Fall 2015

Hitched a ride with a friend and was able to spend a long weekend with Jordan and Kristine and the boys.  We went to Treasure Island Beach in Laguna Niguel for an evening stroll.

I brought some chairs for Owen and Ames to lounge in.  Ninja Turtle for Owen and Paw Patrol for Ames

 

Fall Festival at Silva Valley Elementary.  Coleman had fun doing a project at the Home Depot station.

Basketball is in full swing again for Coleman.  He was on the Lakers and loved it.  He was named the top rebounder in his league!  It's so fun to watch him hustle.

After the game there was a rummage sale and the boys begged me to buy this Sponge Bob pillow.

Fall Flag Football for Jack and Lincoln.  I love going to their games!!

Back to school for the Patrick boys.  Jack is in 6th grade and in middle school, Lincoln is in 4th grade and Coleman is a big 1st grader!  They are growing so fast.

I have been spending lots of time with Deacon while Megan is busy with her cookies and school activities.  He lovez laying on Mom and Dad's bed and watching TV (Cars and Mickey's Clubhouse)

Deacon and Grammy have been spending lots of time at the park this fall.  The weather has been very warm.  He loves to go on the slides and run away from me!!

Had a great day in October at ATT Park in San Francisco at a Giants baseball game with my friends, Pam and Kim.  I have always wanted to go there and loved every minute.  The Giants lost and it was unseasonably HOT, but we still had a great time.  What a beautiful place.  I can't wait to go back next season and see another game when it's not so hot!!  GO GIANTS!

Trip to SoCal with Lincoln!!

We're on our way!  Sacramento to Orange County!  Lincoln's first airplane ride...

 

Southwest Airlines.  Just before take off and coming into LA with all the lights

 

We spent 3 days at Ladera Ranch with Jordan, Kristine, Owen and Ames.  What a beautiful place to live!   Owen couldn't get enough of Lincoln.  It's so cute how the little cousins love the big cousins so much.

We had so much fun at the beach.  It's been a long time since I've done that.  It was great watching the boys play in the sand and play tag with the waves.  I love the BEACH!

We spent the evening at Balboa Pier in Newport Beach.  Such a fun beach town!  We all loved it.

After spending 3 days in Orange County we met up in Irvine with Iain and Shauna.  I shopped in Shauna's closet and had a typical LA treat, an Acai bowl.  We spend some time at a great little mall for lunch.  No celebrity sitings!

We enjoyed the Visitor Center at the LA temple in Santa Monica.  Lincoln played a little game with the missionaries where they predicted he would serve his mission in New Zealand!  He was good with that. 



We went to the famous Grove shopping mall.  It was packed but fun to walk around and people watch.  Just before we headed to LAX, Shauna took us around Beverly Hills and showed us a few celebrity homes. 


We had such a great time.  Even though Lincoln got a little homesick, I think he enjoyed the adventure.  I am already to go back.  Can't wait to go to Disneyland!!!
 

Summer time FUN

Taking Deacon on a walk while Mom is at the Dr



Jack graduated from 5th Grade and will be off to Middle School!  C R A Z Y
Coleman graduated from Kindergarten.  Such cute boys and such a proud Grammy.

Took the boys to I-Hop to celebrate the last day of school and first day of summer vacation!

Had a fun day with my friend Pam, shopping, going to lunch and having a pedicure!

This is my walking route everyday.  Even though we are having a drought in CA there are still some beautiful areas to enjoy that are still green and lush

This is one busy little boy!  Loves climbing and making a mess!

Had a fun week watching the Patrick boys while Megan was at girl's camp!

It's been so hot lately so we've been spending lots of time at the pool.

East Coast Vacation

I was fortunate enough to be able to experience New York City while Jordan and Kristine still lived in Maryland.  Going to NY has always been a dream of mine and it didn't disappoint!  I loved everything about it.  The city has so much energy and the experience is one I will never forget!  I want to go back and see some of the things we were not able to fit in.  Since it was my 65th birthday, Jordan and Kristine treated me to a most amazing time.  It was so fun to be able to experience it all with them and Owen and Ames. 

Our first night there we took a stroll around and stumbled on this amazing street stand that had the best waffles I have ever eaten.  They were so yummy and rich with nuts, whip cream, caramel, chocolate, etc.  So amazing!

