February 2023

I flew out to Utah in February to spend several days with Wyatt, Emma, and Oliver (WEO from now on).  My goal was to be helpful and get a million baby snuggles.

I did fifty million loads of laundry and had a sleep over with the baby.  So missions accomplished.  He is growing up and just the cutest thing you have every snuggled in your life.  

 

I still don't feel very grandmotherly but I do LOVE babies and Olive is no exception.  Babies are amazing.

WEO continue to find their way in the world.  They are figuring it out. Wyatt is still working at the Pepperidge Farms factory making Goldfish.  Emma started back at work cleaning hotel rooms and is enjoying the time out of the house.  

After several days with WEO I went down south to have a sisters weekend with Jenn, and my two sisters-in-law, Shellie and Annette.  We had loads of talk time and laugh time.  We painted our nails and went shopping.  We stayed up late asking each other embarrassing questions and did a fashion show at a store that was 100% intended for teenagers.  Don't tell them I posted this picture...

Every minute was food for the soul.  I know it sounds like a cliché girls weekend...but those are the best ones.  I am so glad I have sisters.  

Later in month in a mini break from the rain we got out an enjoyed a gorgeous hike in the green hills.  We have been getting record rains that include flooding creeks.  The hills are stunning and we are in love with the views when the sun shines.  

For a bit of the hike Will was on a work call.  He combined companies with Solaria in October and he has been working like a dog to get the company public through a SPAC.  Stressful and laborious are the only words to describe what is happening professionally for Will.  He keeps pushing that boulder up the hill.  

In February Will, Andres, and the new CFO (Brian W.) went out to NYC to tour the NASDAQ and be wooed by them to use the NASDAQ as the public platform (instead of the New York Stock Exchange).  The wooing worked.  

 

RIP Barry Blue Bird

 Oh the heart break we feel loosing a pet family member.  For a few weeks Barry Blue Bird has been acting strange.  Not tweeting out as much, labored breathing, and moving very slowly, sometimes falling or not using his legs when he climbed the ladder.  We knew something was wrong but hoped a trip to the vet would fix him up.

Will took Adell and Barry to the vet Friday afternoon (as Clare and I were driving down to Santa Clara for her first dance competition weekend).  They got the worst news.  Barry was sick and there wasn't anything to do but end his life humanely.  Adell was so sad.  It was heartbreaking.  

Clare and I cried on the phone with Adell as she told us the news on the drive down.  So sad.  Poor Barry Blue...poor Adell!

The vet gave Adell a white box to keep Barry in and a plant because they don't like to have people come in with something living and not leave with something living too.  It was very kind of them.  She loves plants.  

Adell dragged her feet on a memorial service.  We all wanted to do one but she did not.  We didn't understand until she explained that a service would make Barry's passing final and she wasn't ready.  Poor kid.  

Adell painted the top of Barry's box with a beautiful painting of Barry flying free and prepared to have a service for BBB.  She asked that we all wear something blue and share a memory of Barry.  Lorien and Wyatt joined the service over zoom.

 

We buried Barry in a safe place in the front yard.  It was a lovely ceremony...even with a mild coffin drop.  Ask Will about it some time.  

For posterity, here is a picture of Clare at her first dance competition in years due to Covid and a hurt knee.

Skiing and meeting Oliver

What a week of snow, skiing, and baby time!  

Will's trip to the family this year was a ski week in Utah at Powder Mountain and a visit to Wyatt, Emma, and Oliver.  

We arrived at Powder Mountain in the evening and sent Will, Lorien, Clare, Adell, and Colter out for a ski.  Unfortunately, Lorien tweaked her knee on her second run and was out of skiing commission for the rest of the trip.

The next day we packed up and drove down the mountain to Logan to meet Oliver for the first time.  Everyone was beside themselves with his cuteness.  No one got enough turns holding him.  He was loved to the MAX.  Wyatt and Emma seem to be settling into parenting life and their own apartment pretty well.  

 

 

The rest of the trip was spent on the mountain nonstop skiing for the kids and Will.  Colter was the most enthusiastic skier.  He couldn't get enough.  Adell and Clare also spent significant time on the mountain.  Lorien stayed with me in the cabin.  I updated my google photos drive and coached some of my clients.  It was a lovely way to spend a snowed in time.

At night we would meet for dinner and games with Will's family.  Will's mom and several siblings going skiing up at Powder Mountain every year.  This was the first time we joined them.  

 

 

 

In the airport on the way home we ran into our old friends the Wrights!  It was so fun!  Lorien and their kids were best friends growing up.  Sabrina is Colter's favorite babysitter.  We sat with each other on the flight home and got caught up.

