I think the Easter Bunny should have asked Uncle Justin to mow the lawn before he hid the eggs. 
Since the wet grass came up to Avery’s knees, he was reluctant to go looking for eggs. Here he’s trapped on sprinkler head not wanting to move.
Avery has a fascination with Justin’s goatee, he likes to stroke it. And they are both big NASCAR fans.
Tractor-driving lessons by Uncle Justin:
A very good day!
Walnut tree pruning
Always so much to do for Justin!
Coloring Easter eggs
With Sophia
while Mom took Avery to the dentist. He showed me his VERY clean teeth.
Carson is almost 2 months old:
Lunch with Ade
We always have a lot to talk about! Hurray for good friends.
RLEHS Sunday Social
The third Sunday of the month means it’s time for a Rio Linda Elverta Historical Society Sunday Social in the Social Hall at Calvary Lutheran Church. At left are Catherine and Jason Green, the new organizers of the socials:
Joyce Buckland shared the latest RLEHS news:
Speaker #1: Pat Day talked about Elder Craftsmen Helping Others (ECHO) – a large group of volunteers who meet at the Depot Park in Rio Linda once a week.
#2 Speakers: Sharon King, Debbie Crowe, Anna Marie Tomlinson talked about the Rio Linda Elverta Quilt Trail Project and the wildflower garden near the Dry Creek Ranch House.
Throwdown “key” ingredients this month were eggs (from The Natomas Farm) and cabbage (from Food Source). Three of us entered five tastings. Me, Allie Brown, and Catherine Green:
The entries:
On the plate: Arlete’s Scotch Eggs, and Catherine’s Sweet Cabbage Strudel-WINNER. On the table L-R: Arlete’s Fruity Coleslaw-WINNER, Allie’s Cabbage Quiche, Catherine’s Crustless Carrot Mini-quiches.
Bike ride: to Wheatland
25 miles roundtrip on farm roads.
Highlight on the way home: Salle Orchards farm stand.
Very small and filled with products grown on their farm.
In the back left are the freshest lettuces, artichokes, oranges and more:
Greens growing between rows of walnut trees.
Bottle testing
Today was a test. Would Carson take a bottle from Grandma? He won’t take one from his mom. I had a very good helper, Sophia, who recently lost a tooth.
And a bonus, Sophia borrowed my FitBit and ran up and down the stairs 10 times. I felt better right away.
Field Trip: Tisdale Weir
It’s been raining a lot – a good thing for drought-impacted California. The bypasses haven’t flooded in four years. This week, however, the Sacramento River reached its capacity, water spilled over the weirs designed to take pressure off the levee system. In dry winters and during the dry months, Sacramento Ave cuts across the Sutter Bypass from Hwy 99 and is the most direct route to Woodland:
Further north, about 10 miles southeast of the town of Meridian, the Tisdale Weir
allows water to spill into the Sutter Bypass which flows parallel to the Sacramento River.
Looking upriver
Water crossing to the right is going over the weir. The capacity is 38,000 cfs:
Looking downriver.
Thanks, Justin, for taking me on this field trip!
Here’s an aerial view of the weir in the summer – a parking lot for the boat ramp:

Avery at gymnastics
Shamrock’n 5K
I volunteered this morning for SABA at the Bike Valet for the annual Shamrock’n 5K. The half-marathon is tomorrow. The start/finish was at Raley Field.
7:30 am start time, cold and windy, and I didn’t dress warmly enough.
We only parked 12 bikes.
The start:
15 minutes later, the first runner turned the final corner for the finish line. At this point I was thinking I wouldn’t be cold that much longer, but it took the slowest in the field well over an hour to complete the 5K. 
Then there was a half hour break before the kid’s race around the block began.
After helping to dismantle the bike parking apparatus, I got in my car and turned on the heated seat! Ahhhh.
arletelouise 