Spring Break, Part 2

Our Spring Break continued with Charlton amazing us on Thursday.  Last summer, he would rarely go into the swimming pool, and even then only if I would accompany him.  I have been so busy with the older children trying to help them develop their talents that I had slightly neglected Charlton's talents or needs.  Well, my friend and I found a coupon on line for a four-day swimming lessons that took place during spring break, so we hurried and got those.  Charlton liked the fact that it was just him and his friend, and that translated in him feeling more comfortable in the water.  Well, by Thursday Charlton and Mckinley could float and dive in all on their own!  I was so proud of my sweet boy.  We made sure we registered them for the next eight weeks, so by the time summer comes they will be able to swim alongside their siblings.

Friday was a beautiful day.  After resting on Thursday from my dental ordeal, I was ready for some outdoor activities.  We biked, roller-bladed, and walked to the barber shop and got our boys to look clean and handsome.  And then took off for the park, where the kids played soccer, catch, roller-bladed, and had fun in the sun.  I read while breathing the fresh air.

When we got back home, the kids played with bubbles and enjoyed each other's company.

On Saturday, we watched Conference at home.  We all felt the Spirit as apostles and prophets, the Lord's spokesmen, gave their inspired advise and thoughts.  James and Charlton sat quietly drawing, Gillian wrote a lot of her feelings down, and Jefferson embarked into making a model of a temple with legos.  I was really grateful to have well-behaved children who allowed me to listen and be inspired.  Here are some of my favorite statements that meant a lot to me:

"Just because the nation may change its laws to "tolerate legalized acts of immorality" does not make those acts less spiritually damaging". Elder Boyd K. Packer.

Here is also Jefferson's finished model of the temple:

 

After conference, Elijah got ready to attend the Priesthood session, and I had the kids get ready to do some fun outdoorsy things with me.  It was after six when we left, and we decided we would drive up to Mount Diablo, and then hike or play on some hill on the way down.  When we got all the way to the top, we were the only people there.  The kids had a grand time exploring and taking the whole scenery in. 

As we drove down, we kept looking for one of our favorite spots, a clearing with a couple of trees on top with mostly beautiful green grass to run through and play.  We named it the Leprechaun's Landing, and when we found it, the kids didn't wait for me but left running and racing each other.  It was terribly beautiful and scary at the same time.  It was overwhelming to me to be the only human beings amongst such a vast naturalistic environment.  The city girl in me thought it scary, but the little speck of country in me thought it marvelous to breath the fresh air, to be on your own without noise and distraction, to see the kids run and climb, to admire the beauty God has made for us.

While the kids were climbing this very tall tree nearby, I was distracted by the gorgeous view of the sun disappearing over the hills.  I couldn't resist but take some fun pictures:

I aided the kids down the tree and reluctantly said goodbye to our surroundings.  It had been a beautiful experience and had given me the time to ponder the words I heard in conference.  I'm truly grateful for the blessing of motherhood and the knowledge that I am a daughter of God.

Spring Break, Part 1

My sister-in-law, Ana, and niece, Iva, had never been to San Francisco, and since they were going to be with us just till Tuesday morning, we decided to start my kids' spring break by taking the whole family to visit our favorite sights.  The whole family that is, except Elijah.  Our husbands sure do have the hardest role in raising a family.

We started by taking them to the Golden Gate Bridge Park. We parked nearby, and walked and hiked toward the bridge meanwhile enjoying the view. Ana loves anything that has to do with construction, and Iva is aiming to be an architect, so it didn't matter where we took them afterward, the bridge had captured their hearts.

As we reached the South end of the bridge, right by the observation deck located by the Visitor Center, the fog started coming fast, quicker than I had thought it possible for any water droplets to move.  Within five minutes the bridge was covered by a massive white cloud, and it was beautiful and scary at the same time.  We have lived here for over three years, and I have seen plenty of fog covered bridges, but never been present at the process of seeing the misty clouds pushing themselves eagerly through the lower level of the atmosphere gradually but steadily covering the bridge.  It was a neat phenomena.

The kids loved visiting the Visitor Center, the interesting landmarks, and the historical information found on billboards.

I had promised my kids that this week they would each take a day and practice their photography skills.  Today was my turn, but Jefferson had borrowed my other camera and took some really good ones that surprised me with their composition.  Here is one of them:

 

We said good bye to the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, and drove down the crooked Lombard street.  My sister-in-law remarked that these kinds of streets were unique for the states, but it totally reminded her of our own hometown and many other cities in Europe where the streets were built for pedestrians but used for cars as the civilization was pulled toward faster means of transportation.

On our way to the Coit Tower, we noticed a cathedral on the right side of Lombard street.  I'm very fond of cathedral architecture, and I really like Grace Cathedral in San Francisco with its replica of  Ghiberti Gates of Paradise, but I had never seen this one.  It looked even more Gothic than Grace Cathedral, but much newer. It was called the Saints Peter and Paul Church, and I read that it offers weekly masses to its Catholic population in Mandarin, Italian, and English.  I also learned that some scenes from Dirty Harry were filmed in front of this building, and that parts of the Ten Commandments movie were filmed inside this church while being constructed.

After visiting a few more sights in that area of the city, we headed toward Fisherman's Wharf where we found some food, took some pictures, and played on the beach.

It was late and a bit chilly.  It is San Francisco after all, but the kids knew no fear of climate changes.  They kept playing ball and tag, building castles in the sand, and throwing water at each other while immersing their feet in the ocean.

Meanwhile, my sister-in-law had visited all of the stores nearby and depleted her credit card account by buying souvenirs for her family.  Look at her smile. What shopping does to a woman!

On Tuesday morning, after dropping Ana and Iva at the airport, my friends and I took our kids to the Zoo.  I took a break from photography letting Jefferson take care of that part of our field trip, and bonded with Gillian.  James and Charlton played for a long time at the play area, and then loved visiting all the animals.  Our favorite show was the one that our baboon decided to put for us.  He swung, jumped and posed for pictures as if he were a pro.  We all loved it.  Here are some of the pictures Jefferson took:

Wednesday was a work day.  My kids' piano teacher had spring break the week before, so this week they had to practice and attend piano.  I could have cancelled it, but since we weren't going anywhere far away, we decided to keep it.  The children's playing is getting better, and I'm really enjoying it how Jefferson's desire to learn new pieces and a variety of them is pushing Gillian to work hard at it as well.  Plus, I'm loving it when they play together.



After piano and chores, I let the kids have free play, while I read and rested.  Gillian read, Charlton took a nap, and the boys played with legos.  I love lazy days!!!