Halloween!

Sunday a few of us Davises got together in Provo to carve pumpkins. Even Tennie was there! It was beautiful, warm Fall weather.

Some have some serious pumpkin skills.

Tennie, Ceci and Kate built some fairy houses while there. They have some serious fairy house-building skills! I mean, look at these details! This one is Ceci's.

And this one is Tennie's. (I think Kate was an assistant who searched for materials. I'd say she is really good too!)

And then we gathered for a pumpkin line-up.

Today is Halloween and both Adele and Ceci have plans with friends tonight. I captured a quick shot of Adele before she left the house. She makes an adorable bear!

Ceci was dressing up as a forest elf at school. Her 8th grade class is taking the entire school, a class at a time, through an enchanted forest, and Ceci and her cousin Bailey are the guides. I hope she gets a picture!

Geoff is in Paris, so I'm planning on a quiet night at home. Ceci was so concerned about my lack of plans, but I tried to convince her that my inner homebody is looking forward to it!

Happy Halloween!

Baby Reveal

I had never heard of a Baby Reveal party before, but Geoff's brother Christian and his wife Heather flew into town from California to have one. This is how it works: a designated person finds out the gender of the baby from the doctor (Brittany, in our case); everyone else, including parents, come to the party to find out. During the party, everyone pops a popper full of either blue or pink confetti, and the gender is then known.

Christian did a "touchdown" dive toward the waiting crowd, and when he landed, everyone was to let their poppers go. This is how it looked.

I love Christian and Heather's faces in this picture as they realize they are having a second boy. Both thought for sure it was a girl, so it was a definite surprise. Then there were blue smoke bombs.

Then there was blue chalk, which may have gotten messy.

Man these two are fun people and make a great parenting team. And they make a seriously cute boy.

Hooray for new babies!

New Floors

Remember how our toilet overflowed on Geoff's birthday? This past week we finally had our floors replaced. We basically had to move everything in the bedrooms out to the living area, then the next day move everything in the living area back to the bedrooms. This is the morning they were to arrive (and then they called and postponed a day).

Soon every space was filled with furniture and more random STUFF. After the first half was done, the carpet guys moved everything from one side of the house to the other, which was very nice, but it did make for a less organized arrangement. It was like we moved out and moved back in with no boxes. And while everything was away from walls and off shelves and out of closets, I took the opportunity to clean baseboards and dust hidden places and wipe down walls. And then while putting everything away, it made sense to declutter another layer. So while it was a load of work (all while Geoff was back in San Francisco for a conference), it feels nice to have new floors and a more deeply cleaned house. I must admit, I am utterly exhausted. And grateful.

San Francisco - Part 2

With the YGL conference over, it was just us to play and explore. After our many travels this past year, it felt good to be away from home and its demands again and just be TOGETHER (although we always miss Tennie and feel her absence.)

We ate at lots of yummy restaurants during our visit. That first morning we ate at this diner that claims to be the best in San Francisco. It had a line and everything. Ho hum. I don't love diners, but some people must!

We then made a spontaneous change of plans and decided to rent these go-carts and tour the city. We figured we could see much more than we would on bikes. It was a bit pricey, but all of us are so glad we did it.

There was a little speaker giving facts and telling us where to go, so we weren't looking at a map. That was very nice, and we learned some cool things too.

We started near Fisherman's Wharf and made our way to the bridge, stopping to take pictures along the way. What is it about that bridge that is so beautiful?

We drove right by Crissy Field and on to Fort Point, then we made our way through some fancy neighborhoods, Presidio (which I love), a peek at Land's End, down towards Ocean Beach again, through Golden Gate Park with a stop at Stow Lake for snacks, back through a different part of Presidio and back to the go-cart garage. That was fun! We saw many places we want to go back to and explore some more.

We stopped at the Musée Méchanique, an old-time arcade near Pier 39 with games from by-gone decades (even centuries!) All worked. We spent a chunk of change trying out old shows and games and displays. It was surprisingly fun.

