Pier 39

This weekend we visited Pier 39, a very popular tourist place known for its boat excursions on the bay and home of the cute Sea Lions.

The time Adam told Emery our train was going underwater, totally freaked her out!

First, we went to The Aquarium of the Bay. It was probably one of the coolest aquariums I've been to. It's not the biggest, but you see such a variety (20,000+) species here. We saw a lot of weird looking creatures AND they had Chinchillas!

Taylor loved touching the stingrays!

We saw a bunch of fish just laying down at the window...probably tired from working overtime entertaining the tourists.

After the Aquarium, we headed to the Pier 39 dock and stopped by one of our favorite places from last time, The Crepery for some funnel cake fries. MMMM. 

After a quick treat, we headed to the Blue and Gold fleet Boat to tour the bay!

First boat ride!

The girls wanted to stay inside the boat cabin to run around. We kinda felt like we were herding puppies the majority of the time, hah. We also met a group of Filipinos, a lot were from the areas we served our missions! Adam spoke so well, sadly, I could understand but totally struggled to speak it EEEEK. I need to study. 

Alcatraz looks super creepy up close. 

My Sweet Sweet Honeybuns

After our boat ride, we headed back to the BART. Taylor hadn't had a real nap and finally slept on the walk. Adam also had to head back to work late at night and needed a good rest beforehand. We were all pretty pooped from all the walking. It was a good day. I love spending time with my people!


At the end of the night, we finally succumbed to peer pressure and started watching Stranger Things! Talk about cliffhangers...every single episode! UGHHHH

A Day in the life of the Rubens

Moving to Cali has been quite a change for us. There are lots of things we love about it and also some new challenges.

Adam starts his day close to 6am. By 6:30am, he's off to the BART station (the local subway) by car or bike. Sadly, it's not early enough to grab a seat and he stands for the forty-five-minute ride into Downtown San Francisco. He keeps the time productive with reading scriptures and listening to Conference talks.

After getting off the BART, he walks a short distance to work, a thriving startup as the Director of Operations. With any new job or startup, things are crazy and busy. Adam loves it. All his efforts for personal and professional development and previous entrepreneur experiences have prepared him for this new challenge. He works all day and we are lucky if he's home by 8, sometimes after 10pm. Currently, they are working on revamping for the opening which just happened this last week. Things should slow down by the end of the month and we'll get to see more of him (as in work from home haha). Till then, I do my best to stay productive and happy with the girls. But let's face it, I do lose my sanity once in a while! The one day I told Adam it was an overwhelming day for me, he came straight home in the early evening to take care of the girls and brought me my favorite Milano cookies. MMMM. What a guy!

Eating at TOGOS downtown. 

This was our Christmas Present from my In-laws and it's been a lifesaver! We can walk all over the place thanks to the Graco DuoGlider 

As for me and the girls, you'll find us at the park or downtown Pleasant Hill most days.  I was meant for a place like this. I've always loved the idea of walking around downtown, window shopping, grabbing a bite to eat ...you get it. When our schedule and weather allows it, this is our place!There are places to sit and relax and all the eateries have cafe tables outside (also a ROSS right behind the shops hah). I LOVE the atmosphere.

 At the park, they have two areas with one designated to toddlers which is my favorite because it's fenced in! I no longer have to chase Taylor every few minutes. Why don't they make more parks like this?!

I've also enjoyed all the walking we do. It's really great for the pregnancy and my health overall. Let's face it, I hate exercising but once we leave the house, there is the point of no return. I have to get to the park for the kids to be happy and a little more manageable. 

Between the park and downtown, there's the City hall that we pass through. It looks more like an event venue with beautiful landscaping and a large koi pond.

There are turtles on the pond too!

When we aren't out and about, we're at home playing, doing activities or doing chores(still never ending even in a smaller place...weird!) 

One of my biggest challenges...LAUNDRY. I have to have my toddler and 18-month old follow...But mostly, I am chasing Taylor while carrying an overstuffed laundry basket and detergent (started putting detergent in baggies now). It sucks. I've done laundry late at night before because I try to avoid doing it with the girls haha. 

We play "horsey" A LOT

Taylor coloring on the preschool worksheets my sister laminated for us

Paint time!

Most nights, we eat dinner without Adam but, when he can join us, you can see us sitting around our princess toddler table as a family :)

That pretty much sums up our typical day, minus the times I sleep in from the girls not going to bed or the lazy rainy days where we just stay in our PJ's and watch netflix, read and listen to podcasts.  We miss our family and friends and Oakley but we've been so blessed to meet so many new friends here. I'm kinda sad already about having to leave this place in a few months!

