Gallery

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice was the theme of our 2023 joint November birthday party that celebrated 7 friends at Geneva Car Barn & Powerhouse in SF. We had 7 different birthday cakes...

We spend a lot of time at nearby Mt. Tamalpais, where the fog meets the forest. This special place, with it's pygmy cypress, towering redwood, pacific ocean expanse, star tulips, and green serpentinite brings us back time and time again. This is Willie's first visit when he was a tiny baby at 8 weeks old.

Visiting Mena's family at sunset in San Pedro before drinking too many Spanish lattes from Stereoscope Coffee.

A day in the life: family picture (chosen fam not pictured) with our curly son at Claremont Canyon in the Berkeley Hills after work on a random Wednesday.

Patrick's parents visit from New Jersey and celebrate Carina's birthday at the birthplace of California cuisine.

Feedstore parking lot somewhere between u-pick strawberries in Half Moon Bay and the Earthbound farm stand in Carmel...

Surprise visiting Mena's mom with Patrick's BFF on our way to a self-guided trash art tour and camping trip in the Southern California desert.

Why did we keep calling Chichén Itzá "chicken pizza"?? We visited the Yucatan hoping to witness the serpent shadow phenomenon that occurs during the autumn equinox. Late afternoon sun was supposed to cast seven triangles of light, forming a snake-like body that makes it appear that a snake is creeping down the northern staircase of the El Castillo pyramid. It was overcast that day... (it was a special experience, nevertheless).

California fan palm oasis and waterfall at Borrego Springs during a heatwave in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park surrounded by bighorn sheep, desert willow, and dear friends.

Some R&R in Mendocino with the river otters, osprey, and floating houses on the Albion River. The river is unique for being home to a small community of legacy status floating houses that are only accessible by kayak.

Weekend in Santa Barbara and pup's first road trip. Willie was 4 months old and his eyes were changing from blue to brown. We stopped to take in the colorful Santa Ynez Mountain sunset, wowza!

Basílica de la Sagrada Família during the summer of 2024. Still under construction, by the way.

Obligatory San Francisco Pride photo 2025 at the Fruit Shelf (if you know you know).

Cassis was a highlight during our trip wandering southern France. It was charming with its wildly dramatic limestone cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean, turquoise calanques, and tasty white wine.

While caring for our dear friends' home in rural Washington, we left for a day trip that took us from shorts-and-tshirt weather to piles of snow and ice. We giggled at this sign on the way to Artist Point in the Northern Cascades. The views of Mt. Baker were spectacular, and we enjoyed lunch and a hike in the snow before returning to the 80 degree valley floor.

Patrick meets Mena's mom for the first time in Golden Gate Park before delighting in the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden (the oldest one in the country), where together we peeped the beautiful grounds, sipped miso, and snacked on Takoyaki.

Moving day! A year after dating, we decided to move in together. One of Patrick's roommates snapped this picture right before we took off and said, "You better invite me to the wedding." She was as sure as we were about our inevitable betrothal.

Willie has loved water since he was a baby, yet on this day at the Russian River in Guerneville, he became a swim instructor. Willie's best friend (our next door neighbor's dog) followed his lead and learned to swim, despite avoiding water for 5 years! It was a good day.

Like they say, cenotes are really portals to the underworld.

Camping in Yosemite National Park 2025 brought a lot of firsts! (1) Unbeknownst to us, the first weekend this section of the park was open for the season; (2) Totally unrelated, the first time Patrick camped in sub-freezing temperatures; (3) Willie's first camping trip (not pictured because he was too cold to leave the car).

Mena gets to meet Patrick's parents (+ auntie/uncle who are not pictured) for the first time during their west coast road trip from Seattle to San Francisco.

Anniversary this year at sunrise in Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.

El Capitan in Yosemite National Park with almost matching hats.

Patrick had ONE birthday wish last year: to see cows. And BOY did Mena make that happen! Mena strategically planned a hike through a massive herd of (mostly friendly) cows on a trail along the Sonoma coast. This was one of many cow-ventures that weekend...

We did not win the costume contest unfortunately, but watch out for us at this year's Halloween party. We were two rain clouds with a stripe of duck tape down our backs (every cloud has its silver lining). Special thanks to the excess of hard hats, poly-fil, and hot glue laying around the house.