Sunday, August 28, 2011

Life Is Settling Down

  Thank God.

  I haven't posted in awhile due to absolute turmoil at home and literally no time. August was an emotional whirlwind. First, we went on vacation. Then, we came home from vacation. Nick went to work the following day and was told we were relocating to Eastern Washington, however, he was still going to be on night-shift Turnaround all of September. I was going to be relocating us practically by myself. Oh yeah, and doing it all with Alexis. Finally, after beginning to pack, locate a renter for our home, and coordinate all those obnoxious moving details, Nick got a job offer from a company he had interviewed with a couple months earlier.

  Every now and then the stars align and you actually get what you are hoping for and, needless to say, Nick accepted this new position and job offer. As of October, Nick will have the job he wants, working normal hours, every other weekend is a 3-day weekend, and no more Turnarounds. We both get the location we want, since I don't think either of us really wanted to leave Minnesota. It may be brutally cold in winter and stiflingly humid in summer, but it is home. And it has been for 12 years.

  This is simply a post to say sorry for the absence but I swear I had my reasons. Now back to normal. Or rather, better than normal.

Monday, August 8, 2011

San Francisco Parks

  We went to San Francisco. At least 15 things probably just popped into your head as you wonder what we could have done in such a historic, interesting city. Did we tour Alcatrez? Cross the Golden Gate Bridge? Walk the famous Lombard Street?

  We saw the city in terms of children's parks. We went to a park at Yerba Buena Gardens, Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, Nob Hill, and The Presidio. We even spent a huge chunk of our time at the San Francisco Zoo playing at the playground. Some parks were old and out-dated, some were extremely cool. One even had a 20-foot slide that Alexis bravely went down. There were wood, plastic, and metal playsets. There were mostly sand bases, however one of the parks had that spongy blue base. We found swings, teeter-totters, diggers, and bridges. Alexis even tried a tire swing at one of the playgrounds

  Nick and I are already envisioning our next trip to San Francisco. It will include Alcatraz, Coit Tower, the Muir Woods, the Saturday Farmer's Market, and a trip to Wine Country. We may be empty-nesters when we get back, but we will have to do the city sans children!

  A few pics from San Francisco...from the parks of course! No scenic predictable shots here.





  We had a wonderful trip and it was a terrific week of quality family time. But I think we could have had the same fun in Omaha, NE. Maybe we will go there next year.