Oops!

I've always considered myself a rule follower, but......

Belated Pie

Okay, so it was Canadian Thanksgiving yesterday, and I really, really wanted to have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert, so Clara and I set off in search of one.  After trying FOUR different stores, we finally had to settle on a frozen pie, which required hours to bake and set.  Instead of staying up until midnight yesterday just for the sake of pie-eating, we chose to wait and be thankful for pie today.  Happy Belated Thanksgiving to everyone in the Great White North!

Home Theater

I can be a totally awesome mom occasionally.  Like when I suggested bringing my projector from school (and the armchairs and ottomans from the living room) so that we could turn Clara's room into a movie theater.

Beach Day

We have two random furlough days this week, and even though I'm desperately busy getting ready for parent-teacher conferences, it would be wrong to not take at least a little break to enjoy the gorgeous weather.  We headed to the beach for a picnic lunch, a little frisbee, and a lot of staring out at the ocean.  Um, and taking pictures.  I can't help myself when I'm at the beach.

The picture below really cracks me up, because it's so very telling.  You see, I was trying to get a self-timer of the four of us.  But, as the shutter was clicking away, I wanted to adjust the position of the camera.  So, there I am, in my role as family photographer, running up to the camera, while Clara, in her role as perfect poser, is ready for the next shot, and Chad tries to call Trevor (out of range and probably out of earshot) to join us.  Classic.  I probably have a few dozen similar pics from various outings.... :)

A quick stop at Pastorino's on the way home fulfilled our Pumpkin Patch duty for the year.  :)

On the threshold

New in the "weird games" category:
Typing GPS-like instructions for Kevin into Clara's phone, and then laughing hysterically while listening to the phone's automated voice read them....

Take me out

As a belated birthday celebration for Chad, we went to a Giants game today.  We took the ferry over, which is such a fantastic way to get there.

When I bought these tickets, I was oh, so close to choosing the absolute perfect day to go to the game, because the Giants clinched the NL West just yesterday!!!  Man, that would have been a great game.  Instead, we were there on a day when all of the main guys were given the day off.  Blah.  We also kind of didn't account for it being so blazing hot in San Francisco.  Not a wisp of fog or a breath of wind.  This photo was taken before Trevor's head began to boil (forcing him to abandon his Panda gear), and before we decided to bail from our seats and stroll around the stadium for shade.

Play-off tickets aren't exactly in our price range, so this is all we'll see of the ballpark until next season....

Bonfante, Year 12

Man, we've gone to Bonfante so many times that it really is a teeny bit ridiculous to keep taking pictures.  Still, it is quite hilarious to watch how the kids change and change, while Chad and I look exactly the same, down to our clothes (give or take a few wrinkles and/or a few pounds).
New this year:

Trev and Clara took off on the swing ride together for the first time....

Clara laughed about how she used to be afraid of the monorail ride through the Monarch Garden...

.... and Trev was somewhat heartbroken that the talking vegetables seem to have lost their magic for him (so Clara had to pose alone).

  

But other than that, it was the same great day we always have, complete with a bit of begging for ice cream, some exaggerated screaming on roller coasters, and Chad not keeping his arms inside the rainbow ride at all times.

 

As an added bonus,  when we stopped at In n Out for our annual avoid-rush-hour dinner in Gilroy, I discovered that they DO have an option for veggies like me!!!!!  Just ask for a "Grilled Cheese", and they'll give you a burger with everything except the burger!!!!  I've needlessly been dining on nothing but fries and diet coke once a year for all these years....

A Banner Day

Clara decided to make a special banner to celebrate the important anniversary of the day she learned to ride her bike.  Banner-making is usually accompanied by cake-eating around here, you see.  So, if one is ever in the mood for cake, one only needs to proclaim the day banner-worthy.

But this is a double-duty banner, since Chad is, as we speak, on his way back from the summit of Mt. Whitney.  Way to go, Hun!  So, maybe two cakes?

Spa Day

Everyone needs freshly-painted nails to begin summer vacation, right?

The Last Day

I know it's cliche to say so, but I don't know where the year has gone.  I had such an unbelievably terrific class, and it has been absolutely, knock-your-socks-off amazing to be at the same school as both of these cuties for the first time ever.  Next year, Trev and I will have to go it alone, as Clara heads off to middle school *sniff!*.  For now, though, I'm going to just try to absorb the fact that SUMMER IS HERE!!!!

Bridging

Clara and her Girl Scout troop bridged from Juniors to Cadettes today.  It was a very sweet ceremony, complete with a very substantial bridge.

Arts and Crafts

Although I am vehemently anti-diorama (don't get me started), Trevor's green iguana project did turn out really well, and merited a proud pic.  Iguanas always make me think of Ecuador, so I loved helping him research this one.

I also have to share a new art project I tried with the class, that I am super happy with (not my original idea- borrowed from the internet).  We learned about Marc Chagall, and his love of letting things float, and blending reality and dreams.  We used pastels on brown paper, and I had the kids turn their paper after drawing each object.  Love.

Moon shadow, moon shadow

We had an amazing view of the annular solar eclipse here.  I had planned on making pinhole cameras to be very teachery and sciency about the experience, but I didn't get around to it.  Luckily, our trees did the job for us.  The back wall of the house had thousands of little eclipses all over it, and I was really quite blown away by the coolness of it.  And then I had to spend the evening listening to Cat Stevens.

Commuting

I will never, ever take for granted the fact that my commute is a 4-minute walk.  I love walking in general, but walking to and from work just seems extra special, because hardly anyone I know has the luxury of doing it.  My commuting buddies are pretty cute, too.

Let them (and me) eat cake!

One of the great perks about teaching is the fact that you can amass quite a collection of gift cards.  I've been a very, very lucky girl over the years.  I can usually feed the entire family through all of our annual airport layovers with Starbucks cards alone.
Today, I set out to spend some of these:

I didn't really make much of a dent in the cards, but I'm ridiculously happy about the angel food cake pan I bought at Ross (for free!).  And when you're happy, you need to celebrate with cake, right?

 

I'm thinking that tomorrow I should buy a springform cheesecake pan.  :)

The Gap

I'm starting to wonder if that other front tooth ever plans on coming in.  It's taking its sweet time, that's for sure.  Not that I mind – Trevi looks darn cute.  And, as far as he's concerned, "It's one less tooth to brush!"

Outside

Just take a look around our beautiful May backyard.

The front yard isn't too shabby, either.