A Visit to California

Unfortunately our past trip to California signifies the end of a wonderful summer break. We had a wonderful time with the family. In addition to visiting family, the ten day trip consisted of a baby shower, an engagement party, birthday parties, a zoo trip, a Dodger game, beach days, a movie, and a trip to the ER. Seeing baby Izzy for the first time was a delight. She is beautiful. Mary and Robert are very capable parents and seem very happy, although a bit tired. Congratulations James and Tracy on your engagement. We hope the best for you two. As always, Grandma and Grandpa Gizmo provide wonderful hospitality with waffle breakfasts, gourmet dinners and delightful conversation. Sadly we could not work out a trip to Lompoc to see Nathan and his karate practice. We did enjoy spending time with David, Betsy, Nathan and Matthew at the engagement party and at the zoo. Thank you Dan and Danielle for driving us all over Los Angeles. The Dodger game with Ben and Luke was great. It is always good to see the Dodgers win in the ninth inning. Erin is adorable and knows more words than I do. Luke has a wonderful golf swing that he was able to demonstrate for us in the backyard. And it is always fun to play baseball in the front yard with Ben, Nathan, and Luke. Watching the kids play baseball reminded me a lot of playing when I was a kid. It was great to spend time with Aunt Noella, Uncle NoNo, Sue, Michael, Terry, Neil, and Dylan. Thank you very much for taking the time to drive all the way to Carpinteria, whichever route you decided to take. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we hope Uncle NoNo is healing well from his surgery. Even with Kim's fall and the subsequent trip to the emergency room, the trip was wonderful. We wish we could visit more often, and we really appreciate every one's efforts to spend time with us when we can make it to Carpinteria.

Annual Tomato Contest

After a second place finish to David last year, Papa Gizmo seems to be on track for an easy win with 40 tomatoes to date. I also hear that they are delicious. Sadly, my plant has only produced four fruits, also very tasty. David has not sent an up to date count, but early reports are that his plant is not a strong contender. There is the hope that while Papa Gizmo visits us this fall, David and his two companions, Nathan and Matthew, might be able to sneak around the two guard dogs, Scout and Oreo, and alter the seemingly inevitable outcome. As for the largest tomato this year, I have not received any reports.

A Visit from Connecticut

Wow, it has been a while. Sorry we've been out of touch but now that we are back in Spokane, you can expect updates on a regular basis. At the end of July into the beginning of August, we were lucky enough to have a visit from my parents. The visit was filled with great activities including many neighborhood walks, trips to Manito Park to see the dahlias and roses, a Spokane Indians baseball game, Art Fest in Coeur d'Alene, cherry picking at Green Bluff, an invigorating game of croquet and an exciting game of Monopoly. The Spokane weather cooperated, and it was beautiful for their entire trip. Hopefully when my parents return at the end of September as Caitlin enters the world, the weather will be just as nice.

Caitlin's Room

We have greatly enjoyed completing Caitlin's room. After several sketches and lots of discussion, we decided to have a theme of flowers so we painted a mural on the wall. With the help of Al and Evelyne, we were able to place the furniture throughout the room. We are still adding finishing touches to the walls. Caitlin's library has a great start. Hopefully Caitlin will enjoy her new room in a couple of months.

"New to Us" Car

We recently purchased a "new to us" car. It is an Acura MDX with about 65,000 miles. We had been looking for such a car for about 3 months in Spokane. We had to drive 5.5 hours to Portland to find one. It seats seven, although the back two had better be small. It has a navigation system which help the directionally challenged. We will give free rides to any visitors. Hopefully Caitlin will enjoy the car since we will most likely still have it when she is 16.

A Visit from Family

What a week it has been. The highlight of the week was a visit from David, Betsy, Nathan and Matthew. We met at a waterfall outside of Portland. We were in Portland buying a car, but more on that in a later post. After viewing the waterfall for a while, we drove the 5-6 hours safely to Spokane. Once home we quickly learned that our house is not child proof or John proof. The kids did great, but I tracked a raspberry throughout the house. New rule: Shoes off on the carpet. After a good night sleep, we started with some chocolate chip pancakes before our adventure. The day consisted of a trip to Manito Park, Cat Tails Zoological Park, and River Front Park before a dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. At River Front Park we road the train, slid down the giant red wagon, rode the carousel, and feed the trash eating goat. The next day began with trip to Frank's Diner for breakfast inside a train. After which we left for the short 20 minute trip to Post Falls, Idaho to view the waterfall. The water was pretty low, but the park was fun. Once back at the house we played some Wii and used the Slip'n Slide. Sadly the next morning David, Betsy, Nathan and Matthew left early, 6:20, to head to Seattle and return home. In all it was a great week. Hopefully they will be able to visit again in the future.

Connecticut Baby Shower

On July 12, I was lucky enough to be given a beautiful baby shower at Avon Old Farms by Christine Ruane and Mrs. Chamberlin. It was a wonderful shower with good friends and a delicious lunch. Caitlin received many beautiful gifts - she will be one of the best dressed little girls in Spokane. Many people traveled quite a distance to come to the shower, and their efforts are greatly appreciated. My mom knit Cailtin a beautiful baby blanket. That was quite a surprise, since I didn't even know that she had learned how to knit. :) The generosity and hard work that Mrs. Chamberlin and Christine put into the shower was phenomenal, and I am so thankful to both of them.