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There are strong genes in this family. (And crazy side burns)

Thanks, Aunt Patty!
She’s been fueling Grandpa’s summer camp with daily gifts. We’ve received a solar car, gummy bats, a tiny bike, cotton candy gum that turns your tongue blue, and a few other things that aren’t coming to mind at the moment.

My father is hanging out with Will this week since school is out. So, I figured I’d share my list of places to take a 4 year old that both kids and adults might find entertaining.

In Berkeley:
– Go on a secret passage walk through the neighborhoods.
Berkeley is tied together by many foot paths that were carved during the days of trolley transportation. These paths are often the fastest way to traverse the hills by foot as they take a more direct, but sometimes steep, route up the face of the hills. They are definitely functional and well used by the bipedal neighbors (vs those that are attached to their cars), but at the same time seem secretive and mysterious. What better way to entertain the kid you are with and the kid in you than a secret journey and a picnic lunch.

– Hike Indian Rock.
This giant rock in the middle of a teensy park has spectacular views of the region, and is quite often used as a practice rock for climbers. It has some history, but frankly, when I went looking for it, I couldn’t verify that there really *were* indians using *that* rock as a mortar and pestle. Regardless, it is the perfect rock to play king of the mountain because who doesn’t want to be king of THAT view. There are secret passages to hide in. And even ancient steps to traverse.

– Visit Lawrence Hall of Science.
This is a reasonably sized science museum on Berkeley Campus. The views from the building are amazing, and the exhibits are just the right size for kids 3 to 99. The geeks out there will enjoy watching their kids climb through the giant DNA sculpture. Well, I do, anyway.

– Feed the animals at Tilden Park’s Little Farm
(or on the weekends ride a carousel or the steam trains!)
Bring your own celery or lettuce to feed the cows, chickens, geese, goats, and sheep. If you are adventurous, the area surrounding is a beautiful hike.

– Bring your cardboard and ride the concrete slide at Cordinices Park across from the Rose Gardens. The park is giant, so you might bring a soccer ball and some lunch as well. Or wheeled things for the path through the park.

– Have a picnic at the Rose Garden (On Euclid at Rose). I have yet to visit while the blooms are out, but my son and I are big fans of stopping to smell and compare the roses around our house, so I imagine we’d have a great afternoon sniffing.

– Visit Fairyland and experience what it must be like to live in a Mother Goose book whose pages have been smudged with kiddie love.

– (on a weekend) Put on your carpenters and head over to the Berkeley Adventure Playground in the Berkeley Marina where there is plenty to build, paint and saw to pieces. Our kids have loved slapping paint around and hammering since they were old enough to walk.

– Habitot – near campus, this tiny indoor exploratorium is packed with make believe stations and walls the kids can get lost in. Really best for an accomplished climber with a good imagination (3+). There is a water table and a soft block room for the smaller siblings.

– Oakland Zoo – This is not the place where the kid was eaten by the Tiger. This place is nice. It is small enough that the smaller tots aren’t overwhelmed and large enough that the big kids are interested. The management has done an excellent job of littering the zoo with interesting animal play structures that the kids love as much as the animals.

– The Vivarium – Who doesn’t like to look at rare snakes, lizards and geckos? Or rather, what little boy doesn’t? According to Doug, this is the mother of all lizard shops.

Take the Bart to the City and check out: (The Bart trip alone is a blast! Add a bus trip or two to reach some of the more remote locations and voila!)
– Golden Gate Park – Around Stowe Lake, there are paddle boats, canoes, and peddle carts for rent all for cheap. Stop in the Japanese tea garden for some pond jumping and landscaping that even a kiddie would enjoy. For a few bucks you can walk through the butterfly exhibit in the Conservatory of Flowers or perhaps see lily pads larger than your house (well, MY house)!

– Zeum – Pronounced ZEE-Uhm, not zoom. An interactive art and technology museum located in Yerba Buena Gardens, just off the BART.

– Sutro Bath ruins – At the edge of the city, next to the Cliff House, stand the ruins of the Sutro Baths – a bathhouse from the early 1900s. You can see pictures of what once stood there in the Cliff House Gift shop or on the plaque that stands before it. A 4-year old won’t be interested in the pictures but will enjoy climbing on the ruins.

– Exploratorium – perhaps a little too old for a 4-year old, but not for the 4-year olds in all of us. This is an interactive science museum on a grander scale than the Lawrence Hall of Science. Most days there are presentations that touch on the science behind interesting things like digestion or ice cream.

– China Town – Every kid likes the curio shops and interesting sights of China town.

