Portfolio Tea

"Dear Family,
Please join me for the portfolio tea on Friday, May 15 at 8:30 am. Love, Kiira"

We received this letter in the mail. What IS a portfolio tea you ask? Well, as we entered the classroom, our child asked if we would like refreshments. "Yes, thank you", I replied. Kiira escorted me over for coffee while she fixed me a mini bagel with cream cheese. She then took me over to a binder filled with her work from the year. It was fascinating to see the progress. Sometimes you can't see the wonder before you eyes, however, when it is paraded in slow motion before you, you can't help but feel as if you are seeing a slow motion movie of a child blossoming. I loved every moment of it. My favorites? Seeing her pride as she took me through each assignment, each project, reading me what each contained. 6 years old - reading. So much more than I ever imagined kindergarten would be!

Karate

So many activities, so little time. Evan will have to pick his favorite one when the time comes. Lately, besides trying to hit, kick, swing at or even pummel any ball that comes toward him - he is trying his hand, as well as his feet , at karate. A preview of what's to come.......

Kittens, kittens, kittens

Ever since Calvin and Bullseye passed away (1 year ago and 2 years ago respectively), I have really missed having a cat or two around. I have been trying to be patient and let Alan have some no kitty time but I think he has finally acquiesced to my (and Kiira's) not so veiled hints in wanting some more furry friends. We do love our dog Rennie, and he does try to sleep on your lap like a cat would - however much I love his 65 lb furry body on my lap, a 15 lb furry body would be more comfortable. Cal and Bull were some sort of Maine Coon mix I think so I've contacted a few rescue groups to see if they could find me something similar. This past weekend we went and looked at some kitties. They were all TOO cute. I would take them all home if I could. The following are two distinct possibilities.

It's a beautiful day

Mt Tamalpais before the fog lifted



Mt Tamalpais after it cleared



Richardson Bay shrouded in fog



Richardson Bay as fog is lifting

If I could add the music "It's a beautiful day" by Ziggy Marley, I would. That's what these pictures would be playing to. For now though, I'll let you play your own in your head. There are days when you just wake up and see the wonder outside. This day was one of them. I wish those days could be everyday but alas my head gets stuck in the day to day grind and I often can't see the forest within the trees.

For anyone that knows the San Francisco area, we have fog. For those of you who don't - we have fog. Normally our fog balances over the bay, under, around, the Golden Gate bridge. Rarely does it creep its powdery paws out and over Richardson Bay. This particular morning, we woke to our normal landmarks shrouded in our old puffy SF friend. It really was magical to see it slowly slide down Mt. Tamalpais and lift from Richardson Bay. It was almost like an unveiling, slowly revealing our minds picture as we knew it. I found, as it happened so slowly, it gave me a chance to see things in a new light. I couldn't stop watching.

i movie, take 1 rhett and heidi

Yes, imovie. I what you ask? imovie. I am learning how to put videos together on the mac in their imovie program. I have signed up for some lessons so here is my first attempt at putting something together. Hope it works. I've uploaded it on youtube. just in case the below link doesn't work.

Spring break Santa Cruz

Our other adventure during Spring Break was to venture down to Santa Cruz to spend some time with our friends and neighbors the Renney's. Claire is Kiira's age and Jack is just a little older than Evan.

We left on a Friday (it's only an hour and a half drive down the coast) and arrived without fuss. The house was wonderful and we had our own little guest house in the back. The beach was about 20 yards from the front door so the kids were thrilled.







You can check out many of the beach photos (more beach photos) or boardwalk photos here.

Saturday we did the boardwalk and the kids had a blast doing all the kiddie rides.







Claire and Kiira were so sad to leave each other Saturday that Kiira and I stayed.



Alas, Alan had a tennis match on Sunday so he and Evan headed back to Tiburon for a boys night Saturday and Sunday. Fun, fun, fun till my daddy takes the T-bird away....to steal a quote.

Sprink break and the City

Although spring break was a few weeks ago, I am just now getting around to posting our adventures.

I think it is easy to forget we live in an area where there is an abundance of activities for kids. Especially in these economic times, we opted for a fun filled close to home adventure for spring break. We live just far enough from the city to make it feel like it's a world away, yet close enough that most of the day is not eaten up in traveling to it. We are blessed. So....we journeyed in on one of the spring break days and fit in MANY of the kids favorite activities.

First stop - the ferry. It was a windy day which made it exciting to see the waves hit the windows of the ferry.



Once we got to the ferry building we took the "train" aka the F-Market Muni to Fisherman's Wharf. We went straight to the aquarium where the sharks were the biggest hit.





When Kiira was a baby I tried taking her to the Rainforest Cafe - she was scared and we had to leave just as soon as our bums hit the chair. Not so this time! Rainforest Cafe is pretty cool actually (and the food was surprisingly good). They have huge elephants, butterflies, gorillas, cheetahs, huge tanks of fish, vines on the ceiling, a big waterfall, twinkling lights on the ceiling, and best of all, they simulate a rainstorm like you'd have in the rainforest about every 20 minutes. The kids were mesmerized.

After lunch and some renewed energy it was off to Pier 39 to see the Sea Lions.



Then to the boardwalk to do the Carousel.



Back to the "train" (Evan's personal favorite).





A quick pick me up at Pete's Coffee while we waited for the ferry (and some bird watching).



And finally the ferry back home with some tired kids.



Yeah!!! Thankfully our babysitter Sarah came too to help with headcount so I actually went home with the same number of kids that I came with. Phew.