San Francisco - Day 4

Our last day in San Fran. We wanted to see the redwoods before we left and found out that we could be at Muir Woods within an hour of leaving the city. We rented a car and started out on our journey.

First, however, we had to drive that famous Lombard Street. I think it is the curviest street in the nation or something like that. It was switchbacks all the way down the hill. Cars were bumper to bumper and people were walking down it as well. A fun experience for sure.

Next, we drove across the Golden Gate bridge - right next to where we biked it earlier in the week. It is an awesome view. 

It was a quick drive and we found ourselves in Muir Woods. There was kind of a lot of traffic, but we found a parking spot and headed in.

These trees are huge - they were beautiful and amazing!

There are several hikes you can take through the woods - you can stay on the main path, cross over the bridge to the "hillside trail", go up above to the mountain path or just stay by the creek and wander through the woods.

We learned that they use fallen redwood trees to make benches in the area, line the pathways and to make ranger pins.

They have a program for children where they fill out a packet while they hike through the woods. It asks what sounds they hear, what things they see, whom the park is named after, etc. Reagan and Cole were diligently filling out their packets as we walked through the woods.

At the end of our hike, Reagan and Cole presented their packets to the ranger. He went over it with them and asked them lots of questions. At the end, their packets were accepted and they were sworn in as Honorary Park Rangers .... Cool!!!! They were presented a badge made out of redwood... Cool again!!!!

When we left the woods, we drove back into the city, returned our rental car and caught Bart back to the airport. We didn't get home until after midnight, but it was a great trip! We did many things we wanted to, made a list of things to do on our next trip and enjoyed introducing Reagan and Cole to this city that we love so much.

San Francisco - Day 3

The week before we left to come to San Fran, we learned that there was a three game tournament announced between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Steve and I looked at each other and said "We should go!" We spoke with our concierge at the hotel and he said there were very few seats available to a party of four. Truly, all three games ended up being sold out. However, he suggested we get "standing room only" tickets and just be in the park - experience it and stay as long as we want. Well, we took the train down there, we went to the ticket booth and the great lady behind the booth was able to secure aisle seats in two rows right behind each other. So, we sat two behind two and we were right on the edge so we could leave whenever we wanted to (without stepping across a bunch of people). We had arrived an hour before the game started, but there were lots of activities for kids to do before the game. There was a big slide inside a huge Coke bottle, batting cages, people giving away baseball cards and lots of food. We played and walked around until it was time for the game - then we took our seats.

What a beautiful ball park!!! It is right on the water with a gorgeous view. We could see boats out in the water and loved being up so high. To stand for the National Anthem was very moving. Reagan and Cole were very excited. They got even more excited when the vendors started coming around. M&Ms? Yep. Corn dogs? Yep. Snow cones? Yep. Then came the churro guy. Cole looked at me and I said "Are you kidding?" He said "Awww - I wouldn't have gotten the snow cone if I knew the churros were coming." Well, next time, WAIT!!!! Seriously - we had a great time.

After a while, Steve needed some additional entertainment, so, he asked Cole to stand up and dance. (You'll remember Cole did this at the hula show in Hawaii ... all by himself for a minute straight.) Cole agreed and started dancing, asking periodically if it had been a minute yet. He cracks me up, but then again - so does Steve. 

I had to include a video, just so we can remember Cole's little dance. Sorry that it is turned the wrong way, but you'll still get the idea :)

It was almost at the end of the game when a man came up and tapped Cole on the shoulder. Cole turned around and the guy handed him a ball. Cole thanked him profusely and then examined the ball. It said "San Francisco Giants" on it and had several knicks and marks on it. It had been played with. We don't know who the guy was or how he got that ball, but Cole was thrilled!!!

After the game, we hailed a cab and headed to Ghirardelli Square. We had dinner at McCormick & Kuletos restaurant. This is a favorite of ours. We have eaten here every time we have come to San Fran. They have amazing seafood (so I'm told .... by Cole and Steve). They also have a great filet mignon for those of us who don't love seafood. We had a great table that looked right out the windows to the water.

After dinner, we walked through Ghirardelli Square and had to buy some chocolate to take home. Exhausted, we hailed a cab and headed back to our hotel to hit the sack. Day three is over and done.

