I just realized that our last post of any substance was our Easter post - wow, has a lot happened since then!
The best thing about summer is that Chuck wrapped up the school year and is officially on his year-long sabbatical. At some point he hopes to spend a good amount of time writing, as well as figuring out whether he wants to go back to teaching, or apply for a different position. For now, though, he's been spending most of his time as a stay-at-home dad, taking care of Lucy, the house, and me!
Lucy's last day at Happy Face Daycare was the third week in July. Boy was that sad, for me anyway. It did not compute at all with her that she wasn't going back there. Which was a good thing, because it would have been absolutely gut wrenching for me if it had been at all hard for her. They have taken such good care of her from eleven months until now, and I credit them with a lot of the really cool things that have developed in Lucy's personality. She went from being an shy, anxious baby to a happy, engaging (if still a bit shy and reserved) little girl.
But, as Chuck likes to remind me, she can't stay at Happy Face until college, and so it was time for a change. After a four week break (which included a family vacation that I will talk about in a bit), Lucy started at
Crayon Box Preschool. She has now been there for two full weeks, and it's been going really well. It's a much larger, more formal preschool than where she was before, so it definitely has been an adjustment. There just isn't as much individualized attention, because there are so many more kids. But the teachers do a really good job, considering the number of kids. She's been a bit teary at most of the drop offs (and pick ups, because I guess she gets upset when other kids get picked up before her), but she has been napping every day and eating really well, which, for Lucy, are the signs that she's comfortable enough. And I certainly expect she's going to grow to love this place as much as Happy Face.
And since Lucy's been back at school, Chuck has had time to do things like sell our civic. Yup, we're down to one car again. What with Chuck staying at home, Lucy's preschool being less than a mile away from home and my new assignment being in South San Francisco (ie accessible by BART), it just seemed like an expense we didn't need anymore. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but overall we're really happy we did it.
Chuck has also been talking to a contractor about a minor re-do of our downstairs bathroom (something made financially possible by the sale of the civic!), and it looks promising. As Chuck's Dad will attest, nothing that gets done to this house is easy (or at a right angle), but we're hopeful we'll be able to get a few things done to make it more functional, less smelly, and prettier. Still in the early stages of that, so everybody cross your fingers....
Finally, our vacation! The last week before Lucy went back to school, we went away to
Camp Mather. This is a camp run by the city of San Francisco, essentially for families. You don't have to have kids to go, but I don't see why you would if you didn't, as there are kids EVERYWHERE at all times. You get a spot for a week by lottery - actually, it's so popular, we didn't get a spot the first go around. We got one off the wait list, but only for a tent site. The camp is predominantly cabins, and I would definitely hold out for one of those if we ever do it again. You get all the same amenities with a tent site, but a week is a long time to be sleeping and living out of a tent, especially with a three year old.
Overall, though, it was a great week. It's a really long drive to get there, as it's near Yosemite, but Lucy did great, with no carsickness episodes (on the way there, that is, we won't talk about the ride back, ugh.) The weather was absolutely perfect for the entire week - warm enough during the day to swim at the pool and/or lake, and cool enough at night to make sleeping in a sleeping bag comfortable. There were SO many activities, especially for kids. Lucy took swim classes at the pool, got to fingerpaint another day, ride a burro (see previous post), and watch a movie one night in their outdoor theater. And that was just the tip of the iceberg, they had so many other activities. Essentially, take the rec program of any major city and move it to an idyllic wooded retreat, and that's what this place was. Nevermind that the whole place was pretty much one big playground, including multiple outdoor ping pong tables. Oh, and did I mention that all meals were included?
The were only two real rough spots. The first night, we were at a tent sight near the staff housing. While they supposedly have really strict rules, this was the first night of their last week and one RA was out of town. Needless to say, it was loud, and Chuck was pissed. I would have been pissed too, but I managed to sleep through most of it. However, when he complained, the camp bent over backwards to fix it, and moved us to a spare tent site that they keep vacant, probably for just such a problem. It was perfect, as it was on the other side of camp, and pretty remote for such a densely populated little spot. The best part was noticing the little sign someone had constructed that read "Plan Z," which was exactly what it was, as I doubt I could have convinced Chuck to stay if that hadn't worked out!
So, we were able to say through the week, only troubled by the constant irritation of the slow moving line at meal times. It was to be expected, given the short hours they served food and the number of children, but it was consistently a 30 minute wait, which is no picnic with a hungry three year old. People with older children would also just send their kids to get in line early, then show up before the doors opened, which did not help the situation. That said, the food was surprisingly good. And they were very accommodating which meant that it was easy to make a meal for Lucy every time, and we all ate great.
Ok, enough of the narrative, here are some pictures!
