They're hereeeeeee!!!!!!!

When we were in Vegas last month the M&M factory was giving out samples of their newest creation.  We walked back and forth 3 different times so we could get as many as possible.  They give you this crunchy goodness, and then tell you they're not going to be in stores for a while.  Well, today I was strolling down the aisles of Fred Meyer and there they were!!  There were only 2 bags left AND they were on SALE!  So of course I bought them both.  And I will gladly add time to my daily workout so these can become a new food group.  They are THAT good.

Where Rice-a-Roni and Danny Tanner live!

For Brent's big Christmas present (the one that almost ruined Christmas) I got us tickets to San Francisco. Brent hadn't been there since his high school debate days (hehe) and I had never been there. It was awesome!!

One thing I didn't get a picture of that seriously cracked me up every time I thought about it:  we were walking down the street on the second day after Alcatraz and I noticed a bush.  It was weird because there were no other bushes on the street and it looked out of place.  Well the longer I looked I realized it was NOT a bush.  I realized this just as we were a couple feet from it.  All of a sudden the bush parts and this face pops out and screams, "RAAAAAAA!!!!!!" at Brent.  It scared him half to death and I couldn't stop laughing!  Then the more I thought about it, the funnier it was to me.  That guy must have done really well that week asking for money because he obviously didn't have to worry it about it that day.  And not only did he have time to scare people, he had time to find a bunch or random branches and tie them together in a 3x3 square and have it look pretty legit!  If I had thought about all that while we were there, I would have totally given him a dollar.  Homeless people need to do that kind of stuff more often.  I would totally give them money :)

Our hotel was only a block from Chinatown

We had a rough time the first day getting around.  Brent wanted to save money and take the BART (like the subway).  I was fine with saving money, but we had no idea where we were going and what we were doing.  Not to mention we were in a strange city.  I was not a happy BART camper.  We ended up figuring it out though, and it was great once we got the hang of it.  This is what I looked like the first day riding the BART.

We got to go to dinner with Brent's good friend, Tim, and his fiancee, Amy.  This place was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and was AWESOME.  It was Puerto Rican food and it reminded Brent of his mission

After, the four of us went to Ghirardelli Square to get sundaes.  YUM!

We went here for breakfast Thursday and Friday morning.  This place was also on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  I had chocolate chip french toast and it was the best breakfast EVER!  Quick story: on the bus tour we did of the city our tour guide said, "We're now entering the sketchy area of the city.  Make sure you don't walk through here at night!  In fact, avoid this whole area if you can."  Brent said, "Isn't this by where we ate?" Sure enough, just as he said it we rode past Dotties.  Whoops.  I guess ignorance is bliss.

Our Worldmark we stayed at.  It was an awesome location!

On Thursday morning we went to Alcatraz.  While we were waiting to go on the tour finally someone other than me got pooped on!!  Luckily for him I had tissues and hand sanitizer to clean his head off.  I did avoid that part of his head for the rest of the day, though :)

Going to Alcatraz!

As Prison Mike would say, "Don't drop the soap!"

Brent and his cute audio tour headphones

This is the ACTUAL Rice-a-Roni cable car!  It was way cool to see it!  There was a 2 hour wait to get to ride it, so we passed

We did a 48 hour hop on hop off bus tour.  It was nice because we got to see everything!

It was so freaking awesome to see the Golden Gate Bridge!  I love seeing stuff in real life that you've seen all your life, but haven't really SEEN.  SOOOO cool!

Our second day on the bus tour at the Japanese Tea Gardens

This was the other thing I was sooooo pumped to see.  The Full House houses!!!  I have 8 pictures that look exactly like this on my camera, but I'm not getting rid of any of them!

The last night we were there we went to an A's game.  They were playing the Giants so it pretty fun.  Cross town rivals!

Our seats were way good, especially for getting them when we got to the stadium!

Thursday morning I woke up to find I had a little friend come visit me.  Not THAT friend (I wouldn't mention that on my BLOG) but the little monster known as PINK EYE.  When I think of pink eye, I think of little kids.  How in the world I got it, I have no idea.  Especially since I use hand sanitizer all the time.  But it didn't stop us from having fun.  I just looked like a demon as we did our touristy stuff :)  Brent took this picture at the game to show my evil eye

 We had so much fun and can't wait to go back again!!

