i {heart} san fran

I have been wanting to go to San Francisco for years now so over Labor Day weekend we decided to book a trip and go! 

Straight from the airport our first stop was Alcatraz

Headed to "The Rock"

Welcome to jail :)

Alcatraz was so cool/creepy

The cells were so tiny and gross - but these total creepers deserved it!  There were rows and rows of cells full of the most awful men alive.

The view of San Fran from the prison is amazing - too bad the inmates never got to see it!

I am so glad we did Alcatraz - I didn't know much about it before going so it was way interesting and I learned a lot! And even though it was a prison, the island and the buildings were actually really pretty. 

The morning view from our hotel room in Union Square - gotta love the San Fan fog!

Love the San Francisco streets! 

Saturday morning we went down to Pier 1 to the Farmers Market - it was amazing! So much food, produce, cheese, etc! And we had the perfect view of the Bay Bridge.

After that we went down to Fisherman's Wharf to walk around

Next up was the funnest part of our trip - the Go Cars! We were those typical lame tourists looking like nerds driving around in this tiny car with huge helmets - but we had a blast and laughed the whole time! Its a tiny little car with a GPS tour - it talks to you and tells you where to go and facts about everything you pass, you can get out where ever you want and get back in the car to keep going on the tour.  It was such a good way to see a lot of the city and we had so much fun!

I didn't take a ton of pictures but for my memories sake I need to write down everywhere we went so here it goes: Fisherman's Wharf, The Cannery, Ghirardelli Square, Fort Mason, Marina District, Crissy Field, Fort Point, Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge, Baker Beach, Sea Cliff, Legion of Honor, Lands End, USS War Memorial, Cliff House, Sutro Baths, Ocean Beach, Golden Gate Park, Haight Ashbury, Palace of Fine Arts (amazing), Chestnut & Union shopping and finally Lombard Street! We didn't get out to take pictures at Lombard Street - but it was soo fun to drive down in this tiny little car - I could not stop laughing! I've always heard of Lombard Street but didn't really know what it was - such a crazy little, cricked, steep road!

Isn't he the cutest?!

Gorgeous view of the city

Golden Gate Bridge!

After our Go Car tour we went over to Ghirardelli Square for an amazing hot fudge sundae!

Trolley rides!

YUMMY clam chowder from The Blue Mermaid - soo delish and the perfect day to sit outside and people watch while chowing down

That night we went to China Town for dinner at The House of Nanking - crazy little Chinese place that was so good. 

**Side note - the food in San Fran is TO DIE FOR! We were recommended soo many restaurants and tried to eat at as many of them as possible!

Shopping in Union Square

We HEART San Fran!! :)

Our next day was jam packed - just wait...

First up was Muir Woods to see all of the Redwood trees - it was gorgeous! The trees, the smell, the crisp air, the silence...it was the perfect way to start our day. 

Tree Hugger :)

The trees were humungo! 

Don't mind my demon eyes - thanks a lot iPhone 

After that we wanted to go to the amazing Golden Gate park so went and walked around the Japanese Tea Gardens

Our next stop was Alamo Square to see The Painted Ladies - also known as the Full House houses where the opening scene of the show was filmed. 

"Cut, It, Out" - Uncle Joey

THEN - we took a beautiful drive along the coast to Half Moon Bay. Such a cute town, we felt like we were back east.

We got an amazing lobster roll and clam chowder at Sam's Chowder House.  The weather was perfect and it was so fun to sit outside on the ocean listening to music.  We definitely want to go back to Half Moon Bay and spend more time there someday.

That night we drove back into the city and ate in Little Italy at Tomasso's - this ended up being our favorite place we ate at, the pizza and pasta was amazing. 

For our last day we decided to take a ferry over to Sausalito for lunch and to look in the shops.  This place is so cute, I want to live there! Cute, colorful buildings, amazing homes, gorgeous view. We also loved eating outside at Scoma's - I am still dreaming about the amazing fish taco's that I got!

