Ezra is Three!!!

Can you believe it? Ezra is 3! Wow, it seems like it has only been a few months.....

Jessica arranged a low-key family, and friends who are family, cake & ice cream get together. Ignore the nasty lines from my icky kit lens that has a replacement on the way from Amazon.

 Even Theo had a gift to open....yet another #1 hit from Auntie Donna & Uncle Bret. LOUD..and without an OFF switch.

Here's Papa, finishing up the cake, and yes he's still rockin' the kilt....and the Birthday Boy blowing out the candles. The "Woody" cowboy hat is from G.Ma and G.Pa, purchased from Christesen's on Main Street of course. It was a hit and he wears it all the time.

Ezra understands the whole opening gifts, etc. He's been waiting for his birthday for so long. He has everyone's birthday, in order, memorized. It was a fabulous way to teach him the months and calendar. 

Fun times visiting with everyone. Perhaps we'll be able to fit Theo in to the birthday rotation? Still not quite sure how we all missed the First Birthday.

Love It!!!

Here I am sitting at the table one evening with my MIL, when FedEx knocks on the door. My sweet husband answers the door and brings the box to the table, setting it down and exclaiming "what have you bought now?". Well, I take one look at the return address and say, "your Christmas present". Priceless, his mom laughed out loud.

Another Morning, More Photos

I woke up and looked out the window and what did I see? THE SPRINKLERS WE ON!!!! and you know how much I LOVE that. I quickly grabbed the "good" camera that was on the table and took a shot, without looking at the setting. Then I saw movement.....probably because I had the flash on.....anyway, here's what I saw...pay no attention to the horrible composure...

OOPS....I've reached my storage limit and can't upload.  So now what? Have I reached the end of the internet? I suppose I'll need to do a bit of research.......

More Morning Photos

Here are some more photos looking outside...but with the "good" camera....can you tell a difference?

I don't think I can tell.....just goes to show you that it's the photographer and not the equipment.

Farewell to Terry & Berta

Our other neighborhood is losing a couple. Terry and Berta have sold their home (in three days with multiple offers and a bidding war) and moving to Anderson, CA. So of course a party was involved!

With the magic of modern technology, Terry was able to give us all a narrated tour of the new place, with satellite views too.

The ladies lined up and had their photo taken, and then the men lined up.  Compliant, weren't they?

There was plenty of food (which they tell me was delicious, I can't confirm or deny because of my cold I can't smell or taste anything), beverages, and fellowship. They will be sorely missed. We are already planning to visit them.

Getting Ready to Ride

We're not putting many miles on the bike lately, what with travel, recovery from travel, grandsons, weather, and various other interests...the bike sits in the garage. So what is a rider to do? Go to the International Motorcycle Show!

Five of us piled in to a car and drove in the pouring rain to the San Mateo Fairgrounds. Four of us needed new helmets and there are always deals to be had at the Show. Then we always wander around to see what's new, what we might "need", and then fondle the bikes.

I was hoping to get up close and personal with a Vespa. This did not happen because they were not at the show! In years past they've been on full display.  This year was smaller, the exhibitors were in only two buildings.

We found the Company we were planning on purchasing our helmets from, JM Corp. I won't bore you with all the details on why we were planning on purchasing from them. The one big thing is the communications are built in to the helmet, no boom near your mouth. The display included one sample of each style and then the owner handed you a blue piece of paper with a code to use during Thanksgiving week to order on line. Then he sent you across the aisle to the Arai helmet dealer to try on the actual helmet. So off we went to Arai.

We LOVED the helmets. We were looking for full face, but Bret & Donna were looking for modular. They quickly figured out they were going to stick with Shoei so off they went to that dealer's display. The Arai rep was a hoot. He was REALLY into measuring heads and suggesting a specific style of helmet. And he was right on. We found exactly what we are going to order from JM. We were finished and so we went to find Bret & Donna. Here's what they were doing.....

They went for the Shoei Neotec but they didn't have their size with the color they wanted so they're either driving to San Jose or ordering it online. So funny that they weren't set-up to take orders. A purchase required another step by the customer. Don't you think that good sales would want to close right there? Why make your customer do all the work?

While we were waiting and watching them fiddle with the helmets, I was intrigued and started to try them on too. Then I made a call to get a modular too!  Totally unexpected. I've been planning on the full face for a year, waiting for JM to have another sale. I dragged Dave in to this too. Oh, and their sales person that helped to fit your helmet, well he wasn't as odd as the Arai guy, but he was definitely in to his job. Once you have the helmet on, completely strapped, he has you hold your head firm as he yanks and twists the helmet to make sure it's snug. All the while you're aware of the fact he's doing his best to simulate your head twisting and dragging as you go skidding across the road. Fun?

