Tuesday, February 4, 2014

February 3 - 9, 2014 - SF

Monday, February 3.  Charlotte was home today, so she and I went to Golden Gate Park, parked the car near Spreckels Lake and walked to the barns where the police horses are kept.  There were a few in the paddock, but not much activity.   As we walked back toward the lake, I saw a police woman taking a break outside the barn, so I asked her if there was another place where we could see the horses.  She said,  "come with me" and led us into the barn where we met, Rusty, Quin, and Bubba.  Charlotte was given a sticker and coloring book and then we got to see 4 policemen ride off on their horses to patrol the park.  I learned that they work 9 hour shifts and do any police job that comes up.  It was a lucky morning for us.  We also walked over to see the Bison and there were lots of ducks, seagulls, and pigeons around the lake.


Back home, Jill's morning hadn't gone quite that well.  Neither of the twins was interested in napping and they were fussy and needy instead.  They weren't too interested in napping in the afternoon either. It was a long day.

I also learned that a very good friend of ours passed away last night.  Paul had a brain hemorrhage 2 years ago and has been on life support since then.  His dear wife, Karen, has lived with the hope that he may get better and was by his side every day of this long journey.  He recently has been having seizures that they were unable to visibly detect, that have done additional damage to his brain.  He was a good man, fun to be with, and will be greatly missed.  Rest in Peace, dear Paul.

Thursday, February 6.  Jill and I packed up the kiddos and headed off to The Academy of Sciences.  We found a good parking space nearby, parked, and walked to Arizmendi Bakery (about a 4-block jaunt) before we could get in to the academy.  Now, there aren't many times that I actually get to walk in the rain, but people around here don't give it a second thought.  And Jill takes it all in stride, grabbing some bakery and a cup of coffee and heading on down the road.

Once we got to the academy, we headed right to the children's play area but Charlotte started crying hard and did NOT want to go in there.  We couldn't quite figure out what happened that freaked her out, kind of thought it was the lady who greeted us, although she seemed as nice as could be.  So, we headed to the aquarium where she was perfectly content.  Tina, Leo, and Enzo joined us for a while and Leo and Charlotte are great friends and had fun together.  After lunch, we headed back home and were unsuccessful in getting the kids to take their afternoon naps.  Just when we were both hoping for some R and R time to recover.  

Saturday, February 8.  We have had 3 rainy days in a row, much needed for this draught ridden state, although they are saying it won't be close to enough.  

Today was another busy day - Ben took Charlotte to swimming lessons, then to the salon for a "big girl" haircut.  Jill went to work and I stayed home with the twins.  It is getting easier for me as I'm getting a system down.  When Ben got home, I took Ruby for a walk and it was nice to get outdoors, in spite if the rain - actually the rain wasn't really a problem and felt pretty good.

Sunday, February 9.  Ben and Jill are heading to Minnesota for a few days, taking the twins with them and Charlotte is staying with me.  They left bright and early this morning, and will get back late on Tuesday.

Charlotte and I headed for The Academy of Sciences (Jill has a to see the Rainforest exhibit (one that we don't usually visit).  But it was so crowded by the time we got there, I couldn't find a parking spot and it was pouring down rain.  We went to the Legion of Honor instead.  Now, this is a formal art gallery and she might have been a little afraid of the angry looking men and violent paintings - we kind of scurried past them quickly.  I think the part she liked best was having a blueberry muffin in the cafe.  That activity was not a big thriller for her but she was very well behaved.  We stopped at Walgreens for construction paper for our afternoon activity (an attempt to make some valentines).