December 2022

We had all the regular things for the month of December.  All the crazy extra things that happen with school and finals right before Christmas.  It is too much but we do it every year.  

Adell's middle school choir had a performance that was entertaining and lovely (as always).

You know the measuring tree happened.  Clare maintains her place as the tallest daughter.  I sewed and sent a measuring tree to Wyatt, Emma, and Oliver (who have moved into their own apartment in Logan, Utah now).

Gingerbread houses...built with hot glue and old gram crackers.  They were darling.

 

 

Will and I combined efforts this year and instead of just doing presents (my way) or just doing a trip (his way) we did both.  Some presents and a state-side skiing trip.

Here are the girls opening the most shocking and exciting present: tickets to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour!  Shocking and beyond thrilling.  It was a great moment.  I can't wait for the concert! 

We had a "proper British Christmas" with our friends, the Wirigs.  It was loads of fun.

  

  

We added one fun Christmas time tradition this year.  We went to a Panto Theater show in San Francisco.  Panto is an old theater tradition where the audience is heavily involved and the story is silly.  The day of our tickets the whole cast got COVID and we had to have our day rescheduled.  It worked out just fine but we caught almost the last show.  We all had so much fun booing, cheering, and screaming "he's right behind you!".  

After the show we went to our favorite House of Nan King for Chinese food.  Everyone gave this new tradition five stars.  I hope the theater will do another Panto show next Christmas season so we can keep the tradition going.  

 Lorien has been home with us since just before Christmas.  It has been nice to have her home.  

November 2022

baby shower

Lorien and Wyatt birthday

Clare dance show

Adell Birthday

Thanksgiving break fun: Mom and Colt car Dad and Adell SF

Restaurant Thanksgiving

New Car!

November started off strong with the most amazing baby shower for Wyatt, Emma, and Baby Oliver.  Our friends from Danville who have moved to Utah over the years gathered to shower the expected baby.  Family living in Utah also came along.  

It was beautiful to see so much support for this new little family.

One really special surprise was all of Wyatt's friends showing up to play games and eat hot wings with him.  Wyatt had an amazing time catching up with these guys.  They have been friends for over a decade.  They moved from elementary, to middle, to high school together.  I cried really hard when they showed up.  

I managed to squeeze in a visit with my coach friend, Kolette.  Kolette and I certified in the same class together at The Life Coach School.  We have stayed in touch over phone calls, Marco Polos and reunion zooms with all the other gals who certified with us.  Meeting her for lunch was another highlight of the trip!

You know November is birthday month around here.  We celebrated Lorien Turing 21, Wyatt turning 19, and Adell turning 13.

 

 

 

Clare had her first high school dance team performance.  Her dance was selected as one of the final numbers (it is not this one in the picture).  Clare choreographed and taught her dance to the class.  It was awesome to see her in action this way.

November was also the month of special outings with the kids.  Will took Adell into San Francisco one afternoon.  He had a meeting and offered to let her tag a long.  She was on her own in Union Square while he was in the meeting but they met up as soon as the meeting was over and enjoyed the Christmas sights in the city.

Adell felt very independent strolling around the city on her own.  She wasn't going to go at first but marshaled her courage and went for it.  She sketched in her sketch book and took in the sights.  Very teenagerie, right?

 

Colter and I took an afternoon trip to a car museum in town.  We saw four or five super cool sports cars and a hundred old timey cool cars.  The sports cars were Colter's favorite.  I enjoyed sitting down while he took a million pictures on my phone.  Time well spent!

In a major break with tradition, we had Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant this year!  I loved every second of it.  It was so nice to not spend days preparing, a whole day cooking, and an eternity cleaning up.  The food was good (never as good as homemade, but good).  The only draw back in my opinion was being on someone else's time for the food.  The kids got impatient and we weren't home where they could go run while they waited.  Other than that, it was perfect.

Everyone else, however, did not like going out for Thanksgiving dinner.  They missed all of our traditional food, they missed the snacks, the football playing in the background, and the left overs.  They all voted to stick with homemade Thanksgiving from now on.  Maybe I'll assign each of them the job of Thanksgiving next year and still take the holiday off.  Or I'll just go to a restaurant by myself!?

The smiles in this picture are all brought to you by TriValley Orthodontics.  Braces for the straight teeth win!

Wonder of wonders, miracles of miracles my Tesla arrived.  After being delayed for months and us living the one car life, we got the second Tesla.  Yes, we are those people but we like being those people so it is good for us!