Thais and Lenin went out to dinner tonight with friends. Yay! Grandma gets to babysit.
Playing Beyblades with the boys:
Monthly Archives: April 2018
Birthday party
It happened again, I tried a food that I’ve always refused to eat. First it was Greek yogurt, today it was sushi. I loved it!
Sports Saturday
Reading porch
Spring has arrived, things are growing and blooming, even on my front porch which now feels like I’ve added a small room to my house.
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve come out here in the afternoon with a cold drink and a book. I haven’t been reading books lately, so finishing (and enjoying) this one felt really good.
And I discovered you can meet more neighbors who are going to the mail box or coming home after work.
Capitola
Phyllis and I drove to Capitola yesterday to visit with our cousin Sheryl and her husband Pat. 
Outside the home of Jerry Clarke, a local artist:
Many homes in Capitola have one of Jerry’s starfish on the wall near the front door and the only way to buy one is to knock on Jerry’s door.
Thank you Sheryl and Pat for your kind hospitality.
Shell ceremony
Lurking in the back of my mind for years now is the Camino de Santiago. While there are many routes, the camino frances is the most popular. About 500 miles from St Jean Pied De Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Neighbors Kirk and Holly walked this route last summer and did a presentation at the clubhouse last month. This reignited my interest. This evening I went to a Shell Ceremony at St Ignatius.
Those planning to walk one of the caminos in the next year received their shell, something they will carry with them on their trip.
The person who sat next to me was leaving in 5 days and brought her guide books along. 
A few people shared their “trail angel” stories and Kirk played the guitar and sang.
Birthday party
Before the party, there was a basketball game to win.
Practicing his serious look:
Yesterday, Sophia turned 9 years old, today was her party at an ice skating rink.
Overturned 5-gallon buckets are stacked to the right height for beginning skaters who stay at one end of the huge rink.
Carson’s preferred method of skating:
Sophia, ice racer:
Sophia and Avery
Someone didn’t want to go into the grocery store at all:
A dinosaur war is about to begin:
Thursday at Merrilyn’s
On Wednesday, with lots of delicious things to eat! Bacon-wrapped pineapple and mushroom quesadillas:
Mini cherry cheesecakes:
(I’m laughing at my appearance, but it was the best I could do after wearing a bike helmet for 3 hours. I did change into a clean t-shirt and non-tire-marked shorts.)
Project Ride Smart
This week we finished the last of the community rides. I had the blue group – what a great teaching experience. All my students were delightful, they listened when I needed to teach, accepted coaching tips with a smile, and were excellent bicycle drivers. One of their favorite things was to wave car drivers through intersections when it was their turn to go – they knew the right-of-way rules better than adults. 
When I told this group that they could do a picture with goofy faces or whatever, they declined, not even bunny ears. One student told me, “That’s so 2014.”
In the summertime, there’s a button you can push and water squirts out of the horse’s nostrils.
At the end of the day, it usually takes two students to collect jerseys, but this student figured out how to do it by himself:
This was one of the best Project Ride Smart sessions we’ve ever had. The students and staff at Westlake Charter School were wonderful to work with.
arletelouise 