Friday, June 26, 2009

A Very Happy Birthday

It was my birthday last week, and even though I wanted it to be "low-key," it turned out to be anything but that! First up was a visit to The Cheesecake Factory with two of my closest friends, Jill and Christa, for a pre-birthday treat. On the actual day of my birthday, we went up to Jason's mom's house for dinner. She and Jennifer made a delicious Chipotle Chicken for dinner. After we put the kids down to go to sleep, we played board games (to my horror, we've misplaced my two favorite games- Perpetual Commotion and Pick 4- they've disappeared... I'm hoping they're still in a box somewhere from when we packed our stuff up for the remodel). We still had a lot of fun.

To top things off, Jason got me an amazing birthday present- tickets to see the musical, "Wicked" at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. Jason asked his mom to watch the kids for several days and we were able to do a getaway without the kids! My post would get really lengthy if I included all the details, so I'm just going to give a quick overview:

Tuesday:
-Aaron and Christa recommended we try Frontera Fresco (if you watch PBS, you've probably heard of Rick Bayless. This is his chain). Really enjoyed it!
-Went to see Wicked the Musical. The premise is based on events that happened before Dorothy arrives in the story, The Wizard of Oz. It was great- see it if you get the chance.
Wednesday:
-Spent the morning on Alcatraz. Neither of us had ever been there. This was Jason's highlight on our trip. We both love learning about the history of things, so we thought this was very interesting.
-Had an incredible meal at Gigi's Sotto Mare in North Beach. We both highly recommend this place, but know a lot of people won't ever try it because it's a seafood restaurant. I had one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had, and Jason's halibut was to die for!
-Can't go to San Francisco without exploring Chinatown (I've been so many times and still haven't gotten tired of it... I know, weird)

Thursday:
-Visited California Academy of Sciences. It just recently re-opened after an extensive renovation. Wonderful place! We can't wait to take the kids someday. It has a planetarium, an aquarium, a rainforest, a living roof, and tons of exhibits geared towards greener living. We saw a show in the planetarium- the screen is ginormous!
-Lunch at Park Chow. We came across it while walking near Golden Gate Park and it was packed with people. We know why- really good food in a comfortable atmosphere.
-Jason ran in a track meet at his high school... That in itself deserves its own post (which I'll get to soon)!

We are sooo grateful to Jason's mom for taking the kids! Our getaway was a great way for us to reconnect, make new memories, and reminisce! It was indeed, a very happy birthday! (Picture slideshow on the right)

3 comments:

JHNickodemus said...

Yay for Wicked!

The Lomeli clan said...

How fun! You know what I really liked about your post? The mentioning of all the places to eat. I love china town too, although the smell can be a bit much if you are by the markets. I am glad you had fun!

Jamie said...

Wow! You went to the Academy of Sciences! After seeing the write-up about it in Sunset a couple months ago, Randy and I have had it on our to-do list! Glad you had such a great birthday!