Green Acres...

is the place for me! Farm living is....Ok, so, we went to California last week and got back Tuesday morning. We visited Sacramento for 2 days to attend a wedding at the Sacramento temple and then headed off to San Francisco. Charles had planned a fun vacation for us all by himself. San Fran was like nothing I have ever seen before. We rode a ferry from Vallejo to the city and I was amazed at the hustle and bustle once we exited the boat. It was so crowded and was like being in another country altogether. We've traveled around and it was like no other city we have visited. It was fun but I am glad to be back in little North Ogden. We did get to see quite a bit. When we exited the ferry we went the wrong direction and walked right through the city. It was neat to see everyday San Francisco life. We went through parts of the city that weren't tourist spots and saw tons of homeless people, lots of weirdos, plenty of gays and Asians galore. My oh my! I could go on and on about all the crap we did and the fabulous things we saw but I'll spare the details. But I do think I came back 10 pounds heavier from all the delicious food we ate! We did have a GREAT time though. Some of the highlights, just in case you care, were going to the Point Reyes lighthouse. You had to walk down 3o2 steps plus 2 long slopes to reach the lighthouse. Only problem..... you had to walk back up those same steps to get back to your car! There was even a warning sign at the top of the steps telling you it was equivalent to walking up a 30 story building. Good gravy...that was a work out. But I made it and that's all that counts.

Doesn't look too bad from the top.... (this was taken about halfway down)

The view looking up from the bottom. You can barely see the last staircase in the center of the picture above the rocks.

The Pacific coast by Point Reyes

We also walked down Lombard Street and back up and I swear that had to be a 30% percent grade. My calves still hurt but it was worth it to see the world's most crooked street!! FUN! Last but not least we had to travel 5 hours out of the way on the way back home to avoid the winter storm that dumped 10-30 inches of snow in Lake Tahoe with zero visibility. On the upside, we were able to see Oakland, Bakersfield and no man's land in California. We also got to drive through Las Vegas and see all the naked women on the billboards. NOW...that was fun! Drove through the night and ended up at home around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. That's a lot of the details I was gonna spare!

On the cable car!

Seeing that city and being in the middle of all that chaos made me so grateful for my simple life. I like being 5 minutes from Wal*Mart and having my kids walk to school. It's ok that I don't have a Juicy Couture down the road and my kids don't look like a Gap advertisement. I'm thankful I get to park in my garage and don't have to walk up 5 flights of stairs to get inside my home. I also don't have to struggle to get my groceries in the door. Life is good for me! Here in North Ogden we all drive normal cars, I have yet to see a Porsche or an Aston Martin but I sure do love this town.

Anyway, I'm home now and it feels so good. Even with all the decorations I have cluttering up my house! It's the most wonderful time of the year! Especially when the kids get out next week for 12 days....can't wait for that. I seriously do love the holidays and will be glad to not have to get up early for a few days!

It's so dadgum cold here!