On the way back...

We had a lovely time in Seattle and started our trip on the way back to California. We decided to travel 3 days back and enjoy the sights of the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Here are some of the pics from that trip!

On the Washington Coast we saw some great reflections on the side of the road and pulled over.


And the Cascades were out and beautiful as ever!


On the Oregon Coast we stopped at Cannon Beach and my hubby and four legged child had fun on the beach.


As the first day on the road came to a close we saw breathtaking views of the ocean.



Day 2 we spent most of the time in Oregon. We woke up to fog and sea lions. If you look closely in the picture below you'll see little dots that are the heads of sea lions.

There were lighthouses at every turn.

And bridges that looked like a movie set.


In Newport, Oregon we stopped at Rouge Brewery.


There was an overlook along the road where tons of sea lions gathered to sun themselves.

And the sunset did not disappoint and Day 2 either!

Day 3 did not let us down with the sights either. The Redwoods were tall (so tall I couldn't get an entire one in the frame of my camera) and peaceful to walk through!



And of course we had to drive through the famous tree!


All in all it was a great trip and we are happy to be back home and spent such a lovely time in the Pacific Northwest!

An interesting second half of the trip

We woke up in Eugene, Oregon to a beautiful day and very optimistic about the second half of our trip up to Seattle. First we had to get gas. To find the nearest gas station, we used Jill, my portable navigation system. Now anyone who knows me, knows that Jill and I have a love hate relationship. She gets me places...which I like, but she also sometimes sends me on a wild goose chase. Anyway, we set out to find a gas station.

Jill was so nice to give us a tour of the University of Oregon campus. It was very pretty and not the direct route we could have taken to the gas station, but I digress. As we are headed down one of the streets, I notice the EAE house and the DG house and then....the holy grail....the Kappa Delta house!!!! I was so excited to see my sorority house on the U of O campus. And I have to say it is the prettiest house there! It's so amazing that I had to get out and take a picture of it!


After taking this wonderful detour...thanks Jill...we found the gas station and got on our way to Seattle. It was so clear and sunny that we could see Mount Hood.


I was hoping this was a good sign and that when we got to Washington I would actually be able to see Mount Rainier. Mt. Rainier doesn't like me. I have seen it only twice in the 8 years I have been coming up here. But I am determined to get a good picture of it someday!

Before we headed to Seattle we made a stop in Portland. Why stop in Portland? Because of Voodoo Doughnut. We first heard about Voodoo Doughnut on the Food Network several months back. And we decided to make sure we saw it on the way up to Seattle this year. And man was it worth the stop!!!


The inside is small but amazing!


And Robert was so excited to be there because he had looked forward to this stop for about 6 months!

So now we are here....what donuts are we going to select. And wow! What a selection!


With so many choices what did we end up getting? Only six. The classic glazed doughnut which was the best one I had ever had in my life! I got two of them!


The Grape Ape. Sounds weird but soooooo good! It tastes like candy for childhood.


The Mango Tango which has icing that is mango and then mango filling. Very, very sweet.

The Cinnamon, a chocolate cake doughnut with cinnamon spice. Wow what a kick!


And then the grand-daddy of them all! The Bacon Maple Bar. Topped with two strips of crispy bacon and a maple glazed frosting. It was so heavy and filling that I don't think we will eat for a week...or at least until Thanksgiving.

After our delicious stop in Portland, we headed to Seattle. Along the way we saw this beautiful church.


And a huge military plane.


Logan wasn't impressed and even though we told him we would be there soon, didn't seem to believe us.


We finally arrived in Seattle and of course no Mt. Rainier for me to take a picture of...or even look at. Why you ask....becuase it wasn't there. As usual it was hiding in the clouds. And I am starting to believe that the mountain doesn't really exist. ;-) But I will keep my eye out while I'm up here and with a little luck....and no rain....maybe I'll get to see it!

Oh the sights

Roadtrips are fun especially if you can combine business with a little pleasure while you are on them. For this trip, I'm headed up to Washington with my hubby and dog. We love driving up to this area of the country because it's so pretty and the landscape is much different from the Bay Area.

Here are the token photos of the start of our trip.


Shortly into the trip we saw this that made us honk our horns...especially after winning over Standford last night.


And the biggest stack of hay ever....

Wondering if we are there yet....nope no where close yet!


I was wondering if we were there yet too and entertained myself...

The funniest billboard so far on the trip.

I'm so glad to be driving through the snow not living in it...even though it is soooooo pretty!


And one of the great things about road trips is lunch at Arby's! I wish we had some closer to where we lived. They are so yummy!

And this one even had a street named for it!


The changing colors and mountains are just breathtaking too!


And then of course...there are some strange things to see also.


It is so awesome to see new places and fun to be able to share it with Robert and Logan. I'll keep you updated on our adventures and hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as we do.

Julian and Kari's Wedding

Julian and Kari couldn't have picked a more beautiful day to get married! For anyone who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, you know that blue skies with hardly any clouds and no fog is truly a special day in the city. And this day was made even more so by the of Julian and Kari wedding at San Francisco City Hall.

For anyone who hasn't been to City Hall, I highly recommend that you go. The building is absolutely beautiful and the inside is breathtaking!



Their family members waited for their scheduled time to get married in the Rotunda. And the excitement of the bride and groom was apparent to everyone around them. The bride carried a bouquet of roses.


And the groom was happy and relaxed while they waited to meet with the judge.


The ceremony took place at the top of the steps in the Rotunda with an amazing backdrop of history, art, and architecture.



After the ceremony, we took full advantage of the intricate architecture and got some amazing photos!


We then headed out to enjoy the warm weather and clear skies by taking pictures around the city...starting with outside City Hall.

Then heading to Coit Tower.


And then to the Arrow on The Embarcadero with the backdrop of the Bay Bridge.

All in all it was a perfect day to get married with the perfect weather in the city of San Francisco!


And all the best to Julian and Kari!

Thank You

Thank you to all the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces! Without you fighting to protect our freedoms this country would not be as great as it is!

With all our thoughts and prayers, we wish you a speedy trip home to all that are abroad and many thanks to those that are still here at home!

The best things come in small packages

At the Family Portrait session with Julie's family, I was greeted by a shy little guy as he walked into the studio. But thanks to his helpful family (and a stuffed animal) he soon warmed up to me and was making me laugh most of the session!

Here are some photos from this really fun photo session.





Thanks to all of you for making this Family Portrait session a ton of fun!

Carolyn and Donald's Wedding

The wedding of Carolyn and Donald was absolutely beautiful and had the wonderful backdrop of the San Ramon Golf Club. The bride looked amazing and the unique style of the bridesmaids complimented their personalities perfectly.

The bride got ready with the help of her Mother and bridesmaids.


There were so many touching moments throughout this wedding that I had to fight back to tears to keep taking pictures. But as many tender moments as there was....there were fun moments too. One perfect example of this was the groomsmen decorating the newlywed's car.



They did a very good job with the decoration! I just hope that the washable marker came off as easily as it went on.

When the ceremony started everyone was enjoying the beautiful setting, great weather, and watching the beautiful bride come down the isle. This is the first time Donald saw Carolyn and his expression says it all.


The Father of the Bride escorted her down the isle and the officiant had a moment of prayer.


The ceremony went off without a hitch and you could just see the love between the happy couple.



After the wedding ceremony, the couple looked like they had stepped out of the pages of a magazine for their group photos.




During the reception, the toasts brought touching moments as well as laughter.



And of course the first dance and cutting of the cake put the perfect touch on an already elegant wedding.



Thank you Carolyn and Donald for letting us share you special day with you! We wish you much happiness!