A Little Chocolate and a Big Bridge

JA always finds neat places to stop for a quick photo. It's hard to tell, but it's two kissing sea lions. At this point we were on a desperate search for popcorn for JA. We had promised him we would find popcorn before we went back to the hotel.

The trip would not be complete without a stop at Ghirardelli Square. Yummo!

We are getting a closer look at the Golden Gate Bridge as we cross over for the first time. I am still wondering.......does the sun ever shine here?

A Few Pictures

Woo Hoo! I finally got a few pictures to upload. I guess it will only let me do three at a time. Today we have hung out at the house enjoying the fact we don't have to go anywhere or do anything. In the living room there is an 18 ft window seat and the two side windows can be opened where you can enjoy the cool breeze and hear the ocean waves. I claimed a spot on one end of the seat, opened the window, and read for a little while. I have been in a Bible study this summer about grace, so I started reading Chuck Swindoll's " The Grace Awakening: Believing in Grace is One Thing. Living it is Another. " The Lord is revealing a lot to me thru this book, and it has gone right along with Kay Arthur's study on grace. Maybe one day I will write a post concerning this subject. Well, Kevin is cooking dinner tonight. He's cooking Alli's favorite....fried eggs! It has been so wonderful having him with us! Due to circumstances at work, he has been away a good bit. Things always go a lot smoother when he's around. And since he's our international traveler, we were able to navigate the airport without a problem....what a zoo!

This picture was taken early Tuesday morning at the hotel where we left the car. We were waiting on the shuttle to take us to the airport. We got off to a later start than planned. We left the house almost 10 minutes later. We had to stop and get gas. One of the tires on the van was really low, so we searched for a gas station where the air pump actually worked. We made it on time with time to find breakfast.......Chikfila minis!

I enjoyed taking pictures while we were in the air. They weren't as clear as I thought they would be, but you can still see. This picture was taken when we were going over the Rocky mountains. One thing I really enjoyed on the plane was the map you could look at on the tv screen on the chair in front of you. It told us exactly where the plane was. At one point I think I actually saw the lake where Kevin took me to propose. Sounds crazy and I even woke him up to show him!

This picture is the view from the window with the 18ft window seat. It's just incredible! On the left is a river that is running into the ocean. Right now the fog is settling in for the night and I can't see the trees and beach that are in the top left hand quadrant of the picture. Enjoying this adventure with my crew!

It's Finally Time!

We started our little adventure early yesterday morning. Several of us were a little nervous about our first time flying. Last time I flew was in 1994, and since I am not real fond of heights, I was a little nervous, too. But once we were in the air, the kids decided they liked flying. Kevin was asleep before the plane even hit the runway for take off. I thought I would have fallen asleep, but apparently that only happens when you put me behind the steering wheel of my car. Maybe I didn't get sleepy because I was so busy looking out the window at all of God's creation below. It was so amazing to see how the landscape changed as we went further west. We went over a total of 11 states in about 4 and 1/2 hours. Our landing reminded me a lot of when I flew to Jamaica 16 years ago. As we were descending, there was a layer of clouds that looked like marshmallow fluff. You couldn't see anything below the plane. As we went below that layer of clouds, all you could see was water, no land. I have to admit I was a little nervous at that point, but amazingly we landed without a problem. While on the flight, I thought a lot about God's sovereignty and how He already knows the number of our days.



We arrived in San Francisco about 1:30 p.m. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting settled into our hotel room and then walking along Fisherman's Wharf enjoying Pier 39 and the Ferry Building. San Francisco has been really foggy and about 40 degrees cooler than home. The kids really enjoyed the afternoon despite the coolness. JA chased every pigeon he could find and Alli helped him. My oldest child is known for her dry humor and stating the facts as they are. As we are dodging pigeons, she says, "they are going to be arrested for harassing the pigeons!" JA would either be ahead of us chasing pigeons or lagging behind because he was getting tired. After returning from the Ferry Building we went thru the aquarium which is the smallest aquarium I have ever been in. I enjoyed the fact that it didn't take long and it wasn't crowded. We decided to see if we could get tickets for the Alcatraz tour, but as stated in all the travel books, "You need to book in advance!" They are booked thru next Wednesday, so I guess taking a picture of Alcatraz will be as close as we get. We went back to our room, rented movies and crashed for the night.



This morning we walked to Ghirardelli Square and got our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course we had to buy a few pieces of chocolate even though Kevin claimed we could get it back home. I told him I didn't think our stores had some of the same flavors, so we had to have a few samples. We headed back to our car and began our journey to where we are now. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge was awesome. It is so beautiful here. Our trip up Highway 1 was spectacular. Our God is truly amazing! Our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean was incredible. I told Kevin we are getting the mountains and beach all in one. The view from where I am sitting is incredible, so peaceful. I am just trying to soak it all in!

After several attempts to upload pictures for this post, I am going to give up for the night and try again in the morning.

Time is Flying By Too Fast!

I am so often reminded how quickly time is passing. It's so hard to believe that H is 12, A is 9 and JA is 6. These are some of my favorite pictures I took of them right before they got out of school for summer. I love these kiddos!