This past weekend Randy gave me the gift of a weekend off! I drove to San Francisco with my good friend Kristen to meet up with a friend from out of state. The three of us had a fantastic time, talking, laughing, eating, and so much more! Here's a few pictures of our adventures.
Saturday morning market at the Ferry Plaza building. Have you ever seen a citron? Weird looking...and incredibly heavy and expensive!
Kristen enjoying her short rib taco...with Nia in tow.
It was a COLD weekend! Every so often we had to duck inside a store to warm up. I chose to also warm up my insides with a cafe mocha from
Blue Bottle Coffee Company.
Chinatown market....SOOO many people!
About 4:30 we walked into St. Peter and Paul cathedral to warm up and see the beautiful architecture as well as the Christmas decorations and creche (it was the final day of their Christmas season, as January 9 is the celebration of Jesus' baptism, the start of his ministry). After a bit Kristen decided to take advantage of the warmth and feed Nia in a pew near the back. I left to find a public restroom and walk up Columbus in search of a dinner spot. When I returned at 5 'til, the church had a couple hundred people sitting in the pews, the organist was playing, and Nia had fallen asleep in Kristen's arms. Not wanting to wake her or leave to go back out in the cold, we chose to sit through mass. Nia woke up a few minutes before 6 and I managed to get a picture of her listening.
Dinner at Pulcinella Pizza & Italian Ristorante (a great little find we stumbled upon, rated in Sunset's Top 10 bay area pizza restaurants).
YUM! Good pizza, good wine, and good music too! Two guitarists played on a little stage near the bar for the evening!
Full tummies and warm bodies can make you a little silly!
Dim sum on Sunday morning at
Yank Sing.
After our meal we strolled through the SoMa district and relaxed in the Yerba Buena gardens.
In front of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial.
From behind the waterfall.
Mid-afternoon snack of crepes! After a little more walking, and a final purchase of boba tea, we headed back to our car to drive J to the airport. With lots of hugs and even a few tears Kristen and I said goodbye to our wonderful friend and drove back to Fresno. Thanks for the fantastic weekend girls! I can't wait to do it again!
For many years, our extended family on the Friesen side (Randy's mom's side) has gotten together on a weekend in January to celebrate both Christmas and Grandma Lena's birthday (late December). We used to rent a large room at Palm Village (where Grandma lived the last 10+ years of her life) for a whole Saturday to be together, eat, play games, and let the little ones play together. Grandma passed away in February of 2009, but our family would still like to carry on the tradition of getting together once a year. Last January we rented a cabin up at Shaver Lake and 24 of the 32 members of the family came. This year, we rented the cabin again and 27 of us made it! Friday night most of us showed up, ate dinner, and played games late into the night (even the kids were all awake until 11 p.m.). 
Fun in the snow on Saturday up at Huntington. 
Violet LOVED it! 
After hours of snowballs, snow forts, sledding and snow angels, we headed back to the cabin to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. After dinner we even had a huge birthday cake and celebrated both Uncle Stan's birthday (Friday) and Randy's (Sunday), as well as a few others that had birthdays in the coming weeks. 
Toothless cousins...Violet lost a bottom middle tooth on Friday, Grace lost a top middle tooth on Sunday! 
Isaac and David. They slept beside each other, ate next to each other, played out in the woods and snow for hours...best buddies! 
All the grandkids (minus one). 
We got home from the cabin in time to celebrate Randy's birthday with home-made cards, Jelly Bellys, pizza, soda, and watching the Steelers game (Randy's team). I love this photo that includes one overly-tired Violet asleep on the couch. We came home, unpacked, showered, and she put on dress-up clothes...but then decided to sit on the couch with Mommy and Daddy to watch the game and fell asleep after only a few minutes. She slept from 4:30 p.m. until the following morning at 6:45 a.m.! She slept through dinner, me changing her into her jammies, Randy taking her potty and even brushing her teeth before bed. Now THAT is one fun weekend! We can't wait 'til next year!
