Our 1 Year Sacramentoversary

Yesterday one year ago was the start of a new chapter for our little family. We woke up in San Jose to walls and walls of boxes, got ourselves an early breakfast of donuts, and got to work helping the movers load up a truck. Box by box our whole life seemed to disappear into that moving van surprisingly quickly. Then we hopped in our cars (also loaded with boxes) and made the ninety minute trek to Sacramento, to a new home that feels as perfect for us today as it did one year ago, to a new chapter of Joe working from home instead of commuting, and to lots of unknowns. I remember feeling the normal moving stress, but also butterflies of excitement because it seemed like the best next step for our family.

Ez and Declan joined us in our new house exactly one year ago (after spending the night with my parents) and they immediately made the place their own, exploring every room, closet, and cupboard, tearing through bubble wrap and packing paper, and making their own cardboard box playhouses. We walked to the neighborhood park and let them wander through the backyard, and it's safe to say they were pretty happy with the new place.

Fast forward one year into living here and Sacramento has not disappointed one bit. It's been such a great fit for our family, with plenty of outdoor adventures waiting for us, lots of kid-friendly activities, amazing restaurants and farmers markets, and parks around every corner. It somehow strikes the perfect balance of being a city with a small town mentality. Clearly I can go on and on about all the reasons I love Sacramento, but, for your sake, I'll narrow it down to my top 5 favorites in a few categories 😉

Top 5 Restaurants

1. Coconut's Fish Cafe will always hold a special place for us, because not only is it delicious Hawaiian inspired food, but it's one of the first places we ate at here, and one we continue to go back to. 
2. Sai Varee has some of the best Thai food (we get the salmon fried rice every time) and we seem to find ourselves coming back here at least once a month. 
3. Bacon & Butter is tops for brunch, just ask the lines and lines of people waiting outside. Definitely get a bonut if it's on the menu (biscuit + donut) - seriously one of the best things I've ever tasted. 
4. Fox & Goose Pub is another one of the first places we ate at and continue to go back as often as possible. Any place with vegetarian chili automatically gets 5 stars from me. Also, the ollalaberry scone + Devonshire cream is amazing (and I'm not even a huge scone fan).
5. Baker's Donuts - it was really hard to narrow down just five places, and it's kinda weird to put a donut place on the list, BUT, Sacramento really loves donuts (they even have a donut festival) and I really love donuts, so onto the list it goes. (Fruity Pebbles is my must-have.) #basic

Top 5 Outdoor Spots 

1. Auburn is one of our favorite hiking spots, there are tons of trails, lots of trees (and shade!), and during the summer it's the perfect place to dip our toes in the river and cool off. 
2.  The Sacramento River was one our go to spots on the hottest summer days. It has some perfect shallow spots for wading, cooling off, splashing, and boat watching. 
3. Consumnes River Preserve is the perfect easy but still scenic nature walk, especially if you love birds. It's flat and easy for kids, but just don't go during summer when everything is dried out and most of the birds have moved on. 
4. Pena Adobe is new to us, but it's quickly become one of our top hiking spots. It's got cows, a tree swing, plenty of rocks to climb on, and a relatively easy (though hilly) path. 
5. UC Davis's Arboretum is mainly on this list because we once saw a river otter swimming around, and it was the cutest thing EVER, but also because we love wandering around and and all college campuses (Sac State included!). 

Top 5 Kid Activities 

1. Wacky Tacky is definitely top of the list if you ask Ez and Decky. This is an indoor playground that we visit once a week so the kids can run around for a few hours (yes, hours - they have boundless energy). This place has been a lifesaver on rainy days. 
2. Wading Pools - Sacramento (and Elk Grove) have SO MANY free wading pools just for younger kids. Last summer was definitely one of our best yet because we got to go swimming almost every day. Everywhere else we've lived the pools have either cost money and/or been super crowded because there were only a couple to choose from. 
3. Fairy Tale Town is one of those places that doesn't seem super impressive to me, but the kids go absolutely crazy there every single time and never want to leave. They also do a lot of fun holiday events (like trick or treating, or the Grinch + fake snow) so that wins them extra points from me. 
4. The Sacramento Zoo is not super huge, but they have giraffes and big cats, so that's good enough for us. Bonus points that we can see the giraffes from the street every time we drive by. 
5. The train museum is pretty amazing for kids, and even if you don't want to pay to go inside there are a bunch of old trains you can check out right by the river as well. 

