April Dump!

School gets out about two weeks earlier than it used to (June 1stish now used to be June 13thish) so the crazy-of-school-madness starts two weeks earlier.  I've been running with my head down smashing through life's obstacles like a boss.  I don't know how life got so crazy.  I thought life was crazy with toddlers and babies (and it was) turns out life is always crazy no matter how old your kids are.   So here is a dump of some of the things we've smashed through as a family.

Having baby Lily in our home for babysitting playdates (the best!)

Adell's va-va-voom eyelashes after swim practice.

In Kindergarten about 2/3rds of the way through the year the teacher sends home a stuffed animal.  The kids are supposed to go on adventures with the animal and teach the animal life skills...then write about it and include some pictures.  Colter's class animal is named Candy Bear. 

We got Candy Bear for the night smack in the middle of one crazy week.  I didn't have one extra second to spend on doing crap with Candy Bear, printing off pictures and writing about it.  Candy Bear could literally go to hell for all I cared.  Too bad for me and the Devil, Colter was pumped to spend some time with Candy Bear and show him cool stuff.  Colter wanted to take Candy Bear to Osage Park and repeat an adventure another classmate had already had.  That was just not going to happen.  So Candy Bear ran errands with us, helped Colter do some chores and put together a lego kit.  Candy Bear also learned how to use a gun as a horse.  Valuable life lessons, if you ask me.

In the midst of crazy life I still have friends who offer to do nice things for me.  I cannot figure out how they do it.  One friend, Ellie, has picked Adell up from school every other Wednesday and taken her to Activity Days.  It has been a huge help and Adell has had fun with a friend, Sylvie, she doesn't normally hang out with because they are a grade apart.  It is a blessing in many ways.

Monster Truck Rally night for the guys!

Dinner and a movie in for the girls!

Clare's primary teachers (Bill and Linda Diamond) moved to Sacramento this month.  They have been Clare's teachers for a couple of years and she LOVES them.  There were a lot of sad faces and hearts but we wish them well on their next adventure.

We had this beautiful Sunday where we went to church, had a meal and played a game.  Then we went on a walk to Greenbrook School.  Everyone was nice to each other and we had fun.  It felt like a miracle.  While we were at the school we decided to play Big Toy tag where only the person who is It can touch the ground.  It was fun, hard and a good work out!  We played for over an hour and no one got their feelings hurt or angry with each other.  It was lovely. 

Things have been stressful at home and sometimes feel heavy.  But for the last few weeks (while end-of-school-crazy is ramping up) our home life has smoothed out.  I don't know what to attribute it to fully but I know God is watching over our family and I am taking every tender mercy I can get.

The dreaded (for me) Fun Run.  I never go to cheer my kids on.  I think the idea of the kids running around the school for fun is fun.  But I've never been a fan of kids raising money for school.  I don't like my kids selling stuff and being salespersons for a company.  It feels like child labor.  Now I know the Fun Run is different in that it is strictly a fundraising event...so selling involved...but I do not have the time to send my kids around asking for donations.  Moreover, I don't have the time to send my kids around to collect the pledged money for each lap they completed.  No thank you.  Life is too busy. 

I also don't have time to go down to the school and cheer as my kids do laps.  I never have.  This year I did have time to go (with all of the kids in school and all).  But I thought it would be best to stick to the prescident.  Will was working from home so he went to cheer the kids on.  It worked out great. 

Colter was telling me about how he can tell if someone is looking directly at him or just past him.  I tested him a few times and he always knew where I was looking.  I asked him how he knew and he explained how he could tell if your eyes were a little off to the side or looking straight.  He also said he had "a good eye" then he pointed to his left eye and said "This is my good eye." 

I took Clare and Adell to the BYU Vocal Point concert while Will took Colter on the Father/Son campout.  Lorien had to work and Wyatt picked video games over both activities.  

Will and Wyatt took down the fence in our backyard right before the rainy season.  They worked little by little when we had nice days.  There is still a lot to be done but they are working hard!

Spring has sprung...

Spring is my favorite.  All the new green is busting from the trees and there are so many different colors of new green.  There is also some beautiful new red/purple.  My favorite thing to do is drive through my neighborhood and soak in all the beautiful colors.  It is almost better than fall in New England...almost.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Erickson...

Today is Mrs. Erickson's birthday!  She has been a fantastic teacher for Colter and was fantastic for Adell two years ago.  I am the room parent for the class and so was in charge of getting a gift.  This week has been busy (last week too).  Thankfully, I found a good present and got the kids lined up with balloons and banners to wish Mrs. Erickson a happy day.  It worked out.  I also went back at the end of the school day to get a more professional photo (and see Colter at choosing).

