granite bay triathlon

Ben competed in his last Nor-Cal triathlon on Saturday and it was a fun day, but not necessarily the best race.  They call this race the hardest sprint triathlon in California and well, we believe them!

Ross has been such a good friend to us, and especially Ben.  Hopefully this won't be their last race together!

The drought is so terrible that after the swim, they all had to run about half a mile up the sandy beach to get to the transition area!  Some stayed in their wetsuits, some took them half-off, and some took them off and carried them up.  Whatever way you chose - so heavy!  Most left a pair of running shoes to slip on, but I saw a guy do the whole thing in flip-flops!

Ben came around the turn-around spot on the bike course to begin his second lap and he was all smiles.  It wasn't until after he passed me that I saw THE BLOOD!  Ben crashed!  :(   Not the best feeling for a wife . .

You can kind of see the blood on his shoulder and elbow.

Check out that golf-ball-sized lump on his left quad.  Yowzaa.

But he stayed strong and started the run and finished the race!  Running 5 miles after a bike crash?  So tough, my man!

Ben finished 6th in his age group and missed the podium by one spot!  But, he finished, with some moderately serious injuries!  Go, Ben, go!  I was overcome with pride!

Inspecting his bike for damage.

Ben's first trip to the EMT tent after a race.  So grateful for them!

Injuries.

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