The Perfect Trip

We got back from a perfect trip and it has been a little hard to get back into the daily rhythm even though we're four days home. I guess that's what happens when you are so completely spoiled for nine days that anything less is a bit of a let down.

We went to Utah to visit family and really had a blast seeing Jared's sister Missy and her kids. I neglected to snap a single photo of our time together, which is really sad because her kids are so gorgeous they deserve to be caught on film. Staying with the Stubbs is totally a treat because our kids are having so much fun with everyone else we barely have to do anything. ha ha
We also got to welcome home my dad from his big trip to England. After serving his mission there way back when, this was his first return to that beautiful place. He lived the dream, as they say, and saw all the sights, several shows, got the local flavor, and fulfilled his need to see lots of knights, castles and swords. As we watched him tell about the trip, I was totally filled up by the light in his eyes and the joy in his words. Him having a fabulous trip was almost as good as having one myself.

After mooching off of family for a few days, we decided to take it a step further. Jared and I went on an adults-only trip. Our first without our kids. We were gone for four days and four nights... the longest I've ever been away from them. And it was heavenly. Afton and Ben stayed with Jared's parents while we jetted off to San Fransisco and spent a couple days exploring the endless sights in that awesome city. Then we headed to some gigantic redwood forests for some breathtaking hiking, and ended it with a walk along the beach looking for seashells. Mixed in with all that goodness were luxury accomodations courtesy of more family, simply to die for food, sleeping all night long without being woken by kids and then sleeping in late in the morning, and a lot of just good time to spend as adults. It was great!

Now for the pics:
Jared looking out over the Bay with the Hornblower cruise ship in the background. We walked along by the ferry buildings for a long time and just took in the beauty.

At the top of the de Young museum tower overlooking San Fransisco.
My favorite new museum: The California Academy. There was an interactive rain forest, an amazing aquarium and a fabulous planetarium show that wowed us the whole time.
One of the gorgeous sights in Golden Gate Park:
Dining at The Slanted Door, one of the most amazing dinners we've ever had. So amazing I had to hurry and take a photo before we inhaled it all:
Muir Woods redwood forest:
Me hugging a gigantic redwood tree in Muir Woods. It was still daytime, but the canopy in the forest made it look like it was night. It was so amazing to see how unbelievably huge these trees were. Wow
Big Basin Redwood Forest where we did an 11 mile hike through this the whole time:

Even the fallen trees were impressive:
About midway through the long hike. Our bodies weren't in total pain yet, like we were at the end!

The trees are so beautiful, even Jared who is almost anti-environmentalist felt like giving a tree a big hug:
The trees made me feel tiny and inconsequential:
Redwoods live in families where they grow around each other. It was really great:
And to top it off, we walked along the beach barefoot with the wind blowing through our hair. Hello Pacific Ocean:
Jared went shell hunting on this huge rock and I loved how the waves would crash huge behind him. What a gorgeous spot. Half Moon Bay:
And we got to come home to these two munchkins. They did great and we missed them a lot.