Night in San Francisco

Wow - a weekend out without the kids. Well, not really weekend, really just a night. But, sometimes that 24 hours seems like more when you are not used to being away.

A friend of Alan's got married in San Francisco this particular weekend. Our own mayor, Gavin Newsom officiated the wedding. Food was delicious, setting was superb (the Ferry Building) and the music and drink flowed as the night progressed.

How nice to get away every now and again.

The Imperfect Storm

Every year we have some wicked storms that come through. Not just heavy rain but winds that you feel will rip the roof right off of your house. During this time there always seems to be at least one boat that comes loose and ends up on the shore. We pass this shore on our way to school everyday so it becomes almost a story as to what will be there and for how long?

This particular storm rendered three boats helpless. This was a record. Like I said, we had seen one boat, maybe another a bit after, but never three at the same time.

The story for us is to watch the boats over the days and see how long they will be there. And when the process of finding their way home arrives, it is always interesting to see how it is done. The large sailboat in the front was the most interesting to watch as the two small motor boats who were trying to get it from being aground didn't seem like they could do much. I couldn't help but think about the little engine that could.

Apparently they could because later that day on our way home from school, that big old sailboat had found it's way home. Or at least to the repair shop.

Tractor time

There are very few places where you can turn your kids loose and not worry. The barn is one a place where I can. The kids can run around independently, get dirty, discover nature, see chickens, run through the grass and have adventures. They are fenced in so I know they can't go too far and I know everyone at the barn and trust that we all look out for each other.

My friend Amy has a son who is 9 months younger than Evan. His name is Ford. However, Evan cannot say f's so he has taken to calling him his friend "org". Now it took me quite some time and not just a little bit of frustration on both of our parts for me to figure out what he was talking about when he referred to "org". Since then we have been working on our f's and he, when concentrating to his fullest, can say "ffffffforg". Every now and then we have a victorious FORD!

Ford and Evan have appointed the dirt pile as their personal play space. Beware any who enter. Trucks and piles abound. I put his rain paints and rain coat on for easy clean off. Fingernails, however, are another story. Do you remember when you were little and your mom made you use that little brush to get all the dirt out from under your fingernails? Well, I am that mom now. Even so, the dirt seems to stay for at least three days.

On this particular day, Ford and Evan got a real treat as Lumpy let Ford's dad drive them around on the tractor in the riding ring. Good old fashioned fun.

Eddie Izzard

Ok, we don't get out much. Very few things are more tempting than getting a full night's sleep. Eddie Izzard however, is one of those things that can lure us out for some laughs and dare we say some voluntary lack of sleep.

We started at the Left Bank in Larkspur for some delicious french fare and then headed over to Oakland to see our comedien extraordinaire. As I said, we don't get out much. When we pulled in to park and were met with "That will be $30", we almost turned back. Is this what it is nowadays? Have we been out of the game so long as to not even know the going rate of things? I'd like to think that this price was an exception and things really have not come to this. So, as the car ahead of us turned around to go get more money to just park (cash only you know - who ever has cash anymore?), we proceeded to what I hoped was a gold encrusted parking spot. Maneuvering into the faintly painted lines of our parking spot (not gold I should mention), we followed the throng to the stadium.

The big question for us, which turned into a bet, was - will Eddie be crossed dressed or not? His signature seems to be that he is a transvestite English history buff comedien and quite frankly - I'd never seen him dressed any other way than heals and makeup. Wait - not true. He has also guest starred on several TV shows and the first time I saw him, I did not recognize him. He had normal clothes on. So, while we sat and pondered the meaning of tweeting (there was a large screen that was showing people's "tweets") Alan and I made a bet. I bet that Eddie would be cross dressed and Alan bet that he wouldn't. Like I said, given the fact that ALL his DVD's he has been crossed dressed in, I thought it was a safe bet. And by the way - since we DON'T get out that much - we got some GOOD seats. On the floor - 8th row back. No mistaking what he was wearing.

The time came - smoke billowed from the floor, music pounded.....anticipation mounted. Finally a door in the set opened and Eddie walked out. I had my "I told you" speech rehearsed in my head. Well.....perhaps I spoiled the outcome by putting the picture first. Of all things the guy was, well, how shall I put this.......NORMAL!!!

Oh well, many laughs later, a lost bet under my belt and the most expensive parking space in history behind us, we headed back to our abode to hopefully get a modicum amount of sleep - kids willing.

Ahhhhh.......good to be out. Can you believe we used to do these things all the time?! :-)

Ballet observation day video

Observation day Marin Ballet

Kiira is still just as excited about ballet as the first day she started. We switched to Marin Ballet last August and it is an excellent program. The kids have a lot of fun AND they are learning the proper ballet steps. The teacher is amazing and although this is the time of year that Kiira would normally have a recital at the Civic Center (I do kind of miss this), we instead had "observation day" at the studio. We are not allowed to watch the classes so this is a big deal for us to see what they have accomplished. They twirled, they jumped, they did ballet improvisation and they showed off the proper ballet positions. Nutcracker here you come Kiira!