7/04 - Happy 4th!

Aside from the loud fireworks around the neighborhood at all hours, the heatwave, and intermittently cranky children, we had a lovely 4th of July celebration.  How about you?

6/18 - Super Samurai takes necessary precautions

Super Samurai takes safety seriously.

Sheldon and Isabella have some kind of digging project going on.  Look at that!

4/23 - Bat Ring and I spy some silly things at lunch

The first is a dangerous potty.  It must be dangerous, otherwise why would it need a guard?

The second was a new restaurant called Skewers, where they grill shisk-a-bobs.  But apparently not very well…  Looks like they had a kitchen fire before anybody even heard about them.

And finally, we saw signs saying that the Transamerica Building was now open!  New tourist site!  Bat Ring and I were excited at the thought of going to the tippity top and looking around the city, but what was open was actually a gift shop.  It did show videos about the Transamerica Building and the views from way up high, but we didn’t have time to watch them today.  Here, Bat Ring pretends he flew to the top.

2/13 - Army Guy sweeps the blue sector

He had a handle on this project, sweeping every single little blue square by hand.  Good job, Army Guy!

Army Guy gets out once in a blue moon.  OK, this wasn’t really a moon.  It’s a blue circle on the floor in the stairwell to help with fire drills.  Don’t wig out.

* spelling words in bold font

1/10 - Ashley can pick Danger out of a bunch

Danger pretended he was a grape, but Ashley picked him right out.

We found some interesting art that looked like a fish.  Danger said he felt like bait, so we rushed away from it.

This fire call box seems to have an owie.  (Danger didn't do it.)  Danger wished it a very speedy recovery.

1/03 - Rain and the Cart of Safety

Who ordered a cartload of fire extinguishers?  Hello?  Um - did you need them in a hurry?

David and I were not very good with the self portrait mode on my phone.  At least Rain’s smile looked good.  Oh – I guess the camera cut it off.  Sigh.

8/06 - Dalmatian Dog still wants to be a firehouse dog

Good thing I work by the fire station so we can see things like this when we’re out and about…

6/12 - Skeletons love camping

Skeleton tried to climb into this tent, but the people it belonged to screamed and ran away. Poor Skelly.  He’d be so good at telling spooky stories around the campfire.

Skeleton rates that burger a "10." He pretended he had ketchup in his eyes.  I pretended I did not get ketchup on my white shirt.

How was Field Day today?

4/04 - Firefighter #3 wonders, "How do I drive this thing?"

Wheels was still in my bag from yesterday (whoopsie!), so Firefighter #3 tried to ride him like a Segway. It did not go so well.  Good thing FF#3 was wearing a helmet!

Then, Firefighter #3 had to fight temptation.  Ultimately, he gave in.  Wouldn’t you, if you found yourself next to a cupcake as big as yourself?

Yes, I'm a geek and installed Instagram on my Android as soon as I could remember which email was associated with the phone.  Here, FF#3 goes for a spin.

2/10 - Littlest Monkey finds a time machine

Littlest Monkey and I passed a fire engine, chief’s car, ambulance, police car, and police motorcycle on the way into work.  There was some kind of medical emergency, and they were bringing someone out of a building on a stretcher. Here is Littlest Monkey by the fire engine. (We didn’t take a picture of the sick person, because we wouldn’t want people taking OUR picture if we were being rushed into an ambulance.)

We couldn’t find a title for this painted sculpture, so Littlest Monkey tried to use it as a time machine.  He wanted to go to the future where monkeys rule the world and drive banana cars around town.  Lucky for us, it didn’t work and Littlest Monkey and I will see you soon!  We are excited about the Kindergarten Dance!!!

Kindergarten Dance Update:  As expected, Lil' Guy was eager to dive right in, and Lil' Gal clung to me at the door way for about half an hour, protesting the noise levels.  (What with the music and the balloon popping, I can't say I blamed her!)  The twins' best friends arrived, and Lil' Guy and his pal dove into the fray.  Lil' Gal's sweet friend eventually lured her in with a game of "keep the balloon aloft," and a good time was had by all.

