The beautiful weather this past weekend meant that the kids were outside almost all day...baseball was still the favorite activity for Gene, and he found a willing partner in our next-door neighbor boy (9 years old). They played together very well, but their 4 year old girl, Tess, was also eager to play with Gene. So we brought out the gardening tools, and the three of them had a great time digging in our not-yet-planted vegetable garden.

Gene has been a little more interested in the new baby we will have in September. Every once in a while he will want to see my stomach and talk about it. He wants the baby to be "a little sister, just like Lucy".

From top to bottom: baseball is Gene's favorite backyard activity, Gene says Mass at least once a day when we're inside, at 18 months Lucy has observed enough baseball already to pick up the basics...

From top to bottom: Lucy at Michigan baseball game, Easter morning hairstyling session with Brendan, all dolled up for Easter!

Finishing San Fransisco

We're wrapping up our trip now, and have seen all the major things we wanted to see. Yesterday we ate Dim Sum for lunch, a chinese way of lunching- we sat at our table and the waiters brought out fully cooked little appetizers, 4 to a dish, and asked if we would like them. If we said yes, they added $2 to our bill, and a minute later another dish would come out. We ended up having about 8 dishes total to share among the four of us, and most were delicious...fried shrimp, pork buns, duck, little egg custards...quite the experience since I've only had chicken fried rice whenever going out for Chinese. Afterwards we walked down Fisherman's wharf, went in the famous Boudin sourdough bread factory (but didn't have time for a tour), and then got in line to board the ferry boat to Alcatraz. We took a great tour, mostly via audio cassette, for 2.5 hours, and at the end of it had a good idea of what life was like on Alcatraz from a prisoner and warden's perspective. Definitely worthwhile. Splurged again and took a taxi back to the apartment for dinner (we didn't realize the tour would last so long, so they were waiting for us) and then I conked out at 9:30 on the couch while everyone else played Scattergories.

This morning we cooked breakfast, then went out for the day to a national park to go hiking. We drove to the top of a mountain, got out and walked down a trail for about a mile, and ate lunch at a picnic table overlooking the bay and the whole city. The view was great, and it was much less windy up there than in the city, go figure. San Francisco is supposedly the second windiest city in the US, after Chicago. After the hike, we drove to Muir Woods and walked among the redwoods. Very touristy, but fun to see the huge trees. We drove back to the apartment then, stopping to take pictures of the Golden Gate bridge. Tonight we're going to have an early dinner and then go in some shops. We're done being tourists now, and we can just relax and enjoy our last night here. We leave tomorrow around 1...

Hanging out with Papa

Gene and Lucy are staying with Brendan for the week, and seem to be having a grand old time. Highlights of the week so far have been...going swimming at the Rec Center (Lucy crawled up and down the ramp into the water and would have easily crawled over her head if Brendan had not caught her)...Lucy carrying her shoes and clothes to the steps while sucking on two pacifiers at once...Gene going to the Ash Wednesday service with Grandma Patti instead of going home to bed with Brendan...everyone going to dinner at Travis Pointe with Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks...eating paczki's at Benny's Bakery (Lucy found the hole in hers and played with the filling)...and so far no one has woken up crying in the middle of the night!! (I told Brendan he is on night duty from now on, cause it seems like someone is ALWAYS waking up when I am home). God is sure watching over them, and I miss them all like crazy. I notice every single little kid we pass on the streets of San Francisco, and wish that my family were all here with me.

Tired Legs

My legs are so sore! We have walked all over the city, but last night resorted to a taxi to save us the mile or so walk to get dinner. In the afternoon we visited Emily's cafe where she works, and the food was delicious- meat, pasta, salad, soup, desserts...and unique for me because we paid by the pound- at the register they actually weighed my plate and then charged for it. Then we took a self-guided tour of the Mission church and cathedral, the church being the oldest still standing building in the city, built in 1776 by some Catholic missionaries. Then on to Emily's apartment, which took 30 minutes to get to, despite taking the subway (the "BART") Long walk just from the BART to her house, stayed a few minutes, and then headed right back. We walked so fast trying to get back to Jane's apartment so we could change and go to the exercise class that Jane taught, but I was exhausted and ended up staying back and taking a much-needed nap. Woke in time to get ready for dinner in Little Italy. Took a taxi (cause it was almost cheaper than the bus and BART combined, our other option for getting there) and had a great dinner and then got gelato at the best gelatoria in town (supposedly). This morning Sean left to catch a flight to New York for an audition at the Met (God bless him, cause he is coming down with something) and we caught a bus to Golden Gate park. It's about 4 miles long, and full of lots of good "parky" things like a pond, gardens, etc but also has a museum, conservatory of flowers, and some sports areas. Regardless, we couldn't see much due to time constraints, but we hiked a bit and paid to enter the Japanese Tea Garden, which was a delicate little garden with ponds and bridges and a small pagoda. Worth seeing. Came back for lunch with Jane and now we're going to relax a bit till she gets done teaching . May catch a movie tonight.

