The Atkinsons

A Quick Weekend in San Francisco.

Kc's parents were going out to California for the baby blessing of Kc's little brother Greg and his wife Heidi and asked if we wanted to join them. I was a little hesitant as the flight times were not ideal, but I said yes anyways and we flew out on a Friday night and came home VERY late on Sunday evening (morning.) I wasn't really sure what any of the plans were with the family so I didn't really make any plans of our own, which made things a little crazy and disjointed, but I am happy we went because it's always fun to go on adventures and for the cousins to get to spend time with one another (even at the cost of sleep deprivation.) 

When we arrived at the airport in Oakland California we had to get our car rental and drive 20 or 30 minutes to Angie's house. It was already pretty late and Kc had to turn right back around and get his brother at the same airport, poor guy. He would have gotten back to his sister's house so late that he decided to just stay at his brother's house instead. I hadn't known that this was the plan so I was a little thrown off because that meant we had to spend the whole next morning doing things without him, which Is hadn't anticipated, but we had lots of fun with just us girls. We went to a local cafe and got some yummy baked goods and ate them while the kids played with sidewalk chalk outside the shop. Then we walked down to the beach. I admit I was not prepared with beach attire as I had not anticipated good weather or sandy beaches. You'd think I would know better. Anyways I walked around the beach in my boots and the kids played in the sand and collected all sorts of things. Elijah ran down to the water. He also picked up dog poop which was the grossest thing ever and most likely why we have all been sick for the past week with some weird bug. When you have kids there is never a dull moment. The girls wanted to bring all their treasures back with them so we let them do a small haul in a grocery sack. This turned out to be a bad plan as all three girls decided they each had to have a hand on the bag as they walked up the street and it took them forever to make it just one block, but they were all giggling and smiling the whole way, so I guess it really was worth it after all. 

After our fun little morning together Kc finally joined us. I ordered and picked up some dim sum because you know when in Rome (or San Francisco.) Then Elijah and I took a much needed nap after which we headed out to watch June play soccer out by the water. I wish we could have spent more time adventuring but Kc had to head back to the airport again to get his parents and so we decided we only had time left to get ice cream. I had found out they had a Salt and Straw in San Francisco and so I was determined to visit there as my last trip there while in Oregon had been mind blowing. The line was long and the kids were tired and over anxious and for a bit I wondered if it was all worth it, but when I finally got that ice cream I remembered that it most certainly was worth it. I got the honey lavender and even as I write this I am trying to reimagine the flavor in my mouth (especially since I am not eating sugar right now, ugh.) Then we headed back to Angie's house to get our stuff and head over to spend the night at a hotel in Palo Alto near where Kc's brother lived. 

The next morning we headed to church with family and participated in the baby blessing of Emiko Atkinson. It was lovely to be there with family. We spent a very low key day together just enjoying each other's company. After everyone had left we headed to our flight. There had only been a couple flights times and somehow we had ended up with one that was supposed to leave around 940 pm, already past their bedtimes, but then it got delayed by over an hour and I was getting quite antsy as I had to work at 4 am the next morning. The kids slept through the flight and on the way home and although I only got 30 minutes of sleep before I had to go into work I was able to come home early and sleep for a bit since the kids slept in until 10 or 11. So it all worked out in the end. Despite the difficulty it can be to travel so much I keep feeling eternally grateful for the opportunities we have been given to do so with our family.