He's a good sport too, posing for a photo.

Dave and I purchased the modular helmets, we don't wear an odd size and weren't purchasing an odd color, so they did have those in stock. Now we're off to play in other areas.

I bought coconut socks for friends...they are magic socks. I'm not exactly sure how they do it, but my feet are never too hot, or too cold, and just feel comfy while I'm wearing them....every day...for weeks on a trip...they don't smell either....really.

We finished up and went for lunch....where the Around Me app sent us to a residential area in error...we got a tour before we ended up for lunch.

Oh, and the next morning I asked Dave if he was sorry he didn't get the full face from JM, and...well...he may end up with two new helmets. He's worth it.

Cute Things They Say

E.Boy stopped by with him mom and brother today. I open the door and he looks up at me and asks "Grandma (which he says in the most adorable way), are you still sick?" I told him yes. He then said I should go get some shea butter and rub it on my face, and then drink cold juice. I smiled a huge smile and told him that was a great idea!

Those are my two go to things when he's hurt or out of sorts. I hand him cold juice, or rub shea butter on him. So of course it would work for this sinus disease I still have...ARGH!!!!!

He actually asked to rub the shea butter on my face, and of course I said "SURE". He is the absolutely most precious and adorable little creature....and he has a clone too, his little brother.

Rainy Morning

I woke up and here's what I saw....

Raining buckets through the sunshine.....LOVE it

Really Bad Cold

About 10 days ago, J dropped by with the boys...both were glassy-eyed......sick. Now I did what any G.Ma would do....scoop them up and hug them. Loving on them. Kissing them. Giving them cold juice. Setting them up to lay on the sofa and watch cartoons.

Which brings be to today........Day seven of my horrible, terrible, no good Cold!  I haven't had a cold in years!!!! I am now officially a member of the phlegm family. Not a family I want to be a member of.

Just wanted you to know why nothing has been posted lately. I'm taking MucinexD (which makes me crazy.....and I loathe giving my drivers license and all personal data to the pharmacist....really....has there been any slow down in the meth industry since this ridiculous law was instated? NO! Only us law abiding citizens that have given up yet another bit of our individual rights...now back to.....) and trying not to totally melt away in a giant ball of phlegm.

Oh, and the boys are fully recovered....of course, much faster than their G.Ma is recovering.

I Am Grateful

“The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I have wonderful people in my life that tell me what I need to hear, not always what I want to hear.

Apple Hill Visit, Part Three

For the final stop on our visit, we grabbed a quick bite (good thing we ate as soon as we stopped, we were just ahead of the crowd) and then headed to yet another tractor and petting zoo!

T joined in with the petting zoo this time.....

 I think the John Deere was a bigger hit, but E still had a good time.....

T walked around the tractor and grabbed at everything he could reach

Pretty sure E will be seeing this coon skin hat under the tree next month

The crowds were getting heavy and it was time for the boys to nap...which they did as soon as they were strapped in the van. Dave and I headed home on the bike. We took the long way home. Perfect day for everyone.

Apple Hill Visit, Part Two

The second stop included actually picking apples. Our visit was at the end of the season, so we were left with Golden Delicious. Not bad. I sure hope I get a slice of the promised pie.

Dave and I were not familiar with the cage thingy used to pick the apples from the tree. It was very clever and worked very well. E LOVED the thing and insisted on carrying it.....which was a bit too heavy so we learned the word co-operation, I helped him.

 This little guy is just so cute and adorable.....here are a few more photos to look at.....

The petting zoo was limited to paying $.50 for a little cup of food and reaching through the fence.

 E really got a kick out of the alpaca......

 The big hit was the pony ride....Dave and Jessica were miffed that it was so short for $5, and E didn't care, he was happy....sleepy, but happy. It was near his nap time.

It was really hot so Grandpa removed his sweatshirt and tied it around his waist, and then guess what? Yep, E had to tie his sweater around his waist. That only lasted a few seconds before he just wanted the sweater gone. Still, it was really cute for those few seconds.

Then it was time for the next adventure....the next stop down the road....

Apple Hill Time, Part One

Have you been to Apple Hill? It's quite popular. We've only stopped to eat at a diner while we were riding through. We've never been during the popular time. We've heard plenty about it, know people who visit every year, but we've never been inclined to go during the Fall. You do remember that we don't like crowds? We aren't in to the entire walking about to look at crafty, boutique things with a bunch of people. Here's the big reason we went to Apple Hill....well part of the reason. The other three reasons are on the other side of the camera.

