Visitors!

We were so lucky to have my brother Nathan and his adorable wife Brittany come up for a visit. It was a great excuse to head to the city since neither Brittany nor Ryder had been before.  It was a quick trip since the weather decided to turn freezing on us.  We walked around Fisherman's wharf, saw the sea lions, ate some yummy donuts in a bucket, Boudin clam chowder bread bowls, Lombard Street, Ghirardelli's, and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. That was good enough for us!

This was Ryder's favorite spot of the day.  He was fascinated by the oddities on display at Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Chocolate covered rice crispy treat...Yummm!

He was so fascinated by all the sea lions, it was hard to convince him to leave!

 Cool guys running:

Sunday we took Nathan and Brittany for a ride all around the area (knowing they'd have no choice but to fall in love with it).  We ended up at one of our favorite places: the Sacramento Temple.

Of course Ryder couldn't keep his hands out of the fountain

Why can't this kid sit still for 5 seconds so we can get a decent family shot?!

We are sure hoping and praying that my brother and SIL will end up here after dental school graduation in May!

Disneyland 3

After the Atlanta trip, my mom's friend was kind enough to get us in to Disneyland for free!  This was Ryder's third trip to the happiest place on earth and it gets better every time!

The Little Mermaid was always my favorite Disney movie growing up, so I loved going on the new ride based on the movie!

We also got to meet Woody!  Ryder was so excited when he spotted him, but by the time it was our turn to get a picture with Woody, Ryder lost it.

Mickey's Toon Town was probably Ryder's favorite place to play.  We easily spent a couple of hours playing around in all the "houses".

Autopia was another fun one.  Ryder would not let me touch the steering wheel.  He was in charge.

Atlanta

Seems like this has been the year of road trips to (Ryder's) Grandpa and Grandma Christensen's house.  Our August trip down was especially fun.  First, I got to fly to Atlanta to visit my very best friend, Ashley (thanks to mom and dad for taking care of Ryder).  I hadn't been there for years, and it had been even longer since Ashley and I got to spend some quality time together.  This was a needed break for both of us and, needless to say, we had so much fun together.

I finally arrived in Atlanta 8 hours late after missing my flight out of LAX and got to stay at Ashley's adorable little house.  We got up early the next morning and drove to Hilton Head, SC where we lounged on the beach, ate crab, lounged on the beach, got a massage, late breakfast (by my request) at Waffle house, then back to Ashley's.



By the time we arrived back in Atlanta it was time for dinner and a show.  We ate at this totally authentic Italian pizzeria.  It was amazing, and it was exactly like eating pizza in Italy. So so so SO delicious. This is a "must see" if you are ever in Atlanta.

 The flick was pretty good too...can't go wrong with Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Emma stone in Crazy, Stupid Love!  And of course, it wouldn't be a night out for us unless we posed for a few pics, one in front of the theatre and one on a bridge with the Atlanta skyline behind us.

Next year, 2012, will mark 20 years of {best}friendship for Ashley and I!  We will definitely be getting together to celebrate that one!