Tilden Park

We visited our old stomping ground today (Berkeley) and went to Tilden Park. We hit the carousel and the Little Farm, but didn't make it to the steam train:(

This is as far as Lizzy made it on our "hike." My fearless 4-year-old didn't like the idea of a steep cliff. She probably doesn't trust herself any more than I do:)

Fireworks With the Spencers

We had an impromptu outing to Bollinger Park with the Spencers to watch fireworks. Throw together some kettle corn, chips & salsa and some games for the kids and it's not so bad waiting for the sky to light up.... except for that 45 minute wait for the bathroom. Thankfully, Lizzy did a good job doing the pee-pee dance and looking completely desperate, so we got to cut in front of the last 5 people in line!

Sandy Toes and San Francisco Fog

Weather report (according to Weather.com): Sunny and a high of 86. Perfect! So we head to the beach.... and it's foggy with cold gusty winds. Who would have known? It was sunny and hot everywhere else in the Bay Area, until we hit those last 8 niles to the shore. By then it was too late to turn back. We were committed.

Despite the pictures of the kids in bathing suits in the frigid water, it was cold enough that I never took my sweatshirt off, even when the sun finally did emerge. I remember now why Californians actually do go on vacation to Hawaii and other such locations during the summer months. It is just nice to sit on a beach where the weather is predictable. Oh we have plenty of hot sunny beach days, and inland is consistently warm without even a hint of rain all summer, but at the beach, you never know. It's just wrong.

When the going gets tough... fix it with food!

So the beach was cold and foggy and although the kids were still having a blast, there was nothing left for me to do but eat some greasy food from the snack shack. We have some very fond memories of the Stinson snack shack from our Berkeley days when we used to visit the beach more regularly. My usual order was what they used to call "Sandy Toes" (fish & chips.) I am not sure if my food standards have been raised or if theirs have been lowered, but the fried fare just didn't do it for me today. Their homemade tartar sauce is still killer... with chopped relish and capers... and the fresh squeezed lemon and limes are a nice touch, but the food did not make me forget the fog and wind. We were happy to see hot chocolate with whipped cream on the menu, however.

Here Comes the Sun!

The sun FINALLY came out and the girls spent the remainder of the day digging holes in the sand and taking walks along the beach. It was almost worth the long windy drive up Route 1.

Lizzyisms:

Last night as I'm lying in bed with Lizzy trying to get her to go to sleep, I couldn't resist refreshing her memory of the Golden Rule:

Me: "You know Lizzy, if you want Sydney to treat you kindly, then you need to be nice to her also. For example, maybe you shouldn't spring from your chair across the dinner table and try to strangle her."

Lizzy: "Well, you know mom, sometimes I just make mistakes."

Me: "I know, we all make mistakes. The good thing is that tomorrow is a new day and we get to start over again."

Lizzy: "Yes, tomorrow is a new day, and maybe we can all just forget about that one thing. I'll forget about it if you do."

When watching "Up" in the movie theatre:

Lizzy: "You know mom, sometimes if there is a sad part in the movie I get really sad and I get tears on my face."

On the topic of forgetting other people's mistakes, this one comes up every other day:

Lizzy: "Hey mom, remember when you ran over that poor little baby squirrel and smashed it?"

School....What's That???

Before we get too far into summer I have to rewind a few weeks to Lizzy's Preschool End-of-Year Picnic. The year-end parties get old (especially with 3 kids in school,) but this is one party I look forward to. We all meet at beautiful O'Sage park for a picnic and tons of activities for the kids. The great thing about this party is that the graduating preschoolers help plan and manage the activities for the younger kids. I love the ideas they come up with. Lizzy had a blast going from shooting rocket balloons to running the obstacle course to the make-your-own snow cone station. Next it was the bean bag toss, sand art necklaces, decorating bug jars, painting rocks, and Lizzy's all time favorite.... stringing Fruit Loop necklaces. She was in heaven!