This was the view from our hotel!  We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Chelsea.  We were able to walk everywhere from this location or take the subway.  I LOVED the subway!!

Kristine and I experienced our first subway ride to the theater.  We saw an amazing Broadway play (another dream for me)  We saw Matilda and loved it.  I will never forget  this experience.

We had so much fun exploring the city.  We went to the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) and saw some amazing views of the entire city.  We had the famous banana pudding at Magnolia's Bakery and walked (phew) all the way to Central Park!  I loved seeing the Upper East Side where all the wealthy New Yorkers live and walked right past the Plaza Hotel.  Central Park is amazing and so huge!  I had no idea it was so big.  We only saw a tiny portion.  We also went to High Line Park which was built on an old railroad trestle.  Owen loved it! 

We spent a lot of time in Times Square which was incredible!  I wish I had taken more pictures there, especially at night.  Owen reluctantly posed in front of a huge Lego Hulk at the Toys R Us in Times Square.  It was so big there was a ferris wheel in there!  We had some delicious doughnuts from the Doughnut Plant where Owen and Ames are waiting patiently outside.  The Crème Brulee doughnut was delish.  Jordan and Ames posed for us in Times Square.  We left the city and went over the Brooklyn Bridge (no pictures, darn) and had lunch in Brooklyn before heading back to Maryland.  On this trip to NY I traveled through a couple of states I have not been to.  Delaware, New Jersey and New York!

It was a most amazing TRIP of a lifetime!!!

Now back to Maryland and more fun!

We went to the National Zoo in DC and Ames was obsessed with the seals!

FUN at the National Zoo.  It was like no other zoo I've been to.

Had lunch with Erin on the way to the airport in Baltimore.  Wish I could have spent more time with her!

Gonna miss these two darling boys.  I had so much fun with them!  I'm so excited that they will be moving to S. Calif the end of June and I will get to see them more often.  No more 5 hour flights back East.  I will miss going to Maryland.  There is so much to see back there and it is so beautiful!

A New Year! 2015 has arrived......

Can't believe how fast the years go by.  I wish I could just make time stand still for awhile.  The first 2 months of 2015 were full of fun and changes.  I watched lots of basketball and took a walk down memory lane to my old neighborhood.  We celebrated love on Valentines Day.  I love my family so much and I love watching my grandsons grow and change.



New year - new look.  I was ready for a change so decided to go for a shorter do.
I didn't really love it but it grew on me.  One thing about a hair cut, it will always grow back!

 

I was able to spend an awesome day in the neighborhood I grew up in (58th and Broadway).  Russ, Stella and I went to lunch at  Bacon and Butter which used to be our old neighborhood grocery store on the corner of 59th and Broadway.  Right across the street was our elementary school, Tahoe Elementary.  We walked there and took our picture in front of the sign.  The school looks the same as it did 40 years ago!  We then strolled to Tahoe Park and reminisced about spending our summers at Tahoe Pool and watching Russ play lots of Little League games there.  We then went to our old house, which brought back so many wonderful memories.  It was such a fun neighborhood back in the 50's and 60's with lots of kids our age.  It was a great day remembering our childhood!!

Valentine's Day Fun with Heart shaped pizza, and chocolate chip cookie hearts 

These two boys played some awesome basketball.  Lincoln is such a hustler and got to play 3 quarters every game.  Coleman scored 18 points in one game his first year.  I'm looking forwarding to watching these two play basketball for many years to come. 

 

 

Owen in Aruba playing his new guitar.

Ames is growing by leaps and bounds and is now 10 months old! 

Deacon is almost one and into everything!

 

December 2014

It's been a very busy month and end to 2014!  Along with shopping, wrapping, baking, brunch, and decorating, we threw in a trip to Disneyland at the beginning of the month!  Disneyland is such a magical place and even more magical in December!  All the attractions are so beautiful this time of year.  We did have some rain while we were there and discovered that Coleman loves walking in the rain with an umbrella!  We didn't let the rain stop us from enjoying every minute.  We were cold and wet but we kept going.  Luckily the rain only lasted two days so we had three days of great weather.  Shauna and Iain joined us our first day which was a treat.  Deacon was a trooper but got very tired of being in the stroller and the car seat.  We had a great time as always at the happiest place on  earth!