Real Life and Vacations

Holy Cow. Life is so amazingly fun it's unreal! I am so happy, sometimes it hurts. Chase looked at me a couple months go and said, "I am the happiest I can ever remember being in my whole life right now." What better words could I hope to hear from my husband? There are so many things that can change life dramatically, with or without warning or permission, that I just pray this overwhelming happiness lasts as long as we can handle it. I just can't get enough.

Of course, having endless fun does not mean we aren't working really hard to keep moving forward. I started a new job six weeks ago and I am loving it! I have quite a bit more responsibility than I did at my last job, more freedom, and I think I am adding real value to the company. I work for Tom Stuart Construction, technically. I spend the vast majority of my time working on the accounting for several partnerships and properties that are not part of the construction side. I really like what I am doing now, and I really like the direction that the position is heading.

In the last several weeks, Chase and I have been able to go on a few little vacations. For Memorial Day weekend we went to Jackson Hole with family. We drove up Friday night and stayed with my mom and siblings. We went on a killer ride bike ride the next morning along the Tetons. I love that Chase and I have a sport we love to do together (I also love that we have sports we don't do together-- golf, running--I think it is perfect). That afternoon we met Chase's family, did a little shopping, and went to a darling Italian place out side of town for dinner. We picked up Phase 10 and a frisbee on the way back to the hotel and made good use of both the whole trip. Then next day we did a long drive through Yellowstone. I had seen Old Faithful before, but I didn't remember it very well. I had never seen the hot pots, so that was new and really interesting to see. That part of the world is really beautiful. We saw all kinds of wildlife... including some serious people watching. I think my favorite part of the trip was when Chase asked me if it would be ok if we rented an SUV that we could all fit in for the Sunday drive. His parents had planned this trip and wanted us all to be together so having two separate cars would not be ideal for having the whole family together deal. He arranged for the car and everything. He's a sweet heart. The next day Hudson joined us while Lauren and Sean did a mountain bike ride! We went to breakfast and played at the park. He seriously has me wrapped around his fat little fingers. I didn't know being an aunt would be so emotional, and it keeps getting better! Anyway, we then went to Jenny Lake, rode the ferry across and did a lovely little hike to a waterfall. After dinner at Bubba's (yuuum), we drove home through the gorgeous terrain, back to real life.

So, let's talk about that concept really quick--real life. My perception of "real life" when people referred to it as I was growing up always had a negative connotation. But seriously, every day that goes by my real world becomes better and better. And I think that's the idea, right? Why would we live in such a way that we were moving towards a worse and worse reality? Strange concept. I think real life means getting older, one day at a time, getting more responsibility as well as opportunity, and having the chance to make it whatever you want. Real life is awesome.

Anyway, the very next weekend we took off to San Francisco! Lauren had planned the trip for Sean's birthday and invited his siblings and us (I can't wait until Ave and Zach can come with us on trips like that.... MY POINT MADE--Real world = real job = vacations). We flew out early Friday and got to our hotel in the middle of the city before lunch. Speaking of food, wow. San Fran for the win. We started off with Sushi, of course. We then walked to the Fisherman's Warf. There was so much to see! Street performers (some better than others), the ocean, the Golden Gate Bridge, the bay, etc. We picked up some fish and chips to share (sharing is key, so that we never had to pass up the next opportunity for food) that were AMAZING. We walked around taking fun pictures and taking our sweet time. We walked up to Lombard street because that is a must, through China town and little Italy. That night we went to a yummy sports bar and grill to watch a Stanley cup final game. We are Chicago Blackhawks fans (the kind that watch the game and don't even remember who won). Later, and ever night on the trip, we went to bed early and exhausted. For breakfast the next morning, I ruined my ability to eat a normal donut and enjoy it via the Cronut--the love child of a croissant and a donut. Stop reading now, and go find one, preferably at the Posh Bagel in San Fran. It will be worth it. Then we rented bikes and went all over! We meandered through the city to the farmers market, stopped at Pier 39 for fresh crab cakes, road through fisherman's ward again, stopped at the swag center for a big triathlon in the bay, and headed straight for the bridge with plenty of photo opps along the way. Did I mention we all looked special in our rented helmets? Because we looked so so special. The view from the Golden Gate was spectacular. There was a little fog, but not enough to obstruct the view. We continued on to Sausalito for lunch--fish tacos! Where we saw a very patient man stacking rocks. Big rocks on little rocks. It was really cool, despite how it sounds. Then we road back across the bay on the ferry, passing Alcatraz, and saving our legs. That night we went to another yummy sports bar because when the NBA finals are on, that's what you do. That night we RAN through the streets to the Ghiradelli shop for sundays before we realized the stupid Apple maps are unreliable and the shop we were trying to get to was half a mile away and closed in two minutes. Needless to say, we were mortified. Then, Sunday. I woke up at 2:30 am throwing up and really wanting to take back whatever it was that I ate that made me sick (I literally ate roasted brussel sprouts for dinner!). On Sunday we walked to the warf to get breakfast (toast and sprite for the sicky) and Ghirardelli sundays (see what we did there?) but I did not partake given the straight of my insides. At this point I was the walking dead and we all headed back towards the hotel via the cable cars! The driver was hilarious, asking Mallory, "Where's your boyfriend? What happened?" He then assigned her to be apart of me and Chase, welcome to the family! Upon arrival at the hotel, I laid down for a three hour nap and everyone else went shopping. When I woke up I felt amazing and hungry. We went to dinner (you guessed it, sports bar) and then headed to the most darling dessert shop--very chic and contemporary, serving drinks and desserts. Apple crumble HELLO. Monday we rented bikes again. We anxiously went miles out of our way to get to Fillmore's, reportedly the best Cronut shop in San Fran, only to learn they are closed Mondays. We were all silent while we ate our baked goods from a cute bakery around the corner which, on any other day would have been delicious and exciting. We finally made it to the Palace of Fine Arts. This was a must on my list of to-dos. It is HUGE. And gorgeous. I learned that it, and many other elaborate structures, were built for the worlds fair years ago, but they were all built out of chicken wire and paper mache. Thus, the all deteriorated and are no longer around. But the palace was saved and rebuilt out of concrete. Really a gorgeous place right on the water. Then we road to Golden Gate park. The weirdest weather phenomenon happen--the second we got the the park the air dropped 20-25 degrees. It went from pleasant to frigid very quickly, and as soon as we left the park it was warm again. Weird. Then we went to Ashbury street for the best burger I have had in a long time. And the kid at the counter was hilarious. "How is the portable burger?" "Well, it kind of looks like a foot. The foot off that Adman Sandler movie? Black and wrinkly." "I will have the Avacado burger then!" He told us that he pays $850 a month to live on someones couch. He doesn't have his own room, he has a couch to sleep on and a bathroom to share. Talk about high price of living. On our ride back we stopped for calamari. If I am honest, it was not the best I had ever had. Then we turned our bikes in, took one last run around the shopping district, and headed for the train. The train to the airport is a fabulous feature I might add, very convenient. It was so good to spend quality time with friends. No agenda, just taking it slow and getting to know a gorgeous, vibrant city. We had an absolute blast.