HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNY!

 OUR LEAP YEAR BABY JUST TURNED 43 (OR YOU COULD SAY SHE'S 10 FOR ONE MORE YEAR).

THIS YEAR SHE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE LEAP YEAR PART, CELEBRATING BOTH FEB. 28 AND MARCH 1 IN SAN FRANCISCO WITH MIKE AND THE KIDS.

WE MET THEM YESTERDAY TO JOIN IN THE CELEBRATION.

 LOOK AT THE WONDERFUL VIEW FROM THEIR ROOM.

HAVE A GREAT YEAR, JENNY!

DINNER DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER

THAN HOMEMADE TAMALES!

ELISE' GIRL SCOUTS MADE TAMALES
AND WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET SOME.

WHAT CAN I SAY?
THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!
(The mushrooms were part of my salad, not the tamales).

FORGET THE GROUNDHOG

 THESE ARE MY SIGNS OF AN EARLY SPRING.

ARTY IS OUT OF THE FROST COVER , AND LOOKING BEAUTIFUL AS EVER
 ( did we even see any frost this year)?

MY MOUTH IS WATERING IN ANTICIPATION OF THE WONDERFUL ARTICHOKES HE GIVES US.

THE WEATHER IS IN THE MID 70'S (sorry East Coast).

A GREAT TIME FOR SITTING OUTSIDE AND ENJOYING A FROZEN YOGURT.

IT'S SATURDAY

 AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS,

SPORTS, SPORTS,

AND MORE SPORTS.

SOPHIA AND HER FRIEND TAKE TURNS SHOWING OFF THEIR STYLE WHILE WARMING UP FOR THEIR SOCCER GAME.

ALL THAT WARMING UP PAYED OFF,
 WITH HER STRONG KICKS
 HELPING HER TEAM WIN
WITH A SCORE OF 6 TO 2 .
GREAT GAME SOPH!

NEXT CAME SAM'S BASKETBALL GAME.

DO YOU THINK HE WORE HIS RED (and black) SHORTS TO MATCH HIS SHOES, OR BECAUSE IT WAS VALENTINE'S DAY?

HE GETS A LITTLE ADVICE FROM THE COACH BEFORE THE GAME.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ADVICE WAS,
BUT SAM'S GAME WAS HOT,

HE MADE BASKETS
WITH FREE THROW,

AFTER FREE THROW,

AFTER FREE THROW.

THEY LOST THE GAME, BUT HE SCORED  FIVE OF THE GAME'S POINTS
IN HIS FREE THROWS ALONE.
GREAT GAME SAM!

WHAT'S THIS,
TWO OF OUR LITTLE SOCCER PLAYERS
TRYING THEIR HAND AT BASKETBALL.
JUST A LITTLE HALF TIME ENTERTAINMENT.

HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO PLAY GOLF BEFORE YOU'RE HAPPY WITH YOUR SCORE?

 WELL, DARYL'S BEEN PLAYING, HMM, SINCE HE PLAYED WITH THIS GROUP,

AND LOOKED LIKE THIS, 

IN THE 1980'S,

AND MOST OF THE TIME, COMES HOME FROM A "RELAXING?" DAY ON THE GOLF COURSE, TOTALLY FRUSTRATED.  YESTERDAY HE CAME HOME ELATED, HAVING HAD HIS BEST GAME EVER.  THE FIRST NINE HOLES WEREN'T THAT GREAT, BUT IN THE SECOND NINE HE GOT 6 PARS, 1 BIRDIE, WITH 12 PUTS, FOR A SCORE OF 39.  SO HE TELLS ME, PAR GOLF FOR NINE HOLES IS 36.

YOU KNOW HOW GRANDCHILDREN ARE,

THEY'RE GOING TO ONE UP YOU

WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT.