San Francisco - Day 2

Our second day in San Fran, we got up and got ready and headed out to a diner for breakfast. I always laugh that no matter the weather, Reagan and Cole always want hot cocoa for breakfast. Maybe it is because I don't really give it to them at home much (sometimes we have it on chilly evenings when we've been playing in the yard) or maybe it is because it is a sugar filled concoction. Whatever it is, they LOVE their hot cocoa. After breakfast, we headed to Pier 39. We walked along the waterfront and went to get Alcatraz tickets. They were sold out for weeks!!! What?!? We've always been able to get tickets for whatever day and time we wanted. I guess we didn't plan very well. Next trip for sure.

So, we did some shopping at Pier 39 and played some arcade games. We decided to take the cable car from Fisherman's Wharf back to Market Street. We got on the cable car and sat inside. It is cool to watch the operator make the car brake and then go again. At each stop, people got off and got on. During the entire ride, Reagan and Cole were begging to let them stand on the outside and hold on to the poles. About half way through our ride, we relented. We sat on the outside benches and they stood and held on to the poles while we held on to them.... very, VERY tightly. They were loving it!

After we had arrived at Market Street, we headed into that wonderful mall with several floors of a Nordstrom. Just standing and looking up at the center of it is beautiful. I've been stalking a pair of shoes that were in InStyle, but that I can't find anywhere (even though InStyle said they would be at Nordstrom), so, we spent some time in the Nordstrom Shoe Dept while they researched the ad and tried to find the shoes for me. No luck. We had lunch, did a bit more shopping and then walked back to our hotel. Another big day, and we had a lot of fun.

San Francisco - Day 1

As soon as we finished the last day of school, we headed out of town the next day. We've been wanting to take Reagan and Cole to San Francisco for some time now. It is a city that we love and have been to several times, but have never shared with them ..... yet.

We took a 7am flight out of SLC and we were in San Fran by 8:30. We hopped on the Bart and got off at Market Street. That is one of my favorite places. To see the cable car turnaround, to see Nordstrom and that huge mall and to see the steep streets of San Fran - I just love it! We walked the few blocks to our hotel and checked in. I didn't remember until we entered the lobby, but Steve and I had stayed there before. We were at the Hilton Union Square. We rested for a few minutes and packed up to head out for the day. We were going to take the cable car, but picking it up at Union Square is a little complicated in that they only let a few people on since it is mid-route. We had big plans for the day and didn't want to get delayed, so, we hailed a cab.

We headed to Blazing Saddles Bike Shop. We wanted to bike the Golden Gate Bridge. At home, people drive through our little cul de sac really (I mean REALLY) fast. So, Reagan and Cole don't get to ride their bikes very often - only when I stand at the entrance to our cul de sac to stop people from speeding in. Since they don't have a ton of practice on their bikes, we opted for tandem bikes - the boys on one and the girls on the other. Boy were we glad we did that. It was a super long ride to just get to the bridge. 

We went along the waterfront and then up this really steep hill (we walked our bikes) and then we were on the road to go to the bridge. There isn't a huge walking area and this is where the bikes go as well, so, it was pretty crowded. I was glad that the kiddos didn't have their own bikes. Plus, Cole couldn't reach the pedals of the bike, so, he just kicked it while Steve did all the work. Even though it was mid-June, there were clouds on the bridge and it was windy and cold. We were very glad that we had jackets on. 

 Once we crossed the bridge, we took a road down into Sausalito. Once again, we were very glad that the kiddos weren't on their own bikes. We were right next to the cars who were whizzing by us, looking at the scenery. Yep - very glad that Reagan and Cole were passengers. Once we hit Sausalito, we grabbed some lunch and sat in a park. Then, we got some ice cream while waiting for the ferry. Once we lined up for the ferry (with an hour still to wait), a cabbie came by and offered to take us back into San Fran. He put our bikes on the rack at the back of his car and we were back to Blazing Saddles in no time. Yeah - it was worth the $70 cab ride!!!!

We were beat after that. We hailed a cab and went back to our hotel. We picked up dinner and crashed. It had been a big day!

Last Day of School!!!!!

Last day of school!!!! Last day of school!!! Last day of school!!!!!

