Best Blogger Meet-Up Ever: Runninghood was in my 'Hood!

I know that sounds very Richard Scarry, but it wasn't very scary at all :P

Amanda@Runninghood was in my neck of the woods this past week. I didn't even realize it until I saw a picture of her feet with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. That picture must have been taken from a place about 15 or 20 minutes from my house... if there's no traffic, which is never. I knew I had to engineer a meet-up. She had actually proposed this a few weeks ago when I was in the throes of getting things together for our family's trip to France. And I totally spaced... which was the case with lots of important things that week.

Amanda's blog is one of my very favorites. She is very thoughtful and thought-provoking on every aspect of life... parenting, running, education, kitchen-renovation, you name it. Her posts are filled with feeling and intention. Some are very deep and some are almost frivolously funny, but they always resonate with me. Do check her out if you haven't already :)

In real life, Amanda is every bit as beautiful as she appears in print. Her smile just lights up the day. She radiates an intensity and an energy that I aspire to possess. Her sense of humor is awesome... that means she got and genuinely laughed at my jokes :) Her children are fun and engaged and engaging and just as lovely as their mama. Her husband is such a trooper for hanging in and keeping track of the kids while we chatted away. Thanks again, Amanda's husband!

We went to a playground in Golden Gate Park where the kids could just run and climb, climb, climb and swing and slide. They had a blast.

Miss C nevers fails to make use of a good training opportunity ;-)

Amanda's 4-year old daughter is such a sweet and sensitive spirit.

The three girls climbing.

Miss C always needs to test her limits.

Amanda's 6-year old loved these sliding parallel bars...

She is such an outgoing girl. She became instant friends with another girl at the park.

Going down the slide 'properly' for a change.

Here we are at the end of the visit...

The moms look better in the picture on her blog, but the kids look like they are having more fun in this shot... on hers they look like they are giving each other the 'stink eye'!

Thank you so much, Amanda, for letting me hang with you and your tribe for a couple of hours! And for laughing at my jokes ;-)

I'll keep my eyes open for one of those fancy blankets made from the hair of a yak's balls that are so popular down here in San Francisco... land of nannies and fancy strollers and Sophie the Giraffe. I know you want one ;-)

And I hope we get to meet again soon!  xoxoxo