If you have a view like this from your hotel room, you should make use of it. Notice how I can sit at the desk or on the couch and enjoy the ocean view.
But that was not the way the furniture was arranged when I checked in. Instead, the desk was against a windowless wall, and when you sat on the couch you had a view of the hotel room.
(I think my arrangement was a major improvement, but I restored the hotel's chosen arrangement before checking out.)
The second graders have been learning about simple machines. To put that knowledge to good use, this week they've been building forts, complete with simple machines. The kids all drew up plans. Here's Anders's plan:
They've been hard at work.
Here's Anders's team's fort:
Here is Anders (with Soren and Georgia flanking him), trying out his new rod and fishing off of the pier at Crissy Field.
Two or three hours later, he had brought up a crab (it fell back in the water on the way up), but otherwise hadn't had much luck.
Thanks to some friendly neighbors on the pier, however, he did reel in a couple of perch that others hooked.
These kind neighbors also sent us home with several perch, which we cleaned and pan fried in butter and garlic.
First things first—let's climb on the (garage) roof!
Home sweet (rental) home!
Warming up by the fire.
Day two: snowier, but without kids on the roof.
While the big kids were skiing...
...Soren, who declined to take ski lessons, started off with some lego time...
...but then opted for frolicking in the snow in the backyard.
Day three: even snowier!
I got obsessed with a 3D puzzle.
Finished!
...if you ignore these, anyway.
It's Mont Saint Michel (minus the steeple's spire, which was missing in the set).
modified version of a photo by Pablo Fernández; licensed Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Day four: snowiest! (Just in time for the drive home!)
Last moments of fun in the snow...
...and out of the snow.
The boys are off to a double sleepover tonight, and the anticipatory energy is running high. Perfect timing for a visit to the Exploratorium!
They enjoyed many of their usual favorites, including this trippy piece.
During a snack break, they (and others of their size) were attracted to this sand disk.
(I say "others of their size" as if I didn't spin the disk around myself, before the kids descended upon it....)
The seating area near the Seismic Joint snack bar had some cool lamps. Like this one...
...and this one...
...and this one—yes, they're all made out of plastic milk jugs!
Soren took in a cow eye dissection.
(Coincidentally, Soren was wearing a tshirt featuring a bull skull.)
There are favorite exhibits outside, too!
