Grandkids Summerfest 2012

I love my family

The only thing better than seeing two grandkids is seeing four grandkids. Twice the love! Exponential love!  Crazy cross country stuff going on. Matt and Amanda flew east on 6/25 to prep Ani for summer camp at Camp Nokomis. Bear Island camps on lake Winnepesaukee are becoming a family tradition! So far, Matt, Kate, Angela, and Jackie have gone. Now Ani. Who's next :) I flew west to Anaheim for a fencing competition and had an awesome visit with Anastasia & family and George.

Highlights of this time:

• Ani and Grey went mini golfing for the first time and Ani got a hole-in-one on the first hole.
• Ani and Grey visited with Aunt Judy and Uncle Don in Wilmington.
• Ani went off to camp and Amanda did not have a complete emotional breakdown.
• Greyson went with Matt and Amanda to a beautiful vacation home with Pat and the Sorensen family. I'm sure he's not being spoiled there or anything.
• I took 3rd place in the Vet 50 Women's Epee (cheered on by my Brewkids). I rubbed Toby's wiffle cut head for luck frequently.
• Toby and Madeline got introduced to yoga, or as Toby calls it "yugo"
• George took the training wheels off Maddie's bike and she is riding like a big kid.

Update 7/9
I spent a night on the Cape with Matt, Amanda and Greyson. We stayed at the Blue Water in Yarmouth. It was a great setup right on the beach. Grey split his time between the pool and the ocean. His favorite part?
Probably climbing on the sand dune.

Update: 7/16

Over the weekend I picked up Ani from the camp boat. She'll be staying in Boston with me until Wed night, when we fly back to Seattle. On Sunday we went paddling in the Charles. Then we went to the family swim at the YMCA. While I'm at work this week she'll be at Sue DiPalma's house hanging out with all the east coast cousins.

Whew! What a packed couple of weeks. How blessed am I? Here is a link to our photos.

GrandkidFest July 2012

New Zealand

Two weeks in NZ. Just posted pictures. Blog entry coming soon

Here are the family shots. Pix of us We took Becca's flat stanley on many of our adventures. Here are some shots of him! Pix of Stanley

Happy Birthday Aniela Malia

Nine years ago, March 5, 2003, a beautiful baby girl was born.









And look at her now!! All grown up, and what a cutie :)





Aniela turned nine years old. And I was there for the celebration.




I met Amanda and Greyson in Chicago and flew to Washington with them. They had just finished up three weeks in Wisconsin taking care of Amanda's Gramma. Greyson was a sleepy boy on the plane, battling a head cold. But once home, he managed to rally for the party.




It was a busy couple of days that included a trip to the American Girl Store, where Ani got a new doll, some doll clothes and a doll bed.











Sunday's birthday celebration included dancing, crafts, a piñata, and birthday cake.

Youtube - Ani blowing out the candles



Here are some more pix from the trip. Thanks to Matt and Amanda for a great time.




Ani's birthday pix on Picassa

Tucson

"To walk alone is possible, but the good walker knows that the trip is life and it requires companions." - Dom Helder Camara

This quote appeared in my Sojourners daily email the day I returned from a three-day hiking trip in Tucson with my friend Bev Groff. How fitting! Both literally and figuratively for nearly twenty years, Bev has walked with me through life’s journeys. I am blessed to call her my friend.

During our three days on the trails there were some challenging moments, but we didn't rough it in the back country. Rather, we launched our adventures from the comfort of the Best Western on Oracle Road (clean, affordable, free breakfast and happy hour!). Oro Valley has gotten a much busier and developed than the first time I saw it. But ten minutes into any trail, the serenity of the desert landscape overcomes any sense that one is minutes from a major city. Here is a recap of our hikes:

Saturday - Pusch Peak
Bev's trail name is "The Hungry Tortoise," but I think she should be called "Brave Billygoat." Pusch was a surprisingly tough, with false trails, loose dirt and rocks, and heart-stopping vertical scrambling. We did OK, but my lack of preparedness, combined with ominous rain clouds stopped us short of the summit. If at first you don't succeed, try try again. I will summit Pusch someday in the future. Who's with me :) ?
Sunday - Romero Pools at Catalina State Park
The Romero hike was a true "walk in the park" compared to Pusch. We spent about five hours on this trail. The out-and-back hike is about 3 hours. There are some breath-taking vistas overlooking Oro Valley, but the best part of the hike is lounging by the mountain pools and waterfalls.
Monday - Blackett's Ridge at Sabino Recreation area
This was a gem of a hike. Not too difficult, but definitely challenging. Six miles out and back, approximately four hours of hiking. The trail ends on a steep overlook of Sabino and Bear Canyons. The trail is impeccably maintained, and features a number of vistas.

I was in search a peaceful place that would help me heal. Each day moved me incrementally towards my goal.
Here is a link to some of our photos. I will post a youtube video as soon as I get it uploaded.

Tucson Hiking pix

Sunny San Diego January 2012

I spent "Little Christmas" with Anastasia and family. As always, we packed a lot into three days!

Saturday:
Christmas presents, Natural History museum at Balboa Park, and Babysitting!
Since the visit was so close to Christmas, we waited on presents until I got there. They were hilariously enthusiastic over some pretty modest gifts. Too cute! The big hit was a book titled, Chalk, a simple wordless story about a magical day in the park.

We spent the afternoon at the museum. Its a real kid-friendly place with some hands-on (and belly-on) exhibits. I took in my very first 3-D film, SeaRex . Toby and Madeline gave the movie rapt attention.

On Saturday night, the kids were all mine. Anastasia and Chris went out to celebrate 12 years married. We stayed home, read Chalk, and played Headbanz ;)


Sunday:
Church preschool, Chalk in the park, dinner with Laura and Scott
Sunday morning I got to see Anastasia in action as the Church preschool teacher. Her lessons use the alphabet, stories, and games to teach lessons from the bible. Patience and Quickness to Forgive were the lessons of the morning. Later we went to the park and did chalk drawings and conjured up some creatures the emerged from the sidewalk.
Sunday night, I headed over to Little Italy with Scott and Laura and had my very first polenta.

Monday:
A visit to Madeline's school, excursion to San Diego Safari Park
Monday, Maddie was back in school. I got a quick peek at her kindergarten classroom, and was blown away by how grown up she has become overnight.
Toby, Anastasia and I headed north to the San Diego Zoo Safair Park. Toby was our wildlife photographer, snapping away at animals, birds, and occasionally his feet.

Thank you Thank you Thank you to the Brewsters for a really great weekend!

Click here to see: Photos on Picasa

Mike starts 2012 with annual icy plunge

2012 started with a morning trip to Southie. I am a witness that Mike submerged himself not once, not twice, but three times into Dorchester Bay. I would have done it too, but someone had to hold the bathrobe and take the photo.

4th

Since arriving at Spaulding, we've had a lot of support from family. Calls, cards, emails and prayers, and recent visits from Pat, Judy, Mike, Peg & Dan, and Jeanne.

Today George and Mike went to Gillette stadium and ran a road race. And then George navigated the MBTA, taking a bus, a couple of trains, and a walk through Harvard Yard to catch up with us over at rehab.

Judy came up with a way to make everything we are going thru a little more "normal," This evening for dinner, Judy, Don and DJ, Mike and Lisa joined us in the hospital courtyard for a good old fashion 4th of July picnic. Paws, decked out with a red, white and blue kerchief, came along and sat under the table.

Richard and I are extremely fortunate for the on-going love and support over these past months. Love to all xoxoxoxo