Early morning coffee with Doug:

Afternoon get-together at Justin’s. Next year’s crop of walnuts will be easier to pick up with my new Weasel Nut Gatherer.

Inspecting the pig pen:

Checking out Justin’s latest tractor acquisition:

Practicing so he can help Grandma this fall:

Building a pillow tunnel:

“Grandma, let’s go see the sheeps.”

Poor Sophia did NOT feel well at all – it turned out to be pneumonia and the rest of the day and night would not be pleasant for her and her parents.

Carol and Jerry:

Karen, Macee, Chris II:

Carol, Corey, Rosie:

Greg and Chris I:

Chris II, a snail friend, and Phyl:

Dave and Phyl:

Chris III and Grandpa looked for missing toys:

Kellen and Odin went to church with me today. It was their first time and Easter, with lots of activities, made it fun. It started with breakfast, a Youth Group fundraiser and ended with treat bags and an Easter egg hunt.
When it came time for Communion, Odin was ready to go with me, but Kellen preferred to stay in the pew. When we got back to the pew, Odin was so excited to tell his brother that the pastor told him “God will always love you” and she put a cross on his forehead. Kellen got a look on his face like he’d really missed out on something special, so we got in the Communion line again. I thought the same process would happen, but Kellen held out cupped hands for the bread. With a look and a nod between Pastor and me, she gave Kellen the (Hawaiian sweet) bread and accompanying words. Then came the white grape juice “wine”. On the way back to the pew, Kellen looked at me and said, “Mmmm, delicious.”

Both boys had a great time and want to go to church again. Odin was so excited to tell him mom and dad how nice everyone was, how much fun he had, and he learned “Jesus Christ” is not a bad word.

Yesterday and today, I rode a whopping 4 miles from Justin’s house to Lake Minden Resort to visit Dave and Phyl. 4 pm = cocktail hour, right? Filet mignon dinner. Oh my!
Dave and I rode our bikes on the trails on the levee for a couple of hours – FUN!

The Feather River is really low, as are all rivers in California.

The new Hwy 99 bridge to Yuba City.

That was a blast, Phyl and Dave. I think you should go camping there again!

It’s walnut-pruning time.


This is what I get when I ask Justin to “Give me a look.” To be honest, sometimes I get a more expressive gesture from Justin when I want to take his picture.

First of all, cousin Leo was on the opposing team. Leo is quite the energetic player and a prolific shot taker.

Sophia was deciding who (eventually) should receive the ball. Grandma was so glad the (giant of a) boy assigned to guard her stood far away.

At each break in the action, Avery headed out to the court for his own practice session.

The young people are neighbors of Thais and Lenin; they have a younger brother who also goes to St Ignatius.

Good sit-ability.

Some indoor soccer for Sophia

and a little nap for Avery.

Team meeting after the game. Note the stars on the sleeves of the players’ shirts. Everyone gets a star, but different colors for different achievements. Today Grandma gave her own Super Star Award to Sophia for excellent guarding skills (not evident in the pictures above), winning the stare-down contest with the much-bigger fierce-looking boy she was guarding while they waited for play to resume, and for making her FIRST basket. Play like a girl!

There was some parental coaching this past week and another look at the Superbowl commercial for “play like a girl.” I could really see a difference in how Sophia played this week. Black jersey this week, Sophia is #15.


When in doubt, look for the bright pink tennis shoes.

In between quarters, Avery practiced his dribbling. He’s really good.

Checking out the sit-ability of Mom’s foot.