Aaron and His Piano

Because Aaron changed jobs and got a signing bonus we decided to get a piano. We figured once the baby comes we will never have any surplus money ever again, so it's best to get it now. =) The truth is that I really want the kids to grow up with a a piano in the home, and Aaron is so talented with it he needs to be able to regularly play.

I have to admit the black piano looks awesome next to the red wall in our living room.

For fun we're making an entry video of Aaron for "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" who knows if they will pick him, but it's been fun shooting it. I'm posting a short piece of a song that Aaron performed for the video.

One of the first things that made me fall in love with Aaron was hearing him play and sing at the piano. I confess hearing him still makes me weak in the knees. ;)

San Francisco Trip – Day Two (part three)

After having to hunt around a little bit we found the bus tour (it had moved from the place it said on the ticket). It was a red Double Decker bus ( like in England the driver was on the right side) and Aaron convinced me to sit on top despite the weather (I am glad he did I couldn’t have handled the trapped musty smells of the lower deck).

Our tour guide (a completely liberal hippy) was great and pointed out all the sights of S.F. through the fog. I have to admit the fog gave the city a romantic film noir look. We got to see a little of everything from China Town to City Hall. I loved how the buildings are so diverse from each other, combined with the steep hills the city has a lot of character.

One interesting fact we learned on the tour – some groups are opposed to the city allowing any more skyscrapers to built any higher than those that already exist. Some speculate that if a really strong earthquake hit S.F. the glass and fiberglass that could fall off the buildings would make a pile over 14 feet deep in the streets.

After our two hour tour we got off again at Fisherman’s Wharf and made our way back to the F line and got (this time heading in the correct direction) back to the B.A.R.T. station and to our car.

We then grabbed a quick bite to eat and got into the car to drive to Murphy’s that was three hours away. Needless to say it was a very fun, long day!

San Francisco Trip – Day Two (part two)

We waited about 15 minutes to go on the harbor cruise. When we boarded the boat we picked up a headset and a receiver to listen to the tour (this way they can offer multiple languages on the tour). We headed to the upper deck to get a better view.

The S.F. was shrouded in fog! We could make out a few things on the shore line, but hardly anything past that. The misty rain had started again (you can see it on the camera lens in a few of the pictures) and we couldn’t see the Golden Gate Bridge until we were nearly underneath it! While the fog was cool looking I was a little bummed that I didn’t really get to see all of the bridge or ocean. =( I snapped off a bunch of photos (I love digital - unlimited film!) and Aaron and I headed back into the cabin to get warm.

The sea was a little rough and both Aaron and I started to feel a little green to we headed down to the main deck where the ship was more stable. Sitting down and trying to get our tummies to settle down a little girl came down the stairs that were in front of us and threw up….twice. Feeling even more green we moved to the back of the cabin (we were trapped in order to go upstairs we would have cross the river of vomit) and waited out the rest of the tour. Did you know that guards of Alcatraz lived on the island with their families? Some of them had children that commuted back and forth for school! (I thought that was pretty interesting.)

After the tour I wanted to play my favorite game - sit down and hold still (Aaron calls it my favorite game – I think mostly so it sounds more fun to him). We found a restaurant with lousy food but it was quiet, comfortable and a nice break from the bustle of Fisherman’s wharf and the soggy weather.

After lunch we walked to Ghirardelli’s Square – where there really isn’t anything to see just a very crowded shop – but at least we got a free square of Chocolate for our trouble. We then decided it was getting late in the day and time to head over for the bus city tour.

San Francisco Trip – Day Two (part one)

So we awoke the next day and looked out the window to see… fog and rain! Determined to have a good time anyway we set out for the city. Aaron found a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station where we could park our car for free and ride into the city (so much cheaper and easier than trying to park in the heart of S.F.). We had no trouble and got into the city fairly quickly.

However once we emerged on a surface street we got a little turned around. (Ok technically I got us turned around, but Aaron was just as confused as I was.) I finally figured out that we needed to take the F line to get to our destination of Fisherman’s Wharf – that’s where I was right, however I got us on the line heading in the completely wrong direction. The driver was really nice to us – we didn’t have exact change (he let us ride for free) and we were lost. So we rode the line all the way around and what should have taken 15 minutes ended up taking us an hour and a half… oh well. We just called it our “impromptu city tour” and took it in stride.

Once we finally arrived at the Wharf, we picked up our passes (a really good deal by the way if you ever go) and headed to the aquarium. At the aquarium we walked through the fish tunnels, the shark tunnel and enjoyed the fact that we were no longer lost.

Next we walked through the rain to the local sourdough factory Boudin’s down the street. The rain was like one of those misters you sit under outside on a hot, dry day in the desert – not enough to get you soaked, but just enough to be annoying in the cold damp climate.

We walked through the little factory tour where you get to sample some of their various breads at the end –yummy, fresh, real sourdough. One of their fun little kiosks you got to discover what kind of bread you are – Aaron’s was right on. Mine was pretty close except for the last line.

After the sourdough tour we headed over to take a cruise around the Bay.

San Francisco Trip – Day One

After a nice Christmas with Mom and Dad Peterson, Aaron and I drove back to Idaho spent one night at home and turned around and left for San Francisco the next day. We had a 6 AM flight. Yes six in the morning – or as Aaron would put it “The butt crack of dawn” (a phrase I am constantly trying to discourage him from using).

This means we got up at 4:30 left at five for the Idaho Falls airport. Normally this would be plenty of time to get checked in and through security, BUT we had two people in front of us who were trying to figure out their flight transfers to get home (I think I counted 3, maybe 4 to get to Chicago from Idaho Falls) so we were waiting in line to get our baggage tags for a half hour. Then we finally got our tags and headed over to TSA (by this time we were the only people waiting in security) I somehow got the short straw and the lady had to totally go through my bag and wipe it down with the little cloth thingy. By this time our flight is boarding and the TSA agent is taking her sweet time. She then declares that she’s gotten an explosive reading off a pair of my shoes (Yes you really need to watch out for those pregnant terrorists) and we spend another five minutes waiting for her supervisor to come by clear the alarm and give me the OK.

Once they have decided that I am not trying to blow up the propeller plane connecting flight from Idaho Falls to Boise, Idaho, Aaron and I finally get to board the plane….. so we can sit on the ground for another 45 minutes while they de-ice the plane for the second time.

We fortunately made our connecting flight – which was delayed even more while they de-iced that plane, and finally made it into San Jose.

Starving we stopped at In-N-Out Burger (so yummy) at 11 in the morning (we didn’t have much of a breakfast) for a double burger animal style (grilled onions) fries and a drink.

Something that I’ve really enjoyed with Aaron is going to different temples – on our honey moon we went to the Boise temple. We have also been to the St. George Temple and on our first day in California we went to the Oakland temple. Unfortunately it was misty – so I couldn’t see the spectacular view it must have, but it like all the temples was beautiful. I really like how every temple has its own personality but the spirit that resides there is the same.

After the temple we got checked into our hotel and took it easy (it was a long day for mom-to-be). We ate at a cute local Italian place that was thrilled that we ate all of our spaghetti. We settled in for the night and hoped that the fog would clear for our sight seeing the next day.