Christmas 2012 Adventure in San Francisco

Tonight we made our annual Christmas trek into San Francisco. The forecast of rain wasn't going to slow us down... and neither was the down pour on our drive in.

We used to head into Union Square each year to see the lights, Macy's windows, and the big tree... but last year we decided to skip that and go to Pier 39 instead. It was a hit... so we did that again this year. Less people, less traffic, less stress, and way more fun. 

We started off the night at Boudin with parmesan crusted grilled cheese, rustic tomato soup, and diet cokes. Our little monkey Ryan was so stoked to join in on the fun and was quite the celebrity... everyone who saw him had to stop and say hi.

After dinner we watched the Boudin bakers make bread and then we stomped through puddles and went down to the big tree at Pier 39 for pictures, checking out the lights and stores, and little mini donuts (Kevin's favorite).

Hooray for donuts!

Next stop was Ghirardelli Square for ice cream sundaes! This is Kevin's and my favorite part of our  holiday tradition and we were so pleased that the kiddos were so happy and well-behaved all night. Who wouldn't be if they got a yummy sundae like this all to themselves, right?

The only sad moment was when Andrew spilled his hot chocolate in his lap and all over the floor (fortunately it wasn't hot any more). Good thing I had thought ahead and brought an extra outfit for each kid. Knowing he had clean pants in the car helped little dude snap out of his sad mood and enjoy every last drop of his sundae before we went home.

 

Catie preferred to just play with her sundae and drum with the spoons... instead of actually eating anything.

Ryan was in love with all of the lights at the ice cream shop and all of the elderly ladies at the tables around us were in love with him. We had all sorts of people offering to take pictures of our family and just telling us how adorable our kids were. It was so sweet. Ice cream really does put people in happy thoughtful moods. :)

On our way home we had fun practicing the song that Andrew is singing in church on Sunday with a small little ensemble and then the kiddos zoned out to our favorite holiday movie this year (Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas).

It actually only rained a little bit, so the weather ended up being chilly, but perfect. I was AMAZED at how smoothly the evening went. I kinda want to do it again next week.

Tree Lighting Tradition and Black Friday Shopping

Tonight we went downtown for the lighting of the Old Oak Tree. I think it is a cute town tradition.

It wasn't as fun as I was hoping it would be... because I was a little cranky and so were my kiddos.

But we still had fun. The weather was much warmer than last year. There were free cookies and hot cider and hot cocoa to try... and my favorite treat- Peppermint Joe Joes distributed by the local Trader Joes store.

We all managed to find each other just in time for the tree to get lit...

Catie loved watching Andrew ride the train around with Grandma.

We grabbed some treats at our favorite chocolate shop.

Checked out the fire engines

Attempted to take a family picture... and then decided that the grumpy kids would go home with Kevin and Grandpa, while the girls stayed and bopped around some more.

We listened to music, ate treats, wandered around, and ran into a few friends.

We also watched some dance teams. I decided that I really hope Caitlin doesn't want to do dance when she gets older. The music and moves we were watching little girls do were so provocative that it made me a little sad (tear up sort of sad).

We watched a pretty sweet high school (or maybe middle school?) band rock out and then I loved the Nutcracker dancers. My only wish all night was that I was a little bit taller so I could've seen over the crowds a bit better.

After a day of Black Friday shopping... and then walking all over town we were exhausted!! Today was probably my most successful day of shopping ever. I got a new cute coat (picture above), new shoes, and some new outfits... in addition to several Mrs. Fields cookies.

It was a great day!

Side note- if you're looking for some cute holiday ideas even after all your Black Friday shopping, I'm giving away a fun little ZipBin storage playmat on my Toddler Approved blog this week. We love them and already have several at our house (in addition to a few that the company gave me to try out for free). There aren't too many people signed up yet, so your chances of winning are pretty high. :)