a-d-kuhn: VACATION

We have been on vacation the last week and a half. I go back to work tomorrow and Dustin goes back on Tuesday. We have been having such a great time, I'm just not ready for it to end...

Last Thursday morning, Dustin, Olivia and I headed out to the farm and stayed with his family for the night. Then Friday morning Dustin and I headed to Bismarck and fly out to San Francisco. Olivia got to spend the week with grandpa and grandma Kuhn while we were gone.

We had a fantastic time in California! We stayed at this neat little hotel--The Herbert Hotel. It was very bare-bones but it was dirt cheap and in a great location. I highly recommend it! We spent a lot of time just walking around exploring on our own and doing some (ok, a lot) shopping. We also ran a 5K race (http://www.race-sfgiants.com/). The run was right along the bay and finished in AT&T field. There was a huge crowd of people running it, and the scenery was nice; made for a fun run. We also went to a Giants game, and ate some delicious greasy food and beer. Of course we checked out the Golden Gate Bridge. We also went to the zoo and science museum. We ate some good food, drank some good wine, and mostly got to enjoy spending a few days together. Here are a few photos from our trip.

Enjoying some lunch on the bay

Just about to head out for our race. We had beautiful weather! We ran together and finished in just under 34 minutes. Not bad considering we have been pretty lazy about running throughout the summer.

The area where the run started. We actually finished the run right in the park--pretty neat.

another glimpse of the scenery from our run. a nice change of pace from our normal walking/running path at home.

As mentioned before, we went to the zoo. At this point I think we were both starting to get a little homesick for our little girl. I don't know how many times one of us would say "Olivia would love the monkeys!" or "She would get so excited to see lions!" Anyway, we were lucky enough to catch the grizzly bear feeding time. This might make me sounds like a little kid, but it was SO COOL! They put live fish in the pond and a bunch of fruit and veggies out. These 2 grizzlies came barreling out and dove into the pond. We had a pretty good view right on the other side of the glass. Anyway, we thought it was pretty neat.

What's a trip to San Francisco without a ride on the cable car?

And of course, the Golden Gate Bridge

We had a great time a San Francisco, but we were so ready to get back and see Olivia. It sounds like she was really good for Dustin's parents. I'm not sure who had more fun--Olivia or Darrel and Dorita! Olivia got to go on some 4-wheeler rides, went for walks and did lots of exploring outside. She got to see cows (moos) and was always on the lookout for kitties (mows). She also got to go to a wedding dance where there were a bunch of other kids for her to play with. Here are a few pictures of her time at the farm while we were gone.

This was Olivia's throne. She loved sitting up here and sticking her feet in the little cup holders.

Dancing with grandpa (papa)

Olivia was so interested in grandma's statues in the garden.

Cows!

I wish I had a picture of Olivia's face when we first got back from California. She didn't know what to think. Once we got back, she had to be holding one of our hands all the time. It was kind of sweet. We spent a few days at the farm before heading home. Dustin was drawn for an elk tag, so he went out hunting with his dad, and me and Olivia stayed back at the farm and played with grandma.

This was Olivia's other throne. She liked sitting here and watching cartoons.

She had sooo much fun in this car. I love this face!

Chair planking?? I'm not sure what was going on here. She is such a monkey.

Dustin was very excited to be able to fill his elk tag this past week too! We are so proud of him and very excited for a freezer full of meat. Elk wellington anyone? Mmmm... It sounds like it was quite an experience including a little army crawling through cactus and a lot of hard work hauling it all back. I think it was about 5 hours from the time he shot it until they were actually able to get it quartered and all taken back to the truck. Anyway, here are some pictures of Dustin and his dad on their elk adventure.

Finally, we decided we had been away from home long enough, and headed home Friday morning. On our way, we made a stop at Papa's Pumpkin patch in Bismarck. We all had a pretty good time there.

I think Olivia could have spent all day climbing around the haybales and going down the slides.

They had a hay bale maze there too. Olivia looked so tiny running around on this.

Come on mom--let's check out this tunnel!!

All the cool moms go through the tunnels too... even if they are dirty and dusty and leave you covered in straw... I can't say no to Olivia when she says please (peez peez!!)

Olivia refuses to look at the camera and smile for a picture. We do the best we can, but she is usually being silly or looking the other way or something in all her pictures.

We stopped for a little snack break. We were sitting on a bench, but Olivia spotted this little pumpkin that she would rather eat in. She would take a piece of sausage, go sit in here and eat it, then come back to get her milk, and go back and sit in there to drink it. She would not sit with us to eat.