Family Activities in San Francisco - San Francisco Zoo

So. If you haven't figured it out yet, we moved this summer, and, as luck would have it, were dropped in the second most expensive city in the United States. The cost of living here near San Francisco is astronomical. Because of the cost of living, most families are either a) in a home where both parents work or b) on an extremely tight budget.

Now, I have also noticed that there are not a lot of families in the area (at least not compared to Utah and Nebraska), so family friendly activities in San Francisco are extremely hard to come by and generally pretty expensive (because everything in this city has to cost an arm and a leg). I have taken it upon myself to save some other poor unfortunate soul the time and effort involved in finding family (& budget!) friendly activities in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.

First on the list: The San Francisco Zoo. Let me start off by saying that I am a zoo snob. Seriously. I grew up with the Sedgwick County Zoo (ranked the 8th best zoo in the US by ranker.com) and then when I went to college, I lived near the Henry Doorley Zoo (ranked the 2nd best zoo in the US by ranker.com).

Photo by Elsie

Quite frankly, when compared with those two zoos, the SF Zoo sucks. Hardcore. But... my kids don't have very high standards when it comes to zoos, and, honestly, when you've got two toddlers, your main goal is to kill a good portion of your day, get kids out into fresh air, and enjoy the sound silence of two passed out kids on the drive home.

The animals are fine, although the zoo is missing a couple of my favorites (what kind of zoo doesn't have elephants?!). Hands down, the best part of this zoo is the children's play area. I would pay the membership fees just to get year-round access to this playground.

To get the best bang for your buck: Park on Sloat Blvd. - NOT in the zoo parking. It is a short walk and it saves you $10-$12 (depending on when you go). If you live close enough to the zoo that you will go more than 3 times, get a membership. A basic family membership is $130, and single admission for adults is $19. Kids 3 and under are free, but if you've got a 4-year-old, you're going to spend $13 on admission for them. The basic family membership gives 2 adults and 3 children complete access for a year. If your kids are young enough to be free, this membership pays for itself by the fourth visit. If you have three kids over the age of four, the membership pays for itself by the second visit.

Helpful hints:

-You can make your membership for you and a "guest." This way you can save your sanity and bring a mom friend and her kid(s) for free.

-Your membership gives you discounts at all the stores and cafes in the zoo

-Your membership gives you discounted admission to over 100 zoos and aquariums nationwide.

The verdict: The San Francisco Zoo is a fabulous family activity and worth your time if you live in the Bay Area. If you're just visiting, I'd skip it.

Anyway, now that I've talked about all the logistics, I'll share some pictures from my mommy-daughter date with Elsie. She asked to go to the zoo, and it was great to spend some one-on-one time with her.

Road Trippin' It

If you watched my vlog yesterday, you know that my photography business was doing pretty well right before we moved. Well, I'd booked quite a few weddings in Nebraska before we got the news that we were going to have to move. I had no intentions of leaving my brides high and dry without a photographer, so I've been making lots of trips back and forth to Nebraska from Utah, and I've loved it!

I've got a wedding tomorrow, so I decided to road trip 14 hours to Kansas with the kids and the dog to visit my parents for the few days surrounding the wedding (oh my gosh... reading that out loud just makes me sound like a crazy person) .

Anyway, here are some things that are a necessity when traveling with a newly potty trained 2-year-old, a 4-month-old who has recently developed separation anxiety, and a neurotic dog.

1. Snacks. Snacks of all shapes, sizes, and varieties are a must-have. Grapes? Check. Fruit Snacks? Check. Goldfish crackers? Check. Cheese sticks? Check. Have them within arm's reach at all times, because your toddler does not know what patience is or understand that you have to keep your eyes on the road.

2. A Potty Chair. When your kid is not 100% potty trained, it's so tempting to just toss it all out the window and strap on a diaper for the road trip. It's tempting, but it's probably not the best idea in the whole world. And you KNOW that kids will inevitably wait until you've passed the last rest stop for 40 miles when they suddenly decide that "OH MY GOSH, MOMMY I NEED TO PEEEEEE!!!!!!" Bring a potty chair with you, plop that thing on the side of the highway, and save yourself the time and effort involved in cleaning pee out of a car seat. Besides, dumping pee out on the side of the road is WAY better than smelling it for 14 hours.

