Not quite the city, but our favorite place...

 We took advantage of the three day weekend and braved the holiday traffic back to Grass Valley so we could spend some time with family and relax together at our favorite place: Island Lake. Three years ago in August, Russell proposed to me on top of Fall Creek Peak overlooking many lakes in the foothills, and we had not been back since. In high school, we used to go hiking and backpacking at this hidden gem, and it will always hold great memories for us. Someday, we hope to take our children there (Russell's dad took him on many backpacking trips to this very spot when he was a little boy). Although this is not quite city life, this is our getaway and the place where we feel like ourselves the most.

On the hike in

We joined the cows in a meadow for lunch

The day he proposed :)

We were so thankful for the opportunity to take a break from the city and spend some time just the two of us surrounded by beautiful trees and fresh water. It was much needed!

While in town, we also got to:

have a big family dinner/bocce ball game/sequence tournament,

Simple idea I got from pinterest

meet this little guy (James aka "Peanut"),

How sweet is this?

I'm in love!

while spending time with his wonderful parents,

and drink wine with family friends at a bbq.

God Father/Wine Provider/Peanut's Grandpa

I would say it was a pretty successful Labor Day weekend!

Now we are back in the city, and here is a look into our SF life:

-It is ironic that we have to take public transportation just to get to our vehicle (but parking 14 avenues away is better than paying $200/month for a space in a lot).

-Month long muni passes have saved us ($30+/each/month actually)

-a man carrying a golf driver on the 71 bus through the Haight is not an unusual sight


A few weeks back, Russell planned a day of surprises for me including a ferry trip across the bay to Sausalito and a tour of the Heath Ceramics factory. I wish I had pictures to show for it, but we forgot the memory card for the camera...