Love note

Having boys two years apart is a good and not so good thing.  They spend a lot of time with one another at home and at school, so there are times when they bicker.  There are times when Micah cries out: When will I beat my brother in chess???  But there are also times when I find them sitting too close to one another reading a book or sharing an inside joke.  Or when Noah is in Micah's bed laying down with him.   I found this on the floor the other day that Micah wrote to his big brother.  I thought it was sweetest and hope to find more in the future.  What will their relationship be like when they get older???

Translation:
Der Noah I lov you
kis kis
frum Micah

The wall #2

The wall is slowly taking shape into a beautiful Oaxacan woman in a dress.  I wonder what it will look like when Jawsh is done???

Date with Mom

Jawsh and Zach took their mother out for Valentines Day to The Forum to watch Paul Simon and Sting.  I thought this was so sweet that they surprised her with tickets and by their smiles it looks like they had a great time.  Will Noah and Micah treat me the same when they are older???

Cousins forever

Noah loves his little cousin, Liam.  It's fun to see the boys interact with one another.  Liam is now trying to get in the mix with the older kids and it's really nice that the kids can grow up with their cousins.  When will we see them again???

Valentines Day

Tonight we went over to a friends for Valentines Day dinner and Noah got to see his special friend.  Last year he wrote this in kindergarten: "This Valentine is for my friend Nora because she is nise.  She is my preescool frend.  She likes swinging on the monkey bars and she runs fast." It's one year later and although they don't see each other often, it's nice to share a cupcake with a friend.  Isn't this adorable???

Chess

Micah is learning how to play chess after school at Chess Tutors.  I originally wanted Micah to play fiddles but he chose to play chess with his brother.  Noah is in the advanced level and Micah is now a beginner so they do not have a lot of interaction after school.  However at home, I have seen Micah's understanding of the game and his confidence  grow. Research shows that chess players show greater confidence, develop problem solving skills, logic and reasoning, develop mental disciple and concentration while learning good sportsmanship and strengthening rudimentary skills.  When will Micah capture Noah's king???

The wall

This is the wall.  It's the side of Cinco Restaurant.  Jawsh was commissioned to paint a mural.  What will he do???

Jordan and Pippen

Micah is playing his first season of basketball. He is very excited because he is on the same team as Noah.  Noah has really gained confidence this season (it also doesn't hurt that he is the tallest on the team) and Micah is playing a supporting role (meaning he passes the ball to his brother at every chance).  It's fun to watch these little guy play.  How will they do this season???

Goodbye friend

Today we said goodbye to Marshall Shields.  He was a member of the Smith Family who we will miss dearly.  Jay said it best, "all cookie recipes are made with a dash of salt to balance out the sweet" to which I added, "and Marshall was a cookie full of nuts."  I wonder what Marshall would say to that.

Post by Jawsh

Rascally Raccoon

Sure... she's cute.  Hiding under the deck behind the ball.  But she's also a nuisance who breaks in to the crawl space under the house.  We hired a no kill raccoon removal service and sure enough they got her to vacate the crawl space.  Where will she go next???

Rainbow Award for Micah

Micah received his Rainbow Award this week.  I find this one especially special because they have been learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this week.  Micah's award is for "making a difference in the class by being such a responsible student."  I think Micah will be such a great leader and for being one of the youngest kids in his class, I am so proud that he is developing responsibility!  What will he do next???

New scarf

Our neighbors, the K Family, invited us over for dinner.  They have two boys who are 14 and 12 years old.  Noah and Micah are so infatuated with the boys because they are always up to something.  We see them laser tagging out front or on their skateboards.  They have been so sweet to the boys leaving gifts and treats for every occasion.   When we went over little did I know that they have snakes and bearded dragons which made their coolness factor jump up 50 levels.  I think they will influence our boys in good ways because they are good kids... what will it be like next time we hang out???

Palace of Fine Arts

The Palace of Fine Arts was Jawsh's highlight of our trip.  We even lodged near the Presidio because Jawsh wanted to be close to this area.  I have to say that the architecture was amazing and it was so peaceful and beautiful.  We walked the grounds, took a billion pictures, and then the boys got popsicles which cemented this landmark in their brains (when they get older we may have to reference this experience as the place where they ate a Spiderman and Spongebob ice cream). This was a great way to end our day in the city.  When will we come back to SF???

Hi Cousin Leo

While we were at the Exploratorium, we met up with cousin Jenny and her son, Leo.  This was the first time we met Leo and her first time meeting the boys.  The boys got a long very well but soon grew tired of the museum.  We walked to Fisherman's Wharf and had lunch and then we went to a small playground where the boys ran and had a great time.  When will we see them again???

"Her"

Today we went to the Exploratorium at Pier 15.  This museum has been written up as one of the most important science museums in this century but we stayed such a short time that we really did not get to experience all of it.  Here you see Noah and Micah's reflection on a computer screen.  Noah was conversing with the computer named Daisy.  It was pretty interesting to see Noah "talk" to the computer reminding me of the movie, Her, by Spike Jones.  Instead of falling in love with this computer he just said it was "weird."  What will we explore next???

Zzzz

Jawsh bought this book, This is San Francisco, before our trip so the boys would get a preview of what they would see and of course we brought it along so they could reference it.  This is what it looks like after Day 1 in SF.  Chinatown- check.  Golden Gate Bridge- check. Ghirardelli- check.  What does Day 2 have in store for us???

The world famous Ghirardelli sundae

If the Golden Gate Bridge was my highlight of the trip, I think Ghirardelli Square will be the boys highlight.  After the long walk on the bridge and a nice dinner at McCormick and Kuletto's, we walked over to the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop where the boys indulged in the World Famous Ghirardelli Sundae (it only took 45 minutes of waiting).  The boys loved the sundae and even got straws to slurp up the melted ice-cream goodness.  When will we come back???

Golden Gate Bridge

After Chinatown, we headed to the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was absolutely beautiful.  At first we thought we would walk to the first tower and head back but once we started walking we just continued to the end.  It is 1.7 miles one way across the bridge and the boys did okay (Noah needed some assistance from Dad on the way to the end and Micah got a lift on the way back).  Luckily, we were dressed appropriately and the boys were happy to find out that we would get them Ghirardelli sundaes afterwards! I will always remember this experience... what will we do next???

The original Chinatown

Happy New Year! We made our way into San Francisco with our first stop in Chinatown.  We had a nice lunch at Hunan Homes Restaurant and then we waited in line for 40 minutes for egg tarts at Golden Gate Bakery.  Too bad no one really liked the egg tarts!  The boys did love their lychee boba drinks and watching fortune cookies being made at Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company.  What will we do next???

Morro Bay

Morro Bay is famous for the Morro Rock, which you can see from just about anywhere in this small town.  The Morro Rock is a 581 foot volcanic plug (yes there was a volcano here 26 million years ago).  This photo was taken from the Natural History Museum rooftop.  We drove to the rock and the boys loved running around.  Will they remember this when they get older???