. The next day was a little better because the scenery started to change and we really felt like we were getting somewhere.

                                         

My sweet dad called me about every two hours or so just to see where we were and make sure I was doing OK driving. He really is a great dad! Again, the kids did great! AB watched baby einstien videos and Ella talked with me and we listened to the radio and ate snacks. Lyle and I both thought her and Luke would play iPads the whole time but I am being very honest here...they didn't play them at all! They were busy looking out the windows and seeing all the new stuff. It was really nice! The next night we stopped in Albuquerque, NM.

We didn't eat at any fast food places which I think helped us feel better throughout the trip. We had a big cooler packed and stopped at grocery stores at night if we needed anything extra. We stopped at parks on the way and had picnics where the kids could stretch and run. It really worked out great.

The next night we made it to Flagstaff, AZ.

                                          

We were now half way to our new home. The kids could not wait to see their new house. Luke kept saying, "I just can't wait until I open the door to our new house. That is all I want to do!" This half of the drive was kind of tricky. We were in hot hot desert the whole way! The kids kept looking for the traditional cacti but didn't see any...they were bummed Apparently those kind are only found farther south in AZ. We had to keep an eye on the gas gauge because we didn't know when our next gas station would be. At one point we thought we were in big trouble and had to end up paying almost $5/gallon. We were literally in the middle of no where! But the scenery was still very cool and the kids were all eyes out the windows...Luke in the Blue Crab with Lyle and the girls and I in the car. That night we made it to Bakersfield, CA. That was a big relief because we knew we only had a 4 hour drive the next day and we would be there.
                                           

Getting into CA was kind of surreal. We had a check point we had to stop at because of the big truck but we passed with flying colors....they apparently missed the plants we were smuggling in into CA hidden in the car....I didn't know we couldn't bring plants into CA..oops! After 4 hours we arrived at our new home. Lyle did a fantastic job of maneuvering that big truck and trailer through the streets of San Francisco. We made it to the house perfectly on time and the movers where there waiting for us. They had us unpacked and everything in the house in less than two hours! It was great! That night our sweet property managers took us out to eat at a great Italian place where we had delish pizza! Once we finally got home we set up the beds and crashed for the night really really fast! It was a long long trip but we were here. It was nice seeing this shot on our iPhone GPS map. I sent it to our family. What an adventure!

                                                 

Annabeth-15 month update

Annabeth is doing fantastic these days. She is quickly becoming a true toddler. Especially because she learned to walk!! She took the longest of all the kids to walk but I think that might have something to do with the fact she was 5 weeks early and a twin but maybe not. Nonetheless, she is walking everywhere! It started in our driveway where Ella used popsicles to entice her to take a few steps. Here is a quick video:

We still couldn't get her to take off walking all the time by herself though after that video. She would hold your finger and if you let her hand go she would fall to the floor. Is wasn't until our trip to CO at our Aunt Kathy's house that AB just took off that night. She just starting walking like she finally figured it out! We were amazed! Here is a short clip of that too:

She has not stopped since then! She is getting into everything just like we figured she would once she started walking. Here is a picture of her sneaking into the fridge to steal some strawberries:)

She has the best little smile!

Although she is very sweet she knows how to get her way with a scream that will give you nightmares!

Here are her stats from her 15 month checkup: 20.1 lbs (8%), 30.25 inches (38.72%). She is eating all kinds of food but really loves strawberries and peas. She is drinking regularly out of a sippy cup and is probably the best sleeper out of all the kids. She knows when she is ready to go to sleep and will just reach for her crib. She takes two naps a day and sleeps about 11 hours every night. Sometimes she won't even let me rock her because she is so ready for her crib. She isnt sying much beyond dadda and momma but we are working on it! We love this little girl so much! She has changed our lives so much and is such a joy to her brother and sister. Now that she is getting a little older she is really starting to play with them and they LOVE it!