3. An iPad. I try not to break out the iPad till things get bad, but holy cow, it is a lifesaver. I know, I know - screen time is soooo bad for your kids (<-- sarcasm. total sarcasm). But you know what's even worse for your kids? A mom having a break down. That's right. My sanity is more important than the fact that I'm going to have a zombified, tv addict for a child.

4. Headphones. When your kid is in the backseat screaming, singing "Let it Go" for the 50th time, or whining about who-knows-what, you will realize why headphones are a god-send.

5. Caffeine. Whether it's in the form of Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Green Tea, or a million cups of coffee, you need caffeine. Don't question it.

Have you ever been crazy enough to road trip with kids? What about when you road trip alone? What are your must-haves? 

That Time We Took a Roadtrip

Okay, okay, Courtney.... this one's for you. :)

Once upon a time, we took a road trip to the grand ole state of Utah (that's right, not only the Mormon motherland, but also the blogging motherland. Coincidence? I think not, but we'll get into the whole Mormon blogger thing another time).

Anyway. Where was I? Oh, right... we took a road trip to Utah. This was like, ages ago. And you know what?! I had my camera, but I did not take one. single. picture. How's that for rockstar blogger status? I know, I know... I'm the next "Daybook."

Okay, I keep getting off track here. So I was in the Mormon/Blogging motherland, and you know what?! I only met ONE blogger. I'm a disgrace, I know. In my defense, we were only in Utah for four days and (because we are Mormon) approximately 92.6% of our relatives live there. You all know what that means, right? Nonstop family visits. Like, we pop in, say, "HI! How are you? Great? Great. I'm good, too. Welp, gotta get to my great aunt's sister's cousin's house to see how she and her family are doing, so see ya!"

Maybe not quite that extreme, but you get the idea. So yeah. Anyway, I got to meet this super awesome blogger and her super adorable baby (seriously - cutest kid in the world besides Elsie). My darling daughter was covered in puke from altitude sickness (the grandpa took over and shooed me out the door because I was in tears that she was losing weight and spitting up everything she ate), so she didn't get to come with me, but Courtney, Mia, and I had a blast. We ate frozen yogurt, asked a random dude to take our picture, then asked a bored cashier to take our picture again because said random dude was a really crappy picture-taker, and had an all-around good time.

Picture or it didn't happen.

BOOM. It happened. 

Road Trippin'

Yo Homies. 

So we're going on a trip to Utah for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary and a family reunion. Call us crazy, but we are driving (well, sort of - we can't afford to drive ourselves, so we are driving down to Wichita [hey Sabrina, want to meet up on Monday?] to hitch a ride with the fam).

Do you know how long that drive is when you drive straight through? No? Let me tell you - Lincoln to Wichita is 4.5 hours, so not too bad. Wichita to American Fork, however, is a different story - it's a fifteen hour drive.

You may be thinking a few things: 

1. You are bat s*** crazy. 
2. How the eff are you going to do it? 
3. What in the world are you going to bring? 

Okay, you may not be thinking the third thing, but that's what I'm going to address in this here blog post (as for the other two - yes, we are friggin' insane and I have no clue).

1. Diapers & wipes. Ummm duh!!!!

2. Breast Pump (and AC adapter or batteries). There is no way in Haades that I am letting us stop every three hours so that I can spend 30-45 minutes feeding baby G. I mean, really. Instead, I will just pump every two hours so that Mike can give her a bottle when she gets fussy. Some people might prefer stopping to breast feed, but that's not me. Let's get there as fast as possible, am I right?

3. Baby Carrier. I'm bringing our Moby wrap and our other baby wrap on this trip. You have to have baby with you constantly, and I personally vote for the "hands free" option.