 

Swim...and on a team too.

Adell has always been a natural in the water.  She loves to swim but doesn't know any actual strokes.  We finally bit the bullet and put Adell in swim team for this summer.  She has been unsure of the idea.  We put her in a few weeks of swim lessons to try and get an idea of the strokes she would need for team.  We also got Colter in swim lessons.  He is not a natural in the water and hates to get his face wet.  He needs to learn how to swim, so lessons were a good idea.

Fast forward to today.  The first day of SWIM TEAM!  This morning we were having thundershowers and hail.  Spring in northern California is kind of crazy.  Swim team was on and off and on again over the hours.  It was freezing cold...but no thunder so swim team was back on.  I bundled Adell up in her swimsuit and a towel and took her to her first day.  Somewhere down in all of those people is Adell, nervously getting into the pool.

Of course, I forgot her flippers at home so she had a hard first day.  She also was in a lane with a mega annoying boy.  She was not impressed with swim team...she wants to not do it.  BUT we are going to make her keep trying.  Hopefully, it will turn around for her.  It will help a lot if the weather turns around.

Finally, Feed ME!

The kids were so patient for all of our walking around the city and free sightseeing.  We finally made a stop for dinner.  I got to pick my new favorite Chinese restaurant, Fang.  The kids continued to be patient and added bravery to their skill set, trying some new foods.  

As a treat, we stopped at Fisherman's Warf again for ice cream.  We packed so much into the day!  I loved it.  I really liked seeing new things I haven't checked out in all of our years in the bay.  San Francisco is a cool city!

My sister is so pretty!  Her daughter is a goofball.  

The Balmy Alley Murals...

The last free-must-see activity on our list was the Balmy Alley Murals.  On this street/alley (and a few others nearby) the residents have all painted murals on their garage doors.  Most of the art in this alley had a statement about housing or immigrants incorporated into the art.  The murals were varied, beautiful and thought-provoking.  Again, it was a very worthwhile outing for our day.

One of many cement slides...

Another free-must-see in San Francisco are the many public parks with cement slides.  We've also never sought out these slides in any of our city trips.  We found a quiet park in a neighborhood near the 16th Ave steps.  Unfortunately, we forgot cardboard.  But there were a few pieces left from other sliders so we did our best.  We learned you need big/long pieces of cardboard for best sliding.  It was still a lot of fun.  Clare and Clara were too cool to try the slide more than once or twice.  But the little kids and I went down a bunch of times.  It was a nice free stop.

The Mosaic Steps at 16th Ave

This was my favorite stop of our whole day!  I've seen these steps (and a few others like them) mentioned in must-see-free lists for San Francisco and haven't been yet.  They are BEAUTIFUL and none of the pictures I took did them justice.  Also, the landscaping up the sides of the steps is beautiful too.  I think this is an awesome community project that brings a lot of beauty to the area.  It was so cool to see.

The view from the top of the stairs wasn't too shabby either.  Well worth the hike up the stairs if you didn't think the beautiful stairs and landscaping was worth the hike.

The Golden Gate Bridge...

We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and enjoyed some views of the bridge and the city from a memorial site on the other side of the bridge.

We also drove through a bit of Golden Gate Park on our way back over the bridge and into the city again.  There are buffalo and some cool slides somewhere in Golden Gate Park.  Today was not our day to find them. 

Lombard Street

We walked from the pier over to Lomard street and then hiked up the street.  The hills in San Francisco are something else. 

We stopped to catch our breath when we needed to (every three or four minutes).

And took lots of darling pictures.  Once again, Lorien and Wyatt decided to skip our outing day.  They were missed.  We were going to take the trolly down the hills to our next destination but decided to send Will for the car instead.  There were a lot of people waiting for the trolley and they only accepted cash payments to ride.  Sorry trolley...not today.

Sisters at Stanford...

On Thursday, Jennifer and I slipped away to Stanford to check out the Cantor Arts Museum and all of their Rhodan sculptures.  It was rainy but excellent.  We enjoyed talking and walking and looking...without having to explain anything to kids.  

We took the girls shopping when we got home (the only thing they wanted to do all week).  Then some of us played Dungeons and Dragons with Kaj (Jennifer's oldest son and our nephew).  Wyatt, Lorien and I have been listening to the Adventure Time podcast and thought we'd try our hand at DND.  It was fun and we want to do it again.

San Francisco Day! Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf

The Boudine Sourdough bread factory and store was awesome.  We got a couple loaves of bread to chomp on while we walked around.

We ogled the seals sunbathing at the end of the pier.

We also watched a magician swallow a sword (several kids picked this as a highlight) and watched a breakdancing crew do their thing on the sidewalk.