Accidents Will Happen

We had a little "incident" the other day where a certain child of mine disregarded repeated warnings about kicking the soccer ball in the house.  Something was bound to get broken, and since we don't have any fancy lamps or vases around, it was the window panel of the kid's bedroom door.  You see, we have an old Victorian style house and try to keep the integrity of the era by maintaining certain traditional designs...like the glass panel doors.  I guess with a son that constantly has a ball in his hand, something like this was bound to happen.

It was one of those situations where I heard the crack and came around the corner to find Timo repeating "it was an accident, Mommy" with alligator tears running down his face.  Who could get mad at that?  So since we thought the fact that he felt so bad was enough punishment and torture to keep him from doing it again, we decided that he would work off cost of the new window in chores.  We explained to him it was going to cost money to replace what he had broken but we didn't want to just take money out of his piggy bank, that was too easy.  We wanted to help him understand the value of money and the responsiblility of repairing something of value that he damaged.  So I came up with a list of chores around the house for him.  The sweetest thing was Cameron offered to help him with the chores and help pay for the repair...such a sweet, loving sister!

The children have always "helped" out around the house and are responsible for picking up their toys and things around the house, but these were above and beyond regular responsibilities.  He has to keep up these chores for two weeks...which they all started out fun for him but I think he now understands chores aren't always convenient, like when it cuts into his Lego building time.  But so far he has been a trooper, not complaining too much.  He's becoming a pro at unloading the dishwasher, washing and drying dishes, folding laundry, sweeping the kitchen floor, taking out the trash, helping vacuum and we added making his bed every morning...he kinda does that already but we've been slack since school started.  I'm actually really enjoying the extra hands around the house.

Now the hard part is trying to figure out how to replace an inset widow pane on a door...any suggestions?

Russian River Rafting

A few weekends ago we finally had the chance to go rafting on the Russian River. It's something I've wanted to do for a while and we had a free Saturday that we could take off and go.  While planning I had thoughts about inviting a bunch of friends and doing the adventure together but with Young working so much these days, we decided we just needed a family day away together.  And it was a perfect family/team building adventure!  Nothing like testing your work-ability by trying to steer a huge inflatable boat together.

We decided on the half day trip, 4miles, about 3 hours and it was the perfect amount of time/work for two 5 year olds.  We suited up, headed to the river, had our safety class and we were off!  It's a lot harder than you think...but luckily the river was helping carry us down.

All along the river are sand barges that you can get out and swim, look for fish, snack, just relax in the water...oh yeah, it was HOT!  like 95 hot!  So we were stopping several times to get out and cool off.

Lunch on the Russian River!  We found a nice shady spot to stop and refuel.

Timo and Cameron had been asking to steer the boat so we found a somewhat calm part of the river and let them have a go.  After running us into the bushes on the river bank, we took back over...

 We saw lots of wild life along the river as well...it's so good for our city kid to get out in nature.  The leaves were just starting to change too and we saw some really pretty reds, oranges and yellows.

Once we reached the end, the rafting company had vans that took us back to our car.  We happen to finish right as the van left so we had about 30mins to wait which gave the kids time to float down the river in the current.  It was just enough of a rapid to zip down.

After our adventure we were all starving!  We drove a short drive into Healdsburg for some pasta!  Timo drew a rendition of our boat while waiting on supper.  And of course we needed a little gelato before our drive home.  A great finish to a great adventurous day.

Backpacks and Reading

I'm was a little behind on the whole backpack thing for the 1st day of school but they finally came in and I think our teachers were more happy than the kids! Their other packs were from pre-k and a little small but I thought they were still usable....but Kindergarten is a whole different ball game. There are books, folders, and art work coming home almost every day. Their teachers kept asking for larger bags for them so I went online to order some quality one that would last the next few years.  I was late to the game so most of the packs were on back order.  But they arrived last week and we love them!

I was leaving from voluntering in the library and happen to catch the classes going to lunch...so cute!

I'm impressed with how quickly the kids are putting their words together and learning how to read.  Timo is reading one of his favs, one of the Piggy and Elephant books.  The words are simple, big and the story is fun.

reading from Sara ko on Vimeo.

Staycation Part 3--Labor Day

To celebrate Labor Day, Young put in a good 12 hour day at work while the kids and I hit the town!  I was explaining the meaning of Labor Day to the kids and they decided that I shouldn't work either...Cameron had the brilliant idea that we would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner out, so I wouldn't have to cook all day. I LOVE HER!  First stop, Mel's Diner for breakfast.  I love how they have the whole bench to sit on and they sit right on top of each other, as close as they can possible get.  We all had yummy pancakes and
Cameron requested hot chocolate with whip cream...although I think she only wanted the whip cream...hum.

Next up was bowling.  Timo had been asking to go bowling for a while, ever since this summer, but we just hadn't had a day to carve out the time.  So with no real plans, we headed over to Presidio Bowl for a few games.  They were off to a rocky start but eventually figured out how to line the ball up and get it down to hit the most pins.  We started off with some splits, got a few spares and then Timo bowled his first strike!  He was so happy.  Cameron didn't care how many pins she hit, she was happy when her ball made it down to know down just one.

Timo beat us all, both games and Cameron was a close second...I'm convinced Timo will successful at any game he plays that involves a ball!

It was time a little lunch at the Presidio Grill in the bowling alley...yummy!

It had turned into such a beautiful day, we didn't want to go home so we headed over to the outer Richmond to check out a newly renovated playground....along with about 200 other people that had the same idea.  It was crowded but we still managed to enjoy ourselves.

The kids were sweating by the time we got home and took off their clothes immediately....then somehow a boxing match started up.  Nothing like a little boxing in your underwear!

After boxing and cooling off, we watched our favorite PBS show, Wild Kratts and then off to meet Daddy for Korean.  I was loving the whole idea of mommy not working on Labor Day, I just hope Daddy gets the day off next year.

Staycation Pt 2--Hiking Hide N Seek

In addition to working the holiday weekend, Young was helping our pastor and his family move into their new home.  Since he was out in the morning, we decided to go hiking in Golden Gate Park after lunch. Young was doing some warm up stretches with Timo before breakfast...ha, ha!

Timo wanted his camouflage since we were going in the woods...that boy!  We passed by the oldest grandpa duck I've ever seen parked under a tree in the duck pond.  It was old and somewhat scary looking. Timo was holding Cameron back so she wouldn't get too close.

We went a little off trail and climbed in and out of all the twisty trees throughout the park.  The kids seemed to do it with ease...a little more difficult for me to contort myself over and under these trees.

We stopped and did the exercise trail equipment...good thing Timo did his stretches before we left!

It was time to head home and of course my son really struggles with ending something when he is having a good time.  He had been asking to play hike and seek the whole time, since he was in camouflage, so we decided to work it in our favor.  We stated walking back, telling to run ahead and hide...Can you find them in the pictures?

The kids turn to count and Daddy hide.  He was wear a red jacket so it wasn't impossible to find him.  But the plan worked!  Before the kids knew it, we were out of the park and blocks from home...but we kept the game going all the way to the front door.  I think we've found a secret weapon to use now when leaving a fun situation...hid and seek all the way back!

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!