CA Part 3: San Francisco

We stopped by Pier 39 to visit the sea lions:

And took a short cruise in the bay on a catamaran (It was REALLY cold, we were worried about Benjamin!):

You'd think I'd be the one to feed the seagulls, but go figure it was Jonathan who fed this one! And he hung around after that! ;-)

Lombard Street:

Postcard Row (I'm actually proud of this picture, I think it turned out well! And I didn't even have to Photoshop any people out!):

We went to the Aquarium at Golden Gate Park, where Benjamin actually seemed to enjoy watching the penguins:

We saw a really BIG fish:

And some smaller fish!:

As well as an ALBINO crocodile! (Apparently they don't do too well in the wild...) :

View in front of the Bay Bridge:

View from inside Coit Tower:

Alcatraz Island:

USS Pampanito from WWII:

Lizzy, we thought of you when we saw these luxurious accommodations! (Note there is a third row of bottom bunks as well, making beds for 36 in this room) :

This was the best picture we got of the Golden Gate Bridge, it was foggy the whole time we were there:

The Fabulous Summer of 2009!!

Well, here we go! It's been about two months since I've posted, so I thought I'd finally update anyone who's interested on what we've been up to this summer! It's been pretty busy, but lots of fun also! We did just return from an 11 day trip to California, but it just so happens that we took somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 pictures... so until I manage to sort through them all, this will have to suffice!

Hope you are all doing well, and in the meantime I just though I'd share this picture because I think it's just about the cutest ever! Little boys definitely need their daddies. :-)

Swimming, Swimming, Swimming...

"Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do?"

"No I don't wanna know."

"Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim."

"Dory, no singing."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ho. I love to swim. When you want to swim you want to swim."

"Now I'm stuck with that song... Now it's in my head."

"Sorry."

Yeah... so the shorts are a little big...

Benjamin wasn't quite loving the bigger pool... but Noah liked it!

The Park!

Benjamin's very first time on a swing. ;-) He liked it after a few minutes!

THE FRAY!!

It was pretty much awesome. And yes, for those of you with sharp eyes, he is in fact, standing on his piano.

Welcoming Home Elder David Schreiner from the Germany Berlin Mission!!

Um... yeah... so maybe he's been home for over a month... did I mention it's been a busy summer?!

Benjamin LOVED the balloons we had! I mean, he was excited to meet David too, but he LOVED the balloons!! ;-)

I sometimes think...

...that Benjamin is cutest in the bathtub, because you can see all of him!!

He's learning how to splash... and getting VERY good at it! (It takes some concentration though!

A Lizzy-Filled 4th of July Weekend

We were so excited to have Jonathan's sister Lizzy visit from Washington DC for the 4th of July Weekend!! Benjamin was able to meet his auntie Lizzy for the first time!

Look!! I can sit!! All by myself!!

Kind of... oops!

4th of July Family Photo:

Face painting... ;-)

We were able to get Amy to come watch fireworks with us!

Ok, I stole this idea from Michael and Lauren, and thought it was brilliant, I love fireworks, but was so worried about Benjamin's ears! As it was, he seemed to enjoy watching the bright fireworks for the first time!

We'll miss you Lizzy!!!

Elder Kenny Schreiner!!

At this time I am wishing the best of luck to my brother Kenny, who will be leaving on his mission to Birmingham, England tomorrow morning! We are so excited for the amazing opportunities ahead of you, you will be a great missionary! We love you!!

My "little" brother and I:

Three of my four brothers:

(David is still in Germany on his mission. He and Kenny miss each other by about 6 weeks. Bummer, huh?)

In all of these pictures my brothers are on tip toes trying to be the tallest, Michael was just smart enough to wear white shoes so that it was easier to tell. ;-) He he he...

The family:

And this is what they usually look like: