I should clarify that “Tag” in this context actually means “day” in German.  I see that that could be confusing in the blogging world.  It was about 2 a.m. that Nate and I remembered the kids had set their shoes by the door to see if St. Nikolaus would bring them presents or sticks.  Luckily, St. Nikolaus still had time to get his act together.

And last but not least, here is a photo of the kids in church clothes.  No, they’re not their Christmas church clothes.  This was actually taken before Thanksgiving, but because I forgot to take one of them this Sunday, this will have to do.

Phew…done with Thanksgiving posts!  Now on to seasonally appropriate topics.  I wasn’t able to go to our church’s Christmas party, so I don’t actually have much commentary.  But Nate took the kids and I heard nothing but awesome things about it.  And I have come to expect nothing less than awesomeness from our activities committee…so sad most of them are no longer in our ward.  (Darn boundary realignment!)

Nate’s favorite part of San Francisco was Ike’s Place.  We planned our whole day around it.  He had seen it on Man v. Food (Travel Channel) and knew instantly he had to go there.  I will admit, they had some seriously good sandwiches.  I would totally eat there again.  So would everyone else in San Fran, it seems, because it was super crowded.  But worth the wait.  For the record, I had a California BLT with fried mozzarella sticks (in the sandwich) and Magei and Sam got the ham and cheese.  YUM!  Nate had this:

That 16.61 you see in the upper right hand corner would be the price.  And Nate ate the whole thing.  Again, I was so proud.  Unfortunately, we had a dinner apointment that evening, so Nate still had to eat dinner after this.  I swear, I don’t know how he doesn’t weigh 300 pounds.  That being said, he’s not as skinny as he used to be either! (He’s a guy and doesn’t care, so I can say that!)

Like just about everyone else out there, Nate’s family also has a Turkey Bowl tradition.  And while I didn’t manage to get any pictures of Thanksgiving dinner, I did snap a few of the big game.  I can’t remember if Nate’s team won…maybe for the sake of family harmony, we’ll call it a tie….

Nate’s family has a tradition of eating sourdough pancakes at every family reunion.  I’m not sure how it started, but I know it has to do with their Italian heritage and their Grandpa Borgia.  Regardless, lots of pancakes have been consumed over the years.  Nate holds the current record with 41 pancakes.  He did not break that record on this visit, per my request.

See those two huge bowls of batter below?  There was not a drop left.

Big Sam was the resident chef.

 Magei had lots of fun with her cousin, Aurora.

 Deveren, Sam, and Nate: 3 of the 5 Farley boys.

Sam discovered his older cousin’s Game Boy while we were there.  He didn’t have a clue how to play it or what he was doing, but it entertained him for hours.  He also felt like he could run with the big kids as long as that Game Boy was in his hand.  Jordan and Brady were good sports to include him.

Nate’s whole family knew we had to try this place after seeing Guy Fieri visit on Dinners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (Food Network).  I would have to say this was the best cheeseburger I’ve ever eaten.  It may have something to do with the fact that there is a huge amount of cheese…but dang!  It’s good!  The ring of cheese provides a two inch radius around the outside of the burger, and it is perfectly fried.  The restaurant itself has a few counter stools inside, but there is no realistic way to eat inside because it is so, so small.  You have to go out back and sit at picnic tables.  My SIL Melinda and I split a squeeze burger.  Of course Nate had to create his own challenge and ate a double squeeze burger…and fries!  Yes, I’m so proud.

On the way home from San Francisco, we stopped in Fairfield to take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory.  The kids thought it was totally cool.  I don’t even think they noticed that it was almost an hour long.  I now know all I ever want to know about Jelly Bellys.

Nate and I decided to take a little road trip while we were in California and took the kids over to San Francisco for the day.  We did the usual fun stuff: Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, Boudin Sourdough Bakery, etc…We did discover a new fun little shop: Kara’s Cupcakes…yum!!!  We also decided to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.  It’s on the “gotta do before you die” list, but had only ever bothered to drive across it before.  It was fun to do and provided great bay views of San Francisco.

We finally made it to the Sacramento Temple during our visit.  It is absolutely beautiful inside.  The rooms are full of dark cherry moldings and woodwork.  It’s not the typical bright temple inside, but it is deep and rich and totally gorgeous.