Boys versus girls

While the boys took a deterrence intended tour of Alcatraz, Lydia and I took in the sights of the town on the Dukw - an amphibious vehicle originally built during World War II. We rode the replica and therefore much safer version of this, and got to see much of San Francisco both from land and bay. It was a great way to gain an oversight view of the many different and unique sections of this interesting city and we learned a whole lot about the history, the people and even a few bad jokes....
After sight seeing, we were off to Union Square and some serious girl shopping. We rode the only moving US National Monument - the Trolley Car and jumped off on Market Street. I learned that shopping with girls is very different than shopping with boys, and discovered a whole new world of stores - Hello Kitty, Claire's, among others. Armed with bags of jewelery we met up with the just released from Alcatraz crowd in time for a real Italian dinner by the Waterfront. Another fun and exciting day in San Francisco.

San Francisco here we come!

We spent a wonderful weekend in San Francisco! The weather was perfect!
After a few hours of shopping in route, we finally reached the Golden Gate Park and marveled at the Golden Gate Bridge. Lukas took his camera and captured Alcatraz from afar, in preparation for his tour the following morning.
We met up with our dear friends at the hotel, Brent, Silas and Lydia, and headed out to China town. The cable car ride there was just too short, but food was beckoning us. Our first stop was the Fortune Cookie Factory where we saw first hand how all these wonderful fortunes are meticulously placed in each cookie - each hand selected for its recipient. The factory was more like a store room in a back alley, but well worth the detour. And yes, I did deposit my 50 cents since I took a few pictures.
We found a great hole in the wall Chinese restaurant and slowly enjoyed our meal, one dish at a time. It quickly became apparent that there was only one burner, one cook and one waiter, so when Noah's food was done, he began Lydia's and so on. It gave us some great time to chat and visit.
After dinner we were all rejuvenated and we walked back to our hotel, fortifying some of us with delicious pastries on our way through Little Italy. A great first day in San Francisco.

Oh, say can you see

Before dinner tonight Noah and Lukas talked Bob into singing a funny version of Star Spangled Banner accompanied by Lukas on his Mindstorms NXT electric guitar.
We recently came across a funny book called "Brain Juice, American History Fresh Squeezed" Lukas and Noah cannot stop laughing long enough to even read, much less sing:

"Oh, say can you see, Mr. Francis Scott Key,
Held Hostage on board, to keep him out of trouble
As big British ships, sailing in from the sea
Were trying to bomb, Ft McHenry to rubble.
And as he caught sight, in the dawn's early light,
Of the flag waving there, Francis started to write.
A song that was brave, bold, and in-spir-ing-----
Sadly set to a tune, that nobody can sing"

Fortunately Bob has a good voice, can carry a tune and managed to sing the entire song loud enough to muffle Noah's almost hysterical laughter. Mostly it is not hard to return a library book, but this one.... maybe it needs to go on our Amazon wish list?

Laundry, Laundry, Laundry

The laundry is escaping! As the boys pulled the laundry baskets to the laundry room, several articles of clothing were left behind, leaving a trail of laundry through the entire house. (Now, our house is pretty small, but it was still an impressive trail). Noah then managed get buried in the laundry, his head is really sticking up in the middle of the pile. Somehow the pile appeared larger this week, not sure why there was so much laundry, but Noah was pretty content when the last sock had been sorted and the first load was in the washing machine.

It is Friday, it must be science

School is back in session, and Science Fridays are back! Having Silas and Lydia joining us for our Friday experiments is making it even more fun and exciting. This week we studied sounds and sound waves. Spoons tied to fish line and left dangling while the ends are held around fingers in the ears can make some beautiful and not so beautiful sounds - it was fun to hear the vibrations and accompanied sounds that wood, concrete, metal and even brick made.
We pulled out our finest crystal for an experiment in making glasses play, vinegar, water, and fingers - amazing sounds.
Finally we attempted to create a perfect Hertz wave, ie one full swing per second. To find out how fast the pendulum swings on a long string, we had to climb on furniture,,,,,
And ABBA at full blast does make the speakers vibrate and almost dance - the phrase "all in the name of science." justified even the worst of sounds, I do not believe anyone suffered permanent damage.
Poor Lucky was looking for a quiet hiding place for her morning nap.

A beach every day

Our snow bird friends have decided to visit a different beach every day, and Silas is developing a highly elaborate rating system, along with a naming process to most accurately reflect the type of beach and the type of activities most suitable on each beach. Lukas, Noah and I joined them in their quest one afternoon, checking out the Cannery Row beach. Brent took the children on a hunt for the best shell and the competition was fierce, although I think Brent won!
Lukas spent time feeding anemone small hermit crabs, which the anemone quickly gulped up, no concerns for the holiday pound shedding for this anemone.
There was a lot of sea life at this beach, and just before we left a crane (or at least I think it is) decided to join the party.
It is days like today that make Monterey simply glorious - it was 60 degrees, the boys played on the beach and in the water and the sky shifted in color as the sun began to set - it is still winter and the days are short - hard to remember when one is spending the afternoon on the beach.

Good friends, Welcome!

This winter we are blessed to have good friends join us here on the temperate Central Coast of California. They escaped the bone chilling cold of the Midwest. Although they have been here before, it is always right to start a visit to Monterey at the Aquarium. We got a chance to meet an Albatross and learned a lot about these amazing birds, some of them can soar over the oceans without landing for several years!
For the Severinghaus' a visit to the Aquarium is not complete without a stop at MYO, so we headed over for some delicious frozen yogurt with toppings.
We are looking forward to a fun filled couple of months with our friends!