I left my heart in San Francisco

Scott and I took a trip to San Francisco over October break to celebrate his 40th birthday. We did all of the touristy things and wore ourselves out! Our highlights include visiting Alcatraz and enjoying a fascinating audio tour. On our 2nd day we went to Giants stadium and enjoyed a behind the scenes tour. We also went to see the classic musical South Pacific. Our last day we rented a tandem bike and rode to and across the Golden Gate Bridge. What an exhilarating and sometimes frightening trip that was! We ended our trip with lunch at the Boudin Cafe where the most delicious sourdough bread is baked and squeezed in a very quick visit to Ghiradelli Square for some chocolate~!

Our friends Agustin and Christina flew in from Long Beach on our second day and added to our fun. We have some hilarious memories to recall and are starting to plan for the next 40th bday celebration. (That would be MINE!!)

Day 1 ~ We were on Alcatraz island on a relatively rare clear day.

Day 2 ~ We were at the Giants Stadium and enjoyed going in the dugout and onto the field. We of course all "HATE" the Giants and always cheer for the D'backs or Dodgers over the Giants. We did keep any nasty comments to ourselves and enjoyed being at their stadium.

Day 3 ~ We set out on our tandem bike to reach the Golden Gate Bridge. It was gorgeous and I was extremely happy to have made it. We took a break in the middle of the bridge to snap a picture and catch our breath.

We could have done so much more but ran out of time. I definitely left my heart in San Francisco and can't wait to visit again!

Susan G. Komen

My family and I had the privilege of participating in the Susan G. Komen 5K on Sunday. We had relatives come in from Texas, California and around Phoenix. We participated because my aunt Cindy was diagnosed with breast cancer in December. My sister, cousin and I ran the 5K. (It was my first 5K and it felt great!) Brandon and my nephew Kyle also ran the 5K but ran a lot faster than we did. My mom, 3 aunts, cousin, niece and nephew walked the 5K. Those of us who ran circled back around so we could cross the finish line with the walkers and were linked hand in hand as we all crossed together in celebration of Cindy. It was a huge event and very special to be a part of. Everywhere you looked you saw people who were running in memory of their mom, sister, aunt, friend, etc. It was a day of kleenex and fun.



After such a huge undertaking, we were treated to a delicious homemade breakfast prepared by the husbands and Tyler who of course couldn't run because of his cast and my nephew Cameron who stayed home to support his cousin Tyler. Next year we plan to participate again and hope to have even more of us participate.

*You will notice we are wearing PINK cowboy hats! Cindy and most of us are from Texas so it was fun to celebrate our roots as well as the power of PINK!


My aunt Cindy and her daughter, Jennifer.



I was so proud of Brandon for wanting to run and support this great cause! It was special to do this together.

Jamie and I with my Aunt Cindy.