 LAST NIGHT, I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM DANA ALONG WITH THIS PICTURE.  EMILY IS PLAYING GOLF AT CHICO STATE, AND YESTERDAY WON THIS BALL

FOR GETTING A HOLE IN ONE!!!

THIS FROM A GIRL WHO PROBABLY HASN'T PLAYED SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHEN SHE WAS HIT IN THE EYE BY A GOLF CLUB.  AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, SHE'S RIGHT HANDED AND PLAYS LEFT HANDED.

AS PAPA WOULD SAY, EMILY,

"THE GOLF GOD WAS WITH YOU"

WHAT A CELEBRATION

ALONG WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS
FOR ROXANNE'S 13th BIRTHDAY.

WE LEFT BRIGHT AND EARLY ON THURSDAY SO WE COULD STOP AND HAVE BREAKFAST WITH STEVE ON OUR WAY TO DISNEYLAND.

AFTER SPENDING ABOUT TWO HOURS VISITING WITH STEVE, WE TRAVELED ON OUR WAY WITH GREAT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS UNTIL WE GOT CLOSE TO THE
LA AREA.  THE COMMUTE LANE SURE CAME IN HANDY.

ELEVEN HOURS AFTER LEAVING HOME, WE ARRIVED AT OUR HOTEL.

EIGHT AND A HALF HOURS OF DRIVING TIME, ADDED TO OUR VISIT WITH STEVE, SEEMED LIKE ONE LONG TRIP!

TO STRETCH OUR LEGS, AND GET A LITTLE DINNER,
WE WALKED INTO DOWN TOWN DISNEY.

 THE REST OF THE GROUP, BECAUSE OF WORK AND SCHOOL, DIDN'T
ARRIVE UNTIL ABOUT ONE FRIDAY MORNING.  NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE WERE SOUND ASLEEP BY THEN, SO MET UP WITH THEM IN THE MORNING FOR OUR DAY AT DISNEYLAND.

FIRST GROUP PHOTO, OF MANY.

LOOKS LIKE THIS GROUP IS RUNNING ON NOT TOO MUCH SLEEP.

THIS OUGHT TO BE AN INTERESTING DAY!

A MUST HAVE PHOTO ANYTIME YOU VISIT DISNEYLAND. 

 WE WERE THERE WITH ALL OUR LITTLE PRINCESSES, AND
WHERE'S THE CASTLE?
LOTS OF RENOVATION GOING ON TO BE READY  FOR THE
BIG 60 YEAR ANNIVERSARY THIS JULY.

REMEMBER WHEN KIDS WOULD ENTER THE PARK RACING TO GET IN LINE FOR THEIR FAVORITE RIDE.
WELL, IT'S NOW 2015,
 AND THE FIRST LINE THEY RUN FOR ISSTARBUCKS???
WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO? 

WIDE AWAKE, AND FULL OF CAFFEINE , THEY HEADED FOR SPACE MOUNTAIN.

NEXT, ONE OF EVERYONE'S FAVORITES, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.

AFTER A FEW MORE RIDES, IT WAS TIME TO STOP FOR LUNCH. 

LUCKY FOR ROXY, THERE WAS EVEN A QUARTET CLOSE BY
TO SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HER.

JUNGLE CRUISE RIDE, A MUST, 

AND OF COURSE,

POSING WITH A FEW CHARACTERS.

US ADULTS MADE A STOP FOR SOME BENIET  (not sure of the spelling, but you know those good little pastries), 

WHILE THE KIDS CLIMBED TARZAN'S TREEHOUSE. 

DON'T WORRY, WE BOUGHT SOME FOR THEM TOO! 

THE AFTERNOON FOUND US IN
DISNEY CALIFORNIA. 

I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY'RE STILL GOING STRONG.

PAPA WANTED THIS PICTURE OF HIM AND THE GIRLS.
WE HAVE LOTS OF PHOTOS LIKE THIS WHEN THE GRANDKIDS WERE YOUNGER. 

