August 2018
San Francisco mini trip
We were invited to celebrate our friend Angie’s 40th birthday in San Francisco, so we decided to make a mini-getaway of it. First, the party, at a sort of grownups’ playground with a bunch of food trucks in the Mission Bay area; when we left, we drove past the Giants’ ballpark (which the kids were most excited about because there was a segment of The Amazing Race that filmed there, in which the contestants had to rent kayaks, then fish baseballs out of the water to answer a question). We checked in at our hotel, which was a couple of blocks from where R and I used to live, then did a Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood walk showing the kids all of our old landmarks (including actually sneaking into our old apartment building); it was nice to see that both Freddy’s and The Red Jack were still going strong! We saw the sea lions, wandered around Pier 39, stopped in to see our old favorite Celia’s bartenders at the place they work now (which is on the pier). For dinner, we ate at Hyde Street Seafood House (where the owner lady still remembered us by name after all this time!), then took the cable car to Ghirardelli Square for some ice cream before going back to the hotel. The next morning, we visited the sea lions again, then drove up to Muir Woods for a day’s walkabout. On the way home, we stopped in for a very late lunch at Celia’s in Daly City; hardly anyone we know works there anymore, but it was still a great pit stop and a little piece of our history. Heh.
We were invited to celebrate our friend Angie’s 40th birthday in San Francisco, so we decided to make a mini-getaway of it. First, the party, at a sort of grownups’ playground with a bunch of food trucks in the Mission Bay area; when we left, we drove past the Giants’ ballpark (which the kids were most excited about because there was a segment of The Amazing Race that filmed there, in which the contestants had to rent kayaks, then fish baseballs out of the water to answer a question). We checked in at our hotel, which was a couple of blocks from where R and I used to live, then did a Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood walk showing the kids all of our old landmarks (including actually sneaking into our old apartment building); it was nice to see that both Freddy’s and The Red Jack were still going strong! We saw the sea lions, wandered around Pier 39, stopped in to see our old favorite Celia’s bartenders at the place they work now (which is on the pier). For dinner, we ate at Hyde Street Seafood House (where the owner lady still remembered us by name after all this time!), then took the cable car to Ghirardelli Square for some ice cream before going back to the hotel. The next morning, we visited the sea lions again, then drove up to Muir Woods for a day’s walkabout. On the way home, we stopped in for a very late lunch at Celia’s in Daly City; hardly anyone we know works there anymore, but it was still a great pit stop and a little piece of our history. Heh.
Back to School!
August 15 came up fast this year. On the first day of first and fifth grades, the kids went out with freshly-dyed hair (allover green for Lukas, turquoise on just the ends for Annika), new backpacks, and not too awfully much reluctance. At the end of the day, Lukas said he loved his new teacher (Mrs. Morcate), and Annika was quite pleased with Mr. Lozano’s informing them that each of the kids in their classroom had been chosen specially. Per our new tradition, we went to Pinkberry for treats after school — a good way to end a big day.
August 15 came up fast this year. On the first day of first and fifth grades, the kids went out with freshly-dyed hair (allover green for Lukas, turquoise on just the ends for Annika), new backpacks, and not too awfully much reluctance. At the end of the day, Lukas said he loved his new teacher (Mrs. Morcate), and Annika was quite pleased with Mr. Lozano’s informing them that each of the kids in their classroom had been chosen specially. Per our new tradition, we went to Pinkberry for treats after school — a good way to end a big day.
Family fun
We were all over the place this month!
—Clean teeth, side of bacon: I had to reschedule the kids’ dentist appointments so many times that finally all we could get was 7:00 a.m. the week before school started, so we made it fun: I took the kids out for waffles afterward, since they had no cavities.
—Epic day o’ fun: We never do more than one Thing per day, if we can at all help it, but I guess we went a little nuts one Saturday this month? We started with mini golf, right when the place opened; Lukas had been begging to go for months, and this time, they were both more or less mature enough to not flip out when the ball failed to do what they wanted. Then, straight from there, we went bowling, getting pizza for lunch right in our lane. When we got home, it was pool time, then dinner, then we kept going to the very end with a family movie night (Napoleon Dynamite). And now … we may never leave the house again … heh. Awesome day!
