First Day of School

Today was Nate & Julie's first day of school. Julie said she was nervous, but in true Julie fashion, she simply gritted her teeth and jumped right in, even asking to get to class a little early. She seemed surprised to be sitting at her own desk with her own desk supplies. Nate was right back in his element wanting to play handball and thinking everything was just perfect. When Gina and I went to pick them up in the afternoon, the car read 114 degrees, so it wasn't long before we were in the pool.

Waning days of summer

The last few days of summer were spent either in the pool outside (to beat the 100 degree heat), or around the yard playing with the chickens. Someone is going to miss being with her favorite, Fluff-fluff, every day.

Sea Ranch: river walk

From the recommendation of the house rental agency, we took our Sea Ranch passes and found the "Hot Spot" park located just beyond the fog line in the hills above Sea Ranch. Although the river was only five to twelve inches deep, its shores were lined with many pollywogs and minute frogs that tried to evade capturing. We walked a good length of the river until Julie fell and soaked her dress...then we knew it was time to go home.

Gina's Sea Ranch Birthday

We spent three nights in the Cantamare house in Sea Ranch to help celebrate Gina's birthday. True to Sea Ranch tradition, we spent the days unplugging and relaxing away from computers and the hustle and bustle.  I made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and Nate surprised Mom with the secretly-packed electronics set he built to play "Happy Birthday".  The days were spent walking the ocean trail, exploring the beaches, reading, swimming at the pools, hot tubbing, and eating food...lots of food. Happy Birthday Gina!

Nate and Speckles

After our innagural wing-clipping. No birds were injured in the process.

Lafayette Gardening Series

Here's the flier I created for the gardening series at the Lafayette Library. We had a great turnout both days and overwhelming positive response. One lady had a problem finding the room, and over email we discovered that she was writing from Lafayette, Indiana.

Chinatown

An easy way to spend a summer day: riding BART into San Francisco and walking into Chinatown. We gave Julie & Nate a couple of dollars of spending money. He bought a moonstone rock and she a small round jewelry box.