St. Patrick's and Sisters!

 St. Patrick's Day dawned bright and early.  Dawna hoped that the Leprechauns would come visit and leave prizes behind.  She made a four-leaf clover and left out some mini Oreo cookies for them (since they are little people).  She wasn't disappointed in the morning...

 The Leprechauns ate the cookies... and left behind a treasure hunt for each of the kids.  They had to read and follow the clues on the shamrocks to find their "End of the Rainbow" prize. 

Weston Helped Larry read his clues

Larry found his prize under the fish tank!

Their prize was a lunch box!  They all have wanted one for a while to take snacks to the park or Nana's house or whatever... Larry loves taking his to school with a snack in it.  
And actually home schooling goes much smoother when Dawna has snacks in her lunch box to enjoy in between subjects...

 And this last weekend, we had my sister here to visit to celebrate her birthday!  We spent Saturday in Tiburon and on Angel Island.  We loved the boat ride, the hike, and the immigration museum.  I was amazed at the incredible poetry there!  It was quite a story to read and enjoy and learn about.  (Back home that same day, Jon kept the kids for me and taught Larry how to ride a bike!)

The girls had a nail party with Aunt Heather on Sunday after church: Pink and Yellow polish with flower stickers!  So pretty!

In other fun with Heather, we went to the tree house park, got some new clothes, and together we picked 29 pounds of lemons to send home in a duffle bag to uncle Rob :)  So glad Heather got to come visit!  We LOVE her!

Car Museum! Dipsea Run!

This week was a lonely one for me and the kids.  Daddy was gone Tuesday night through Saturday morning.  Gone on business... to Tahoe... Can't underestimate the importance of "team building" can we?

Yeah, I was a little jealous... but it's not like I would have been snowboarding anyway, so that made me feel a little better...

On Friday, to entertain ourselves, I took the kids on a field trip to the Danville Car Museum.  It worked out perfectly with Dawna's Social Studies chapter this week: "Transportation: Then and Now." We got to read about the "Horseless carriage," and then see one in person!

Horseless Carriage!

Dawna and Xochitl were willing to stand for pictures.   I couldn't get Lawrence to stand still at all!  HE was too busy taking in all the awesome cars!  Nana and Papa and our Danville cousins were all there too, but I missed them in the pictures. 

After seeing all the cars there, Larry now says his favorite car is the Rolls Royce. 

Beautiful Rolls Royce!

Dawna's Second favorite, because of the color, and because it looks like Finn McMissile.

Xochitl's favorite, because of the color.

Dawna's favorite

This one wins for the most interesting car: It's a specially made Rolls Royce for an Indian Maharaja, complete with two silver Boa Constrictor horns, side seats for servants to sit on during hunting, and a removable dark glass compartment so that his two wives would be hidden from public view while traveling.  The story goes this car was found abandoned in the jungle, rusting away, and was so heavy that elephants had to carry it out on a sling... I guess the Rolls don't do so well in the jungle...

While we were there, Weston and Jon took Dan on a long trail run along the Dipsea trail.  Dan did not die... Whew! I was concerned just a little bit knowing how those boys run... but really they all did great!  After the run, they all went back to Antioch for the night... four boys alone in mom and dad's house... what could possibly go wrong...

Saturday we finally all got back together again!  After a grueling run the day before, we decided to take a hike up a hill and along a ridge.  I was still the slowest one there... Lynn got great pictures, which I neglected to get from him... grrr...

Sunday the boys stayed at our place and Jon made an amazing "Surf and Turf" dinner of lobster and steak! Yum! Please come back soon, brothers!  Jon is a great cook, but he only whips out his skills when you are around.

Tough week, but great weekend! We're glad Daddy is home!

Winter garden

Today we harvested the first batch of broccoli from our garden! Freshest Broccoli I've ever had! This variety, Green Comet Broccoli, is supposed to keep producing small florets on the side for a few weeks... We'll see how it goes!

In other small news of the week, I do NOT have gestational diabetes (yay!) and Dawna finished her second trimester with a great report card. I had my grades down for her, but Jon and Mr. P. both said I was being too hard on her, so they were adjusted. Larry is excited about playing piano and practices with me every day. Xochitl somehow learned her birthday (I've never quizzed her on it, but one day someone asked her and she just knew...) and will gladly tell you she's turning 3 on "April nineteenffffffff" to quote her exactly.