Top 5 Holiday Events 

1. Old Town's Festival of Lights is a must see. Preferably several times throughout the Christmas season. We love the little bits of Sacramento history they work into the story, and, of course, the lights and fake snow. 
2. Bastaio Farms Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch. Halloween is the BEST time to live in a farming community, and this past fall we had our pick of corn mazes and pumpkin patches (we literally went at least twice a week all of October), but, our favorite was definitely Bastaio farms. The corn maze was the perfect size (big enough to get lost in, small enough to not take ALL DAY to get back out), the pumpkins were prime, and the giant tubs of corn kernels and mini tractors to ride were just icing on the cake. Ez still asks to go back weekly.
3. Fab 40s Christmas Lights - Ez and I have FINALLY found a town that matches our enthusiasm for Christmas. Yes, we've lived in other towns with neighborhoods that decorate, but, what sets Sacramento apart is the festivity of everyone wandering around looking at the lights. It's like an impromptu parade/party every night of December leading up to Christmas. Horse drawn carriages with lights on the horses, old vintage cars all decorated and driving up and down the streets, even Santa Clause riding a lit up bicycle. Not to mention the houses are gorgeous and so festive. Just writing this is making me miss Christmas all over again... 🎄
4. Noon Year's Eve at the Crocker Art Museum was the ideal new year's celebration for kids. It had all the classic New Year's Eve stuff: a ball drop, a countdown, dancing and a DJ, giant bubbles (if that's not part of your traditional New Year's Eve, then you're missing out), and, the best part? It's all takes place at noon. This past New Year's Eve was the first time we got to really celebrate the New Year with the kiddos, and we all had the most fun ever. 
5. Global Winter Wonderland was such a good way to extend the holidays a teensy bit for us. They had amazing light displays set up to look like various landmarks from different countries, some of which you could actually climb on or walk through. 

Top 5 Sacramento Memories 

1. Ez's first day at school is one of those milestones that snuck up on us all too quickly. Schools were one of the first things we looked at when we moved and after lots and lots of searching we finally found the perfect preschool for Ez, which he seems to love (most days). 
2. Mini kid-free staycations with Joe. As much as we love exploring with the kids, every now and then we love to drop them off with the grandparents and have a night to ourselves exploring the less kid-friendly aspects of Sacramento. Aka, drinking fancy lattes out of real mugs, eating at places that don't specialize in mac & cheese (HELLO sushi!), and wandering around without any real plans, just checking out new to us places and events like the governor's mansion, or the Sacramento Contemporary Dance Company. 
3. Garbage day!! It's basically a national holiday in our house, and this is our first place since the boys have gotten into garbage trucks where we actually put the trash cans out front (as opposed to the big communal trash bins). 
4. The hours and hours of backyard family time we've enjoyed. This is also the first really functional backyard we've ever had, and I don't know how we ever survived without one. From sprinklers and a wading pool during summer, digging in the dirt during spring, and splashing puddles during winter, we've already built so many great memories out there. 
5. Technically this would have probably happened anywhere we lived, but watching Ez and Declan's relationship grow this past year has been amazing. Maybe it's the space in this house for them to run laps, or the fact that we have five different parks within walking distance from us, but they love chasing each other, falling on the floor giggling hysterically for no reason at all, and sliding down the slide together, and wrestling...ok, usually only one of them likes that. 

Sick of hearing about my love of Sacramento yet? You guys have no idea how hard it was to narrow down our favorites to these few. And I didn't even mention the Capitol Building, or the Tower Bridge, or all the quirky little used book stores that have sparked a full on book collecting obsession in our house. One of our favorite parts of living here is that Sacramento does such a great job of fostering community, with tons of events and festivals all throughout the year, and we do our best to explore it all. If you're not completely sick of Sacramento yet, check out Lady Bird for a little glimpse into some of our favorite landmarks. Has anyone seen it already? How'd you like it? Also, what's your favorite thing about the town you live in?