Going Home

Our hopes of having one last day of fun in San Francisco were dashed when this happened:

We were waiting to take a trolley ride, but the route we chose happened to malfunction. After looking up the best alternative trolley route, I was pulling out of our parking space when this truck crossed lanes and hit us.

If he had just stopped, there would have been virtually no damage to either car, but for some reason he angled right into us until he ripped our bumper off. As miserable as the next hour was, I learned that Brent and I can be a really good team in a crisis. A passenger in the car next to us had her window down and I heard her gasp when the accident happened. I called out, "Did you see that?" and she nodded she did. Brent ran out and grabbed her phone number before the light turned green. I pulled back into the parking space and checked on the girls. We both immediately started snapping photos. 

The driver and his passenger parked around the corner and when we tried to talk to them, they both stated they didn't speak any English. Their faces fell when I told them both Brent and I spoke Spanish. Brent communicated with them as well as his father regarding insurance, while I kept the girls calm in the car. Once the adrenaline wore off, I burst into tears. We were at the tail end of this vacation and it could not have ended more horribly. 

Even though we had hours until our flight, we just headed to the airport once everything was settled.

Brent and I sat in a bit of a daze, still upset and exhausted over what had happened. The girls found friends in these cute little boys and they all bonded over fidget spinners. 

 The juxtaposition of these pictures of our flight out to the west coast and our flight back to Chicago remind me of Norman Rockwell's Coming and Going.

Only Sydney seemed to perk up somehow.

 We said goodbye to San Francisco, although I can't say we left our hearts there.

Chicago is our home, for sure.

Even Brigitta's doll seemed travel weary.

We happened to be walking down this corridor (my favorite spot in O'Hare) when they were changing the flags. 

We ran into those cute boys with the fidget spinners at baggage claim. It felt like we already had friends welcoming us home.

Walking into our house was a dream. Everything was clean and our beds were waiting for us. Everyone slept hard, the kind of sleep you really only have in your own home, in your own bed. We had made lots of memories, but this is where we belong. It felt SO good to be home!

Oakland Temple

We attended sacrament meeting at Brent's home ward where his father is currently serving as Bishop. It was interesting, to say the least. The two main speakers were dressed like pioneers as their topic was on family history. 

There's something you don't see every day!

If you've ever wondered why Sydney can get so fussy during church, this video Brent took when he'd taken her to the foyer might shed some light:

She needs to dance!

Afterwards, we got to say hi to this sweet lady and give her a hug.

Her name is Joanne Silver and for our wedding gift, she gave us a crisp $5 ripped it in two- one half for me, and one half for Brent. She explained as long as we stay together, we will always have a little something. I loved that concept so much, I had our $5 framed. Brent pointed out the cost of the framing was many times the value of the ripped $5 inside! However, it's my favorite wedding gift and guests almost always ask about it when they visit our home.

We left church right after sacrament to have family photos at the Oakland Temple.

The whole clan.

Grandma and Grandpa Wuehler with siblings.

Grandparents with grandchildren.

Everyone dispersed after the photos but we hung around on those beautiful grounds for a bit longer, soaking up the peaceful feeling there.

We spent some time by the main, big fountain.

We enjoyed the pool directly in front of the temple.

My Grandpa Nielsen was one of the contractors on this building, and my parents were sealed here, so it's particularly special to me.

We walked a bit by the stream that runs the length of the front temple grounds.

We explored the upper courtyard behind the temple with the lush flower beds and spectacular view of the Bay Area.

We made sure to let the girls touch the temple doors.

They briefly left their mark.

While Julie was capturing this photo,

this little imp stole the high heels she had kicked off.

We stopped by the Visitor's Center where the sweet senior missionaries took a photo of our family and posted it on their facebook page.

Having just seen The Painted Ladies, we truly appreciated this display.

Temples from the Old Testament, New Testament and our time.

 We left not feeling quite so weighed down by the worries of the world.

  A bit happier.

A bit lighter.

A bit more free.

My niece Elizabeth was baptized in the afternoon and I'm so glad the girls could be there to support their cousin. The ordinance took place in the same font where both her mother and father were baptized, which was so sweet. 

