As the three of us made our way up the coast of California, we spent a day in San Francisco.  It was a chilly, overcast day...not unlike the Bay Area.

 We really hoped to get tickets for Alcatraz Island, but were out of luck. It's a popular tourist attraction.  Maybe next time.  So we took a tour of the Bay. 

 Here we are just starting out...not really feeling the cold...yet.

 This shot of the city shows the fog, again, typical of San Francisco in the morning.

 And here you have the CRAZY hair!!! It was SO windy! I love Christine's hair sticking straight up!!!

 The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge.

 Something is super funny to Grant...he rarely smiles like this...I love it!

 We cruised passed Alcatraz...Spooky. Abandoned. Intriguing.

 Indians Welcome??? What? Strange.

 I.Love.Fish/Seafood.   My kids do not.  I have had some of the best seafood here...I was able to enjoy some great clam chowder...It was a chowder kind of a day:)

 Christine (the ice cream girl) and I shared a yummy sundae!

 We enjoyed some time at the Aquarium...The kids enjoy learning things...they get that from their dad:)

 What would a trip to San Fran be without a drive down Lombard Street? I had never been behind the wheel before...I had only been a passenger.  It was slightly nerve-wracking with all of the cars and pedestrians! But it was a fun time.

Christine is a SF Giants fan, so we went to a game at AT&T Park.  It was so much fun!!!

The park sits right on the Bay...one of the coolest sports venues I have been to. As you can tell, the fog lifted and the day was beautiful.  Still a bit chilly though.

We sat in the top section and boy was I glad.  We had an amazing view!

I couldn't stop taking pictures.

Here I am perched on the top!

Grant said AT&T Park is the third most "Instagrammed" picture...no doubt.  It is awesome!

 More "Addie Time" for Grant.  He is looking quite comfortable.

 And here we are for Christine's REAL birthday...seeing "Anything Goes" at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. (Dad and Garrett had already flown back to Dallas for work.)

 We were off to California, again.  This time to an area we had never been to before...Santa Barbara.  It is a beautiful part of California.  We actually stayed in Goleta which is just north of Santa Barbara. 

 Making Grant's day by taking a bunch of pictures...

 We were actually standing on a cliff that overlooked the Pacific Ocean...

 Making Christine's day by taking even more pictures.

 I had always been a little intrigued by Hearst Castle, so we drove further north to San Simeon.  The drive was awesome.  A lot of it was along the coast on Hwy 1.

 This is the outdoor pool which is amazing! The tile work on the bottom of the pool was cool as were all of the Greek columns and statues. 

 More and more pictures...all just to make my kids happy:)

 Grant was a good sport, even though he didn't feel too great. He threw up during the night, which meant that he and I were up cleaning it up (yuck!) and he had to take a shower to clean himself off...and this was at 3 o'clock in the morning.

 This building actually looks like a church but was in fact the Hearst family's main residence. Crazy.

 My beautiful daughter.

 William Randolph Hearst also had and indoor pool built.  It was creepy...the tile work all around included gold inlaid tiles...SO very extravagant.

 This shot is from the bus ride back down the mountain. What a beautiful view of San Simeon Bay. But what a crazy, winding road up to the top of the mountain and Hearst Castle.

A huge smile for Grant...the tour is over.

 Happy 21st Birthday to Miss Christine!!! We are generally not home for her special day...much to her chagrin.  But where ever we are, and what ever we are doing, we do pause to celebrate in some form or fashion.  Here we are back in Cedar City at William and NaKya's.  The girl needs nothing and asked only for a pair of Doc Martin's...She loved them.

 Happy Birthday Rita.  We are blessed to call you daughter, sister, friend.  We love you!

 Grant is loving his new little niece.  He was sick the last time we were here and didn't get as much "Addie Time" as the rest of us.  He's making up for it:)

 William and his darling Miss NaKya.

 After seeing our beautiful grand baby, we headed south to San Diego so that Grant, Christine and Garrett could attend Comic Con International...Bill calls it a "Nerd Fest".  For 43 years, thousands of comic, movie and tv enthusiasts have converged on the city for the 4 day convention.  It is very difficult to get tickets, so the kids were thrilled when things worked out and they were able to attend.  Bill and I dropped them off each day and then did our own thing. 

 Our first stop was Seaport Village...one of our favorite places.

 Nerds for life!  Actually, the kids were posing here...but the shirt buttoned up to the neck thing says it all.

 We ate at the Corvette Diner...Grandma McClintic used to take us here...it's changed locations, so that was different...personally, I preferred it with Grandma...

 One day Christine hung out with us in Coronado...we rode bikes and had some yummy Italian food.

 I don't think the sun came out one day while we were in San Diego...it was like "June Gloom" in July.

 Evidence that we were in Coronado, together.

 Christine, aka the "ice cream girl"

 We spent a lot of time in the Gaslamp area of San Diego...this was the drop off and pick up point for the kids...what a great location for the convention.

 We did make a quick stop at La Jolla Shores...our favorite beach in the San Diego area...again...gloomy. Bill and the kids ventured in the water...NOT me!  I like a little sun with my water:)

 The grassy area at La Jolla...the real reason I like it so much...no sand in my stuff.

 Drying off before we leave.

 Palm trees swaying in the breeze.  Classic Southern California.

 We made a quick visit to see Uncle Jim and his girlfriend Christin Lanham (an old childhood friend)

 Our hotel was in the awesome little area of the city called "Old Town". Most mornings, Bill and I walked around the town after dropping the kids off.  What a great place, but boy was it hilly!  Quite the workout.

 Goofy kids.

 We paid a visit to the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center.  It was great!  We even found one of our relatives who was courageous enough to march in the battalion.  Very cool.

 One of the nice sister missionaries took our picture:)

 We had lunch at this cool little Mexican restaurant...this little lady makes tortillas and passersby can make a purchase right on the street...yummo!

 We met our good friends, The Tanners, for dinner while we were in San Diego...they, too, attended Comic Con...it was great spending a little time together in my hometown.

 Introducing the newest member of the Casper family!  Little Miss Addie Lorraine was born on July 8.  She couldn't wait to join the family, so she arrived 3 1/2 weeks early! She was a healthy 6lbs6oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. She has tons of dark hair(duh), and is absolutely perfect!

 We are all completely smitten with this little angel.

Grandpa is absolutely in love with this little doll. It's killing him to live so far away from her.  We feel so blessed to add her to our family tree.  William and NaKya are naturals...they are relaxed and in heaven with their precious gift.  All is well in the Casper family.