Reason #15,294 I enjoy being a housewife

Because when your mom asks you on Wednesday afternoon if you want to go hiking on Friday, you can say YES!

Growing up my parents took us on a lot of vacations and we saw a lot of cool stuff. The only problem was that 99% of the time it was somewhere that had to deal with nature. I complained the entire time when I was younger, but now that I'm getting old I'm starting to appreciate the stuff I used to whine about.

We went to Lake 22 (what a random name for a hike) in the Mt. Baker National Forest. It was 5 1/2 miles round trip, which meant I got to see a ton of cool stuff AND I got to count it as my workout for the day!

So green and northwesty!

There were soooo many waterfalls since we went early in the hiking season

It looked like you could potentially see a cool view to a waterfall so I sent my mom over to check it out :) she said it wasn't worth it so I just waited until she got back

You hike up through a forest for a while and then it opens up to a steep field you hike up

Finally to the top!  At the top we had to hike through snow!

Pictures can't do it justice.  It was so beautiful!

Stopping for lunch!

Most of the lake was still frozen over

There were a TON of waterfalls from all the melting snow when we got to the top

One of the coolest parts was that since it was getting warm all the snow was melting and there were avalanche warnings.  We weren't close enough to have to worry about anything, but we got to hear FOUR avalanches when we were relaxing at the top!  It sounded like a gun shot and then you could hear a little rumble.  The best part was we actually SAW one of them!  In this picture I saw snow rolling down through the trees and it ended up coming out at the bottom where it opens up and there is the snow pile.  SOOOO crazy!

My mom had hiking shoes and I just had my Nike's so I sent her first in case she fell through the snow.  There was one point where the snow was melting below but it seemed thick enough to walk across.  My mom cruised across and when it was my turn I slipped and fell in the snow.  Whoops.  When I tried to get up I picked a bad spot to put my foot and it went straight through the snow into the little stream of freshly melted snow.  So freaking cold!

The hole my foot made is to the right of my knee.  Mom laughed.  A lot.  But only once she realized I was ok :) I didn't mind since I laughed, too!

I had so much fun and I can't wait to see what other nature adventures we can go on this summer!

These are a few of my favorite things...

These are a few of my current favorites!

I could do a whole post on Nutella.  I don't know where it's been all my life, but I'm glad it's here now.  We buy ours at Costco because it's WAAAAY cheaper and you get a TON more!  My wonderful mother picked me up some the other day.  When she gave it to me she asked what I ate it on (waffles, english muffins, crepes, pizza...the possibilities are endless).  I told her the truth: a spoon.

 I am a germaphobe.  And I wash my hands probably between 30-40 times a day.  I LOVE Bath and Body Works foam soap.  It's all ready for you to get rid of all the gross germs.  Just pump, rub, and rinse! (that's what she said)

I had to stop working out for a little, but now I'm back into the swing of things.  My sister-in-law has been doing amazing working out and getting healthy and has motivated me to work harder.  I am LOVING our elliptical.  It's smooth, pushes me, and I don't even have to leave our house to feel like I got a great workout in. 

It's been really nice here lately, so I've also been jogging/walking with Chippo.  Macie and Chip are terrors together on walks, but individually they are great.  Mace needs about a 20 minute walk and Chip needs 45.  So he and I go jogging to get our energy out and then Mace and I can go to cool down.  And he looks SO happy when we run which makes me happy and melts my heart :) 

It took me a while to get into her.  Lets face it, she's weird.  But man, can she sing!  Usually when I workout on the elliptical I listen to Linkin Park because angry music gets me pumped up to work hard.  But her cd is so upbeat and is so fun to workout to.  And it's really fun to drive and listen to it.  I'm officially hooked on Gaga.

I have a hard time having patience with this guy.  He has a lot of energy, constantly wants to play and loves to get into things.  But lately my patience with him has been a lot better.  I'm sure the jogging helps, but he's also turning into a great boy.  And since I'm being more patient, I'm also yelling at him less and loving him a lot more.  Honestly though, how can you not love that face?