School starts next week. Sophia will be a junior at Christian Brothers. Avery-8th and Carson-4th at St Ignatius. In between the boys going fishing in the morning and Sophia’s volleyball tryouts in the late afternoon .. Grandma! Charlie is always in the middle of whatever was going and sometimes it makes him look like a wheelchair dog.

Lunch at Zócalo.

I think my mom and dad are smiling up in heaven right now because their granddaughter and great-grandchildren are raising chickens. These three chickens, each specially selected, will live a very good life. They certainly have luxury accommodations. Hello Ruby, Gertrude, and Lois.

A 4-person game of

Patience required:

As interest continued to wane, I suggested .. maybe we should go get lunch instead. Yes!

Carson at Buzzardball on Saturday:

On Tuesday, I picked up Carson from summer camp. After lunch, Avery and Carson decided to play baseball .. indoors. They’d invented their own version. Lots of rules that they understood without speaking. The game continued regardless of Charlie blocking their path.

On Thursday, Carson wanted ramen for lunch. He can now make it himself. I was impressed with his careful use of the stove and handling a hot pot of liquid. But I’m not sure about his special recipe.

The first step is to put the entire seasoning packet in the bowl. Then boil the ramen, drain completely, add to the bowl.

Finally, crack a raw egg on top

and stir.

He says it’s nice and creamy. I bet, but .. a raw egg? This recipe is not Grandma-approved.

and more baseball. All Stars continued – a good way to do it – many games, many opportunities to play against other skilled players and teams. Eventually, the road ends, just one team moves on. Monday the 16th:

Wednesday.

And Wednesday was the end of the road for the River Park team.

Carson made the River Park All Star team. The first game was Wednesday evening.

It was the bottom of the 5th inning, the score was tied at 11-11, and we were nearing the 2-hour limit when the home team (us) surged ahead and won. Whew!

Congratulations x 2 to Sophia. Last Tuesday, she passed her driving test and in now a licensed driver. Today she and friend Gia organized a charity golf tournament for Along Comes Hope – an organization that provides support to families of cancer patients.

A blessedly cool day at Lank Park Golf Course.

I managed to capture what looks like a magic trick by Carson.

Avery’s team of 7th and 8th graders from St Ignatius came in first!

The final game of the season on Friday.

Through the season, Carson became a pretty good pitcher. One day after school, he told me about his “immaculate inning.”

Saturday afternoon, I dropped everyone off at the airport. They’re on their way to Jeffrey’s graduation from college in San Diego.

The season is coming to an end.