8:53pm
Patti: "Quiet down, Allie."
Allie: "Whadja say, Mom?"

My point exactly.

Family Adventure Day

The weather was too warm and sunny to stay home (even with stuffy noses) so Scott and I took took the girls to San Francisco to ride the cable cars. We planned it all out - park at the main junction and ride it down to the Wharf, over to Ghirardelli Square and back up by Union Square. Easy right? Well I forgot about all the one way streets and how most of the time you can't turn left. Yikes! Just as we were getting closer to a parking garage a fire engine got ahead of us with its lights on. The front of the truck was driving in one lane and the back end (with its own driver) was driving in the next lane. Then it stopped and the fire fighters got out and the street was blocked. We just looked at each other, not knowing what to think, never seeing anything like this before. Then it starts backing up! Turns out we were right in front of a station that bended right into the buildings.


Once we finally found a nice place to park for the day we headed to the cable cars. Line for buying passes then a long line to get on. There was some entertainment while we waited. One man was tap dancing and teaching someone how to do it. There were some guys dancing with their loud stereo. And then there was a loud woman getting into the music. And then started yelling. And it got angry. And then her shoes and pants came off. Yes, really. Scott and I were now at the point in line that gave us a front row view of all that was happening, so we turned the girls away from the commotion, trying to distract them with the cable car turntable. After a few minutes of this the music came back on nice and loud. We have never been so thankful for loud music on the street!

Saw some sights along the way.

Went to Pier 39 for ice cream and a carousel ride.

One the way back to the car the girls were asked if they wanted to ring the bell.
Good ending to a long day.

A few weeks ago I told Mollie that I might be picking her up from school instead of her going off to Chess Club; that's why the funny face when she comes out of class. It took her a minute to figure out who was hiding behind me to surprise her after school. Once she adjusted her focus she had a great time showing Amber-May, Zahra and Nikki around her school campus.

That afternoon we had so much fun playing with our visiting friends from England. The girls enjoyed each other just like we hadn't been apart for the last year and a half. We are already looking forward to our next visit together!

A Great Vacation

Not only were the girls off for Christmas, but Scott took some time off from work as well. There was so much fun! We...

Went to Christmas in the Park Christmas Eve morning to take in the displays and fresh, hot churros. That afternoon we packed up presents and went to my parents for the traditional goulash dinner and present opening. My dad created some atmosphere by setting up a tv monitor in front of their fireplace with a new yule log dvd playing on it.

Christmas morning we found presents from Santa in the stockings hung over our fireplace. Opened up a few more presents we got for each other. Ate some Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops that Santa gave us for breakfast. Got dressed and packed up more presents and headed to Scott's parents' home.

Breakfast again (brunch really for us - 2 little kids that wake up at 7am can't wait for 10am breakfast). And yes, more presents! I was raised that we all open at the same time and the paper flies. Scott was raised that each person opens one at a time, while taking turns going in a circle. The girls did a great job being patient for the right time to dig into gifts. Helps that we came prepared with new Etch-A-Sketches for them to play with while waiting.

Saturday was playing with new toys in pajamas. I think we will be making this one an annual tradition.


There was a playdate with school friends, pinecone birdfeeders, New Year's Eve breakfast with my parents, a party that night to celebrate with New York, a trip to Ikea to get toy storage, made a gingerbread house, Home Depot Kids Workshop, visited the Oakland Zoo with friends, took the girls to their first movie in a theatre (Princess and the Frog), and our first visit to Psycho Donuts. And LOTS of play time for all four of us!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It's all fun and teeth till someone gets hurt

While Scott was brushing Mollie's teeth two nights ago her loose tooth came out. She likes to say that her dad knocked her tooth out.

Tonight Scott was brushing Mollie's teeth again. He threatened to knock another tooth out and asked her which tooth was her least favorite.

Mollie looked at him and scowled. Then she points at him and replies, "Yours!"

ZING!

Snow in Campbell

We met up with some friends and had so much fun enjoying a winter carnival for kids in downtown Campbell. This is probably my favorite festival Campbell does.

A hill of snow was set up and monitored by the boy scouts. There was a nice little run for sledding and a small area for playing with that the boys kept soft by turning it with shovels.

Pony riders were delighted with ponies and donkeys walking in a circle. (shh! Don't tell Allie she was on a donkey!)

While mom's away...

Patti was out of the house with her sister leaving me at home with the kids and Kevin (Patti's brother in law). So we undertook a project I've been thinking about for awhile. It requires a little set-up.

Since Kindergarten, Mollie has had an odd fascination with Star Wars (suits me just fine). Her friends at school had been talking about Star Wars and the Clone Wars, so last summer we watched the original films. This year, she could converse on the topic from an informed position. She also received a Clone Wars themed game for her Leapster 2, which quickly became her favorite.

More recently, she has twice asked me to go to the drugstore next to her ballet class to look at the toy lightsabers. She has also taken to playing 'lightsaber training' with a plastic pipe from her T-ball set (so much for the future of baseball).

That got me thinking we needed a fun, safe lightsaber toy for her. Plastic was out because, well, she's six and her sister (who must have the same thing) is 3... So here's what we decided to do, and it was a whole lot cheaper and more creative than slipping $15 into George Lucas' already amply padded pocket.

We took a trip to Home Depot and the pool supply store and all our dreams came true ;)

Parts list:
3 foam pool noodles - cut in half
1 roll black duck tape
1 roll silver duck tape

total cost: $15 and I got six sabers and plenty of duck tape for more!

The kids were as excited about making these babies as they were about playing with them! They had a great time and they were the perfect fit for them. Safe, soft and a great deal of fun... yes. Even for me.

To show you how excited Mollie got, I present to you her homemade Lightsaber license... Now she can conceal and carry without worry.

And a special thanks to Uncle Kevin. He was a great help and a great sport. The girls had a great time playing games and having lightsaber fights! Thanks again!