We walked along the water all the way to Coit Tower, only to find it closed just 10 minutes before. Rats. But the sunset and views, even at the base, were beautiful.

Ceci climbed a lot of trees. Who could blame her?

Saturday we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. The sky was blue, the sailboats were out and it felt GOOD.

But first, look at what this bridge is make up of?

Geoff's brother Ian and family, who live in East Bay, picked us up and we headed to Muir Woods. Wow is that place spectacular with its majestic Redwoods and sunbeams!

Liz headed to a commitment with their two oldest, and the rest of us made our windy way to Stinson Beach just in time for sunset.

Ian drove us all the way back to the city after that long day (and he had been camping with his two kids the night before!)

Sunday we went to church only to find out the two wards were meeting at a later time, so we made our way to Alamo Square Park to see the Painted Ladies (the beautiful, Victorian homes all lined up) and the gorgeous views of the city. We loved this park and hung out for a long while.

We made our way back to Coit Tower to see the beautiful views of the city.

And from there to the airport. Thats it folks! Looking forward to going back for more!

San Francisco - Part 1

A week ago Saturday, Geoff and I took off to San Francisco, first for a weekend on our own, then a Young Global Leader (YGL) summit. We aren't so desperate for weekends away like we were when our kids were younger, but life is a different busy and demanding nowadays, so uninterrupted time is still a treat. We shopped around on Market Street, hung out at the chilly Ocean Beach (savoring the sounds and smells of the sea) and ate an amazingly yummy dinner at the Cliff House, with sweeping views of the cliffs and waves and endless blue.

Sunday we went to church and then walked a longer way back to the hotel to pass a few of San Francisco's many beautiful churches. First was First Church of Christ, Scientist.

Then Grace Cathedral, where we heard the rehearsal for the Evensong happening later in the afternoon. Beautiful. And might I add that the weather during our entire stay was perfect! Sunny and warmish. I was pretty much freezing the whole time, but for San Francisco we couldn't have hoped for better.

We stayed in a Marriott near Union Square and this was our welcome each morning.

We had two full days of YGL sessions, often separating from each other due to our own personal interests. Most sessions were around the theme of AI developments and impact. My mind was often blown away with what is happening! There sure are some amazingly smart and innovative people out there!

The best part is meeting so many interesting people from around the world, all doing a little something to create a big impact.

One evening we had a dinner at the gorgeous City Hall.

Ceci and Adele flew in on Wednesday. After picking them up at the airport, we hit Market Street to do some shopping, and we shopped until we nearly dropped. Seriously. Ceci is at that in between stage of clothing. She doesn't want to wear rainbows and ice cream cones, but doesn't fit into the adult clothing. We've spent more hours shopping this Fall then ever in the history of clothes shopping, with very little yield. This day wasn't super fruitful, either, but we had fun, despite our tired feet.

Thursday, while Geoff continued on at the YGL summit, Adele, Ceci and I ventured out to explore the city. We have been to San Francisco several times during the Christmas season, and a couple times for a day while living in Auburn, but those times were at least six years ago. We visited some places we had been before, as well as some new.

First was a walk to and through Chinatown.

We stopped in shops we remembered.

We made our way through the Italian part of town, smelling yummy scents wafting from cafés. We passed a few more beautiful churches along the way.

We explored Pier 39 with its loud seals, magic show and shops. We made our way through Fisherman's Wharf and on to a little beach where we stopped for a rest.

Ceci got a sundae at Ghirardelli Square, and we admired the big collection of pumpkins around the fountain and shops. I want to recreate that at home! So fun!

As if our little Chevro"legs" (as Geoff likes to call them) weren't tired enough, we hiked up to the top of Lombard Street, then to the bottom. And THEN we called an Uber.

At the close of the YGL summit, a local YGL hosted a party at his home. We took Adele and Ceci, who impressively held their own in conversation, and said goodbye to our great friends until next time.