Here are some of the fun/noteworthy things we celebrated or did in those last few weeks though. 

-Sam's bday. We were able the day after Christmas to celebrate Sam as she turned another year older. It was fun to be able to be there!

-Botanical Gardens w my Mom. This was something we had been wanting to do for a long time, and it was really cool being able to have this one on one time with her. All of it was cool, but I think we all enjoyed the Bamboo forest that we found most of all. 

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-Academy with Jo and Jess. We got to spend some time just our two families as we showed them around the academy. It was so fun, and definitely something we need to do again! 

-Roller blading at Chrissy and Ocean Beach. One of the things the kids got for Christmas were roller blades and Bear got a scooter. So we took advantage of the beautiful weather and wheeled our way way down Ocean Beach's Great Highway and by Chrissy Field. At the latter it even started raining-but it was so beautiful and picturesque we didn't even mind haha!

-New Years Eve. The morning of we got up early and went to one of our favorite brunch spots, Plow, and as always, it lived up to our expectations. Afterward we got to meet up w friends at the park, and after doing some shopping, we finished the night making homemade root beer, watching Encanto and celebrating w my family. By the time we got back to my inlaws most all of us were beat, but Isla made it to 5 minutes before midnight before crashing haha. Us adults ate some crab and drank Lola's hot chocolate while bringing in the new year making lots of noise and watching the fire works. And we spent the next day eating the fruit she left out for us, and picking up the change by each of the doors haha. 

-Warriors game. Somehow my FIL scored us some tickets, so one night Lester and I took Talia and went to the Chase Center. It was our first time, and it was an amazing experience-both bc of the game/team, as well as the stadium itself. We even got to finish up the night listening to the band play I Got Five On It on our way out and eating soup dumplings. It was amazing, and so nice to know the kids were in good hands.

-Cartoon Museum. This was one I didn't even know existed, but it was perfectly placed by Ghiradelli, which means not only did we get to see some cool history of Cartoons and awesome comic book artifacts, but we also got to get a hot fudge Sundae. This was also great since Addy literally makes at least one or more comic strip per day. 

-Ice Skating at Yerba Buena Garden. The last time Lester and I did this we were starting to date again after he got home from his mission, so it was fun to take our kids there. Definitely harder to stay up then I remember, but a fun challenge, especially watching all the people train who were clearly professionals. 

-Hyde Street Park Ships. We have done this before, and bc of all the rain much of it was closed. But the few ships we did get to check out were so cool, and we can't wait to go back when its all at full capacity. 

-Trolley/Umbrella Alley. The girls and I rode the trolley one day and it was like a roller coaster, standing up as they went up and down all the hills and in all our favorite spots. While we did that Tal and the boys checked out Umbrella Alley and drive to pick us up. 

-Sushi Date. One of the last things we did before we headed out was went on a date to restaurant we'd been wanting to check out forever called Wako. It has one Michelin star and we finally were able to go! We did the sushi tasting menu, and added a few things and it blew. our. minds. So much flavor and incredibly texture packed into each bite. We finally tried Uni for one, but the standouts were the sushi itself and a beautiful sampler plate that had the best cheesecake I have ever had. Lester and I are still talking about it all this time later.