We are SO excited for the last day of school!!!! Not only does it mean that summer starts, but the last day of school is Field Day. The students play outside games all day long. Plus, it is one of only two days (the other being Halloween) that the students don't have to wear their uniforms. Reagan and Cole chose their outfits, grabbed their lunches and their "end of year presents" for their teachers and they headed out the door :)

This has been a relatively easy year for Cole (1st grade was for Reagan as well). He quickly learned the concepts he was being taught, received almost straight A's all year long, made friends easily and was a pleasure to his teacher. One thing that I was really proud of was how well he learned to do his book reports. They start their own book reports (not group book reports) in first grade. The first month, he had to fill in blanks on a paper about the book he read. We talked about how if the teacher had four lines for his answer, that he needed to fill in all four lines. We talked about how he could answer a question like "What is the rising action that leads to the climax in the story?" with "The rising action that leads to the climax in the story is ......". We talked about characters, plot, setting, conclusion, recommendations, etc. Once he had to just start from scratch, writing the book report (instead of filling in lines), I had him take some paper and just do his best writing the answer to the question. At first, we would have to go back through and change misspelled words, change grammatical errors, and I had to prompt him with questions to make the answer much, much longer. However, by the 9th book report in May, he had very few spelling errors, very few grammatical errors and I think I only suggested he add a bit more detail to one of his areas in the report. He really had done it almost all on his own. We were sort of "done" by the time we hit May and I guess I had sort of given up on trying to be the tough parent. We were just trying to get through the year. Well, we were very pleased to see that Cole received a 100% on May's book report. Every book report he did received an A, but that 100% was just what he needed to solidify his confidence in his writing. Yeah!!!

Conversely, this has been a tough year for Reagan. Ever since she started preschool, six years ago, we have heard from other parents how hard third grade is. Many of the parents said that they would leave Challenger before third grade because there is a huge jump in classwork, homework, projects and expectations. I have to be honest that I sort of disregarded what they were saying thinking that if we were at this school throughout preschool and grade school to that point that they would prepare us for this big "transition" year. After all, how bad could it be, right? Well, I'm here to tell you that it is a huge transition year and that it was a rough one. I'm also here to tell you that Reagan has grown this year more than any other year and that she has made improvements by leaps and bounds in her independence, her study skills and her learning techniques.

Part of the difference this year is that the students are expected to be super independent. They are expected to remember their homework each day (if they forget it, they can get 1/2 credit the next day). They are expected to unpack their bags (if they leave their homework in their backpacks at the back of the room, it is as if they left it at home). They are expected to track their assignments and tests on a calendar each week and to update that as things change day to day in the classroom. This was a huge change for us. Last year, I was involved in Reagan's homework and assignments every day. I spoke with her new teacher and objected to the 1/2 credit if she forgot her homework. I told her that I needed to put a checklist by the door so that she could remember everything she needed every day. Her teacher responded that if REAGAN wanted to make a checklist and put it by the door, she could, but that it was not to be my doing. She kept saying "I've taught this grade for years - they can do this." Last year, Reagan's class completed a "group" science fair while this year, she had to do it herself (remember that 25 page, handwritten report I posted about?). Last year, Reagan had to spell her spelling words for the week. This year, she had to spell them, define them, syllabicate them, use them in a sentence, and identify the part of speech that they are. Whoa!!!! When I asked her teacher about this amount of work, she said "It's not that bad - there are basically three root words and then we add prefixes and suffixes to the root to see what it does - does it change the form of speech? Does it negate the meaning of the word or change it to the opposite? We are basically starting to prepare them to take the SAT."  Whoa again!!!!! Reagan continued to write a book report each month, but the books were longer and more involved. Her math homework went from 20 questions per night last year to 30 questions per night this year. Plus, this year, her math homework had to be completed on a grid sheet. One number or symbol in each grid space. In addition, they had to complete their problem, check it and re-work it to show the check..... all in the grid spaces. It was crazy. I remember her asking me a question in September about her history homework. She had to write a paragraph to answer the question "If a king makes himself the head of the church in his land, what kind of government is that and what are the benefits for the king?" I was flabbergasted. I looked at her and she said "I know that it is a theocracy, but what are the benefits for the king?" We talked about how we reverence the leader of our church and how we would act if asked by him to do something and it "clicked" for her. She wrote and wrote. Later in the fall, she had another question - "Twins (a girl and a boy) grow up in Sparta. How are their lives different from each other during their childhood and until they reach adulthood. Then, compare and contrast their lives to that of their cousins - the Athenians." WHOA!!!! We talked a bit about it and she sat and wrote - she knew it. She really did! I was so impressed.

