Muddy Day

Drew is having a ball with his new rig.  This was yesterday after the rain storm.  Note the new boots that he an Amanda had to get so they didn't get their tennies all muddy!

3 Weeks

Love the way the tops of his little ears are sticking out under his hat!

First Run

Drew and Jim worked on the new rig the last two days (new windshield, new passenger window, changed the oil, etc.) and yesterday Drew took it out for its first mud run!  The weather was perfect because they got rain most of the day!

Cherry Lake Update

Grace, Tina, Marty and I are at the cabin this weekend.  Marty, G and I went out on a boondoggle today and learned some great info about Cherry Lake.

We were driving out to Cherry Lake Road to see how far we could get down the road when we saw an awning and a bunch of cars parked across from Rainbow Pool.  So we drove down to check it out....

They were doing a volunteer event to clean out Rainbow Pool after the Rim Fire and a mudslide that followed.

We walked down to check out the Pool area and I talked to a Ranger and asked him about Cherry Lake.  Here is the story:

Cherry is green all around it.  It was only hit by spot fires.  He said if you stand on the boat ramp it looks completely normal.  It is closed thru this year because the road there is unsafe due to burned trees along the sides of the road.  He did not know which road would open first but thought it might be the one to Sonora since that is the side where the mills are.

I literally teared up when I heard the story!  Yippeeeeeee!  I can wait now that I know Cherry is ok!

Jr High Championship Game

More pics from the Jr High Championship game.

Two Weeks Four Days

Perfect baby

Pondering

What do you think she is thinking about?

New Rig

Drew bought his first car today - a 1992 Jeep Cherokee beater!  He is happier than a pig in mud!

2014 - 8th Grade - Champs

G's Jr High Team won the league championship...again.  The school has won 1st place for 8 years straight and first or second for 11 years.  The final game was 3 to 0.  They were undefeated for the season - which was the same as last year.

Piadini

I have a favorite menu item at a restaurant close to work (but that I never go to anymore because of the free food) - it is called a caprese piadini.  Basically it is a flat bread with roasted tomatoes, fresh mozerella and romaine lettuce leaves with balsamic dressing sprinkled over the top.  Something got me thinking about them over the weekend and I decided I could recreate them. 

The above pic is the result.  They turned out amazing!  Just fold in half and eat!

U of A

Drew was accepted at the University of Arizona!  It is a little late in the process so we are running around trying to schedule a visit so he can decide between his options with all the data he needs. 

It is all very exciting but overwhelming too!

Two weeks + 1 day

These pics need no words....

Every 15 Minutes

We got this in an email from Drew's school today:

"Today your student witnessed a DUI presentation coordinated by the California Highway Patrol, American Medical Response Ambulance, and other agencies.  This letter will answer some questions and explain what occurred today and what will be occurring tomorrow. 

More often we are finding that high school students engage in “high risk” behavior that includes alcohol use resulting in drinking and driving.  “Every 15 Minutes” is a two-day program focusing on high school students.  This program challenges students to think about drinking, personal safety, and the responsibility of making mature decisions, especially when lives of others are involved.

The name of the program was derived from the fact that every fifteen minutes someone in the United States dies in an alcohol-related traffic collision.  In the early 1990’s when this program was implemented, this was true. However, with the implementation of new laws and programs such as “Every 15 Minutes,” the death rate is now every thirty minutes.  This program does not preach “Don’t Drink and Drive,” but instead emphasizes smart decision making.  The decisions students make affect not only them, but a vast number of individuals, some whom are unknown to the decision-maker.

Day one begins with students who are portrayed as the “living dead.” They are removed from their classrooms by someone dressed as the grim reaper.  A simulated DUI collision is presented to the entire student body and is intended to be as realistic as possible, involving all emergency first responders.  The day concludes with the “living dead” student participants attending an overnight retreat.  At the retreat, these students participate in team building activities.  They learn first hand from people who have been involved in, or affected by, an incident involving alcohol.

Day two involves a school-wide assembly where the “living dead” students return to school along with the parents and other community participants.  During the assembly, everyone views a video documenting the previous day’s events.  The impact of this program on those involved is very dramatic and emotional.  Students and parents share letters and thoughts regarding how they feel about dying without having had a chance to say goodbye.  Other members of the community such as doctors, law enforcement officers, emergency responders, and the clergy share how they are personally affected on a daily basis when someone makes a poor choice involving alcohol.  This emotion-filled assembly challenges everyone to make responsible choices when alcohol is involved.

 

We want to thank you for helping us in our effort to protect your kids and our community.  We hope that you and your children learn some important information over the next few days and that you can both open a dialogue about the reality of what can happen when alcohol is consumed and when poor decisions occur.  We hope, as parents, you communicate to them that if they are ever stuck somewhere in a situation where someone has had too much to drink, that it is okay for them to call you, at any hour of the day or night for a ride home.  Many young people do not realize they are not invincible; we have an opportunity to let them see the consequences of their choices and actions.  This is how we affect change"

I had heard about the program long before the email arrived in my in box because Drew was texting me a play by play as it was happening.  And I even got some details texted from Amanda.  One of their best friends, Jenna, was someone who "died" in the event.  And they are both tasked with writing a letter that will be read at her "funeral" tomorrow.  I fully expect sobbing from Drew tomorrow as it is being read....if he even can wait that long.

