Double Dickson San Fran Trip

4 years ago, we went to Disneyland with Greg's brother Jason and his family for spring break. We had so much fun we decided to make it a tradition! So our 3rd trip was to San Francisco! We had a blast and I'll share the secret to joint vacations. Get adjoining hotel rooms, put the kids in one room, leave the door slightly ajar so you can hear if there's any trouble, get some treats, (Cadbury hard shell eggs)and the grown-ups play cards all night! So fun!

And we're off! All 9 of us SQUEEZED into our 8-person Yukon because we really wanted to all ride together. Tiny Ali wedged in with the little girls on the back row. They were good sports about the squishage!

Jaren and Chandler were best little buddies the whole trip. Jaren is a very hands-on, affectionate and physical person. 13 year old Chandler? Not so much. But he let Jaren snuggle, hold hands, lean in, hug and even kiss him. It was very entertaining for the rest of us.

We spent an afternoon at Fisherman's Wharf browsing the shops and finally settling on Bubba Gump's to eat. I know its crazy touristy, but it was the first time for Jason and Ali to come to San Fran so we wanted to show them all the fun hot spots. And the view of the bay is beautiful from where we sat! BONUS: The kids meals are served in sweet paper boats--a big hit for my kiddos!

Greg and Jason have always looked alike, but this year it was crazy--they were hard to tell apart! Their jackets, their sunglasses, haircuts (and color!) were so similar. They had a few people ask them if they were twins. And the kids would hug a leg and look up to find it wasn't their dad! Ali and I had to be very careful whose hands we were holding!

Jaren and Kenna having a cute Kodak moment. Aunt Ali caught so many great shots of the kids just being themselves with her super cool camera. Then Greg tried it out and got a little carried away shooting 500 shots of the sea lions! We had to confiscate the camera for the good of everyone!

One of my very favorite shots of Kenna.

Ali looking lovely, Jason making his famous Photo Face! We decided to take the kids to Rainforest Cafe. It was tough to get good pictures in there because it was so dark but the kids loved exploring the other rooms and seeing all the animals. Can't say much for the food or the service, but the atmosphere was super cool!

You never know what interesting things you will see, smell or hear walking around Chinatown. The girls saw some unidenitifed animals hanging from strings at a market. Kaelyn thought they were baby pigs, and Kodie thought maybe guinea pigs? Whatever they were, we did not buy them, but I did find a beautiful cherry blossom painting on rice paper that we bought for our bedroom.

No trip to San Fran is complete without a visit to Ghirradelli Square. We all split giant ice cream sundaes with Ghirradelli hot fudge on it. Soooo good!

Even though we don't get to see these guys very often, I love that when we do we all just pick up right where we left off. Especially these two. Kaelyn and Kodie played, giggled, smirked, whispered and laughed the whole time. Can't wait to see where we'll go next !!