presidency

One of the biggest blessings I received in Walnut Creek was being a part of the Relief Society presidency with these special ladies.  They are my favorite, and I am positive that we will be friends forever!

We often held our presidency meetings at Tender Greens, so we had to return one last time together before I move.  :)

week of all weeks

This last month in the WC is proving to be a whirlwind - the past week in particular.  I've been calling it "the week of all weeks!" 

Ben & I have been listening to a book on Audible.com and it talks about being "maybe, which actually means no" kind of people versus "hell yes!" kind of people.  We tend to be of the "maybe" sort (and we don't mind that), but this week we kind of experienced what it's like to be "hell yes!" people.  Let me tell you - it is exhausting!!

Friday - Our final temple trip with the Oakland temple being "our temple."  It has been so special for "our temple - the temple in which we were married" to be "our temple - according to where we live."

The beauty of the Oakland Temple never fails to inspire me!

Also, a post-temple date to The Creamery.  We will be so sad to bid adieu to The Olde San Francisco Creamery.  If you're ever in the neighborhood, our very favorite is Toasted Almond in waffle bowls.  Ben likes his with caramel sauce and I like mine with whipped cream and extra almonds.  Seriously.  So.  Good.

Saturday - An eye exam for Ben and new glasses for the first time in 7 years!

Sunday - We actually had people over for dinner!

Monday - I BARTed into the City for dinner and dessert with Kameron, an old friend from college.  So fun! 

Tuesday - The Exploratorium (new location and totes fantastic) with my family.

Then Giant's game #1.

Wednesday - Giant's game #2.

Dad, Ben, & I took one of those bike buggies from our parking lot to the stadium.  It was hilarious.

My whole family and possibly our collective #1 love - the Giant's!

On Wednesday night, I got to go out for dinner and ice cream with Natalie, my best friend from high school!  She happened to be in the area and we had to take advantage.  So, so great to see her.

Thursday - We went out to dinner at The Cheeseboard, a vegetarian, organic pizza place in Berkeley - does that surprise you?  They only serve one kind of pizza each day and Thursday's had local peaches, mozzarella, Danish blue cheese, and arugula in a lemon vinaigrette on top.  Ben loved it, but it wasn't really my thing.

Then we saw Sara Bareilles in concert at the UC Berkeley Greek Theater.  She was awesome and I loved every minute!  Ahh!!  We had lawn seats and the grassy hill was sooo steep.  We kept sliding down the hill!  It was a great concert, but not necessarily the most comfortable.  Ha!

The fog rolls in.

Friday was ward temple night, but by then we were running on fumes, so we decided that we needed a night in with dinner in front of the TV and an early bedtime.  Hooray for that.

On Saturday, Ben helped a family move while I went down to the fertility clinic.  Then, we went back-to-school shopping for Ben at the Livermore outlets.  And then, we had a neighborhood pool party and BBQ!  What a day!  (You see what I mean about having a "hell yes!" kind of week??)

We spent the majority of Sunday with the Dorffs down at Stanford.  It's been awesome living within an hour of them and I am really sad to lose that.  Of course, the adults didn't take any pictures, but this is their adorable son.

And now, 2 weeks til move-out!  It's starting to sink in that we are leaving Walnut Creek and it hurts my heart just a little bit.  I love it here!

sunnyvale avenue

Moving day is in less than one month, so before I started packing everything up, I wanted to get some pictures of our apartment.  We have loved Sunnyvale Avenue.

Living Room

 Gallery Wall Detail

Office Space

I bought and added this fabric onto our curtains to make them long enough.

Kitchen

Entry Way

Bedroom

karin's quarter-century

I turned twenty-five last week.  The big 2-5.  The quarter century.  And I am totally having mixed emotions.  I don't feel like I'm in my "young twenties" any more, but I don't feel mature; and with my next birthday, am I considered in my "late twenties"??  Mostly I am just feeling like a failure for not having borne a child yet.

But, my birthday will always be my favorite day of the year!  I vow that it will never be "just another day" for me!  

I went to work on my birthday this year, which is against everything I believe in . . but it did allow for a beautiful flower delivery from Ben.  His birthday-treatment this year really proved how well he knows me: a bouquet of flowers and a gift card to ColdStone!

