Happy Anniversary to us, San Francisco Part I, July 29, 2007

We got up this morning by about 7:00, which is sleeping in for all of us. We headed over to find a Starbuck's near the mall in San Mateo because we were going to take the Cal train into San Francisco. We ended up driving by Rebecca's old house that she lived in while she was here in San Mateo. The kids thought that was great. We are going to try and go back on Monday where we can go to the park behind her house so the kids can play. We got our Starbuck's and headed to the train. The kids were very excited to take the train and were very into the "rules" that we told them. They were in awe when the train came. All the kids wanted to sit up on the second story of the train, so of course we did.

We have also been teaching the kids how to take pictures with our camera, with close supervision, and so Jonah took this picture of Rebecca and I. Kind of nice to have a picture for our Anniversary. Noah thought it would be fine for him to hold onto the camera for awhile so he could snap a picture when needed. That's not going to happen. The kids wanted us to take this picture of them in front of their train. They have all collaborated and said we are moving down here when we get back home just so they can take the train all the time into the city. We reminded them they get to take the ferry, which is fun, but they didn't think so.

When the kids saw this on the street, they thought it was great. Jonah thought it may be real, so he was pretty cautious when he had to stand next to it. As you can see, Noah wanted to take it home as he just about hugged the thing during the picture.

We got off the Cal train and headed for the number 10 bus so we could bus the 3 1/2miles down to Fisherman's Wharf instead of walk it. Noah raced on the bus and went to the back. When the bus started going and he noticed that he was alone, he got scared and started to have that intense fear, quiet cry. I had to come "rescue" him from the back. The kids thought that was incredible that dad stood up on a moving bus and got Noah. You would have thought I repelled down a cliff to save Noah from the alligators. Hey, whatever it takes.

After getting off the bus, we were walking by a homeless person who was occasionally yelling at random people as they walked by his cardboard house. Knowing Jacob may say he is being rude, Rebecca took his hand and diverted his attention, and I took Jonah and Noah's hand. After we walked by, Jonah asked if it is normal for people to be angry in the city. We talked for awhile about how he may struggle to think clearly--you like that interpretation? He was also blown away that someone would sleep in a cardboard box. The one part he would like is not having to shower all the time. He thought about this man the rest of the day and wondered what he was doing tonight for sleep. So much to learn about the world. With Jonah, we try to teach empathy whenever we can. Teachable moment.