I am happy they do this event - I hope it saves some live....although we will never know.

Grad dresses

G and I went shopping for a graduation dress yesterday.  I have to say, it must be nice to be 5 foot 10 inches and have an athletic build --- EVERYTHING she put on looked amazing on her!

We narrowed it down to 2 dresses and bought them both.  One is strapless and one is spaghetti straps which are both against the dress code, so now we are looking for a sweater to wear over them. 

Day 8

William having a little nap!

Tomato Time

I planted my tomatoes a little early this year and put them in new pots.  Two big red tomatoes and one red cherry tomato.  Can't wait!

End of Crab Season

Crab season is over.  They are taking all the pots out of the water and storing them on land.  Today they are making two runs to get them.  This is the first run.

They load them all on the deck of the boat, bring them to the harbor and then offload them onto a trailer.  Because its a weekend, the offloading is slow because the harbor is busy with "Lookie Lous!".  They will have to go out one more time to get the rest of the pots.

Puppy Cam

I am getting nothing done at work because I can't stop watching the puppy cam!

Puppy Cam

National Transit Driver Appreciation Day

You have all heard of my fondness for the giant purple bus, right?  Well, what I don't talk about is my fondness for the bus driver.  Vicky is our amazing bus driver.  She works super hard every day moving us safely to and from work.  She has to deal with some of the worst traffic in the country and she manages it with ease and professionalism.  Plus she is a darn nice person.

I chatted with her last week about her job and learned that she has been driving for 15 years and works a split shifts - 3ish hours in the morning commute and 3ish hours in the evening commute.  I asked her if she liked her work and she said she would like to do something else but she doesn't have any other skills.  She said that it is not that she doesn't like it but that it is very stressful!

I hope the gift that the passengers got her today for Transit Driver Appreciation Day will help her get some relief from stress.  We took up a collection and raised $150!  $50 in a Macy's gift card and $100 in a Visa gift card.

Thank you Vicky!

LAX - SF

G had LAX in SF today.  It was a beautiful day with temps in the mid 70's.

Jim and I walked around before the games and ended up at the Japan Center.  That is where we saw the Crepe Store - which we went back to after the games.  YUM!

Taking off

Mini in SF

Blue sky in SF

Ouchee

Daisy Mae doesn't feel well.  She has pain in her hips/back/tail.  I am giving her two types of pain medication that seem to help but she needs more as soon as it wears out.

Roller Derby

One of my friends, "Faye Tality", made her debut in Roller Derby last nite!  Jim, Grace and I went to cheer her on.  We knew nothing about Roller Derby and the rules but they did a demo before it started and explained everything to the audience.  It was a big crowd of super diverse people - lots of tattoos and colored hair.

Some friends from work also went.  It was fun to see them in a different environment.

We will go again for sure.

LAX - March 2014

Time for another LAX season.  This is Grace's second year playing and she is doing great.  In fact, her coach told her at the last game that she was such a pleasure to have on the team because she can put her anywhere on the field and she plays well.

The team all bought these game day socks!

William

Day 3

Day 5

 Time for some more William pics.  Here are a few from when he was 3 days old and 5 days old.

Jim, Grace and I went to see him on Day 5 and Grace and I got to feed him.  He is a maniac with his hands while you are trying to feed him.  It is like a wrestling match trying to get his bottle into his mouth.  He is funny because he goes from sound asleep to starving....with nothing in between!

Day 5 - snuggle

TNDC Chinese Nite

We had yummy Chinese food for TNDC this week.  The best part was the home made fortune cookies made by the Walkers.  They were complete with TNDC specific fortunes, including:

• You are the next to get pregnant
• Pineapple
• Bang Me
• This cookie is poison
• I will show you small
• You have screws looses

Pi Day

Yesterday was Pi Day and we celebrated at work with blueberry apple pie, custard pie and "pi"neapple upside down cake!

Baby William

There are no words - all you have to do is stare at him!

Welcome William

We have a baby!!!

And he was worth the wait.

William Isaac was born on March 9, 2014 at 5:41 am.

We showed up at the hospital at 10:30 pm on Saturday to serve in a support capacity - we were back up for Tina and Marty.

Tina and I were able to be with Mari and Kyle until at 1:30 am and then it got too intense so we waited the rest of the time in the waiting room.  We were able to meet William at about 7 am!

Mari was amazing and had a pretty quick labor and delivery.

William Isaac

As for the support staff - it consisted of Tina, Marty, Me, Jim, Grace, Drew and Amanda.  And we had plenty of time together to do what we do best - act goofy!

Thru the nite we:

• Did wall sits
• Did a flash mob (it wasn't really a mob, it was just me and Amanda)
• Planned a story line for a Scooby Doo mystery based in a hospital (complete with a character who was based after a guy Grace and I saw in the basement!)
• Took pics of us imitating strangers asleep in the waiting room 
• Planned our summer vacation 
• Considered setting up the furniture in the waiting room into the form of a school bus

And at 5:45 am we sent Drew out to get Starbucks....and that is when we got the word that William was born!  Drew was bitter that he wasn't there.  But we were all SO HAPPY to have some Starbucks!

Jim sleeping with Tina's blanket