Joyful

joyful - full of high-spirited delight; "a joyful heart" gleeful, jubilant, elated, joyous - full of or characterized by joy; "felt a joyous abandon"; "joyous laughter" I think this is the first time I've used this word to describe Jack. Once I said it aloud it made complete sense, he truly is such a joyful child! He finds simple pleasure in many things, dancing in the rain makes him so happy! He is growing so fast, everyday he has new questions and too many 'whys', I can't keep up! He has his Dad's sense of humor and keeps us on our toes. He loves to sing - his favorites being Jesus Made the Rainbow and Mary had a Little Lamb, loves to swim, play pretend and help me make pancakes on Saturday mornings. I pray that he will always keep his joyous outlook on life! We love you, sweet baby Jack!

Animal Land

On Sunday the weather was so beautiful so we decided to go to Animal Land.
The kids really enjoyed it!
Jack's favorite animal was the deer, this one followed us for most of the trip.

This camel tried to eat Wes.
Acutally, I think he was after his bag of food, it was a close call, good thing Kyle is quick!

Thank you, Lord!

Every morning on the drive into work I pray with the kids. I like to start out by saying 'lets pray, what do we say?'. One of them normally yells out 'Dear Jesus!' Then we list out all the things we are thankful for.
It normally goes like this:
Me: Thank you for _______ (I fill in the blank) . What are you boys thankful for?
Wes: Mario! And....Mommy, Daddy and Jack
Jack: SHOES!
It makes me smile everyday, sometimes he's shy about saying it and he whispers it but, the answer is always the same - shoes.

I was asking the kids what their favorite word to say is, Wes, of course, said Mario (not surprised) and Jack yells out 'Siskabob!' (shish kabob) - I have no idea where he learned that word or if he even knows what it is but he sure does make me laugh!

Can you guess the movie?

Formerly know as 'World of Meats'

Where the famous 'Woman, wooooooman' poem was done

Russian sailor scene

'I was electrocuted once, it was horrible!'

Opening scene of the movie - the Ferry Building


Any guesses? Kyle and I had fun wandering the city looking for landmarks from one of our favorite movies!

A Food Journey through San Francisco

We had an amazing trip to San Francisco last week! It was so nice to get away from the stress of everyday life and just relax! Thanks to my parents for taking care of the kids while we were away! Since we both *love* food, here is a photo journal of everything (well, almost) we ate and yes, we did more than just that! I'll post more sightseeing pics later : )
I loaded all the pictures backwards by accident so, we'll start with the yummy desserts!

Above is the view of Alcatraz Island from the top of Coit Tower.

Cannoli and Eclair from Little Italy...delicious!

Macarons from Miette located in the Ferry Building.
There were OK, I thought they would be fantastic since I've been craving them for weeks and even tried making them myself. The texture was like a brownie and the taste was too delicate to detect anything : (
They look good though! We tried chocolate, chocolate lavender, vanilla and, pistachio.
The chocolates tasted alike and we couldn't tell the difference and the same with the vanilla and pistachio flavors.

Lombard Street - San Fran's crookedest street

Golden Gate Bridge at dusk

Kara's Cupcakes
I tried coconut and banana caramel - both super delicious, definitely a great choice. The only drawback was that they were $3.75 EACH!! (worth it!)

Beard Papa says they have the world's best cream puffs and it is so true! They make them fresh everyday and fill them right in front of your eyes! They are delicious and HUGE! We walked for an hour trying to find this little gem, the blisters on my feet were totally worth it!

Mood Thai Sushi
This place was so good we ate here twice!
I can't remember the name of anything we ate but it was all so delicious! I can honestly say I have never been somewhere where EVERYTHING on the menu looked good and the service was great!

Sushi is my favorite *LOVE*

CHINATOWN

House of Nanking
This place was featured on Food Network's Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels, it was good (I liked Mood much better).

Sesame Chicken with Ginger Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Excellent Pot Stickers - soooo good!

This is how they served hot tea, the glass was so hot!

Fresh fruit on the Wharf
This was the best fruit I have ever had! The cherries were amazing!

Breakfast at Boudin
This was really good! Scrambled eggs with tomatoes and peppers in a fresh sourdough breadbowl. Mmmmmm!

Best strawberries ever! The were meaty and so flavorful - I've never had a large berry taste so wonderful!

The Slanted Door
The food here was really, really good! The scallops were so good, I never thought I would use the word 'creamy' to describe them but that is definitely what they were - so fresh and good!

Caramelized Tiger Prawn - outstanding!

Claypot Chicken - amazing!
Kyle also makes this at home (I think his recipe is even better!)

Kyle's bread pudding with frest strawberries

The best for last
Here is my dessert from the Slanted Door - the BEST THING I HAVE EVER HAD...EVER!
Please do not judge this as I am describing it, you have to experience this, trust me, you will love it. It sounded so BAD, I had to try - it wouldn't be on the menu if it was horrible, right?
This was (from layered top to bottom):
candied yams
banana tapioca
avocado ice cream
lime meringue

We were able to enjoy all this great food and not gain any weight because we WALKED A BAJILLION MILES EVERYDAY - I had blisters on my blisters!! All totally worth it! : )

Graduation part 2

Kindergarten Graduation

Wesley has officially graduated from Kindergarten!

Congrats Wes!

Wes has excelled in reading, math, and is a terrific artist. He has grown so much in the past year and we are extremely proud of all the great things he has accomplished!

Little brother Jack had to get in on all the attention

Kyle and Wes

Me and Wes

Great Uncle Tim and Wes

Grandpa Jacobson and Wes

Great Gram and Grandma Kathy

Thank you to all the family that came and supported Wes on his big day, he was so excited to see you all there!