We had such a fun trip and I really did fall in love with this place! A smaller, cleaner version of New York but with a beautiful ocean and the California feel - what more could you ask for?? We shopped, ate the best food of our lives, walked about a thousand miles up and down the San Fran hills and were on the go all the day every day-it was perfect and I can't wait to go back!

me....a runner?!

Well not really - I am not a runner at all, but this summer I have found out that I actually like to run! Who would have thought?! NOT ME! 

It all started in April when I really wanted to run the Color Me Rad 5k - not because of the RUN, but because of the colored chalk you throw all over! So I did that and it was hard! Could not even run a mile without being super winded.  So on into May I ran 1.5 miles in California, but it was downhill almost the entire time.  When I got back I ran 2 miles with my friend and I was so proud of myself! But it was way hard.  So then two of my friends in Daybreak told me that they had started running a few miles in the mornings and that I should come.  First off I am NOT a morning person and have a way hard time waking up, second - I had run maybe 3-4 times and was not in good shape.  But somehow I get roped into going with them and the first few times it was super hard, 2 miles killed me - and we were going to slow! But after a few times I was started to build up endurance and actually enjoy it!  The weather was perfect, the sunrises were truly amazing, I fell even more in love with Daybreak running around the gorgeous lake/trails/temple, and I loved getting home from a run and stretching on my front lawn for a few minutes in complete silence with no one outside - it was so peaceful. 

Then once I hit 3 miles, 4 miles and so on I was feeling so proud of myself and wanted to continue!

This was my favorite sunrise of the summer, it was breathtaking - this picture has no filter or edit and it still doesn't do it justice!

After a while we decided to sign up for the Bluffdale 10k! It was a TINY race, like maybe 20 people ran the 10k portion but it was still fun!

 Before the race
I seriously love Kylee and Karina and I owe it to them for getting me into running! If it weren't for them I would never have started.  I truly look forward to waking up at 6am or earlier just because I get to hang out and chit-chat with them for an hour and it is so much fun!  They have seen me at my best and worst, listened to drama, we've learned a lot about each other and they have pushed me along the way. Love you guys!!

After! I had never run 6 miles before so I was proud of myself!

Another gorgeous morning

We ran together on Kylee's bday so I got birthday crowns and a sash to celebrate

My parents stake put on a 5k and I wanted to run it with my mom so we slept over and Al and my dad woke up early to go on a bike ride and then the boys met us at the race.

It was so fun to run with my amazing mama who is my fitness inspiration! And I loved running around the neighborhoods that I grew up in - even though it was a lot hard than my Daybreak runs because of all the hills!

With the changing seasons running is a lot harder since the sun rises later now - but its still gorgeous and I loved the bright moon and star above the temple one morning. 

Footsteps for Fertility 5k!

Thank you to all my friends and family who supported us in this! It meant so much! We didn't win the free IVF that they were raffling off but it was a lot of run and we really appreciated all of you who signed up for us! And it was for such a great cause that we 100% support and believe in. 

Mal was so nice to wake her boys up early and come run it with us! Im so glad she was there along with a bunch of Al's cousins. 

Annie, Lizzie and Heather were SO nice to sign up for us! I loved having them there - I seriously love you girls and that meant so much to me!

After the race we all headed to Einstein's for breakfast

Love my hubby :)

This was the first time I ran 10 miles! I was so proud of myself! I literally never in my life thought I could run that far so I had to document it for proof!!

Then it seemed like over night it was fall and our down-hill canyon runs came at the perfect time! 

Me, Pris, Care and Abs ran down Emigration to the U of U stadium and it was so fun and beautiful!

The next weekend I ran down Big Cottonwood Canyon with Pris, Linds and Kylee and it was the perfect weekend to go. The leaves were amazing! It was probably my easiest run yet because I was so in awe of my surroundings!

Last Saturday we ran down Big Cottonwood again and although a lot of the leaves had fallen off, the sunrise was gorgeous!

On to my next adventure - the Halloween Half marathon! I don't know how I got talked into that one! Its something that's always been on my bucket list but I had no idea I would actually be able to cross it off! I am nervous and excited for it - wish me luck!