Jenna's San Francisco Vacation!

3 1/2 days baby-free! I met my friends Kari and Kate at Danae's house in San Francisco (walking distance to Golden Gate park, Barker Beach, and the bridge)! We had a great time romping with the family's dog, lazing around, going to coffee shops, going out on the town and watching movies. It was so great living life at a slower and more self-centered :) pace for a few days. I also had the opportunity to catch up with some old friends (Peter and Andrea) at an amazing tea house for lunch but unfortunately don't have pictures of that (rainy day). Laith and Lucas had their own fun together while I was gone with lots of special outings and eating out at restaurants. Daddy-Son photos are at the bottom of the page... lots to see here, sorry if it loads slowly! :)

Bend, Oregon!

Well, it's been a month since our family visit to Bend to see friends and shoot a wedding but I've been behind on photo editing and wanted to catch up there before posting here. We had a magnificent time with beautiful weather (jackets and long pants in the morning!), deeeelicious food, farmers markets, playing with Otter the doggie (Lucas loved her), and of course wonderful hosts. We stayed with my friend Kari from grad school and her partner Kate in their cute little bungalow on the side of town where all the cool kids live. :) We rode cruisers (I wish we had done that more.... next time!), went hiking, relaxed, and took lots of naps.






The wedding was beautiful. Susan and Rich kept their celebration very simple, personalized and low-stress. When their pre-ceremony cocktail hour location was blockaded, Susan nonchalantly said, "oh well, I guess we can just hang out somewhere else then!" Another cool thing was that they decided they weren't going to adhere to many traditional american wedding customs. Susan wanted to wear something more "her" than a big white gown so she picked a cute little green dress that was very flattering and fun and she can wear again! And after the ceremony was over, Rich surprised Susan with a private serenade on the other side of the pond away from the guests. He had been practicing a song on the guitar just for her and it was another sweet moment (that I snuck up on and photographed) that made their wedding so special. Congratulations, Rich and Susan- the rest of your photos are coming soon!

Kate and Kari's Visit!

My friend from grad school, Kari, and my new friend, Kate, came to visit this past week from Oregon. It was so great to see Kari again and finally meet her girlfriend Kate. To celebrate the arrival of these two northern girls, Austin decided to have a short stretch of really hot weather. It was in the 80's and got up to 90 one day too. Crazy- now it's back down to the high 60's. Anyway, we had a great time playing outside, had a BBQ, and they got to go see some musical acts in town for the SXSW festival. Lucas enjoyed them both- especially their funny noises and faces. It was a little tough for me because visits with Kari usually mean lots of boisterous fun and laid-back socializing packed into one day. Having a baby puts a bit of a damper on that because Lucas naps 3 times a day and eats 6 times a day and is only awake for 2 hours at a time. It's hard to schedule around that and also hard to fully relax when my mom-radar is always on. Laith was great though and watched Lucas on 2 different occasions so that we could enjoy a brunch at Whole Foods/walk on Town Lake with our friends Cheasty and Danae
and a 3 mile hike at McKinney Falls.
We're looking forward to visiting Kari and Kate in Bend this September when Lucas is napping one less nap a day, eating solids, and more able to participate in our fun!