Presidents

In honor of President's day, we bring you two important facts learned from the boys.

After finding a $5 bill on the table, Zachary announced, "Hey! That's Mr. Lincoln."

Alex told me that "George Washington had wooden teeth. He smiled mad, like this..."

Dr Seuss

On of our favorite Saturday morning activities is to go to Lakeshore Learning Supply store and make craft projects. Today they were celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday. The boys made Cat in the Hat bowties, and 10 Apples up on Top hats.


Alex's apples fell over a bit, we need to prop them up better.

Everyone was

Kung Fu fighting!

Alex went to a trial Kung Fu class and came home all excited about it. We drilled him on some of the skills he learned and he continued to enjoy it, so we signed him up!

Hands at waist!

Overhead block!

Here's a bit of his first class.

And receiving his belt.

Soccer

Today was the last day of Zachary's soccer class. He kicked a big goal and received his certificate!

Field Trip

Preschool took a trip to Chinatown for our annual Chinese New Year lunch. The kids wore their crowns, and we took the city bus from school to Oakland. Phil had originally planned to ride the bus with us, but ended up having to meet us at the restaurant. When the teachers asked Alex and Zachary if their daddy was coming, they told her "Daddy has to work so we don't have to live under the bridge." Fortunately, the teachers thought it was hilarious, so we didn't have to explain that one! Zachary enjoyed the outer dumpling of the pork bun and the fried rice. Alex is always game to try it all, and really, really enjoyed the noodles. It isn't the most complimentary photo, but it does show his love of noodles!

Monterey Day 2

The rain that had been following us finally moved on, and we had a beautiful day in the Monterey Bay area. After breakfast we started walking along the waterfront trail. Zachary saw a man running and dribbling a soccer ball and said "He has a soccer ball!" The man stopped and asked the boys if they wanted to play soccer. So he kicked the ball back and forth with them for about 10 minutes. Alex and Zachary thought it was really fun and it was so nice of him to play with them. Thank you stranger on the path! A little further down the trail, we came across this harbor seal resting area. It was fun to watch them lift their heads to avoid the waves, get washed out with the bigger waves, and hop along the beach.

And, a little further down the trail we came across this great photo op area.

Just as I was getting ready to ask someone to take a family picture, they asked us!
I think Phil had planned on walking a bit further, but we weren't making very good time. I don't think he knew about the seals, and how fun they are to watch! We turned back and found a little public beach to play on for a while. Alex and Zachary had a lot of fun bulldozing the sand into a castle. One of Zachary's new talents in "taking a dive". He'll just topple over. He found that it is even more fun on nice, soft sand.

Here they are, ignoring me, with their castle, complete with flag.
We hit the outlet mall again for some more rides. For the most part, they were happy to just sit in them. Which was fun, because they would try one out, and then run and trade. Alex has decided that when he grows up to drive a car, it is "going to be with no top, like a convertible".

After naps, we signed them both into the awesome kid's club at the hotel for a few hours so we could go out and explore alone. They were both so excited to play at the club, we could barely get a goodbye. When we came back to get them, we stayed around the corner for a couple of minutes, and could hear them playing hide and seek. They also ordered room service for dinner (which they didn't eat, no surprise!) and made a bunch of crafts. I know they had a blast!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

As is their way, the boys woke up early and we had to get out of the hotel before their stampede bothered the neighbors. We had breakfast at a nice little place in the outlet shopping center and then ran around the mall area for a while. There were a bunch of little rides, so the boys were entertained.

Then it was time for the aquarium. Alex and Zachary got bracelets with our cell phone number. Just in case.
The boys entered the coral reef and became the newest display. Then they were eaten by a giant clam.

Checking out the ghost jellies.

There was a little cave for viewing the sea turtles. It was (obviously) at kid level, so kids would just disappear into it and it took a while for the parents to realize where they went. Alex and Zachary really liked being in there. Then they cozied up to an Emperor penguin.

We saw the African penguins being fed, many sharks, touched some sea stars, and explored the wave tunnel. Then we returned to the hotel for a rest before returning to the aquarium for a couple more hours. We were able to get a table in the aquarium restaurant, right by the window. They have binoculars and a wildlife identification chart which was really fun. Alex and Zachary really enjoyed using the binoculars and I think they may have even seen something through them. We definitely saw a bunch of sea otters playing by a big rock. After lunch we watched the indoor sea otters being fed, and explored the pink flamingo exhibit. Then we got our own sea otters to take home. We had to cross a sky bridge to get to our part of the hotel, and the boys liked to sit in the windows and watch the traffic. I think they were starting to fall asleep. You can just make out the aquarium at the end of the road.

Monterey

After a fun day at the Children's Museum, we continued South to Monterey. When Phil booked the hotel, we had the option of paying extra for an "obstructed ocean view" room. We declined. We did however splurge for the fancy hotel a block from the aquarium. We checked in, and discovered our room was in the other building, across the street. Check out the view.Yep, that's the ocean, at no extra charge. And, right across from Grammy's favorite vacation restaurant. Our room even had a gas fireplace that we used a lot. The boys enjoyed watching the flames, and it kept us nice and toasty warm.There was even a beautiful rainbow.And a beautiful sunset.We walked around Cannery Row a bit and then tried to get the boys to sleep at a somewhat reasonable hour.

San Jose

We decided to make a long weekend off of school into an adventure. After naps, we drove to San Jose. Our hotel for the night was connected to the Convention Center, and the boys went exploring. And found this art.We wanted to get an early start Friday morning at the San Jose Children's Museum. Before we headed over, Zachary created a new breakfast sensation: Waffle-French Toast Sandwich. I believe it had one tiny strawberry inside. Zachary is a carb-monster.
So, onto the museum. While Zachary drove the firetruck, Alex wielded the hose. And served as the siren.

We painted Alex's face with a cat nose and whiskers. Later, in the pipe cleaner art room, he made some cat ears.

There was a fun bubble room, with many different experiments with bubbles. This walkway was buckled, and when the kids walked on it, it would turn the wheel on the right. Zachary didn't like it, he found it hard to keep his balance, but Alex played on it for quite a while.

The boys also made corn husk dolls, and played in the pizzeria. There were also many other areas that we explored. However, we steered clear of the water play area....maybe next time!

Just Another Zoo Day

We met friends at the zoo for a very chilly, windy day out. The cooler weather seemed to agree with the tiger. She is rarely so visible.

Japantown

We went into the City and visited Japantown. We had gone once before, when Zachary was very little, and it was a very rainy day. Today was a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy the pagoda in Peace Plaza. Alex and Zachary put on a little song and dance show. After one of their shows a while back, we gave them each a penny. Now after their song, they come and ask us for money!

Inside, we found this nice garden and enjoyed some Pocky.We wandered around, shopped, and dined.
Later in the day, the boys kicked back to chillax.