back in action!

Well, well, well... that was quite the hiatus. To be honest, I didn't really think anyone would notice. Who's reading this silly thing anyway? Turns out-- some of you are! I got a few requests for an update... flattered. THEN a few more... I'm blushing. Peeps want to know more about the big, bad Bakke duo way out here in the wild west?? Alright, alright... twist my arm... here I go! :)

A whopping 5 months has passed since our last post, and we've been bu-sy! Not to worry, our trusty camera caught all the highlights. Hang on to your hats-- I spare no detail-- this is going to be a doosey...

June (I think?): we journeyed up the coast a bit to Point Reyes National Seashore with our fab friends, Nikki & Nate. Hiked a bit, picnic-ed on the cold + windy beach, stared in awe at the long and gorgeous shore, and straddled the San Andreas fault (the geographical plate that will one day shift & put San Fran in the ocean... cool, huh?) We had a blast with the NW pair-- we always do!

Funny old abandoned tug boat. Couldn't resist a photo op...

and Dan couldn't resist getting in the decrepit old thing.

July: my little bro got married! I'm thrilled to {finally} have a sister! I've waited oh-s0-patiently for 26 years to have another girly in the fam, and we couldn't be happier to have Debbie join the crew. She's wonderful-- the Brunn children really know how to choose mate ;) Happiest congrats to my bro, Sean, and his beautiful new wife... you guys are going to love being married and you're going to rock at it!

Another highlight of the trip was seeing our niece, Katie. 13 months in these pics-- we (mostly I) couldn't get enough...

This was also the first trip Dan made home in nearly a year! We had a blast spending some quality time with his fam and friends :)

August: visitors! yesss! Dan's bro-friend (get it?) Ben, and another good college pal Becky + their better halves, Liz & Steve, visited for a whole week! Wine country, Giant's game, SF sights were awesome, but the highlight was definitely the Outside Lands Music Festival. 3 days of rockin' concerts in Golden Gate park-- a huge venue with thousands of people... lucky for us, we live just a few blocks away :) Black Keys, Muse, GirlTalk, OK Go, Arcade Fire, John Fogerty, Phish... etc, etc... we were thoroughly entertained and pleasantly exhausted. It's been 2 months and I think I'm just finally recovered from our action-packed week ;) Well, Ben and Becky-- what say you...make it annual? Outside Lands 2012? Bakke's vote yes!

September: Labor Day weekend we went camping with our friends (and my carpool + work buddy), Lisa and Charlie. We were itching to spend a weekend away from the hustle & bustle of the city, so we found a nice little campsite on a serene little lake... we enjoyed every ping-ponging, card-playing, lake-lounging, s'more- roasting second with these two cool cats :)

Charlie and Lisa had to work on Monday, so Dan and I took our sweet time getting back to SF. We stayed in a cheap little hotel in Sonoma Valley on Sunday and wine tasted our way back home :) Guess what? We even became wine club members at our fave winery-- Passalacqua. Isn't that annoying and pretentious? We know. BUT the wine is goooood. Come visit and we'll take you there... you'll see. *Wine club member's guests taste for free, you know ;)

Remember our friends Nikki and Nate? Well, they got married! Also MN transplants, the wedding was in Stillwater, MN. Sadly, homeboy and I RSVP 'no' to the nuptials because I had to work and Dan had school... but I ended up finding a last minute switcheroo at work + decent airfare... so I decided to go! Thanks again, Nikki+Nate, for letting me tag in... I know that can be pretty dang annoying. BUT, the wedding was FAB and the bride looked gorgeous and the band was rockin', so I danced the night away sans my favorite dance partner of all :( Happiest congrats to the wonderful couple!!

Even though it was a quick last minute visit, the Brunn fam hit up the Renaissance festival (a semi-tradition for us) on Sunday! Without Dan or Debbie around, it was just the original 5 + baby Katie. Ahhh... nostagia.

October: girl's weekend in San Diego! There are 8 of us girly- friends from college that have all sort of dispersed around the country... and when Kat got married in Mexico last year, we all went. Since then we've played with the fantasy of an annual girl's weekend. This year: San Diego + Mexico, baby! Sadly, only 5 were able to make the trip (we missed you Lisa, Emily and Kate!)

We had. a. blast! We did some sight-seeing, shopping, and beach-bumming...

The weekend wouldn't have been complete without a girls-night-out or two ;)

Check out the red carpet... fancy, huh?