4. Stroller. I'll be bringing our jogging stroller because it's part of a travel system with our car seat. We may not be able to bring it everywhere, but since I plan on continuing my workout plan while we're out of town, this is a necessity.

buy it here

5. Pack n' play / bassinet. Our bassinet folds up just like our pack n' play, except it's quite a bit smaller. Because Elsie is still so little, we are conserving space and bringing the bassinet instead of the pack n' play. This is definitely a must, though, because the little one will need somewhere to nap/sleep at night.

buy it here

6. Precisely one million outfits. Seriously, though. I think Elsie is going through a growth spurt right now, so I'm going to bring newborn and 0-3 month outfits with us. I won't be bringing any sleepers because they just take up space, and she will get too warm when she's swaddled and wearing a sleeper.

7. HALO Sleep Sack. This is an outright necessity. Seriously. If you have a baby, go buy one now. Elsie can wiggle her arms out of virtually every other swaddling blanket/contraption except this one (I want to try the woombie... I think she'd have a hard time with that one, too). It's basically a baby straightjacket. We love it.

buy it here

8. Burp rags. Since we'll be bottle feeding while on the road, these are kind of a necessity, since homegirl likes to dribble and drool when given a bottle.

9. Receiving blankets. The temperature in the car is obviously a lot cooler than it is outside. We'll have her in a onesie or summery outfit and just throw a lightweight blanket on top of her for comfort.

10. Tide pen. Because you never know when an accident is going to happen. You may not be anywhere near a washing machine, and you definitely don't want that stain to set on baby's adorable outfit!

Am I forgetting any necessities? Help a momma out!! 

5 Things Bloggers Talk about in Emails. A Vacation to China.

Happy Monday!! 

Let's all cross our fingers that this week flies by, okay? Okay.

So here's the deal. I'm horrible at answering emails lately. But occasionally, I'll be okay about it and successfully have a conversation with one of you. I would like to present you all with a list of Things Bloggers Talk about in Emails. Names of bloggers involved in these emails have been withheld, because I don't want them to shoot me in the face when you all tell me how ridiculous we are.

1. Blogging Biker Gangs. Or something like that. It'd actually be a bicycle gang with spandex and geeky helmets and ridiculous shoes (the words "saddle sores" may have been in this conversation as well), but a bike gang is a bike gang, right?

via

2. Having blog dates via skype. Not just Skype chatting, but taking a laptop to a restaurant while skyping a bloggy friend, and having a dinner date. Totally normal thing to do, right?

3. Reasons to get pregnant. This list is endless and full of absolutely ridiculous things. Apparently there are a lot of silly reasons to reproduce.

4. Books. Obviously. I realize that this isn't exactly ridiculous, but it might be ridiculous how often books just creep into conversations. Which leads me to remind you - we are still accepting book suggestions for October book club!

5. Exotic animals you'd like to pet. Maybe I'm just friends with weirdos (or I'm the weird one, which is more likely), but somehow, email conversations often get turned to exotic animals. Whether it's the ones I'd like to someday ride (ahem - elephant and kangaroo) or someday pet (tiger and koala bear), it's always a good conversation.

via

Do you email other bloggers? What sorts of crazy things do you talk about? 

Maybe you talk about your travels, who you are, where you came from, where you want to go? Well, I don't think it's any secret that I'd like to go to China someday, but I definitely don't have the cash for a spur-of-the-moment vacation as I'm sure is the case with many of us, so I'd like to treat you to an imaginary, all-expenses paid vacation, courtesy of Natasha. Close your eyes and use that imagination!
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Hello adventurers! This is Natasha from the Picablocks. Thanks Alyx for having me today!

I'm a graduate-to-be from Malaysia, and I blog blocks - blocks of pictures, blocks of life. Photos are what drove me to establish this blog, and I think they are what keeps me writing.  Though I share mostly about photography on my little blog, today I want to talk about a Chinese festival - the Mid-Autumn Festival.

This festival, also known as the mooncake festival is celebrated by Asian countries. We celebrate it in Autumn, on the 15th of Ba Yue (August). But, like any other Chinese festival, the date of mooncake festival changes every year on the standard calendar. This year it's on the 30th of September.

To this day, how do the Chinese celebrate the day?

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At night children place candles inside specially made craft lanterns and run around the town in parades. 

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Mid-autumn festival is a day to spend with family. That night, the family gathers and we eat moon cakes, play with lanterns, and admire the moon. During the mooncake festival, the moon is the roundest and biggest of the whole year. It symbolizes this reunion. 

