Celebrating Nine Years

On Saturday Ryan and I stole away for a couple of hours while our dear friend (and longtime babysitter) Marisol watched the kids. We ate dinner outdoors at the Half Moon Bay Brewing House (no brew for us :), and we walked around a bit, finding a boat washed up on the shore after last week's huge storm. We played around with the camera, and we talked about our vision for our family and for ourselves. 

We haven't made a big deal of all of our anniversaries, but we recently heard that a relationship (especially one you work hard for!) deserves to be celebrated, so we're celebrating! I want our kids to see that too. Happy nine years to the man who gives me tons of room to be me! 

Now back to the packing! 

Golden Hour in Half Moon Bay

Oh my I love where we live. I need to share more about our new place and our upcoming move, but we're busy soaking in our last days living this close to San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.

The other night we hit the Ritz Carlton golf course and beach right during golden hour. It was probably in the top two most beautiful beach trips we've ever been on.

We discovered a beautiful, washed-up fishing net and some little sea creatures that would close up whenever you touched them. The boys were (strangely) not eager to get their fingers in there, but Quinn would stick hers right in and just squeal every time one of the little creatures closed up! (Girl is fearless.)

Lost his first two teeth in one week! Ryan yanked the second one. :) 

This one is one of my favorites. I think it's the contrast between her super feminine outfit and her daddy's masculine one. Plus, Ryan carry Trenton's shoes - just cute.

Beautiful night! 

Family Adventures, Fall 2014

The Bay area is incredible. That's really all there is to say. :) 

Most of our weekends include at least one big adventure; it's when we're all happiest. I'd love to teach our kids that we value relationships and experiences over possessions, and I think exploring this beautiful earth God gave us is a great way to do it. 

That said, we're still a normal family. Kids whine; Mom and Dad (but mostly Mom) get snappy. Thankfully, we still manage to surprise ourselves with some pretty great memories. 

Pictured: Beach outings (San Gregorio and Montara); a foggy drive up Twin Peaks; a gorgeous, blackberry-lined hike up Mt. Davison; Ryan's backpacking trip with his friend Matt to Carson Pass; an apple-picking extravaganza; and a detour to climb on rocks and socialize with seals at Ano Nuevo Reserve.