2/03 - Kwazii finds lucky clovers -- and FIRE!

Look at the good-luck clovers we found on this doorway.  Kwazii* is one lucky kitty.

The BART parking lot has been quite the hotbed of dubious activity in the evenings lately.  I saw two arrests going down, and tonight, something was on fire!

When I came home, the twins had transformed into cheetahs!  They were so fast, running around the house.

Annnnndddddd....  Happy birthday to Grandmother!!!

* formerly known as Puddin’, and Cornay before that!

1/10 - Yoshi flees from technical difficulties

System reboot?  Run, Yoshi, run!!

Fire Sprinkler whistles at how fast Yoshi can run.  Go, Yoshi, Go!

11/23 - Fire Safety Pencil phones home

Well, he tried.  I guess he forgot his special firefighter phone that plugs into this jack.

Later, we drew a hand turkey for Thanksgiving.

Nature update:  The mouse is no longer with us, either in the house or as a living creature.  :(

11/22 - Fire Safety Pencil says NOM!

Fire Safety Pencil found the Muppets! I can’t wait to see the new Muppets movie with you guys.  Fire Safety Pencil wants to come too.

We got some (mediocre) Thai food for lunch today.  Fire Safety Pencil wrote his comments on the takeout menu.

11/18 - Tinker is a lookie loo

Tinker found a goblin.  We saw this cute little guy in the train station this morning.  He has a strange sense of humor.

We saw a bunch of fire trucks and firefighters and thought for a minute that my work was on fire, but it was a few buildings down.  Rumor is that there was a small fire in the basement, but we got to see a firefighter go up the big ladder!

 Tinker wanted to be one of the fire tools, of course.

11/11 - New eyes and fun with firefighters

I had Friday off for Veterans Day.  A belated and ongoing thank you to all who serve or have served our country.  I may not always agree with the politics, but I always appreciate our troops.

The twins went with me to pick up my new glasses, dressed in their firefighter coats from 2 Halloweens ago.  I felt very safe!

11/09 - In which Diego Checker and Mommy break the BART

As soon as we stepped on to the train this morning, it went out of service! We rode back a stop (the new West Dublin station is quite nice), only to JUST miss the SF train. Welcome back, me!

Fire drill!!  Diego Checker walked quickly and quietly to the closest exit. (Someone joked that bystanders might mistake us for protesters, as we stood in front of the Federal Reserve building.)

Evening commute BART bonus:  The train before mine overshot its landing, so the doors weren't lined up with the designated boarding spots on the platform.  I guess they can't back it up, so they announced that the next train was in 8 minutes, and that train took off without letting anyone board.  How lame is that?  (And how did I narrowly avoid it?)

11/01 - Asher Fire Hero #4 likes high speed and voltage

Asher and I found a cute vintage motorcycle near one of our favorite lunch places.  He wanted to fire it up and ride it up the steep city hills, but we could not find the keys.

 Then, we found a Very Important Door.  Look at all the warning signs!  There is a apparently a lot of electricity behind it.  Asher wanted to go in and get charged up, but we couldn’t find the key for that either.

Now, let the staycation begin!  Mama is off on a trip, so I'm taking time off from work to play with the kids for the next week.  And! We have a special guest on the way...  Stay tuned.

10/17 - Firefighter Dalmatian Dog likes the bling

Firefighter Dalmatian Dog and I found these shiny silver things when we went out to find soup at lunch.

I was hoping to go to my morning meetings and come home early, but one of the meetings got moved to the end of the day.  Phooey.  And sniffle.  It was a day where my work ethic was stronger than my voice.

Kindergarten update:  Today was parent/teacher conferences, and both twins are doing well and are on track.  They are popular, even!  I'm so proud of my big kids!!

8/31 - Nigel has breakfast all locked up

*Somebody* took a bite of the muffin…  Nigel is not pleased. (It was me! I was hungry!)

Nigel was hoping to get a bird bath from the fire standpipe, but it was locked up and his key didn’t fit that lock.  He was NOT happy.  Sorry, Nigel!