Weddings, lots of Driving, Homework, and Work

Wow! The last couple of weeks have been so busy!

 I drove to Medford the last two weekends to visit my family and witness the marriages of two awesome couples. Both weddings were beautiful and wonderful and I'm so happy for John + Kati and Steven + Whitney! It wasn't fun driving for 12 hours two weekends in a row but it was definitely worth it. Andrew had to attend his Saturday classes so he stayed behind in SF but he got to watch football all weekend and eat cookie dough which I think helped the situation :)

While I was in Medford I went wedding dress shopping with Laura, our mom, and Sheldon's mom, Ver Dawn. Laura found her dress!!! It's beautiful on her and I'm so happy for her!

I am now employed! I started at Starbucks last week. Even though it's a really crazy store (underground between the Westfield SF Center and the Powell BART Station in downtown) and there's so many things to learn and memorize, it's going well and I like it. I was only scheduled to work 12 hours this week but I've picked up hours by covering shifts and I'll end the week with almost 40 hours. Woohoo! I work all of the coming week too, until Saturday, which I requested off in order to meet the TRF Youth Group at the Great America theme park. I'm so excited for Saturday! I've been taking the bus to and from work and it provides entertainment and annoyment. I'm thinking of adding "Things heard on the SF Muni" to the blog. Along with updates of our lives you can read entertaining stories of public transportation. For example, this week I overheard this conversation between a European guy and a cute girl:
Guy: (sits down next to girl and in broken English) "You look like movie actress."
Girl: (laughs) "Thank you, which one?"
Guy: "I don't know."
Girl: "Oh... okay..."
I sat nearby laughing to myself thinking, "That was a pickup line fail!"
That might have been funnier in person.
Anyways.

Andrew has been super busy with his classes. He had a final today, a 10 minute presentation in his Air Quality class. He spent all week researching and working on the presentation. His teacher and teacher's aid both told him that his presentation was great and his slide's were perfect! He also has a group presentation coming up next Saturday so he'll be busy this week working on that.

Go Ducks! (we're at campus watching the game)

Karen Visits SF!

Andrew had class on Saturday so Karen and I amused ourselves by walking around the Marina neighborhood window shopping.  

We started at the waterfront with a view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge

The Rolex races were taking place! 

We had lunch in a restaurant on Chestnut St called The Grove, and walked through the Palace of Fine Arts on the way to meet Andrew at the Presidio.

 We had bread bowls at Boudin Bakery for dinner and went to Lombard Street.

Sunday Morning we had brunch then walked to the cable cars. We rode the car to the end of the rail at Market St so that Karen could get a glimpse of Chinatown and see the Financial District.

 

Karen enjoying a cable car ride. She waived at the other car going in the opposite direction, I think she was exited :)

Karen and I on a cable car on the return trip.

There were so many great views of the city! The Oakland-Bay Bridge is just visible in the center of the skyscrapers.

After the cable car we walked down to Alamo Square to see the painted ladies.

Great view of the city in the background! 

We then walked through Haight-Ashbury and through the Pan Handle on our way home.

We ended our day by driving to the beach after dinner to watch the sunset. We had walked everywhere and the beach is a little to far to walk to (more importantly, we were tired). Andrew counted the blocks on the map and we walked over 82 blocks on Saturday, over six hilly miles.

Grandma Lois! Recognize this house? We took a little detour on the way home from the beach to see 4141 Anza St. :)

Before Karen left for home on Monday morning we took a little walk to show her USF and to get coffee at the local Starbucks. This is St. Ignatius Church that is on USF's campus. 

We had a great weekend with Karen visiting and exploring the city! It was so nice to see a familiar face and spend time with family :)

Study Time!

On Friday nights Andrew realizes that he's spent the entire week putting off his homework that is due for Saturday's class. He then doesn't want any distractions so he can focus for the next four hours on completing the reading/problems. I try to be respectful of his need for quiet and I keep to myself.
This Friday I received a phone call from my good friend Nick a little while after Andrew started his study/CramBecauseIProcrastinated session and while I tried to be quiet (I even closed the door to the kitchen) this is how I found him when I got off the phone.

SF Aquarium (and a nightstand!)

 On Saturday we had the pleasure of seeing the Carpenters and going to Pier 39 and the San Francisco Aquarium with them.

 

Photo Credit: Tamara

Kaden had fun, I promise :) He had so much energy; he loved chasing the birds on the pier.

 

Photo Credit: Tamara

We had a great time hanging out with the cousins!

So many huge fish! And of course the trip to the Pier wasn't complete without a clam chowder bread-bowl for dinner!

Annnd we have a nightstand now!!! Tamara, my very talented cousin, refurbishes furniture and I scored this piece from her! I absolutely love it! It's super cute and perfect. Up until Saturday evening I had been using a cardboard box as a nightstand and it was beginning to break.We still need dressers but we're one step closer to a furnished bedroom!