Happy Birthday Kira!

Today Kira turns 11. Can't believe it? I know neither can we. For her birthday this year Tom, Andrew and I decorated her room. It was just like that show on TLC, "While You Were Out." Kira was gone for the weekend with her mom and we went to work. Tom and I painted the room, and Andrew and I did the bedding and upholstered the headboard. We got it all done just in time for her to come home tonight and her reaction was classic. What 11 year old would not LOVE to see polk-a-dots on their wall. Kira clearly loved it and we loved doing it. Happy Birthday Kira!

Can't compete with Super 8

Andrew's dad Ben from Chicago is in town for Mac World and Andrew stayed in the city with him this past weekend. They stayed at the Clift Hotel on Union Square which is a pretty nice hotel. When I picked him up I asked about the hotel he said it was really nice. "They had people that opened the doors for you and glass chairs." He then added, "It wasn't as great as the Super 8. No indoor pool and hot tub."

Sorry Clift, the Super 8 has got two up on you. You'll need to add a pool and hot tub to win the vote of a 6 year old.

Caught By Surprise

Last Saturday morning the sun came out long enough for Tom and I to go on a run. The power was back on, and the kids were watching cartoons, so we seized the opportunity. We knew the waves were big (30ft) and we wanted to go watch them. This happens pretty frequently around here and it is quite a site to see. As we were running closer to the ocean front I noticed the streets were pretty flooded with water from the waves.

Tom usually runs faster them me so we always start out together but he always ends up pulling ahead. This is usually when I crank up my iPod and block the world out. This morning it probably was not the best idea. As we were running trying to keep out of the large puddles I all of the sudden felt this wall of water come down over the top of me. I was shocked and screaming and it pushed me into a concrete bench along the sea wall. The wave was well over my head and pushed me and the bench a few feet into the grass. Needless to say, I was completely soaked. I looked up to see Tom a ways ahead of me shaking his head with his hands out. Apparently he had been yelling for me to get out of the way but I couldn't hear him because the music was up so loud. I have to admit my pride was pretty bruised, since there were a number of people standing around watching. I have walked along this ocean front for many years and I new the waves were big enough to crash over, yet it still got me.

I had to walk home at that point. I was soaked and had sand in my teeth. While the water was sloshing in my shoes, I couldn't help but think how this relates to life. If we allow too many distractions to enter our lives, we will find ourselves in places we didn't want to be. That morning my iPod was a distraction and I knew better but got lazy. I had to bear my testimony that next Sunday about this because it hit me pretty hard (literally and figuratively).

Here is a picture Kira took right as I got home.

We survived the storm.

The last few days have been quite eventful for us. The Bay Area has experienced hurricane-force winds and Pacifica was not spared from it. Tom and I woke up Friday morning around 3am to find our power was out and winds outside were howling. All we could think about were the large trees that surround our house and whether or not they were going to end up on top of our house. Needless to say, no one got much sleep that night, except Andrew who didn't seem to mind the noise.

I got up early and headed into work. Traffic was slow moving but not too bad. There were trees down all over town and a lot of freeways were closed, but my route was doable. After being at work for about our hour, the power went out there as well so I bailed on the idea of getting some work done. I met up with Tom and the kids who were spending the day at a mall that had 1/2 power. I think I will be happy if I don't see another mall for a while. All day at a mall just isn't quite as fun as I would have imagined. When we got home we noticed that a large limb of one of the trees near our house fell and landed just between our house and our neighbors. Here is a picture of the mess.

Along with the down tree, we found that there was about a foot of standing water that had accumulated on our roof. We are starting to find out that whoever thought a flat roof was a good idea was not that smart. We have a drain, but the pine needles from all the trees clog that drain and block the water from draining. Good thing Tom decided to take a look at the roof or that water could have ended up in our kitchen. Here are some pictures of Tom getting the water off our roof. Way to go Tom. Your more handy around the house then I expected!