Most importantly, we just enjoyed our time together. Cheers until next year, friends!

Just a week ago, my friend Naomi came for a visit! One of my best friends from high school (one of a whole two that I still keep in touch with--- you were missed, Kelly!)... together we are double trouble... it was a whirlwind weekend! Tandem biking like 150miles in wine country is NO easy task! *ok, ok, more like 33miles--- but still! That's not easy! But you can't beat the scenery... or the wine buzz on a bike. Good thing we had helmets :)

Of course the rest of the weekend we also saw all the best sights San Fran has to offer...

Dan and I even took our special guest up to Muir Woods (redwood forest) & Mount Tam for a hike... if she thought she was coming for a restful weekend, she was WRONG. That girl got some major exercise. You're welcome, Nomi. :) I *loved having you here... Come back anytime-- and bring your man!

If you're thinking that Dan the Man seemed to miss out on a few of the shenanigans... you're right. Poor widdle Dan took classes all summer long :( BUT, we're looking at the bright side-- the more classes he takes now, the sooner he's done and free as a bird!

Now it's November and we're coming up on our 3rd anniversary already! This weekend we're heading south to Santa Barbara for some R & R. Here's a current pic... I bet you missed seeing these suckers:

So there you have it. Bakke Adventures-- Summer & Fall 2011 edition. :)

Thanks again for reading! If you want to hop on the 'Visit Dan & Amber' train-- please do!!

We'd love some more company :)

Rated 'R' for geriatric nudity

Since our last post, Dan had 3 whole weeks off of school before summer session started and we were ready to party like rockstars! Nevermind that we were immediately sidetracked and--in true rockstar spirit-- became totally content hanging out at home, ordering take-out, and watching Netflix...

Lucky for us, we were free as birds to enjoy Bay to Breakers-- the renowned annual 12k foot race in SF. (Runners start at the bay at the east side of the city and run all the way across SF to the breakers of the Pacific ocean at Ocean Beach.) I can't stress it enough... this is a major event in San Fran. More than a race--it's a giant parade of weirdo costumes or lack thereof, {legal} public drinking and general craziness! Thousands of people participate, but only about 40% are registered runners... some of whom dress up (or down) to rock the tradition. The other 60%... well... they're just in costume and running/walking/sauntering/stumbling for pure joy. We were not about to miss all the action... so we packed a picnic and people watched + snapped pics until our heart's content.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: this is not LA. Peeps around here are certainly proud of their bodies, but not because they're rock hard. The young, pretty, college-age crowd were all fully clothed... it's the 65+ age group that was lovin' the breeze in their nether-regions. The novelty of watching old-naked-marathoning hippies never wore off... and by the afternoon's end we were shamelessly gawking at all the hotties.

**Somehow through the wonderful family grapevine this story was terribly misconstrued... and after fielding a few concerned phone calls, I thought I should set the record straight... listen up: we absolutely did NOT spend the weekend in a nudist colony! Yes, we are still God-fearing Jesus-loving people, and we're not morphing into full-fledged hippies...yet. ;) Sheesh, it's not like we were the naked ones! What's wrong with a little eye candy? ;)

In other debauchery news: last week the City of San Francisco issued a warrant for Dan's arrest with a $390 bail contingency. Truth. I freaked out. He beamed with pride.

Turns out it was for a boring delinquent 'fix-it' ticket for his car and he now has a court date scheduled within a few weeks. But for a few glorious days Dan got to live his dream as an outlaw...

The next weekend we managed to travel down the coast a bit for a long weekend camping extravaganza in Santa Cruz-- a hoppin' not-so-little surfer town with gorgeous mountains & beaches. Plus there's a nifty beach boardwalk with fair food and rides :) One of the American Idol cast-offs (James Durbin?) was there performing, so the place was packed with adoring home-town fans and news crews. We're not American Idol fans and we tried to avoid that crazy crowd... sorry, no pic of the superstar :)

It was rushy rushy when we left home, and when we got to the campsite we realized we forgot our bag of food. We would have never forgotten our cooler full of beer though. Who needs to eat?

Sadly the next day was a bit overcast and rainy, so we spent the morning at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Truly impressive!

Now Dan's summer session started and I'm back to watching Netflix alone. *sigh. Can't wallow too long-- I'm homeward bound this weekend to throw a bridal shower for my sister-in-law to be... Looking forward to catching up with friends and fam!