For some odd reason, the only photo I have from the occasion is this one of Brigitta when she found a fake moustache.

Oh that girl!

It was time to wrap up the Wuehler Family Reunion and say goodbye to the cousins.

Vanessa worked so hard on the whole thing, she really deserved that nap!

Fisherman's Wharf

We'd traveled by air, and by car, so it was high time we traveled by boat! We took a ferry from Oakland over to San Francisco for a day at Fisherman's Wharf.

I love how Sydney says "San Francisco" in her little toddler voice.

Love my Sydney Pippa!

It was a bit windy on that ferry I tell you!

We had a nice time hanging out with family.

This sculpture is called Cupid's Span and the feathers of the arrow actually move in the wind. Cupid's silver arrows were supposed to inflict hate. The artists buried the tip of the arrow and front part of the bow to defunctionalize them. 

A quick pic before stepping off the ferry!

The first thing we did when we reached the Pier 39 was visit the sea lions. To be honest, I've never been into the sea lions because they stink and don't really do anything, but they are an attraction so we stopped by for the girls' sake.

They seemed to feel the same way I did, but Liesel thought it was funny they are considered "Sea-lebrities". Ha ha!

 I love how Brigitta is peaking out from behind the heart.

When the girls spied the double-decker carousel they really wanted to ride. 

As soon as they got off, the girls requested to do it again, but if there's one thing Pier 39 is famous for, it's how absolutely everything- from the churros... 

...to the rides- is crazy expensive. We stopped at a gift shop for some postcards and kept moving.

On to Fisherman's Wharf!

 Even though the lines were really long, and there was no indoor seating to be found, we stopped at Boudin's for lunch so the girls could have some of their famous sourdough.

Whenever I have to give a name for an order, I always say, "Elvis." First of all, no one can spell or  pronounce "Danika" so I just don't bother. Secondly, Elvis is distinctive enough that a lot of people quiet just to see who is going to pick up the order. This habit of mine came in handy when picking up our order at Boudins. I'm not sure what language the two men calling out the orders were speaking, but it was definitely not English. In a city like San Francisco and in such a popular tourist spot, there was an international community waiting for their orders and you could just see the foreigners struggling to understand them. "Rebecca" came out something like "Hurawachakkah?" Then came my order. 

ELVIS!!! 

It was called out, clear as a bell and an, "Oooooh!" came over the waiting crowd because seriously, it was the only name anyone understood.

We headed over to Musee Mecanique which is a huge warehouse with arcade games, musical boxes and the like. After feeling ripped off by the sky-high prices at Pier 39, this place was a dream for us. The girls were endlessly entertained on just a few bucks, while Brent and I were able to introduce them to some classic games. 

Whack a Mole!

 Sharpshooter!

 The race car game has me fearing for the streets of America when our girls get their license.

Can you hear Brigitta yelling, "Just let me drive! Just let me drive!"

Sydney wasn't much better. Her eyes kept wandering to her sisters playing the game next to her.

Liesel managed to drive the wrong way down Lower Wacker Drive *shudders*

There were some "games" that I hesitate to count as entertainment.

English Execution!

French Execution! Which is probably more violent than English Execution!

Opium Den?

Who on earth thought these up and then actually created them? And WHY?

Time was running short and I really, really wanted to stop by Ghirardelli Square. We hurried along as fast as we could but Brent grew tired of lugging little ones and they grew tired of being lugged. I took the older two, confident they could keep up (they've each run a mile with me multiple times before), and we raced towards the famed ice cream shop. Because, ya know, it had been about 24 hours now since we'd had ice cream. We were due!

Free samples of the chocolate squares were given out while we waited in line! Sweet!!! With two non-chocolate treats for the girls to share in hand, we hustled back to catch our ferry home. 

Julie and Suzanne organized Minute to Win It games for the kids. There was an Oreo taste-testing as well as a challenge to get an Oreo from their foreheads to their mouths without using their arms and hands.

This one where they had to shake the ping pong balls out of the tissue box by shaking their little booties was hilarious.

Sydney's sisters were pretty proud of her when she finally got them all out.

Liesel became rather adept at using a straw to transport Skittles.

So grateful my daughters have such fun Aunts!