The drive to Apple Hill involved Dave on his motorcycle and me riding in the van with the family. The last hour (or so) was while T was screeching at the top of his lungs. He's done this since birth. It's like nails on the chalk board. Everyone does exactly what should be done under the circumstances....ignore it. Now you'd think T would get tired and fall asleep, but you'd be wrong. It was most definitely his nap time but sleeping was the last thing he was going to do.  Good thing he's so cute. I did seriously consider asking W to pull over so I could hop on the back of the bike with Dave, but I did not wimp out, I soldiered on.

At the first stop they had a John Deere tractor in the field for photo ops and climbing. This was a HUGE HIT for E. Honestly, the little guy would have been happy to just stay there all day.

We wisely started the day early, and we were just ahead of the crowd. We had the tractor all to ourselves.....well, E did. He examined every inch of the thing, asking about every part. He was disappointed that he couldn't start the thing up and drive it away.

His parents were happy too.  Since G.Pa and G.Ma had E covered, they could walk around at leisure (T was happy to ride on W's back). They bought a bag full of apple cider donuts, which they shared. E devoured his quickly....so did G.Ma.

We were ready to blow this joint and carry on to the next stop.....

More Park Time!

Let's begin with a photo of our adorable grandsons in the T-shirts we brought back from Seville, Spain. Please note that although E's is better made and a tad bit more stylish, T's bull is anatomically correct.

A draw back to getting the boys in the afternoon is that if they haven't napped properly (and that would be T), they're exhausted. Which means we really need to watch them because they stumble and don't think clearly, even for a toddler. We really need to talk to his Mama....she needs to have them fully rested so we can have fun. Don't you agree?

Now we're swinging. This is where the boys begin. The swings are first. So funny when E asks to be pushed, and Dave thinks when he asks to "go high", that E means high. No, he means "E high", which is really about half-way high. He's just beginning to enjoy swinging. He'll go high, just before the point where the chains begin to slack. He doesn't like that feeling.

T took off for the play structure. He just went right to climbing.

The slides have plenty of static. Dave was shocked when he picked up T, and you can see what it does to E's hair.

Now please look closely at the photo on the left. this is Baby T taking a dive with a forward roll. It all happened too fast! I gasped and went to grab him, way too late. So this is the last photo at the park. I put the camera away and held T. He had a tiny bump on his head, only cried for a short time, but I wasn't going to put him down. He was just way too tired to be trusted. And what Grandma even lets this happen?

We wisely decided to leave the park and take him to our place. So funny, whenever T gets a bump and cries, or just get whiny from teething, I give him cold juice in a bottle. Today, as he's crying, E says "Grandma, I think the baby needs cold juice". So sweet. And he's watching everything we do.  So yeah, T got cold juice as soon as we walked in the door.

He was feeling better real soon and ready to play.

T is trying to ride the trike. He can't quite reach the pedals yet.  He is very good at pressing the buttons, the thing makes plenty of noise and has flashing lights too. Can you believe that we have these outdoor toys inside? Clearly we are not the same people that raised J.

Park Time

We spend at least one afternoon a week with our grandsons.....without their parents supervising. What are they thinking?

We spend time on the swings. Which is something new. E was never a big fan of swings. He's so grown up now. He likes to be pushed "high" but not too "high". We did have a challenge keeping Theo from walking in front of his brother and getting knocked to the ground.

Theo's favorite is the speaker. This is something added to the playground since their Mama was a young girl. He likes to be lifted up so he can "talk" in to the speaker and hear it back in a loud voice. The little guy likes noise.

 T Boy likes to try climbing up the slide....after he crawls around and gets stuff stuck to his clothes.

This is included just because he's so cute. He was so tired and exhausted, plus it was seriously hot. He could barely lift his head. And he failed to keep his head up on at least one occasion where he smacked his mouth and may have chipped his tooth. Perhaps we do need supervision.

We brought them back to the house and had them take a bubble bath in our big tub....where T hit his mouth again. The bubble bath in the tub just made him extra slippery. He likes to stand up and we just couldn't keep him down. We put a stop to the fun in the big tub. We dressed them and kept them away from hard surfaces until they were reclaimed by their parents.

Christmas Photos Tradition

We have this huge oak tree in the back of the house. Dave had a fort in the tree when he was a young boy, and we have so many family photos in front of this tree over many decades. When we moved in to this house, I wanted to take a family photo with the tree in the background every year. We missed the first year, and then our Christmas photos seemed like the perfect family tradition.

