Above – Happy birthday pancakes.
Birthday fun at Bart.
More birthday celebration at school. Do the festivities ever end?
A little action of both Sparty & Maya at gymnastics last week, including a “first” for Maya!
There’s never a dull moment!
Blogged on Amma’s iPhone with LOVE!
Above – Alo after his first day of school. This is one tired looking kid!
Below – a couple weeks ago (yes, I’ve been remiss …) just outside gymnastics. Where there’s a tractor or other fun “toy” there’s always someone willing to play! What made this so funny was the gardeners were right there working and I said “C’mon, let’s climb on the cart!” The kids crawled up on the cart and the gardeners acted like we weren’t even there. This guy got up and walked past us and never even looked. 
Just cruisin’ in my matching red leotard …
Crazy boy …
What happened to our warm weather? I’ve been freezing here. Somebody turn on the heat!
Blogged on Amma’s iPhone and iMac with LOVE!
Above – One happy boy!
Below, lunch and backpack ready to go…
Name tag on and ready to get to work …
First project …
We Skyped with Robb, Akuch and kids last night. Alo was pretty excited about starting school the next day. Here he is reading us a book with Mommy and Kando watching on …
Here are Kando & Alo in action …
Never a dull moment!
I finished another book yesterday I highly recommend: Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman. This book takes place in the English town of Borg, a small town hit by poverty with misfits, underprivileged kids and one quirky woman who winds up there to start a new life. Britt-Marie caught my heart and kept me rooting for her till the end. This book was written by the same author who wrote A Man Named Ove which I read a few months ago – another great read!
Blogged on Amma’s iPhone on Alo’s first day of preschool with LOVE for all my grandkids!
Above – Jamie & kids, Chantz, Brianna & Michelle
Robb & boys with Mt. Diablo and full moon in background.
Kaiden & Gemma, Jamie’s grandson & pup.
Alo, Ernie and Akuch and ice cream!
Blogged on Amma’s iPhone with LOVE!
Above – Mates
Two weeks ago we were fortunate to have been invited (by the kids) to go for an evening ride on the Bahia Bell. Well, as it turns out, there are two paddle boats that are used alternately for short tours from the Bahia Resort to the Catamaran Hotel. The night we took our 90 minute cruise the William D. Evans was the boat on duty.
There are 4 staircases on the boat, one at each corner. I spent much of the first 60 minutes of the 90 minute trip following Maya and Sparty up one side, down the other and chris-crossing back and forth on the three tiered boat.
On the middle deck there’s a beautiful stained glass ceiling.
There was a beautiful sunset.
At the end, this little one was very tired …
But we all survived, and for the most part had a great time.
I finished a good book I highly recommend – The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. This mystery takes the reader from 2005, to the early 1900’s, to 1975 throughout the book. I’m usually pretty good at guessing what happens but this one kept me guessing until the end.
Sorry, busy days keeping me from blogging but I’m back!
Blogged on Amma’s iPhone with LOVE.
These speak for themselves (in a pretty scary way).
This one’s for you, Gramma JoJo…
If your neck hurts, you can blame Pappa.
Blogged poolside on Amalicious’s iPhone with LOVE!
Above (from Akuch) – A near miraculous feat of getting a good pile up with everyone looking at the camera.
I wonder if Alo fed this ice cream to Kando??
Alo feeding the goats. He’s getting brave.
Back at home – another Wednesday funday (2 Wednesdays ago). Maya and Sparty play a game of “obstacles” with Hogan. Hogan loves these kids, and by the looks on their faces, they’re pretty fond of him too! He could be hiding out in his tortoise house and when he hears them, he comes tortoise running.
While Sparty naps after gymnastics, Maya has some fun hiding under bolsters in the yoga studio.
Winding down with a juice and a movie.
This boy is fearless. When it comes to Sparty’s turn on the trampoline sometimes the rules change. At one point they were supposed to be doing donkey kicks but his turn ended up being drop backs. Another parent in the background – “Look at him! He’s amazing!” The coaches love him because he’ll do anything and he loves it! He pays attention, interacts well with the other kids and has a LOT of fun. By the time we get home he’s passed out in his car seat and is good for at least a 2½ hour nap!
I’m still a week behind posting my photos but I’m getting caught up.
Tomorrow’s a big day. Mom’s got a long-awaited appointment with the vision neurologist to see if she’s a candidate for vision therapy. This could be the deciding factor in whether she’ll be able to drive.
Blogged on Amma’s iPhone with LOVE!
Above and below – Robb, Akuch and boys at Blackhawks Museum. The family, the lighting and the cars put together make the above photo one of my favorites.
The buffalo in the photo below looks real!
Below photos are from Train Town in Sonoma. 
Below, the boys share some peach applesauce. 
It sure looks like the family is enjoying the summer vacation. How great to have extended time off work!
Blogged on Amma’s iPhone with LOVE!!
Above – You’re probably wondering if Ziggy dumped all these toys out around his dog bed …
Below – PB&Js
Then, a little fun in the yard. Hogan’s yard gets a pretty good breeze and much of the time it’s shady so it’s a cool place to play. Cool as in fun and out of the heat.
What’s a day with the kids without a video to share? Someday they’ll thank me for these, and for all the photos, too …
Some serious eating. Sparts didn’t wait for the spaghetti to dig in to Ron’s sausage. He’s certainly got the idea on how to handle the knife and fork.
Maya helping Pappa fix the leak under the sink, handing him the wrench. She looks a little more comfortable than Pappa.
Bear’s a big help too.
Blogged on Amma’s iPhone/iMac with LOVE!
Photos and video taken 17 Jul 2016
Robb & Akuch sent me these photos of their trip home from SD a couple weeks ago. The first stop was Joe’s house where they met up with college friends Joe & Jud and families.
Joe’s youngest son Alex on Akuch’s lap…
Jud’s youngest son Spencer with Kando. Jud was the first person Robb met at UCSD. At the parent/student orientation lunch, we paired up with Jud and his mom, which turned out to be a lifelong relationship.
Joe’s other kids, Andrew and Alaina with Alo …
Making S’mores in Joe’s backyard… 
Farther up the coast at Half Moon Bay …
That reads “KEEP OFF” …
This is a perfect opportunity to show off Alo’s chipped tooth. He got that horsing around. I could go into more detail but horsing around, I believe, is adequate. He must’ve been horsing around in the sand too, seeings how he’s got sand in his hair and nose.
… And mouth …
Blogged on Amma’s iPhone with LOVE!
