Labor Day Staycation Part 1--The Circus

Note to self...when your husband starts his own company, expect him to be working non-stop to get it off the ground. Non-stop.  So given how much the Lord has blessed their business and how much Young needs to work, we weren't able to go away for Labor Day weekend like I typically like to do.  In advanced to the weekend, I decided we would try to have as much fun as possible enjoying SF.  Lucky for me, the Circus was in town!

I've put off going to the Circus in the past because of Cameron's sensitivity to loud noises.  I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner but one of my friends suggested we get her some noise-reduction head phones. DUH!  We were able to borrow her two pairs, knowing Timo would want a pair too, and off we headed for their first Circus.  Little did I know, it was Young's first Circus too!!  All three were so excited by the time we got there.

We had planned to show up the hour early to see the animals and clowns but with traffic, the line at will-call and just crowds in general, we missed the pre-show.  But that didn't dampen our spirits.  Once inside we found out seats, put our headphones on and settled in with our corn dogs!

A few of the children's highlights...Cameron loved the big cats...my little cheetah lover.

Everyone loved the elephants...amazing...

Timo went crazy over the cannon and even more crazy once he realized someone was going to be shot out it!  And Young was amazed by the high wire walkers.  It was so much fun watching them get all stressed out over the various feats.

The show lasted way longer than I remember...at least 25 years for me.  It was almost 2 1/2hours.  Every time the lights went down the kids would ask, "it it over?" and I would say, "No, there's more to come!"  But of course it still wasn't enough for Timo, he was so sad when it was finally over.  I tried to take the family shot on the way out but he was still upset and wouldn't look at the camera...that boy.  But it was so much fun for them and Young.  They all chatted about their favorite parts all the way home.  Just goes to show you are never too old for The Greatest Show On Earth!

Kindergarten Life

School started back August 19th and we are settling into our new daily routine. Timo and Cameron are now in full-day classes, the previous summer session were just half days for kindergarten.  In addition to going a full day, they have Chinese class after school, but I'll get to that later.

The first full day I had a little surprise out for the children, just little baskets of goodies and school supplies...

A few days we have walked but typically we ride our scooters the block and half to school, joining all the other kids from the neighborhood making their way.  It's amazing to see how many children live in our neighborhood that I never knew!  I got a bike lock and we lock up our scooters and head out to the "yard" for line up.  Timo was excited this day because I let him wear all his camouflage to school...he thinks we can't see him!

In the "yard", the playground area, the children line up and either head over for assembly (Mondays and Fridays) or head to their class.  I love assembly days.  They have school announcements, give out Wolfpack Pride prizes (students named by their teachers that go above and beyond expectations), do a few school cheers and do the Pledge of Allegiance.

Timo and Cameron were put in different classes for the short two week orientation over the summer but we were given the option of moving them to same class for the full school year.  After much thought and observation, we decided to keep them in separate classes.  Even thought they are great at making their own friends, there is a certain amount of attachment on Cameron's part that I think keeps her from going out of her comfort zone.  She also gives me a play by play of Timo's day...good and bad parts, some I'm sure he didn't want me to know.  I also noticed how well they played together once they got home from school...so excited to see each other and share their experiences.  So in order to give Timo a little more space, Cameron the opportunity to find her own wings and to grow their bond, we decided to keep them in their own classes.  It seems to be working out well for them...the problem now is with me.  It's so hard to say goodbye to two kids at two different locations and be a chaperon on field trips for two classes and touch base with two different teachers.  But we are finding our way and making it work. They give hugs goodbye to each other in the morning and set off to their classes...which are right next to each other with an adjoining door.

Timo's teacher sends his work home and Cameron's teacher keeps it in the class for their "journal".  Chinese class is going well too, their teachers constantly tells me how good they are doing.  This is a class offered by the school, parent supported, that will continue their Chinese education.  We had the opportunity to join the class and didn't want their past two year of Chinese to go to waste.  It makes for a very long day adn was a big adjustment period but I think we've settled into a good routine.

And I'm finding ways to plug into the school as well.  Using all my past library experience (high school and collage) I decided to be a volunteer.  As luck would have it, my day is the same day the kindergarteners came in!  Timo was so excited to see me in there when his class came in.  I weld up with pride when I heard him say to his friend, "that's my mommy!"  The wonderful librarian, Ms Donna, reads to them, helps them check out a book and does a great job teaching about the importance of reading.

Cameron wasn't as distracted by me...she was much more focused on getting her book so she could start reading.

We're realizing that with school and after school Chinese, we don't have as much time with the children as before.  It makes that time in the mornings and evening all the more important and really causes us to covet our Saturdays to ourselves for family time.  I guess that why people say time really starts to fly once they start school...

America's Cup 2013

The America's Cup is being held in SF this year and it's something I really wanted to go be a part of. It's a once every four year event and is happening in the USA for the first time in 17 years I think...might want to check Wikipedia to double check....and to get all the other great historic information about the race, like it's the oldest international sporting event in the world!  Anyway, it seems significate to me and I wanted to be in the middle of it all.

We met our friends, the Hirzel's down at the America's Cup Village and readied ourselves for a full day of race activities and race watching.  The Village was great.  Several venues to learn about the art and science of sailing and the history of the America's Cup.

As we were arriving we were able to see the Americans out on the Oracle boat sailing around, showing off the very impressive boats.  The race that day was between New Zealand and the Italians.  We got to see the sailors of both teams walking around and preparing but I didn't want to talk to them to distract anyone.  We snapped a shot of the Italians on stage getting a send off before the race started.

While waiting for the race to start we toured the village, watching a short movie on the boats and learning the science of sailing...it's all about the wind!

There was a Kids Zone as well, so much fun!  Kids got to build boats and try to sail them, trying to raise the sail on the ship...it was harder than it looks, color, view ships up close, and bounce on the "waves".

IMG 3712 from Sara ko on Vimeo.

It was finally race time and we headed over to the water to watch.  The beginning of the race was out of our eye sight so we had to wait about 20mins until the boats came into view to finish.  Even with the huge crowd, we had a great few of the finish as the NZ team won. We had to give the kids a little boost so they could see over the crowed.

The NZ team came back by to give us all a wave....Yay, the kids were so excited.

There were big screen TV all around the village so we decided the best way to see the next race was via TV so we could see the whole race.  We found an empty spot on the "lawn", found a bean bag and relaxed over snacks till the next race.  Unfortunately the second race was postponed due to high winds.  Apparently too much wind is dangerous thing.  Given that, we were especially happy we waited out the crowd to see the first race in person.

After relaxing and snacking we set off to tour the rest of the village.  The children agreed to conserve more water and recycle their sippy cups in order to color in the community wall.  They got a nice lesson in ocean conservation from the volunteers.

While the kids were coloring, Jen and I set off to do some shopping!  We were temped by the $525 flip flops in the Louis Vuitton store but passed them up for a good ol' fashion America's Cup cap in the Puma Store.  The Oracle store had this fun photo op...Jen and I sailing on the bay!

It had been such a full day, we decided to call it quits around 4pm, after starting at 10am.  We really wanted to stick around for the meet and greet of the sailors at 5pm but the kids were all very close to expiring.  It had been a long day of sun, wind and walking.  Good news is this was just the Louis Vuitton cup...the winner, New Zealand, will be facing the Americans in the final America's Cup in two weeks.  I have a hunch we'll be down there for that final race!