I {heart} San Fransisco

Back in May (yes May...I am REALLY far behind in posting), RJ & I went on a trip to San Fransisco. He had to go there for work for a couple days, and since neither of us had ever been, I decided to tag along with him and stay a couple extra days.

The pic above is RJ & I on the plane, heading over to SF.

DAY #1

 We enjoyed Fisherman's Wharf, the sea lions at Pier 39, soup and sourdough at the Boudins bread factory & an ice cream sundae at Ghiradelli square AND a trolley ride to union square and back to Fisherman's Wharf.

All of which we LOVED!! I was amazed at how close everything is there! It's a crazy concept to me.

Sea Lions at Pier 39 were so fun to watch

Boudin's Sour dough...Mmmmm!!!

Ghiradelli Square

RJ & I on our very first trolley ride.

(don't mind my quadruple chin!! Must've been the sundae at Ghiradelli square)

That evening on the way back to the hotel, we noticed this huge tower thing...so we went to it. It was some monument to some lady who donated money to SF but it had the most amazing views of the city.

 

DAY #2

We headed to the SF Bridge. It was beautiful!! We parked the car and walked it.

The bridge also has the most amazing view of downtown SF.

After the bridge, we drove 5 minutes north of SF, into Sausalito. That small community is so amazing. It's the tiny quaint beautiful town that is just across the bay from the hustle and bustle of SF. RJ and I enjoyed lunch there.

At the end of day 2, on the way back to the hotel, we drove the streets of the city enjoying the architecture.

We also HAD to drice Lumbard Street...twice. :)

 

DAY #3

This day RJ had to work. So I went shopping down town. Our hotel was right next to Chinatown and a few blocks from Union Square & all the shops downtown. So I enjoyed my day on my own, window shopping. AND I pretty sure RJ was grateful he didn't have to go with me!!!

Our totally modern, hip, (nothing like RJ & I) hotel.

See that building behind our hotel... 

That's the same building that is on the right side of the Chinatown Gate.



One of the most AMAZING things about SF is the food. EVERYWHERE we ate...and I mean EVERYWHERE, was delish!! I ate lunch at this "Buckhorn Grill" in the Westfield mall. It was so, so, so good!! Seriously, best steak I've ever eaten.

 

DAY #4

Alcatraz Island

If you ask RJ, our tour through Alcatraz was the whole reason for going to SF :)

It was something that we've both always wanted to do. And it was very interesting!

It was a wonderful, relaxing and much needed escape for the two of us to be together.

Honestly, I'm ready to go again.

But it's always nice to come home.

 Here are the signs that welcomed us when we got back. <3 p="p">

 

Sweet, Sweet Sophie

Back in April, I feel in love with the sweetest, fluffiest, friendliest little girl. At the time her name was Princess & she was an 8 weeks old Shih Tzu puppy.

After lots and lots of thought, and many "talks" with the kids about all sharing the responsibility of a new puppy, the boys and I decided we HAD to have her.

So on Thursday April 19th, while the boys were at school, I went and picked her up and brought her home.

We spent the first few days deciding on a new name for her. Princess just didn't seem to fit. After many deliberations, we all settled on naming her Sophie.

Hayes called her "Princess Penny Sophie" for the first week or so.

It took us a few days to get her adjusted to our home. We bought many new things for her: A kennel, bed, toys and food.

The boys enjoyed playing with her and having her chase them around.

We all took turns holding her and walking her...it was fun!!

The boys really loved having a new puppy around.

Especially Parker who spent all of free his time when he was home from school helping me take care of her.

He helped take her out to go potty, feed her, play with her, etc.

She was a fun addition. However...I was a mess. As with every new baby or puppy, I was up with her multiple times a night. And during the day, I had to have my eyes on her at all times to make sure she didn't eat something she wasn't supposed to,

OR didn't go to the bathroom in our house.

After 3 weeks, I was exhausted. It had been 14 years since I'd had a puppy. And last time I had a puppy, I had NO kiddos to take care of AND no busy Hayes to try to keep up with. I was quickly realizing that I couldn't do it all. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't be up multiple times a night with a new puppy and be a good mom to my boys during the day.

Plus, the the two little boys (Davis and Hayes) were afraid of her...because she'd bite their toes. And did I mention our other dog Buddy HATED her!! Sophie would try and try to play with Buddy and he'd avoid her as best he could. And if he couldn't avoid her, he'd growl and nip @ her.

 

So after even more deliberation, we all decided that maybe now wasn't the best time to try to train a puppy. I will say it was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made.

We were all heart broken to get rid of her. But in the end knew it was the best choice for us as a family. I told the boys that we could eventually get another puppy with 2 conditions: After Buddy died & Hayes was in school.

So we listed her on Craigslist. We found a GREAT, LOVING family to adopt her. Funny thing is that the family who took her from us, we are friends with some of the same families...making it MUCH easier to let her go.

I won't lie...It was still hard and I was a MESS for a day or two but we still keep in touch with the family who bought her from us and she is doing really well. I do think about her often and miss her but I know she's with a family who is taking great care of her.

Granny's gotta gun...

Back in April, the entire Jensen clan headed down to Central for the oldest grandson's missionary farewell. It was a great weekend of catching up, cousins hanging out & eating delicious food.

Once everyone arrived, we spent part of Saturday out shooting Uncle Layne & Uncle Kev's guns.

The kids had a wonderful time playing & hanging out.

Tommy gave piggy back rides to the little ones.

Everyone took turns shooting...both young and old.

When we got back to the Jensen's home...Hayes was in heaven when Uncle Layne took him for rides on the rojo tractor.

 The rest of my boys were in heaven too.

 It was a great weekend spent with family.