California visit round-up

I've started a couple of posts about our trip to CA and haven't (obviously) posted anything because I'm having trouble summing up the trip in a few cute paragraphs. The trip was about catching up with friends, having the kids hang out with grandma and grandpa, visiting favorite places, eating the foods we've been missing, and also deciding where we want to live, how we want to live and what our priorities as a family are. You see the slight dilemma in what to post. A few nice shots of friends?Or maybe grandparents bonding with the kids in Calistoga?Or maybe shots of the gorgeous weather we had in Seattle and Sonoma?
Those would definitely be more cheerful than pictures of our house in SF with a big "for rent" sign posted out front; Adrian and I reading the details of the Owner Move In and Ellis Act laws concerning tenants in SF (did you know a family of 4 in SF are entitled to $18k+ in relocation expenses if they rent your house for a year or more? Thanks Supervisor Daly, and enjoy your home in Fairfield. Snark snark); and endlessly debating the merits of SF vs. Seattle with young children.

So we had a wonderful time -- I remembered all the reasons I love (friends! food! granny camp!) and am maddened by CA (traffic! shit schools!) -- that was laced with the financial anxiety about the house and the "what's next?" anxiety about moving back to the U.S. next summer. Despite the joys of having friends and family nearby, neither Adrian nor I really wants to step back into a 2-income, 2-kid urban SF lifestyle and all that entails. We'd both prefer a lower key lifestyle (Seattle anyone?), but after much soul searching (and meeting with our financial adviser - hi Adam), it does make the most sense for us to stay in SF for the time being. So Lord help me tame the spider web that is applying to SF public schools from abroad. I think I definitely need to reread that Power of Now book. Not the one about software development, the other one about breathing and staying in the moment and pain bodies, whatever they are.