lake tahoe

Since dave was busy working during the week, we didn't see him a ton, but we are lucky we got to spend the weekend with him in lake tahoe. we stayed in the marriott timber lodge in south lake tahoe. the hotel has a great location right next to the heavenly gondola, a bunch of restaurants, the lake, and a great state park for hiking. we only stayed one night, but made the most of our time. 

dave and the stephens in front of the heavenly gondola.  these flowers are amazing!  and yes, im that annoying person who makes people pose for pictures.

gorgeous lake tahoe, the water was so clear and it is surrounded by mountains and pine trees!  we went paddle boarding for the first time.  it was fun.

baby stephen found a great place to swing!

we went on a hike and gave baby stephen a stick to keep him occupied.  he then stuck the stick down his throat.

stephen with his parents!  you cant tell, but the lake is in the background.

jane looking out into emerald bay.

my two favorite boys.

dave and jane

i love having this guy on my back.  i just wish he wasnt so big and heavy!

cascade lake

the stewarts visit!

we love having family visit.  some of our favorite visitors are stephen's parents, dave and jane.  they have been to visit us more times than anyone else.  this time, they stayed for a week.  while stephen's dad was busy working in the city, jane came out with us.  we had a ton of fun going to the zoo, beach, monterey bay aquarium, carmel, and of course, going out to eat.  

 jane and baby stephen at the san francisco zoo.  he loved the goats!

 this baby is 1/2 cowboy so i thought it was fitting to put him on a saddle.

 with my little guy and some flamingos.

 we loved the zoo! it is right buy highway one along the coast.  there were beautiful cyprus trees and native plants in a lot of the exhibits.  i loved these things, whatever they are.

 baby stevo at baker beach.  it was chilly and windy, but we loved the postcard-like setting.  we even saw dolphins in the bay!

 the sand was so nice!

 baby stephen loved watching the waves come in!

 we drove down to monterey for the day.  the monterey bay aquarium is one of my favorite places to visit!  we had memberships last year and I think we have been there around five times.  baby stephen really loved watching the fishes.  he got sad whenever we took him away from one aquarium and moved him to the next.

 he really liked this little cubby thing.  he was standing there watching the fishes and shaking his booty.

 amazing jellyfish

 we loved the beach at carmel.  the sand was so soft and nice.

 we went to a giants game with stephen's dad!

garlic fries from att park! my favorite.

we love where we live and it is so fun to have people come and explore with us!

natural history museum of utah

I have always loved natural history museums.  as a geology major at the university of utah i went to the old natural history museum for a homework assignment.  I found myself reading every sign and placard in the museum.  my favorite section was always the rocks, minerals, and gems.  the old museum on president's circle was nice, but drab compared to the museum's collections.  I was excited when i heard the university was building a new museum above research park.  The site of the building is breathtaking.  The architecture of the building complements the view nicely.  

The building was designed by Ennead architects, a firm i have never heard of.  It reminds me a lot of  dominus winery and the de young museums both designed by herzog and de meuron because the facades are meant to blend into the landscape.  They also used copper on the exterior similar to the de young museum.  

 I couldn't get a good picture of the facade, but you can find one via google.

 amazing view of the salt lake valley

 baby stephen slept in the stroller most of the time!  it was wonderful.

 this  may or may not be evidence of evolution....

 i loved that the museum storage had glass walls so we could view the amazing items not on display.

 glass floors in the dinosaur exhibit.

so cheesy.

grandma jane's

baby stephen has become quite the seasoned traveler.  last month we went to Utah for a couple of weeks to visit our family and friends.  it was a nice trip.  we were happy to be hosted by stephen's parents.  Stephen's mom, Jane is an amazing gardner!  I am completely in love with her house.  

 we got earphones for baby stephen, he didnt love them.

 baby stephen loved picking these yellow flowers.  Sorry jane!

 we came just in time to see the peonies bloom!  they were gorgeous.

 oops! (look at those irises!)

 baby stephen LOVES to swing.  he fell asleep on my chest while i swung with him.

 another great part of staying at grandma' jane's house is spending time with my cute nieces and nephews when they visit!

 baby Levi also loved the swing.  Daniel is a great big brother and babysitter.

 Will baby stephen be a musician like his dad?

 car-watching, a favorite pastime at Grandma' jane's.

 Baby stephen is not a fan of crawling on grass. but look at that ivy on her house!

 more car watching.  i think he spotted some fine ladies.

 getting ready to go to church with Grandma and Grandpa!

We love grandma Jane! Thanks for being the best hostess and mother-in-law

briones regional park

While working in Lafayette, many of my clients told me I needed to visit Briones regional park.  Ever since we had baby stephen I have not had the desire to go too far from home.  I always worry I will forget to bring something, that baby stephen will be sad the whole time, or i just don't feel like lugging around a bunch of baby stuff, not to mention a giant baby who is over twice my height already.

But over memorial day weekend, we had an itch that only a hike could scratch.  we read online about briones wheel chair accessible trails and decided that our uppababy vista stroller could handle the job.  although baby stephen only made it a mile in the stroller, we had an enjoyable time.

 happy camper. loved these yellow plants.  my friend calls these mustard plants but i'm not sure what they really are.

 beautiful rolling hills!  we even saw some cattle.

 the grass looks highly-flamable

 we had to carry him in the ergo carrier on the way back to our car.  i loved the purple thistle.

we saw these huge vultures on the way back