San Francisco (Feb '08)

This time it was Mommy & Daddy's turn to get to do something fun. Ash and the Red Mountain Crew had an event in San Fransisco; so, we made it a small parents' get- away weekend. Most of our time wasn't actually spent in San Fransisco. We were in a cabin retreat north of San Fran - up around wine country and surrounded by baby redwoods. They were beautiful. And we weren't far from the boardwalks of Santa Cruz. Unfortunately - as you can tell from the pictures - it rained most of the time that we were there.
But we allowed an extra day to enjoy San Fransisco before we flew out, and it was a very pleasant day. While we weren't able to do all the touristy things you would hope, we got to grab dinner with some friends we never get to see because they're obviously across the country - Jonathan and Jenn Nolen - while in town (and just before they got married too!).

Then, we made sure to at least get by the Golden Gate Bridge and go down to The Firsherman's Wharf & Pier 39 to see "The Rock" from a distance and have a little time to enjoy the seals sun-bathing. Very cool city, of course; and we were glad to get a little time away.

Well, here we go

For a little while now I've been mentioning to Ash that we need to start a blog - not necessarily for a daily outpouring of personal diary, but for logging special family occassions, pictures and memories. I figure it will be a great way to keep up with family trips, birthdays, holidays, pictures, fun things the kids do or say, etc. So, the journey begins...Thought I'd start with a quick recap of 2008, especially from an Audrey perspective (before the memories get harder to recall). I won't do one big continuous blog for the entire year, but I'll go ahead and put the first memory on this blog.

SNOW in Birmingham?
I know anyone from the north will laugh at our sad dusting of snow on the ground in these pictures, but we DO live in Alabama; so, snow of any kind is always a special treat, and it's one of the first memories of 2008 for me. In January, at the ripe old age of 1 year and almost 4 months, AJ got to go out and play in the cold stuff.
And she had a blast (as did Daddy, Mommy and Sandy I might add). It was barely cold enough for snow to stick to the ground but it lasted a few hours early in the morning at least. So, we put AJ in long sleeves, her cute pink coat, tobogan and some mittens that were actually meant to go with a hat that looks like a bear's head - which was adorable, but not too effective for the cold. Our time out included, of course, much time trying to catch the falling flakes or pick them up off of the ground and hand them to Mommy or Daddy; special moments with Sandy (our dog) who was also joining in the fun; photo opps - as, I'm sure, you can tell already; and a "flying" session, which was one of the cute things that Audrey did early in the year - she loved to put her "wings" up and fly through the house. In short, it was a great morning. No telling when we'll get to see snow in B'ham again, but we're hopeful for the beginning of 2009!