san francisco

2018 San Francisco Trip!

March 10, 2019 by Jensey 1 Comment

It’s our birthweek!!! What!!! Nate and I were born one year and 5 days apart, so we look forward to “birthweek” celebration all year round! :)

I wanted to blog something fun this week, so I thought I’d write about our favorite vacation last year!

Before Ollie, I was *determined* to do a monthly personal post about him and what we’ve been up to and well… We are 22 months into parenthood and I don’t even think I blogged about his birth. Instead of starting from the beginning and trying to somehow catch up, I’m just gonna jump right in. :) Last August, work brought us to San Francisco! This also meant we got to do a road trip with Ollie’s bestie from there to Disneyland for his first friend vacation! :)

This was Ollie’s 2nd trip out to California, and boy, flying with a 15 month old couldn’t have been more different than flying with a 4 month old!! I told Nate that for the rest of my life, any flight without a squirmy toddler will forever feel like I’m flying first class, lol! :) He really did well and only lost it a couple of times, but was I glad we were road tripping down to Anaheim and not having to make another flight!

We started our trip at my personal Disneyland, my favorite place in the world- My Aunt Cami’s home. <3 I think, no.. I *know* he loved it there more than Disneyland!

We had lunch with my godmother! :)

We also took Ollie to my mom’s childhood home. So many memories playing on this street! <3

He met some new sea lion friends…

And saw an invisible bridge! <3

My cousins are incredibly talented photographers (If you got our holiday card, you know this!) Even just sitting across from them at dinner meant we got really good photos of Ollie! :) He loved them as much as we did and agrees that California is just too far away- We should start a petition to move Florida.

One thing I never fully internalized before becoming a mom: When people love on your kids, that love feels tenfold to you. Ollie took to these guys right away, and I just love how much they loved on him!! :)

I’m gonna do a whole separate post on the photos they took of us and what they meant to me!

We said goodbye to northern California and drove here to meet up with our friends! Ollie was so surprised to see his bestie! <3

Stopped to see some freaky elephant seals on the way down!

See that nose?!

Tried taking a cute photo of these two but Ollie was not having it!!

We stopped again at Solvang, California, this adorable little Danish town!

We “booped” each other’s noses! :)

And obviously, we stopped at In-N-Out! But let’s just remember what he looked like last time we were here:

Next up : D I S N E Y L A N D !

San Francisco 2014 : Part II

November 12, 2014 by Jensey 8 Comments

Continued from Part One! :)

I remember growing up, there were always certain stories friends and family members would tell over and over, lamenting the fact that I was growing up. One in particular was my Mom’s best friend, Colette- To this day, whenever she sees me, she talks about how one of her favorite memories was going shopping with me at Pier 39 when I was maybe 4 and I had my little wallet of money. I kept walking around and asking, “How many moneys is this?”

Well, this trip was a memory I’ll be reminding Kinley about forever- This was the trip I fell head over heels in love with my niece, and so much of that is how smitten she was with her Uncle Nate, and that this will forever be my memory of this trip- Nate carrying her all around the hills of San Francisco in a hiking bag, and that lil’ tongue sticking out. In. Love. I. Tell. You. <3

Gosh, I love this city.

My favorite photo of Quinn from the trip! Kristin and Charlie let us babysit the kids on our last night with them, and it was literally the highlight of my whole entire summer. We bought him those jammies while we were out that day, and he kept insisting on walking in Uncle Nate’s shoes and scrolling through the photos we took on the camera, letting us know who everyone is in each photo. <3

Meanwhile, I soaked up every second of Kinley-ness before bedtime- We must have sat like this for an hour. Easiest baby ever. <3

I don’t know how she handles life like this 24 hours a day- We were exhausted after our one week together! My sister in law is the most amazing mom I know, and I’m so glad my niece and nephew won the mommy jackpot.

Love. Her. <3

Our last night with the kiddos came way too quickly, and before we knew it, it was our last time helping out with bath time followed by an embarrassingly teary goodbye. :(

I wish I had video of this- Kinley was mimicking everything he was doing!

We spent the last few nights of our trip with Aunt Cami after the kiddos left.

Let’s do it again real soon, San Francisco! <3

San Francisco 2014 : Part I

November 11, 2014 by Jensey 5 Comments

This summer, Nate and I got the chance to shoot a wedding at Murrietta’s Well Winery in Livermore, California- Almost two years to the date after our first wedding there! I love any excuse to get out to the west coast, since that’s where my family’s from, but this trip was extra special- My brother and amazing sister-in-law braved 8 hours in the car each way with two kiddos under two to meet us! It’s hard being across the country when such a huge part of my heart is always with that family, so we extended our visit and had some San Francisco play time with our favorites.

Of course, the trip flew by like it always does, but I thought I’d share some of our favorite personal photos- Apologies in advance that 90% of them are of babies, but they’re the cutest babies in the world- Our Eskimo Quinn and Kinley Poppins! <3

He’s getting s o b i g. And I’m pretty sure he’s already smarter than me, you guys.

Because “you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose.”

Kinley has the most epic yawns ever. They last forever, she gets all shaky, and I’m pretty sure every time it happens, a fairy gets her wings.

SWOON.

Aunt Cami, my favorite relative. :)

MORE KINLEY YAWNS! <3

We didn’t have a lens pouch, so we MacGyver-ed one out of a sock. :)

I love that this has become our tradition- Taking the kids on a carousel ride on our visits together!

Kinley was in love with the carousel- At least while it wasn’t moving…

… After that things got a little scary. ;)

I thought I knew everything about my sister-in-law until I learned she has an obsession with those claw machines. Just when I think I couldn’t love her any more than I already do! :)

Part two tomorrow. :)