At the beginning of the year, Reagan was doing about 3 hours of homework a night. This is on top of piano, karate and gymnastics. By November, she had shaved off an hour a night. She worked so hard and learned so much. We are so proud of her for stepping up and doing all that was required of her. I kept telling her that she was developing skills that would serve her for the rest of her life. I told her that many college freshmen couldn't do three straight hours of homework a night. It definitely was a huge transition year for Reagan, but it was also a huge transition year for me as well. I had to learn to let go when it came to Reagan's academics. I had to let her figure it out, to forget her homework if she did, to let her decide how much she needed to study and when her reports were due. She really did it - we are so proud of her hard work and her accomplishments. Supposedly, 4th grade is just a continuation of 3rd - not a big jump up. However, 5th is supposed to be another big, transition year. Oh well, we have a year off, right? Except that when Reagan hits 5th, Cole will be in 3rd, so, both of them will have a big year. Gulp :)

I had to include a couple of pics from our first day of school. These kiddos have really grown. We love them so much and are so very proud of them. Well done Reagan and Cole!!!!!

Awards Ceremony

Coming to the end of the school year means the coming of Awards Ceremony. Both Reagan and Cole received awards this year.

Cole received four awards and was so proud. He was beaming .... until he looked at the envelope that contained his awards - the outside had his name spelled wrong (the awards inside were correct). He quickly pointed that out to the headmaster :)

We are so proud of him. He has had a great year this school year and really enjoyed his teacher.

Next up was Reagan - she received two awards. 

Reagan adores her teacher and she worked SO hard this year. We are so proud of her and all that she has learned and accomplished this year.

Busy Saturday

Somehow this post was out of order. I meant to post it weeks ago, but will post it now :)

Well, we had a crazy busy Saturday. First thing that morning, we headed to the Blue Knights Soccer Club parents' meeting and Cole's first practice of the season. Of course, they didn't start on time and then they ran late. Reagan had been invited to a princess party for a girl in our ward and I had offered to help. So, we switched places - Steve came to the park and finished with the parents' meeting while Reagan and I ran home and changed her into full princess regalia. Then, we hurried to the party and had a blast. Elsa and Anna came and the girls had a lovely luncheon and made princess crowns and sang Frozen songs. I had to laugh that almost every girl at the party was dressed as Elsa :) 

As soon as Cole's practice and Steve's parents' meeting was over, they had to run home to meet Cole's friend, Nolan. He was coming over for a playdate. Steve entertained them and fed them lunch and then took them to our gym where both boys participated in a basketball camp by Britton Johnsen. Britton played basketball at the University of Utah and then played professionally for the Orlando Magic, the New Orleans Hornets and the Indiana Pacers. Cole has only recently touched a basketball. He and Steve play around in our driveway sometimes. Well, he learned a lot! Britton said that he has an aggressiveness that is inherent and that if he could practice and get his skills improved, he could be a great player. Cole didn't really know the rules of the game or what to do, but he had no problem charging another player and trying to steal the ball and then score. Cole loved it and especially loved that Britton was so proud of him. Britton is a friend of Nolan's family, so, he was talking with them about Cole and invited Cole to come to any of the camps he puts on. He was very encouraging. Cole had a great time, even though he played against older boys, and now thinks he is a basketball star :)  He asks Steve to play with him in the driveway almost every night. He tries to get Reagan to play with him. Sometimes she does, but most times, she isn't interested. He insisted he needed basketball shoes so he doesn't slip on the court. Oh well, we'll see if his newfound interest continues :)

Reagan's Birthday Party

Guess who turned 9? Truthfully, she turned 9 over a month ago. Before her birthday, I started asking her what kind of party she wanted. I think she was pretty occupied with school and she kept saying "I can't think about that now Mom - can we talk about it later?" I said "Sure." and brought it up a few days to a week later .... same response from Reagan. Then, by the end of May, she said "Mom - we HAVE to figure out my birthday - it's been almost a month!" Ugh - I just put it off and put it off. Yes, we needed to do something and fast. I suggested a karate party - we've been to several at our karate studio. She said "I'm not really much of a karate girl." Uhhhh - almost four years in and my checkbook says you ARE a karate girl :) We thought about Boondocks like Cole's party, another crafty theme like last year, Airborne to jump on trampolines and tons of other ideas. Then, I thought "Well, what does she like to do?" She loves to sing. Mind you, that is not a sign of talent ... she just loves to sing. So, I thought - Karaoke Party - YES!! 

We designed an invitation, had them printed and chose 2 friends from karate, 2 friends from school, 3 friends from gymnastics and our grandchildren and we sent out our invites. 