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We eat moon cakes. They are of all sorts of shapes and tastes.

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There are also huge lantern parades and exhibitions from different Chinese organizations. 

The Mooncake festival is a traditional chinese festival that preserves our culture, but the average Chinese people love it because of its warmth. It's that day that families and friends reunite, sit down, and talk about happy things while looking at the moon. 

It literally tops my favorite 5 festivals of all time!

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Have you guys ever been to a traditional festival in another country? I think it's amazing to step back and take a look at all of the different cultures around us. 

If you haven't already, you can stop by Natasha's blog to say hello! Don't forget to enter this giveaway - she's generously giving one lucky reader $50!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Walls+Drugs=The Biggest Drug Store You'll Ever See

Hi guys!! 


Hope you all have had a fabulous week so far! I'm just glad that it's almost the weekend. Why, you ask? Well... this week we've been to Lincoln, gone on a wild raccoon chase, played with 10 adorable kittens, and... yeah, that's about it. Exciting times over here. I'll blog about the raccoon thing at some point, I'm sure. Unfortunately, I don't have much photographic evidence.

Anyway. As you all know (or didn't know), we spent this past week in South Dakota. You saw some pictures of the hike we took in this post, but what you haven't seen yet is the most random, chaotic, and interesting place we visited. We stopped on our way to Mount Rushmore on Independence Day.

It was my second visit to Wall Drug, and that place never fails to disappoint. They have hundreds of billboards from Iowa to Nebraska to Wyoming telling you to go. Obviously we went. And, unlike the raccoon situation, I have plenty of photographic evidence.

Enjoy! 

 Have you ever heard of Wall Drug? Have you been there? 

Hiking. Funny Stories. Picture Overload.

Good morning, everyone! 


Or afternoon... or evening... or middle of the night. Or, ya know, whenever you read this.

Today I'm going to be in Lincoln most of the day because Mike and I both have interviews. Second interviews, to be exact. It'd be awesome if you could pray or keep your fingers crossed (or both) for us. Please and thank you.

I'm going to be a Lame Lionel (just made that up - I think it's going to be bigger than "Debbie Downer") and just give you a post chock full of pictures from my favorite day of our vacation - Saturday. 


Summary: We hiked a little over 3 miles to the top of Harney Peak, and ran a little over 3 miles to the bottom. We did the entire hike in a little under 2.5 hours. I realize that's not that great, but keep in mind I went a little camera happy the entire way up and made us stop exactly one billion times. You'll see just a few of those pictures right... meow. 

Also, shout out to Kym and English - they won the 7,500 awesome points.

Here's Kym's story:
Johnny and I were working out together yesterday, doing some cardio indoors because it was too dang hot to do anything outside.
At this juncture, it's important to note that we have a lot of clutter.
Moving forward.
We were in the middle of doing this weird side run move, when I suddenly tripped over my own feet and went flying backwards right into a corner full of clutter which included but is not limited to: a guitar, our printer, a professionally framed certificate (in bubble wrap, thank goodness!), a pile of magazines, a cardboard box of random crap, a bunch of license plates(?!), and some heavy dumbells.
I've never seen my boyfriend move so fast to come pick me up. It kind of hurt, thanks mostly to that really sturdy, yet very sharp frame, and I walked away with only a few scratches and bruises on my back. Sadly, I can't say the same for the printer. It sustained some permanent (yet happily non-fatal) injuries.


And here's English's:
I, in all my wisdom and well meant intentions, decided to take not only my own two pups with me on my run, but also the two dogs I'm pet sitting. Four dogs. While running. My wisdom is obviously failing me.
We take the dirt path through the woods, and all four are behaving themselves very well, I'm mentally patting myself on the back for being so smart, and enjoying the beautiful German weather. Then. Tetris comes to a dead stop because she smells something. Rita decides to bolt around my legs to smell what Tetris smells. Ninja & Sass keep running. I fall flat on my face, completely tangled in leashes, and covered in mud. We didn't finish the run. I came home and cried while taking a shower...not because the fall hurt, but because sometimes it sucks to be so dumb.

Apparently I'm a horrible person and laugh when people fall on their faces. Or butts.