CARS LAND IS KNEW SINCE THE LAST TIME I WAS AT DISNEYLAND. 

THE KIDS, WHO WERE BEGINNING TO WARE DOWN A LITTLE BIT,  SEEMED TO ENJOY THE SIMPLICITY OF THE TRACTOR PULL RIDE, AFTER ALL THE CRAZY ROLLER COASTER, AND STAR WAR RIDES.

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL SEEMS TO BE ENJOYING HERSELF,

WHILE I THINK LIV MAY HAVE BEEN ON ONE TOO MANY ROLLER COASTERS,
NOTE HER ARMS IN THE AIR.

A FEW MORE PHOTO SHOOTS,
AND A LITTLE SHOPPING'

AND WE WERE BACK TO DISNEYLAND
FOR A REGULAR HO-DOWN DINNER OF RIBS, CHICKEN, AND SAUSAGE, WITH
 SIDE DISHES OF CORN, BEANS, AND COLESLAW.
YUMMY!
AND THEN, THE FUN OF RIDING THE RIDES AT NIGHT.

BY THIS TIME OF NIGHT, WE ALL WELCOMED TIME TO SIT AND ENJOY IT'S A SMALL WORLD, ONE OF MY FAVORITES,

AND THEN EVERYONE FAVORITE,
THE TEA CUPS.

AT THIS POINT, DARYL AND I WERE CONTENT TO SIT AT ONE OF THE RESTAURANTS, AND ENJOY A CUP OF HOT COFFEE, WHILE THE REST RODE A FEW MORE OF THEIR FAVORITE RIDES UNTIL THE PARK CLOSED AT MIDNIGHT.

WE WALKED BACK TO OUR HOTEL, AND BRITTNEY, WHO HAD LOGGED OUR STEPS FROM THE DAY ON HER PHONE, INFORMED US THAT WE HAD PUT IN ELEVEN MILES OF WALKING.  NO WONDER WE SLEPT SO GOOD LAST NIGHT.

WE WERE HEADING FOR HOME TODAY, WHILE THE REST WERE HEADING BACK TO THE PARK.  IN FACT, THEY WERE ALREADY AT THE PARK, BY THE TIME WE GOT UP.  LIKE I'VE SAID MANY TIMES BEFORE, "OH TO BE YOUNG."

THANKS FOR INCLUDING US IN YOUR

BIRTHDAY  CELEBRATION, ROXY.

AFTER SHARING THE DAY WITH YOU,
DISNEYLAND IS
"THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH." 

THE KNITTER'S CLUB

 SOPHIA IS NOW A MEMBER.

THIS CHRISTMAS,SOPHIA RECEIVED A KIT TO KNIT A CHUNKY SCARF, FROM AUNT CAROL.  THE OTHER DAY SHE HAD ME GET HER STARTED.  SHE HAD KNITTED IN THE PAST, BUT COULDN'T REMEMBER THE CASTING ON.  I'M NOT TOO GOOD AT DIRECTIONS, SO AVOIDED THAT PART OF THE KIT AND SHOWED HER MY OWN WAY.   ONCE STARTED, SHE FINISHED IT IN NO TIME.   LAST NIGHT, AFTER SAM'S GAME,  SHE TOLD GRANDMA DOLORES AND ME THAT SHE WOULD KNIT US EACH A SCARF FOR VALENTINE'S DAY.  I REMINDED HER THAT IT WAS JUST TWO WEEKS AWAY.  WELL, AT ABOUT 11:00 LAST NIGHT LOOK WHAT SHOWED UP ON MY COMPUTER.  GIVE A KID A CHALLENGE, AND THEY'LL SHOW YOU WHAT THEY CAN DO.  THESE GRANDAUGHTERS OF MINE ARE ABOUT AS DIVERSE, TALENTED, AND COORDINATED AS THEY COME.
YOU'D THINK THEY BELONGED TO BETTY OR CAROL!