Author Archives: Vale

Oscar’s Poor Public School

02 May 2012

Clarendon is hurting for money, more than ever before.
*Will you help?*

I just got this:
(note: its a photo – the link wont work)

WE ARE ROOM 103! The worst class!

Leap is our cash fundraising program name (I forget what it stands for).
http://www.secondcommunity.org
is where you can donate online,
or send a check to me. Make it out to “SCPA”.

The donation is tax-deductable (I can give you the info)

I will spare you the details of what the families need to pay for, because the state wont.
Trust me when I say this is a good cause!

And thanks for you generosity, in any amount.
:)

Weekend in Sebastopol

30 Apr 2012

A sunny and warm weekend!


We are off to Kathy’s (next door).


The pool was so quiet you could hear the bees buzzing around the lavender.


Kathy leant Oscar some fun goggles.


Goofing off


A wild turkey, who made a break for it when I showed up.


Happy Booker


My favorite shot of the weekend – click this one to see large


Omi was excited to see all her iris in bloom


The tomato field, prepped for planting


My favorite – I mean really, giant yellow farm roses? Whats not to love?


Giving the dollies a tour


The apple trees are still in bloom


Meet Jake. He belongs to a neighbor.


Teenager Chickens


Oscar can’t quite catch one yet, so Mark helped. I think it’s great when the kids can pet the chickens.


The pony


Friendly butterfly


As close as he could get :)

Lucy’s New Kitchen

29 Apr 2012

Dear Trevor,
Thank you for giving me your “Ch’chin”!
I love it so much! Come and play with it any time!
I will bake you an upside-down cake.
love, Lucy


The kitchen came with pots and pans, and plates and utensils – all kinds of stuff. Also, Aunt Madie got me some yummy play food last Christmas. I’m all set!

xxoo

Oscar Looses Tooth!

25 Apr 2012

Our first lost tooth!
So exciting.

The best part is when I came in to his room to tuck him in tonight.
He tells me excitedly, “Okay! So I put the tooth under my pillow, but not so far under that you couldn’t grab it…”
I said, “Awwww Thats So Cute!” and he immediately flushed in embarrassment and said, “Never-mind! Forget I said anything!”

So cross your fingers the Tooth Fairy comes tonight!

UC Davis Picnic Day

24 Apr 2012

And it was hot. Not even hot like Davis-summer-hot, but it was hot enough for us. Oscar kept asking if we could go back to San Francisco. (In Mark and my experience, it always rained on Picnic Day.)
Here are my best snaps of the day.


We parked our car and biked. First stop was at the farmer’s market for lunch. We saw Tom, the baker, our old neighbor on C st. who used to come over and watch survivor with us. And we saw these bikes. “We’re in Davis now!”


We got back on the bikes and navigated the super busy streets into campus. Oscar did really well! It was hot, and there were people everywhere! We parked again, and walked into the quad.


I showed Oscar where my old Media Lab job was. It was so cool inside! We saw an art exhibit.


We got a terrific run through of the skulls of human evolution. Thanks mister anthropology dude! We told him Lucy was also our daughter’s name :)


We walked through the coffee house. Well, we weren’t sure, until we saw the old sign. It has CHANGED! I pointed out about where I used to make pizzas and burritos. Mark and I reminisced. I flashed back to me and Beth – her studying/applying to Grad school and me not studying (flirting).


Back on our bikes, for a ride across campus to see some animals. Polo ponies!


Not an important photo, only I think this might be Oscar’s first smile all day.


Lucy couldn’t really function. We just carried her a lot.


Here’s our bikes (mine’s the yellow one!) and we found a cool spot on the grass.
This is where I realized we lost our second towel and my sun hat. I was too hot to care.


A couple of these and the kids perked up a little.


Obligatory cow photo. We did not see where they had the famous gesticulated cow. Whatever.


Hooray! The Battle Of The Bands! They take turns playing songs, and see who can outlast the rest. We got settled in front of the Cal Band. Also in attendance: UCSB, Humboldt, and The Aggie Alumni Band. They may have been more but we didn’t walk down into the throngs.


Love the Tubas! Go Bears!


After a little while, the musicians all mixed up with their instrument counterparts from the other bands. They ran around and played and acted really silly. Here are the trumpets.


This is One Big Dude and possibly the biggest sax I’ve ever seen?


These guys are playing instruments upside down!


The kids couldn’t cool off. We ran out of provisions (water). I had to call it.


I love this! I think I finally understand the Egg Heads! They’re hot and tired and want to go home!


One last stop – a drive by of the new football Stadium, where the lacrosse team was playing. It’s crazy. I’d love to go see a football game there! I am ashamed this was the first time we’ve seen it. I’m a terrible lacrosse alum. I just don’t feel any connection to the team – it’s so different now!


Lucy feel asleep in the car so we couldn’t stay for the end of the game. Good Bye Davis! See ya later!

Fort Funston Field Trip

19 Apr 2012

Oscar’s class went for an all-day field trip to Ft. Funston on Monday. Naturalists showed them all kinds of cool stuff. They pet a chinchilla, hiked all the way down to the beach, studied the native plants, and played games like “Bat and Moth”.
At 5pm, all the families joined the kids. We made dinner together, and sat around the campfire. After s’mores, the kids got a Night Hike, with flashlights and trivia games. Thanks Sue, and parents, for an amazing field trip!


Lucy on the scene


We went out to look around before dinner


Ariel & Brayden


Sue – “Here I am!”


I love our class


A funny story


Time for s’mores (Oscar is a bit cooked himself)


roasting


Andrew helping Ariel put out a fire


mmmmm

Thanks Belinda Yee for some of the photos I used!!