—Fun with other families: The weekend before school started, we had a long-overdue pool & grillage day with the Carneys. The second week of school, at my friend Ami’s brilliant suggestion, she and I took the kids bowling Friday afternoon, then adjourned to our house where the dudes (R. and Ritesh) joined us after work for a fabulous spread of Indian takeout from a restaurant the Patels had discovered. The kids played while the grownups ate and had nightcaps, and not a single disruption occurred — miraculous! We also did a Chuck E. Cheese outing with the Patels and Raina at the end of the first week of school; the kids did another week of tennis camp; Annika had Raina over for a sleepover at our house the Sunday before school started; and Lukas and I spent an afternoon at Emmett’s pool-club birthday party while R. worked on some stuff at the condo and Annika stayed home alone-ish (with Niamh, i.e. with no adult supervision — pretty big step!).
—They complain, but they like it: Whenever possible, I’ve been walking to get the kids from school, instead of driving. It avoids using gas, it’s good exercise and fresh air, it’s practice for Disneyland next month, and it really is a good way to transition from school to home (mentally and emotionally). They always bitch when they see me show up in my walking clothes, but they get over it pretty quickly and it’s always a nice time in the end (especially when they use their little digital cameras to take pics of interesting stuff on the way, a good suggestion by R.!).
We were all over the place this month!
—Clean teeth, side of bacon: I had to reschedule the kids’ dentist appointments so many times that finally all we could get was 7:00 a.m. the week before school started, so we made it fun: I took the kids out for waffles afterward, since they had no cavities.
—Epic day o’ fun: We never do more than one Thing per day, if we can at all help it, but I guess we went a little nuts one Saturday this month? We started with mini golf, right when the place opened; Lukas had been begging to go for months, and this time, they were both more or less mature enough to not flip out when the ball failed to do what they wanted. Then, straight from there, we went bowling, getting pizza for lunch right in our lane. When we got home, it was pool time, then dinner, then we kept going to the very end with a family movie night (Napoleon Dynamite). And now … we may never leave the house again … heh. Awesome day!
—Fun with other families: The weekend before school started, we had a long-overdue pool & grillage day with the Carneys. The second week of school, at my friend Ami’s brilliant suggestion, she and I took the kids bowling Friday afternoon, then adjourned to our house where the dudes (R. and Ritesh) joined us after work for a fabulous spread of Indian takeout from a restaurant the Patels had discovered. The kids played while the grownups ate and had nightcaps, and not a single disruption occurred — miraculous! We also did a Chuck E. Cheese outing with the Patels and Raina at the end of the first week of school; the kids did another week of tennis camp; Annika had Raina over for a sleepover at our house the Sunday before school started; and Lukas and I spent an afternoon at Emmett’s pool-club birthday party while R. worked on some stuff at the condo and Annika stayed home alone-ish (with Niamh, i.e. with no adult supervision — pretty big step!).
—They complain, but they like it: Whenever possible, I’ve been walking to get the kids from school, instead of driving. It avoids using gas, it’s good exercise and fresh air, it’s practice for Disneyland next month, and it really is a good way to transition from school to home (mentally and emotionally). They always bitch when they see me show up in my walking clothes, but they get over it pretty quickly and it’s always a nice time in the end (especially when they use their little digital cameras to take pics of interesting stuff on the way, a good suggestion by R.!).
Quotable
—Lukas, taking umbrage at the LL Bean logo on his lunchbox: “My name’s not Little Ben!”
—Crimson Dynamo (Lukas misremembering the name of the movie we watched: Napoleon Dynamite).
—“It’s a ‘Go, Daddy!’ shirt.” Lukas explaining why he’s wearing one of R.’s old basketball shirts from when he was Lukas’s age, in support of Daddy, who’s having a rough time with some personnel issues at work.
—Lukas, taking umbrage at the LL Bean logo on his lunchbox: “My name’s not Little Ben!”
—Crimson Dynamo (Lukas misremembering the name of the movie we watched: Napoleon Dynamite).
—“It’s a ‘Go, Daddy!’ shirt.” Lukas explaining why he’s wearing one of R.’s old basketball shirts from when he was Lukas’s age, in support of Daddy, who’s having a rough time with some personnel issues at work.
posted by One of the Grownups @ 12:45 PM
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