Jennifer

Dear Family,

In January we got together with Jeff and Jenny and their kids and took a walk around the Lafayette Reservoir. The children have a lot of energy. There were also a lot of dog walkers – funny how some dogs look like their owners.

A few weeks ago we went with Jenny (Jeff had to work) and their four kids and a friend to the San Francisco Academy of Sciences, which opened in September last year. I took off work on the third Wednesday because on that day the Academy is free. We arrived right after it opened at 9:30 a.m., but had to walk to the end of the line, which took about 15 minutes. There were thousands of people there (hmmm...guess they all had the same idea) and I thought for sure we wouldn’t get in, but I was wrong. We got in, after about 30 minutes walking in line. Incidentally, when we left, there was still a long line – once they reach their maximum they let people in as other people leave. Anyway, there was so much to see. (At first I wasn’t so sure we made the right decision in going when it was so crowded, but being that it was free, and saving us $25 per ticket, it was worth it.) It had so much to offer –the tropical rain forest where butterflies fly all around and you can see the tiny poisonous red and green frogs, 4 inch cockroaches, snakes, geckos, and all other sorts of creatures (thank goodness they’re in cages) that would typically live in a rain forest, the crocodile swamp, the aquarium, which had not only the California coastal sea life, but also the tropical and coral reef sea life. Have you ever seen a leafy sea dragon? (I think it beats the Monterey Bay Aquarium.) But there were also the penguins and the African wildlife displays, and the living roof. Check it all out at www.calacademy.org.

I am back to work full time. Business is picking up a bit. We had some small renovations done in our office, like new carpet and painting some accent wall (fall colors), and so the wall by my cubicle was painted a yellow-orange. It’s bright and sunny and better than having a white wall. I’m getting used to it.

Last week I flew up to Seattle to get my “Finn fix.” It was fun for me to see his development. We walked to the nearby library -- it's been a long time since I've been in an actual library. I watched Finn and Ammon at Finn’s swim lesson. I went with Angela and Finn to pre-school – getting worn out just watching him run around from one activity to the next. And spent one full day with just Finn and I – we watched Sesame Street, read books, and played with a variety of toys. He and Ammon chase each other all over the house, lots of squeals and hugs. He is such a little boy now. I love being Finn's grandma.

The past couple of months we’ve been pruning the fruit trees in the backyard and giving everything a good “haircut.” We’ve had a lot of rain, which we are so happy to get being as we’ve been in a long drought. Now it feels like spring – about 60 degrees and the weeds are growing like crazy (and especially noticeable in all the front yards of the foreclosure homes).

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Happy Spring, and Happy Easter!
Love, Jennifer & Steve