California Day 6

Our hotel is five blocks south of the state capitol, so I thought it would be neat if the kids and I met Grandpa there for breakfast in the cafeteria.

The kids had just learned about Christopher Columbus this week, so it was interesting for them to see a statue of the explorer and Queen Isabella.

The staffers nickname this statue "Bacteria Bear" because the troops of thousands of school children all instantly put their hands in the bear's mouth, as did my children. Note the hand sanitizer immediately next to the bear. It's there for a reason.

My maid of honor and friend Amy works in the capitol, along with thousands of other people. What providence that, as we finished breakfast and stepped off the bank of elevators, she was walking past and saw us! Five seconds later and we would not have crossed paths. She was able to take a half hour and walk with us on the beautiful grounds, letting the kids run free. (The other day the kids wanted to run around and I said, "No, honey, I'm sorry. I am totally out of energy and I need us to go back to the hotel room." Mary replied, "I have lots of energy. Here, I am taking some out of me and shaking it into you!")

We then drove to Grampa Neil's where John and Margaret collapsed for naps and Mary stymied me for several hours. (This is the effect whereby mothers of more than one child rarely get to take a much-needed daytime rest themselves because the children can't all be made to nap simultaneously.)



We played in the back yard: Margaret's favorite activity there is to walk up and down this "steep" bridge, testing out her ability to navigate uneven ground. Each time she completes the voyage, she says "Whoa!" in triumph.

The girls played "soccer" with Grampa Neil.

This trowel proved to be the best toy ever and was both the resource for much industrious digging and the cause of all the sibling squabbles.

John's serious mien and slightly furrowed brow during his conversation over chocolate milk

strikes me as so him.

Mary keeps trying to write her name: so far it consists of the letters M, A, and Y, usually written in mixed order or backwards (YAM). She is very pleased with her progress.

We meandered to the nearby playground where I found another of those weird pod-like swings. The child brings down the safety cage and locks it into place, then can't even pump with his legs, thus requiring a parent to stand there and push. Perhaps this one also needs to be filed under "You Know You're in Davis When." Note Mary pushing Margaret, who has her arms flung up in exuberance.

On our way home from the playground, Mary (whose fatigue was now showing up in the form of tantrums) announced petulantly, "I'm tired! I want to go to sleep." And as soon as we got home, she did!

Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Steven arrived from the Midwest and we enjoyed a dinner of take-out since Miss Mary was at that point napping.

John chipped away at a rock with steady focus for a solid hour. You know with what pride a five-year-old boy can announce solemnly, "I am making a mixture of rock and dirt."

All three children coated their bodies in the mixture, so received got baths when we got back to the hotel. I'm surprised the water didn't turn brown from the dirt!