San Francisco Anniversary and the Golden Gate Bridge

It's been a while since I blogged. Did you miss me?!

Can you believe that less than a week ago I was in San Francisco? I would have posted about my  trip sooner but I took over 1200 pictures in less than a week. That's a LOT of pictures to look through.

Of course I did not go to San Francisco alone, I went with my husband who was attending the VMworld 2012 conference. I tagged along to play tourist but we left the kids at home with the grandparents. After all, it was our ten year wedding anniversary trip!

I had a blast in San Francisco! It was the longest (and only) trip my husband and I have ever taken without our kids. Although I did miss them, it was wonderful to spend some time alone with my honey.

We went to San Francisco a couple of days before the conference started so we would have some time together before my honey got busy with the conference. The first place we decided to visit was the Golden Gate Bridge.

As you can see, the day we got there it was foggy at the Golden Gate. It was also windy! Check out my hair in the picture below.

The wind was really blowing! I wished that I had a jacket, but it wasn't too frigid. Of course we had to walk across the bridge and take in the view. It was amazing to me just how BIG the Golden Gate Bridge is. I love the orange color of the bridge and it was interesting to see all the rivets and metal panels that hold the bridge together.

While we were walking along the bridge the fog cleared up a little, but we never really saw blue sky. Apparently this is typical weather for the Golden Gate Bridge!

My husband and I walked more than halfway across the bridge before deciding to head back to the hotel. We also got to do some other sightseeing together, which was really fun.

Since I had plenty of time to roam around San Francisco while my husband was at his conference, I decided to go back to the Golden Gate a few days later when the skies were clear and blue. I LOVED the pictures I got that day.

Isn't the bridge beautiful with blue skies behind it? There are many interesting things to look at before you walk on the bridge, including this cool lenticular sign that shows you the stages of the bridge as you move from side to side and change your perspective. I thought it was really cool.

On my second visit to the Golden Gate Bridge, I was determined to walk all the way across the bridge. I actually planned to walk across the bridge and then cross over to the west side of the bridge and climb up to the Marin headlands. In particular I wanted to get a picture of the bridge from Battery Spencer.

So I started my journey. This time as I crossed the bridge it was easier to see the large cargo boats and other ships on the bay. I also had a much better view of Alcatraz in the distance.

I took many pictures of the Golden Gate that were similar to pictures that I took on my previous trip, but they turned out much better without the grey skies!

I finally managed to make it all the way across the bridge. As I got to the other side the fog started to pick up a little bit.

I knew I needed to climb up the big hill on the other side of the bridge, hopefully before it got too foggy. I crossed under the bridge on a pedestrian underpass and then headed up the hill to Battery Spencer. It was a pretty good hike, but luckily I packed plenty of water and snacks.

When I got to my viewpoint I was dismayed to find that the fog had definitely made it there before me! I really wanted to see the bridge from the west side, especially after I had hiked all that way! The fog was really thick and sometimes I couldn't see the Golden Gate at all!

But I decided to wait a while and see if the fog would lift. There were other tourists and hopeful photographers who came and left, but I waited. It was incredibly windy, so the fog was constantly shifting. In the end I was probably at Battery Spencer for almost an hour, but I got the shots I wanted and I think it was worth it!

The sun came out and there was the bridge, with San Francisco in the background. It was stunningly beautiful!

What a great day! Even though it took me several hours to go across the bridge, climb up to the Marin headlands to Battery Spencer, and then walk back across, it was definitely worth it. I had a great time!

As you can imagine, with close to 1200 pictures of San Francisco there is no way I can share them all in one post. So I plan to do a few more posts with the highlights of my trip including Chinatown, Coit Tower, the Bay Bridge, Crissy Field, the Palace of Fine Arts, and graffiti/street art. So come back and see more of San Francisco!



Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over.

iPad Baby and the Accidental Nap

Can I just tell you how much I love my iPad? My husband bought it for me shortly after Miss Aubrey was born and I use it constantly! I love the convenience of having the internet at my fingertips, not to mention my calendar, music, reminders, games, etc.

I am not the only one at my house who loves it. My boys love to play games on the iPad and beg me to let them use it! Their current favorite is Where's My Water?. But they still love to play Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds, among others. This weekend I got even more competition for my pad.

Yep! Honey Daddy showed Aubrey that she could draw with her finger on the iPad, and she was fascinated. I guess it's a good thing that she can't beg me to use it yet!

In other happy honey mommy news, I was the recipient of an accidental nap today. Hooray! At lunchtime Eli was whining because he did not want to eat the lunch I made for him. I told him that he was welcome to make his own lunch, at which point he went in his room to pout. Apparently he was tired because this is what I found when I went to check up on him:

Isn't it amazing how angelic kids look when they are asleep? Naps are heavenly for mommies for sure!

Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over

Sharing the LOVE on Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day! We are definitely feeling the love at the Honey House!

Don't you just love all the red, pink and white decorations? I especially love our cute Valentine's mailboxes.

We had these mailboxes last year, but we have added a mailbox for little Miss Aubrey. Good thing I have my Silhouette Cameo so I can cut out vinyl to match. This year I also printed out the little cards for the kids to fill out and put in the mailboxes. We have been having tons of fun with these!

We have also been busy sharing the Valentine's Day love. Look at what I made for Jonah's teacher for Valentine's Day:

It is a pencil bouquet. On the inside are regular pencils with a layer of Valentine's pencils on the outside. We tied a nice red ribbon around them with a heart-shaped note that says, "You're the 'write' teacher for me!". Then I put some nice fake flowers on the top to finish the bouquet. Cute huh? I hope his teacher liked them. I know Jonah was really excited to give them to her. He was really cute about it this morning.

I found a cute glass to put the bouquet in for a "vase". I love how it turned out and I may have to use it again next year.

Here is another Valentine that I may have to make again. Superhero suckers!

We made these for Eli's preschool class, since it is pretty small. But I have to say that it would not be hard to do them on a large scale. Especially with the printable from HERE.

Super cute and super easy! We had a few left over, and Jonah gave those to his friends who are not in his class at school.

I have also had a blast making cute cards and cookies. It has been a fun Valentine's day so far, but now I have to go because the kids are in bed and I finally get to spend some time alone with my Honey. Hooray!

Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over