The weather had been predicting rain all week. We were thrilled when we had cloud cover, but no rain. We opted to eat outside in the yard and gazebo. We re-used Reagan's hot pink, white and black decorations from her Minnie Mouse party when she was 4 (I know - what a crazy person to hold decorations for 5 years, but I call them my party in a box. Ribbons, tissue balls and fabric. I've actually lent it out to several people to use for their girls' parties. Love that someone can use it.) We had pizza, a veggie tray, a cheeseball (of course), fruit, punch, water and chips. The kiddos ate, played ball in the yard and just hung out on blankets I spread around the gazebo area. 

After we played in the yard, we came inside and let anyone who had prepared a talent piece to show us their talent. We had someone play the recorder flute, a couple of girls play a duet on the piano, piano solos, a dance performance and then, we turned on the karaoke machine.... WHOA!!!! That's when the party really got going!!!!

My friends and I had assembled quite a collection of hats, glasses, scarves, mustaches (I still don't get the attraction of these), jewelry, crowns, wigs, and other accessories. I had ordered slatted sunglasses for everyone along with an inflatable microphone and an inflatable guitar for everyone. I had also ordered a backdrop that looked like a concert stage. We dressed up the kiddos and took pics of them in front of the backdrop.

 We had solo karaoke performers, groups of 2, 3 and ..... the room. Seriously - everybody wanted in on the action. Some would sing just the chorus. Others would dance while the singers sang. I think they all had a super fun time.

After we sang for a while, we stopped and had cake and opened presents. Reagan loved the gifts from her friends and family. After that, the kiddos sang, ate and played until their parents came to pick them up. We sent them home with their sunglasses, guitar and microphone as well as some balloons and a gift bag with a recorder flute, bubbles, gumballs in the party colors, nail polish for the girls and a badminton type game for the boys, big bouncy balloons and some other random goodies.

Reagan had a great time celebrating with everyone and we had a great time watching them all perform for us. Whew - a hastily put together party, but it worked out just fine. As a side note, we usually have WAY more people at Reagan's and Cole's parties, but I may rethink that. Twelve was just right - enough to play and celebrate with, but not out of control to plan for or coordinate.

Happy Birthday Reagan - may this be your best year yet!!!!

A Little Campout

Steve's brothers David and Brett decided to do a little camping up American Fork Canyon. They invited everyone. I had a crazy day planned with Reagan's birthday party the next day, so at first, I wasn't going to go and Steve was going to take Reagan and Cole. Then, we learned that Mark and Robyn were coming. Any chance to see them and support them is great for us. So, we all went up the canyon.

Steve's sister Kathy and her husband came, David and Brett were there (their wives had other commitments ... which is why they decided to go camping in the first place), Steve's brother John came up as did his brother Doug with his wife. Steve's parents also came up. It was great! we had such a fun time. Cole and his cousin Drew ran around and explored, shot the bb gun and played in the little creek. We all roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. David and Brett roasted crab legs .... oh yeah ... we camp in style!

We laughed, reminisced and sang songs while Mark played the guitar. Next week is a crucial week for him to see whether he is progressing in his treatment enough to start to harvest the stem cells. He asked for a blessing before we left. All the brothers (and brother in law) stood in a circle and gave him a blessing. It was so touching to hear the crackle of the fire and the words that were said. We all pray that this week will be a good one for Mark and that he (and his body) will be able to stay on schedule with his treatment. David and Brett stayed overnight while the rest of us headed home smelling like a campfire. Love it!!!!!

KNVB Camp

Well, Cole had tryouts for Blue Knights and it rained like never before. Steve took some pics, but they weren't very clear because of the weather. Plus, Cole had to leave early as we had a wedding reception to attend. The coaches know Cole (after two years in the club) and said that it was no problem that he left early. As expected, Cole was accepted for another year in the club. After taking a week off, the club had KNVB Camp. It's where they bring members of the Dutch National team in to help the players learn.

It was every evening for a week. Cole worked hard and learned a lot. They did footwork drills, stopping drills and scrimmages. Cole performed well and received several "high fives" from the Dutch coaches.

Cole also performed well in his scrimmages. He is aggressive and it usually pays off. At the end of each evening, they would "set off fireworks". Basically, the players kick their balls as high in the air as they can. It looks great from the sidelines.

With KNVB Camp completed, we are ready for summer season. We have two practices a week, but no games. We will, however, be participating in a tournament. Yea - bring it on!!!!!