– The curviest part of Lombard street –
Yes, even 4 year olds think this street is cool and worth the walk down. I’m not sure they’d find the drive interesting.

– The Gardens at Telegraph Hill and famed Parrots-
There are parrots living in the trees in the park-like gardens of the Telegraph Hill neighborhood. I find these gardens enchanting most likely because they seem so out of place in one of the more urban centers of the city. If you can locate yourself on the steps of Filbert between Sansome and Montgomery you might spy some famous cherry headed parrots flying overhead.

When I was in India last year I found it interesting that in my 2 weeks, I didn’t see a single manufactured looking broom – at least none of the flat bottomed, plastic holstered type that we import from China. Theirs looked like witch brooms.

Walking home from school one Friday, the kids and I collected the materials to make our own brooms. I posted pictures of what they painted in lieu of painting the brooms, but here are the finished brooms made from pine needles, string and painted sticks:

I mentioned a few days ago that Grandpa has been taking care of the kids over their summer breaks. He only had one day alone with Sylvie and as far as I could tell both survived, friends. Tho, dad told me that Sylvie refused to talk to him, and when asked if she was mad at him, she responded “uh-huh”.

He also asked if I let Sylvie go down the big kid slide at the park, because apparently HE does.
Find Sylvie:

He’s had Will, now, for 2 full days. Dad’s comment is that he thinks Will is hyper-active. Not that Will can’t focus, but that he can’t sit still. So, Dad buried him:

Probably the most exciting thing was the whipped cream pie fight. Grandpa and Will have been scheming this for a few days, waiting for a warm day and the paparazzi to be home.

The first hit:

Retaliation:

And one for the innocent bystander: (who did NOT find this amusing)

They pretty much clean up, okay:

One of two I made last night before… the mishap.

(the other is pink)

Those Fisker super sharp scissors are super sharp.
Learned the hard way when I took them away from my 2 year old after she walked in on my tutu making and grabbed them off the stool.

This was a 1.2 inch lesson learned by my thumb.

On the ride to school, Doug explained that this was Will’s last day of school before summer break, and then he’ll be hanging out with Grandpa. Will asked how long he gets to hang out with Grandpa. Doug responded 5 days.

“Wow! 5 days! That is a long time!”

Will can’t wait. Grandpa is scared.

SkiptoMyLou.org is having a book and craft-a-thon to benefit Heifer International. Over the next little while, daily, they’ll be promoting a favorite book and a crafty project. Today’s project is a tutu tutorial.

I’ve made a tutu before, and have the makings for many more, but this tutorial is for a practically no-sew, but very pretty and fluffy tutu. Check it out.

(A sew tutu, just to get you in the spirit)

Today is Sylvie’s final day of summer vacation, and she’ll be spending it with Grandpa. I can tell he has been a little nervous about the prospect of hanging out with the littles all by himself because in the weeks leading up to this he has asked me many times, “I’m not going to have both kids at one time, am I?” The answer has always been no, but he has continued to ask.

All this asking has made me a little nervous, too. I know my children, and I know that Sylvie is the “easy one.” I’ve joked that to take care of Sylvie, you wake up, bathe and get dressed, walk down to Semifreddi’s for a latte and some pastries, walk back home, have lunch and then she goes down for her 3 hour nap. And, well, that is pretty close.

My mom told me to write out an itinerary. I planned to, but while I was getting dressed this morning, Sylvie and Grandpa cuddled on the sofa while Grandpa sang Elmo songs. When they reached the end of the book, Sylvie handed her lovey to me and said, “Put this away.” She ran to the door to put on her shoes, and then declared that she wanted to go for a walk. When the stroller appeared, she said, “I want in the ‘troller.” And off they went. It was all so well orchestrated by her that I figured they wouldn’t need an agenda, she’ll just tell him “walk”, “‘nack”, “nap”.

Funny how we let the 1 year old run the show. And even funnier how she does such a good job!

On another note, we took our son to the world’s greatest pediatrician, today. Dr Jane Anderson at Mt Zion Pediatrics. If you are in the market, I can’t recommend her enough. But, that is not why I’m writing…

At 4, the kids get hearing and vision tests in addition to the standard well baby stuff like blood pressure, weight/height, etc. I spent a good 20 minutes in the bathroom enjoying the tiny flush toilet with our independent potty trainee, so I missed a bit, but I did catch enough to see my typically outgoing son clam up to a case of stage fright when it came time for him to say his full name or identify the many lines of images on the eye chart. I’m just waiting for the call from our pediatrician telling me the kiddo needs glasses. How successful are these tests, usually?