the letter of the day is "f"

A certain someone asked me about a song she heard that had the "f"word in it. After much discussion I finally asked, "what exactly is the "f" word?"

With much hesitation the reply finally came, "fricken."

"Is it 'fricken'?" I asked, "or is it another word that sounds like it?

"Oh its 'fricken' all right, or is it 'fracken'? I never am too sure."

vocabulary

The other night, we were reading together. During Jimmy's turn, the word "quake" was included.

He paused and informed us all that "quake" was another word for something that can happen on airplanes.

Something that would shake and make you wiggle around while flying.

And that something of course is -

Turquoise!!!

It took a bit of convincing on our part for him to accept that infact the word was "turbulence," but you probably knew that already!
ps these are 6 month old pics taken on a chilly day on the California Coast. You could say it was a "salty" day!

punctuation

(The following photo has nothing to do with this post as it is a final photo from soccer season. Since then we've been through lacrosse season and lived to tell the tale. We are looking forward to another lacrosse season, perhaps when it is not over 100 degrees every single Saturday morning).

Jimmy's really into the whole Kindergarten thing. He loves reading and will demonstrate this awesome life-skill to anyone and anything (including a stuffed platypus).

He's currently digging punctuation - periods, question marks, and (my most favorite) "questlamation points!!!!!"

what do you do in the summertime?

What do you do in the summertime? When all of your world is 110 degrees? You pack up some cousins, some grandparents, and an aunt an uncle and head to where its cooler - say only 101 degrees!!!

We've found Sedona to be the perfect location to find 98-100 degree weather in August. It blows my mind I'm excited when it is in double digits. I've thought of having a double digit temperature party when we actually reach that on a continual basis. I think I will and I think it will be called Thanksgiving.

Back to the post here -
On our way back down away from the coolness of Sedona to the hot, hot Valley of the Sun, we did some off-roading and wound our way over to Montezuma's Well.

Its actually a sink hole with a natural spring.

Its one of the first Native American sites I've been to where I can actually believe one would want to live there. The water was cool and refreshing and their houses were awesome.

Here is where the spring sprouts from. The water is pure and clear.

So pure and clear in fact it is most difficult not to jump in it yourself.

Thankfully wise grandparents are there to casually restrain you from your tempation.

Parents are also there and are slightly willing to pose for a picture.



Thanks for being such a great host, Montezuma. We will return.

But next time, we might take the paved road we found on our way out instead!

a san francisco treat

Nate and I just got back from 4 days in San Francisco. We stayed at the Fairmont on Nob Hill. While he was in meetings, I tootled around town on foot and on cable car.
Grace Cathedral:


Scenes from Ghiradelli Square:


Boudin Creations:

Sammy the Sea Lion:

Pier 39:


Coit Tower and the Transamerica Building:

Saints Peter and Paul Church:

Cable car on Nob Hill:

Our digs:


China Town:

Ferry Building:



A highlight was eating in the kitch Tonga Room. We laughed our way through our meal (which was surprisingly good!) and boogied down to the floating band. The "rain storm" they had every 25 minutes or so was "refreshing!"

I didn't leave my heart in San Francisco, but I love it nonetheless!

Sidenotes:
1. Tony Bennett first sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in the Venetian Room at the Fairmont.
2. It is a toss-up between lobster bisque and clam chowder on the waterfront. I really don't think you can go wrong with either one.
3. When you go out of town, one of your children will get sick and your mom will take care of them handily.
4. Yes, they do serve tea and coffee in Royal Dalton china in the Laurel Court, but you don't necessarily have to tip over the cream onto the floor to be sure. In the event you do think the creamer is empty, but it isn't, a kind server will come by and clean up the ridiculous mess you made and polish off your shoes and manage not to make you feel like the idiot you truly are (or at least were for that particular moment in time).
5. You will still laugh over the above mentioned event for days to come.
6. When butter fish is the fresh catch of the day, you should be sure to eat it.
7. When in the Tonga Room, you should have a Pina Coloada - even if it is a "Mocktail" and not a "Cocktail." Your waiter won't bat an eye when your date orders a "Fruity Loopy," either.
8. When there is an organized protest against BART police, the said police will not only come out in full riot gear but they will also shut down the cable car system for several hours. This provides a wonderful opportunity to appreciate how steep those hills really are.
9. Ghiradelli is all well and very good, but the finest baking dutch process cocoa I've ever come across is from Dean and DeLuca.
10. You may find yourself in a cab because the line to get onto a cable car is over an hour long and you are smart and realize cab fare is 2 bucks more than the cable car ticket price. In this cab you will be reminded of Steve McQueen and "Bullet," but you will get back to your hotel in record time.

trying old things

Today I was back in the classroom. I've volunteered to help out in the Kindergarten room. This time I got to run literacy centers. And you know what? I loved it.

I'm not really the room-mom type. I really don't care to collect various funds for various things. I don't enjoy planning and carrying out elaborate classroom parties. I don't want to be in charge of pta kinds of things. But, I do want to teach.

I love helping a child discover that s/he can actually read. It really is something to me.

I loved it so much this morning that I went to Grace's classroom and spoke with her teacher. Turns out there are a few students not reading near grade level. And now a few times a month I get to work with those kids!

Yay