Paczki Day

There are no paczkis to be found in all of San Francisco!! We called bakeries, looked online and finally contacted a Polish food store (the only one in the city). The lady who answered didn't speak much English but said they have some! Then she said they wouldn't be ready for 2 hours- the cook still had to make the dough. So...maybe we are the only ones in the whole city to eat paczkis today, and they have been specially ordered:)

Wine-Tasting 101

I learned how to drink wine yesterday...how to use all the senses...look at it, inhale the bouquet, "chew" it, and then finally taste it and decide if you like it. So much fun...even though I am pregnant I was able to taste a sip of each wine and then pour the rest out...this is actually the expected way to taste wine, though if you like a wine it's perfectly okay to drink it all (about 1/4 glass worth). So, we went to Napa Valley yesterday, 1.5 hours away from SF, and visited 3 wineries- St Supery's, Beringers, and Sterling. Learned different things from each tour we took: how to make wine, the history of some of the wineries and accompanying vineyards, and how to taste wine- sampled 4-5 wines at each place: one or two white wines, 2 red wines, and then a white dessert wine. Delicious. Came back to Jane's apartment for squash soup and sourdough bread, then watched Anna and the King until bedtime. Exhausted, but now adjusted to the time change and had a great sleep. Today is our day with Emily- but we get to relax in the morning, and meet her at the cafe where she works around lunchtime.

San Francisco!

We made it to San Francisco this morning, my sister Bekah and I. A bit weary from travel and a short night last night, but we had a fun day nonetheless. Flights were fine, we got here around noon, and ate lunch at Jane and Sean's apartment. Took a LONG walk to Chinatown (for Chinese New Year) and around town, up a hill so steep there were steps in the sidewalk (and I was panting just walking up as slow as possible...shows what kind of shape I'm in these days, huh?) Back to the apartment to rest and eat dinner (and try not to fall asleep beforehand). Now our sister Emily is here and we're discussing plans for the rest of the week. But I need to get to bed asap!!

Missing My Favorite Guy

Today is the third day in a row that I will go all day without seeing Brendan (my DH). He had a meeting on Thursday and got home late, on Friday morning he had to be at a job site by 8, evening he attending the Amazing Grace Charismatic Conference and got home REALLY late...left for the conference again this morning by 8, and will come home around 8 this evening. However, I leave before dawn tomorrow for a week visiting my sister Emily and friend Jane in San Francisco... I am REALLY looking forward to it, as a much needed time of rest and relaxation, especially after being cooped up with kids for a few days (Lucy being sick meant we couldn't leave the house). But I really miss Brendan, and now I will have to miss him for another week. How do people do it with husbands who travel all the time or are in the military? It makes me really appreciate our life together, and the time we get to spend with each other and our kids. I think they are missing him right now too...but even though Gene is old enough to communicate well, he never talks about missing anyone, and never seems upset when they are gone. We'll see how he feels after I get back next week...

Stuck at Home

Lucy is sick today, and I am remembering the last time I really had a feverish fussy kid in the house...two years ago! Gene was about Lucy's age when he was really sick for the last time...since then he's had a number of colds, but never a fever, and Lucy has had many colds and a bad rash, but this is her first bad sickness. No fun for her, or any of us...except perhaps for Gene, because he got to watch a video yesterday, and enjoyed it much more than Lucy did (she was too sick).

On Valentine's day, we had a special breakfast (eggs and heart toast) and had candy hearts as well. Gene and Lucy got a card from Grandma Hendricks with some jelly beans in the envelope...Gene was very excited, but didn't realize they were candy and just wanted to play with them. He said regarding the card, "That is so special for me". Kate (my sister) called later and talked to the kids...Lucy just listened during her turn, and then Gene held the phone for the first time by himself and had an animated conversation, telling Kate, "Happy Valentine". While he was talking, Lucy walked over, found our play phone, and decided she was ready to talk...

Rain

It's raining, and I thought the Weather Channel was predicting snow for this weekend. Maybe later...isn't that what Mother Nature has been saying all winter? What a strange season this winter has been. I realized something today...we have been inside much too often the past week. We haven't gone anywhere in the car, haven't gone outside because of the cold, and now when it is almost 50 degrees, it rains. It really does affect my mood to stay in so much, and I actually tried to read a book today while the kids played. This is entirely unlike me, but I was feeling tired (up a lot with Lucy last night) and so I tried it. I read a few pages in the morning, but then nap time came around and I just wanted to spend the whole time reading. Tempting... but I know myself and that it would NOT make me feel better in the long run. When the kids woke I would feel terrible and the house would look the same. So, back to routines. Thank you Flylady! (check out flylady.net if you don't know who this wonderful lady is). I did my "during nap" routine, and now the kids are still up there, I've done the usual plus reorganizing all the toys and kids books, and still worked in some reading time. Praise God!