After work, Ben took me out to dinner at one of my very favorite restaurants, Tender Greens.  Ben doesn't care for Tender Greens all that much, but he's taken me there on my last 2 birthdays as a treat for me.  I always think I'll try something new . . but I love what I get and how could I stray?  Fried chicken, mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, a baby arugula salad, and a crostini, plus their amazing mint lemonade.  That's what I'm talking about.

We bought an ice cream cake from our fave - The Olde San Francisco Creamery - to bring home, and we're still enjoying it 5 days later.  It's the gift that keeps on giving and it is soooo good.

On Friday, I took the day off of work and Mom came up to Walnut Creek to spend the day together.  We shopped til we dropped and talked until seriously we just couldn't any more.  It was the best day.

No, we did not buy a Tesla.

Days later, my flowers are still going strong and they have opened up beautifully.  I can't get enough of them!

Happy birthday to me!  ;)

all roads lead to cambria

We summer-vacationed with my family last week and the best word to describe it truly is a "blast."  I have so enjoyed spending such plentiful time with my family this summer and I am sad to see it come to an end, as Ben and I move to Los Angeles in one month!  There are a ton of pictures in this post (apologies!), but I want all of this documented.

On Monday night, Ben and I met Dad, Scott, and Tom in Monterey.  Tuesday morning, Scott, Tom, and I (the support crew for Rowan-Myers Cycling), sent Dad and Ben (team Rowan-Myers Cycling) off on their bikes from Point Lobos to Cambria.  Ninety-four miles.  Dad made team jerseys for himself and Ben and t-shirts for the support crew!

                           

The support crew and front of t-shirt.

  

The support crew and back of t-shirt.

Team Rowan-Myers Cycling!

So they took off on their hilly, curvy trip.

And the boys and I dined at my favorite Carmel breakfast, Katy's Place!  :)  We had to let the bikers get a ways ahead of us before we started our own "support crew sight-seeing trip."

A couple hours later, we began our journey down Highway 1.

Bixby Bridge

McWay Falls

We caught up with the Dad and Ben about 3 hours into their ride - a perfect time for snacks, water refills, and a short rest.

My two favorite men.

Then the bikers continued on their journey and the support crew took off down the road for some more pretty sights and to wait for them at the next stop.

We met up again at Ragged Point to refill before the final home stretch!  They are so close now.

Final fuel refill.

The support crew followed them this time for a few miles and got some awesome shots.  I particularly love this first one.

Of course the support crew stopped to see my #1 favorite animal, the elephant seals.  What was Heavenly Father thinking?

Dad and Ben passed the elephant seals while we were there, and as they road by, they barked like elephant seals.  All of the tourists turned from the beach to see what was going on and I just said "Thaaat's my dad."

Coasting down the final stretch of 94 miles.

And then they crossed he finish line and we dined at our final destination - The Main Street Grill!

After biking so far, all Dad and Ben wanted to do was lie down and watch TV, but we'd been at the beach house for less than an hour when the power went out!  So Ben taught us how to play poker and we stayed up late betting monopoly money by the light of a flashlight hanging above the table.  Hilarious.

Scott and Tom slept outside.  What a way to wake up.

We got up the next morning and drove down the coast to Los Angeles to meet Mom, Doug, and Emily for a soccer game.  Manchester United vs. The LA Galaxy.  

Man U is Tommy's favorite team.  Dream come true!

We stayed the night in LA (can't believe we will actually live there so soon . . so much traffic!), and got up the next morning to eat breakfast and walk around a bit before heading back up the coast to Cambria.

                           

Pismo Beach stop for lunch and a little beach walk.

Then, a few days in Cambria to finish our week of vacation.

One of our favorite games in Cambria has become Sardines.  You know, one person hides in a dark house and then the rest of us have to find them.  It's awesome and a little creepy!  We always assume that no one is hiding in the second-bedroom loft because we are all short and it's so hard to get up there, but one round we just could not find Scott!  A few started to find him and when we heard all the jumping and banging from people trying to get up into the loft, we knew where he was.  

A lot of good beach time this trip with lots of whiffle ball, soccer, and football.  The weather looks cloudy and cold, but it was totally warm and delightful.

At the end of the week, we celebrated my birthday early with some yummy cake from Linn's Bakery.