This isn't as easy as it sounds.  We have to get my sister (our photographer) and all of us together at the same time.  Now that we have two little guys, it is even tougher.  We have to work around their nap schedules and then try to keep them clean and smiling. This year may be a bust because after 100+ photos, there is not a single one that I love.

After the photos, we have dinner and then Auntie Rhonda gets to love on the little guys.

New Books!!!

I am an Amazon Prime member.  Which means that I purchase so much stuff from Amazon that it's worth it to pay the annual fee so I don't pay shipping on my purchases....as long it's eligible for Amazon Prime. So our daughter buys stuff on my account (and she does reimburse me) so she doesn't get charged shipping. Sometimes she puts things in the cart and doesn't complete the purchase. Which is no big deal, except for when I buy something and don't bother to look at the contents of the cart before clicking "next" and completing the purchase. Then when the stuff arrives, I'm surprised when there's a little something extra in the box.

This time there were two new books in the box! They are the coolest books too. I highly recommend them...especially if you have a little boy, since the main character in the two books is a little boy.

I read the books a couple of times and then J read the books a couple of times. They are FABULOUS! I am a little concerned that E thinks every time he walks in the door there's something new.  Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not concerned. If I was concerned, I would stop getting stuff...and I really don't see that happening...or not happening.

Back in the USA

We were all ready to go home. This is not going down as our most favorite vacation. I was a little worried when we checked in at the Lisbon airport and my passport wouldn't go through. The pleasant, but zany clerk was have issues. Finally, she called over her supervisor, at our firm request, and she had been entering the numbers incorrectly. We were so relieved when the passport passed through the system.  It was going through my mind that I may be spending a few extra days in Lisbon....and as lovely as Lisbon is, I was so ready to be back in the USA.

Oh, and we ran in to many Canadians. Their economy is much better than ours, so they have extra money for travel.  There were very few Americans that we saw or talked to. The Americans we did see were mostly on pilgrimages/tours with their church.

One improvement on our flights, the inflight entertainment has been greatly enhanced. Each seat has their own screen and many options to choose from.  I think I watched 8 movies on the return flight. They had music, movies, and television shows. Sad to say that I did not read one book.

We headed straight to the doctors on our return. We each got antibiotics.  Dave is  now on his third round. We're still waiting for a full recovery.

Next year we're going to Washington DC

This and That on Lisbon

We did try to eat at dinner. The three of us were getting weak. Michael was taking our resting as a time to go downstairs to the gym and run on the treadmill....just rubbing it in.

We ended up eating at the Hard Rock Cafe...something we NEVER do.....

 And then a bride came in to take photographs. We never figured out why the couple came in here for photos.

We did continue our new tradition of mailing a postcard to the grandson while traveling.  We thought we'd send him one from each country, so we were able to go to the post office. At least we think we were at a post office. We're not quite sure. But our grandson did receive the postcard, so it all worked out fine.

For our last dinner, we went back to our favorite restaurant and sat outside. We asked them to not allow any smokers around us. Since we are now regulars, well, they kept them at bay.

As we walked back to our hotel, we noticed that the little cafes in the median strip had pulled out the big screens to show the soccer game. The places were packed. They do things really late at night here too.

Lovely Lisbon

This is the favorite part of our trip.  It's really too bad that we're not feeling better.  The weather is great. The people are wonderful here.  It is funny that the Portuguese don't care for the Spaniards. They told us we got sick because they don't know how to cook in Spain.

The are steep hills around the city so there are plenty of funiculars around.  We hopped on one and took a look around.

There are beautiful views......

Many of the buildings are covered with tiles.....really very lovely.

Lisbon Tour

Yet another tour, arranged and paid for prior to departure on this trip.  It was yet another multi-lingual tour. And we felt like we were just circling around and passing the Hop On/Hop Off bus. This could just be the final straw on tours......

We ended up bailing on this tour too...midway.....we walked out (we did let them know) and snagged a cab back to the hotel.  Here's why.....

The only time we've seen gypsies, is at one of the stops on this tour.....

I Live in the Land of Oz, Who Knew?

Jessica worked long and hard on the costumes...except for the one I purchased at Costco months ago....and it turned out so adorable.

The tin man is not loving his hat....

The lion is not loving his mane.....he walked outside with his G.Pa and pointed to the planes.

The Scarecrow tried to get the tin man and lion to get their photos taken...with Dorothy joining in.

Then we moved outside and tried to get a group photo.....Scarecrow has some explaining to do.

Out of all the photos, this may be the only one with all four smiling faces, at least I think the tin man was smiling....difficult to tell.