Settling in

On a Train at the Oakland Zoo

Our first week has been super dreary and rainy! The rainy season can last until March. I imagined going on walks or to the park nearby but instead, we stayed inside our empty but warm and dry apartment for the most part. 

I've found different activities to keep the girls busy throughout the day in our small place. Taylor is a big fan of the window clings/stickers. She'll sit at the back door and play for hours. I got some from Amazon but, you can also get them for $1 a pack at Target in the front section right now. Totally worth it! They also enjoy toy fridge magnets and it doesn't take up any space!

My sister also put together a preschool binder for Emery. She laminated sheets of letters and numbers so Emery could practice and reuse. It's been super helpful.

Emery misses home. Most times, she'll say we need to go home and when we tell her we're home she always responds with "no, our other home...". She also misses her best friend Evie. Anytime she colors a picture or we get something new, she'll always say how Evie would love to see it. It's so cute!

The gondola at the Oakland Zoo, Great views!

Adam is gone for work 12+ hours a day so on Saturdays, we get Daddy to ourselves. We've designated it as the day to explore Northern Cali and do fun activities with the girls. We went to the Oakland Zoo our first week and it was the perfect day! It wasn't crowded at all. We easily got on rides and didn't have to wait to see any animals

Emery on her first coaster! She said the ride was "not good" when she got off.
 It was a little too scary!

     We also experienced our first earthquake! It came at 3am on Wednesday. I woke up to a jolt and everything was shaking. I don't know how long it really lasted but it felt like a good 15 seconds. All I could think was "PLEASE don't let this wake up the girls!" HAHA

     We went to church our first Sunday here and it was really great. LDS wards here are not accustomed to getting new faces often so when they come, everyone is so warm and welcoming. I'm pretty sure we met half the ward by the end of Church. They are also quick to serve. We mentioned we could use a few furniture items and I was getting calls and texts the next day and throughout the week. We have been so blessed by their kindness.
     Taylor went to Nursery for the first time and LOVED it. Who wouldn't? She got to play, snack, and sing songs. She was great. Emery went to Sunbeam class, a class for three-turning four-year-olds. She was very shy and nervous at first, but as soon as they broke out into smaller classes, Emery found a friend and they chatted away the whole time.

     Later on, in the week, we ran into Emery's new friend from church at the park and they love each other already lol. I've always been impressed with how fast she can make friends! I know she'll enjoy it out here much more now that she has a GAL PAL.

So far, we are really enjoying it here. It's giving us time to slow down and refocus on priorities like studying the Gospel and family. Also, I'm so happy to skip out on the Utah snow! I much perfer warmer weather.

Emery's actions for the LDS children's song "Scripture Power" Her new favorite!

More to come :)

New Year, New Adventures

2018

At the end of last year, Adam started working for a startup out of San Francisco. It was new and exciting and at the same time, very stressful during the transition! As he finished up at his previous job, he started commuting to Cali. We decided to move as a family for four months to the Bay area so Adam could focus more on the job and have us to come home to. It was hard being away for two weeks straight, I couldn't imagine him leaving for four months, I'd go insane! More importantly, We wanted to stay together. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 In the early hours of  New
 Years Eve, we headed

out! We were traveling for 12 hours, and the girls were SO great, we didn't hear Taylor cry once! My mother-in-law gave us some travel games for the girls, and I think that saved us. The girls are really into puffy stickers and it kept them quiet for hours. HALLELUJAH. 

We moved into a two-bedroom apartment. Honestly, other than the fact that we don't have ceiling lights and first world luxuries like an icemaker and water dispenser, I LOVE it. We are always in close proximity to each other (which can be both good and bad haha) but for the most part, I love the closeness. We left a chunk of the toys behind, and really, just all the clutter and distraction. I've been reading up on minimalism(as much as you can as a parent with toddlers) for a while and simple living and being in this environment really helps me practice that. Also, that means more dance parties and preschool time with Emery's new teacher (me).     

                 Our apartment is within walking distance to downtown, complete with Jamba Juice and Cold Stone so, we are set!

You're probably wondering where Oakley is...She stayed behind in Utah with an amazing family.You can imagine how devastated Adam was to leave her behind but, I'm pretty sure she won't want to come back to us. The family is way too fun. She went on two walks and a run on her first day and then headed to the west desert to explore. Maybe now she'll lose her muffin top haha :)      





We're happy to be here to learn and grow. Then, right after we get back to Utah, we'll meet baby #3 in May! I got a gender check when Adam was in Cali. Check out the surprise!