Tis the Season 2015

Merry Christmas from the Lewis, Patrick and Green families!
What a wonderful time of year this is!  It is such a busy time but so much fun and such a blessing to be able to spend time with family and friends.  I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have such an amazing family and so many wonderful friends and to know the true meaning of the Christmas season.

I was so lucky to be a part of this wonderful production that the Folsom Stake put on for the entire Sacramento area and beyond.  It was a beautiful spiritual experience and helped me to reflect on the birth of the Savior and the reason we celebrate Christmas.  I helped with costumes and getting the cast ready and prepared to perform.  It was truly amazing!!

Every year I host a brunch for 5 of my friends at my house.  This year was the 5th year for this event.  The theme was Christmas trees.  It was a great time catching up with friends and enjoying good fun, lots of laughs and exchanging gifts.  I always look forward to hosting this every year. 

I am so grateful for my brother Russ and his wife Stella.  It is always fun to have lunch with them during the holidays.  This year we had lunch at the 33rd Street Bistro in Sacramento. 

The Greens and Lewis' were able to spend Christmas Eve together in Orange County.  We missed them and Erin!!  Hopefully one of these years we will all be together again to celebrate Christmas.

What a wonderful surprise I had at my door the day after Christmas!  I had no idea Jordan, Kristine and the boys were coming for a visit.  They definitely fooled me.  It was so fun having them here and having Christmas extended for a few more day.  I know Owen and Ames had so much fun with their cousins!

Everyone had so much fun at the snow!  They didn't have to go too far to find lots of it either.  We had tons of rain and snow in December after a 3 year drought so it made it extra special and FUN!  I wish I would have been there but I stayed behind on Grammy duty with my two favorite baby boys, Deacon and Ames.  We had just as much fun as the rest of them lounging around in our jammies and staying cozy and warm!

 

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!