This week when I helped out, Carson shared that he is the most-hydrated person in the family followed by a demonstration ..

until full capacity was reached.

I took Avery to his weekly piano lesson and got to watch. Such a different technique from when I took piano lessons 66 years ago. At the end of the lesson, I took a video of Avery playing as the teacher narrated – essentially a video summary of what Avery should practice next week. Later in the car, I air-dropped the video to Avery’s phone. Yup, many changes from the 1950s.

More entertainment:

On Monday it was Carson’s 8 1/2 birthday. He asked for a game called Hydro Strike. Shoot a small yellow ball at your opponent, defend and shoot with paddles. If the ball strikes the center position just right, a little squirt of water is received in the face.

Good idea to keep a towel nearby.

I spent a few hours with Sophia, Avery and Carson on Thursday. No sports camps this week. We went out to pick up lunch. While inching forward in the drive-through fast food line, I checked my phone and got quite the surprise. “Well, you guys are going to be the first ones to hear some pretty amazing news. I’m going to be a great-grandma.” You could see the wheels turning in their heads – who? They decided it had to be their cousin Kellen. After we finished our various lunches we played a couple of rounds of Cover Your Assets. Carson won first, then Avery.

Sophia said she had a picture on her phone of her, Kellen and Odin and sent it to me:

Avery is quite self-motivated to sit down every so often and practice the latest song he’s learning.

Lenin was out of town and Thais had a full day at work. Situations like this make me happy. I picked up Avery from sports camp at Jesuit, then Carson at zoo camp, then everyone had dentist appointments.

Several times during the afternoon, Avery sat down at the piano to practice.

I got dinner started, Thais came home, and I got to hear about Sophia’s upcoming trip to St Mary’s for a Christian Brothers student council retreat.

I picked up Avery and Carson after their sports camps at Jesuit. We pick up something for lunch, went home, and each of us settled into individual activities. I was counting on this time so I could continue to read the Staff Report – a total of 387 pages! – for tonight’s Active Transportation Commission meeting. Then Carson asked, “Grandma, can we play a board game?” Not a difficult decision. First game:

Then a new one for me, Catan. Carson won.

And a bit more time to keep reading the Staff Report. I left in time to get to City Hall by 5:00, the meeting started at 5:30.

Summer is the time for sports camps and a new interest for Avery. He is taking piano lessons.

This was also the day my 7-year-old grandson boosted my ego. At noon, I picked up Carson and Zane from basketball camp at Jesuit. As we walked to the car, I heard Carson say, “My grandma rode like 40 miles .. (no response from Zane) .. Grandma, are you like the best bicycle rider in California?” … pause while I think of something clever to say …

“In my age group, yes.” No response from anyone. LOL!!

A final successful day.

Last day of Little League. Last chance for a hot dog from the snack shack.

A new game arrived. Tapple: a set of cards with categories, like “boys names” “cheeses” “professional athletes”. Choose and press a letter from the outside edge, name something or someone that starts with that letter within 10 seconds, and press the center button – a timer. Fun!

I was grateful Carson didn’t know that Walter Cronkite wasn’t a professional athlete. Shh, don’t tell him.