Our last weekend in San Jose

So we didn't do anything too cool this weekend, but our big adventure will be on Monday so we will be sure to post pictures later.

On Friday we decided to get some Indian cuisine because it is cheaper here than in Utah. The food we got was really good, but we had some interesting experiences at this restaurant. We thought the prices looked really cheap for Indian food so we decided to splurge a little and get two separate entrees. We came to find out that the price didn't include rice which was an extra $4.00 for 2 sides of rice. We decided to split an entree and get only one rice instead and our waiter wasn't too happy about that. He kept pressing us to order more food and in the end ordered us two sides of rice when we asked for one. Oh well, the food was really good so we decided it wasn't worth the hassle to try to avoid paying for the extra rice.

Saturday we walked precincts around our apartment building for the "Yes on Proposition 8" campaign. If you haven't heard about this and are able to vote in California for the November elections, please study the issue and vote YES! It means a lot to our family especially if we end up living here after Trevor graduates.

That evening we went to downtown San Jose to check it out. To be honest, there's not a whole lot to do there. It's pretty meager compared to places like San Francisco. We would be interested to come back later on and check out The Tech Museum of Innovation as well as the San Jose Museum of Art. We forgot to bring our camera so here are some pictures we didn't take...

Here's a picture of the human accessible fountain downtown:


Here's a shot of the museum:


Here's some parade:


It's hard to believe that our summer here is coming to a close! We've really enjoyed ourselves and look forward to returning sometime next year :0).

Stanford University

On Saturday we went and visited Leland Stanford Junior University (did you know that was the full name? I didn't before Saturday). We went on a guided tour of the campus and learned some interesting things about this university.

This was a cool tower on campus we saw.



Even Calvin had a good time (well... mostly). He had a hard time falling asleep that day.


I like how they kept the old style of architecture. Even though BYU was established around the same time, this campus felt much older.




When Leland Stanford died his wife built this non-denominational church in his honor. The artwork is all tile. We wanted to go inside, but after our tour was over the doors to the church were locked. :(


One of these things is not like the others!

Of course we had to see the computer science building. Too bad it wasn't open on Saturdays. It is the only building on campus that has beds and showers. Most likely because CS majors tend to pull the most "all-nighters." Also, all the walls in the building are "writeable" because Bill Gates knows the importance of writing down sudden inspiration before you forget it. This way you don't have to wait until you get to your room or office to write it down.

After we went to Stanford, we saw there was an IKEA close by so we decided to look around. This was Trevor's first time there. He felt like the design of the store was very well planned in order to maximize sales. All-in-all it was a good day!

First Time Swimming!

We took Calvin swimming for the first time on Friday. While he didn't giggle and splash wildly in the water, he didn't scream or cry at all. I was afraid he might. I think it was just a new experience for him and an adjustment. We believe he will enjoy swimming when he gets a little older!

Muir Woods and other adventures

Saturday we decided to head up to Muir Woods, about 11 miles north of San Francisco, to experience the Redwoods! We first headed to Costco to get gas and some diaper wipes. What we thought would be a quick trip ended up in us walking around the entire store trying to find the diaper wipes and consequently forced to try ALL the samples :0). It turns out they moved the wipes to the front of the store right close by the entrance...

Muir Woods was very crowded that day, but we still had an enjoyable time. The weather was perfect and the redwoods were absolutely beautiful!






On our way back we stopped at a scenic view of Sausalito (I think...). As we drove around this beautiful area, it was no wonder to us why it is so expensive to live around here.

We also stopped at a scenic view of Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and San Francisco. It was completely foggy on our way there, so we were pleased that the fog had cleared up on our way back.

Here is just a really cute picture of Calvin!

On Friday night, I made Spinach-Stuffed Salmon. They weren't too difficult to make and ended up being really tasty and filling! If you do try it, cook the spinach a little first and it takes longer to cook the stuffed salmon than what the recipe says.

Our trip to Loomis, CA

This weekend we drove to Loomis CA (close to Sacramento) to visit McKay and LaRee Florence--Trevor's uncle and aunt--and their family. What a great weekend it was! Their youngest daughter, Adeline, was baptized on Saturday so we chose a great weekend to see them! We drove up Friday night and of course Calvin slept the entire 2½ hour drive. We really are blessed with a great traveling baby!

Unfortunately we didn't take that many pictures. We were just having such a good time we didn't think to pull out our camera.

How can you NOT love this face?

I love the men in my life! :0)
This picture was taken after Adeline's baptism. Trevor's Aunt Debbie also came in town from Utah and the Busby's were there as well. It was great to see everyone!

The baptism was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad we were able to attend. Aurora Florence and Andrew Beck gave really good talks. The Spirit was very strong.

On Saturday afternoon, Uncle McKay so kindly let us borrow his BMW convertible to go for a drive through a nearby canyon. It was a lot of fun and a beautiful drive. We only had the top down for the first part of the trip because we were so worried that it was too windy and warm for Calvin. His canopy was blocking most of the wind, but we didn't want to worry about him. It was still fun, though, just to go on a scenic drive!

On our drive we stopped at this river and walked around. It was sure warm outside (well, warmer than San Jose) but very pretty.

We also went to Cool California and stopped inside a grocery store to cool off ;0). I just think it's fun to say you have been to Cool California! All we saw of the town was a couple of commercial buildings, I don't know if anyone lives there at all.

After the drive, we went to Fresh Choice with McKay & LaRee and Chris & Vicki Busby who live nearby. We ate outside of the restaurant and enjoyed the delicious locally grown produce. Calvin also graced us with an explosion requiring a change of his and his mommy's clothes. It was an evening to remember :0).

Emmett's birthday (Trevor's cousin) was earlier that week and so he had a birthday dance in their home with a whole bunch of his friends. We took Calvin in the dance and he just looked around at all the people bouncing around.

On Sunday we went to church and then had a wonderful dinner with the Florence's and another family. The Florence's are an awesome family and we had a great time seeing them!