out and about: hayes valley

Sunday ended up being family day in a very different way.  I lost my uncle early Sunday morning.  So needless to day we didn't do Sunday morning cuddles or our normal family outing.  We pretty much just laid around with family trying to keep it together.  So instead today the husband met Miss A and I for lunch in Hayes Valley.  They have a great little park called Patricia's Green, where we met to have sandwiches and sit in the sunshine.  There is an  installation by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito in the park right now.  We actually sat on the bench in the foreground of the photo below.  The park has different installations at this spot all the time.  You can see the others at Hayes Valley Art Coalition website. 

Anyhow, it was a nice day to get out of the house and try to think about something else besides my uncle.  
Have you and your family been out and about somewhere interesting lately?


photo: Michael Strickland

out and about: the tulip garden

We decided that Sunday would be family day for us.   We start with some Sunday morning cuddles in bed, walk down to the coffee shop for our morning cup of joe, and then, after a nap of course, we take off to do something fun as a family.

A couple of Sundays ago we went to the Tulip Garden in Golden Gate Park.  The tulips are starting to bloom, though not all were open just yet, and the sun was out!  We took tons of pictures ( I will spare you the hundreds that were taken and just put up one or two) and explored the windmill that stands tall in the garden.

The beach is super close by, so we wandered over and stared at the big blue sky and waves.  Miss A started to get tired so we headed back to the car.  On our way she fell asleep so we ducked into a great little outdoor restaurant, sat on the grass in the sun, had a beer (such a luxury!) and enjoyed watching all the people.  When she woke up we ran into a friend and Avery visited with everyone, leaving her slobbery mark on all, before we headed home.

It was such a great way to spend a Sunday!  Hooray for family day!!

out and about: date night

Husband and I had our first date night last night.  We left Miss A in the hands of 3 very capable adults and 1 very excited 3 year old.  I was really worried all day long about leaving her.  The only person we have left her with before is my mom.  Other than that either Husband or I have stayed behind to be with her.  In the end it wasn't as hard to leave as I thought it was going to be.  Although, it did feel like we were missing something the entire dinner.  We only stayed out for about 2 hours.  We went to our favorite neighborhood sushi restaurant, Kabuto, and ate and drank until we couldn't eat and drink anymore.  Then we hit up our local coffee shop for a cappuccino and dessert.  It was nice.  Husband being extremely sweet mentioned that he would rather have date night on Saturday because being at work all day Friday and then leaving her again an hour or so later was too hard....awww!

Talking to a girlfriend the other night, she mentioned that going to a more causal place for beers and a bite was better than getting all fancied up because there were less expectations that the date night would be SO special.  Plus she added that her and her husband just wanted to do the normal things they used to do before their little one was born, and going to big fancy dinners a few times a month wasn't one of them.  She saves that for special occasions.

This was our first date night.  We do not have another one scheduled yet.  How often do people go on date nights?  Would you rather go to a neighborhood place and be casual or get all decked out and have a fancy dinner?