Topo Fun - And More

On a whim, Matteo and I decided to visit the SLO Children's Museum after dropping Serafina off at Cinderella. The two of us get quite a charge out of the place. Among today's favorites, pictured below, where the Topo Table and Shake It Up. The Topo Table had all-white sand that kids could mold and shove around to their hearts content. In the meantime, a camera and projection system was mapping the topography of the sand and projecting topo lines and depth colors from above onto the otherwise white sand. Very cool! The deep blue areas were the lowest elevations all the way up to white being the highest elevations. The Shake It Up station let you build structures and then shake them to see how they'd behave in an earthquake. Afterward, Matteo asked if we could eat at a restaurant on the way home. I said sure, where do you think? To which he started to rattle off an entire list, "Well there's Habit, Pizza Solo, Woodstock, Splash, blah, blah, blah." He is paying attention.

Railroad Reconstruction Begins

There have been lots of changes along the PB&J right-of-way over the past year or so. The largest change is the back yard. The entire back yard has been taken over by a deck (see the photos of Lynn's retirement party). The other major occurence was the removal of the large oak tree that was right in the middle of Fosterville. This necessitated the removal of the entire railroad. So, we're pretty much starting over. When Papa Bill got started a couple weeks ago, there was NOTHING but a few concrete bridge supports and the wall around the mission area. Everything had been take out to raw ground. Some other changes to note... A new puppy, Sandy, a labradoodle, brought a dog run to the driveway. The run is directly behind the bench. That actually opened up the area nicely. The hot tub is gone from the concrete area lower right. This'll be a new seating area. Note how the two bridges will soon lead to a 30-degree crossover/diamond in the foreground. There will be a balloon track on the rock patio that connects one side of the diamond to the other making the basic layout a circle eight.

More photos: http://jf2.com/pbjrr/140802.html

Papa Bill's Descendants

We caught Papa Bill at Olde Port Inn tonight with two generations of his direct descendants. Missing, of course, were spouses ("outlaws") and nine great grand kids. Jen, thanks for the photo!

SLO Triathlon - #compoundtri

The Compound fielded a triathlon team today. We reached back to Kansas for the runner, but heck, that just added to the festivities. There were 15 of us at Sinsheimer Park today cheering for Janice (swim), Tracy (bike), and Megan (run). They all made PRs! The unofficial elapsed team time was 1:52:20. All the photos are here: http://JF2.com/140727/

Daou Winery with the Kansans

Trevor and Jen hosted the Kansas contingent at Daou Vineyards and Winery this afternoon. And we were treated like royalty! Katie was a delight as she kept the tastings coming, the cheeses, olives, etc. and, of course, a couple extra bottles to finish off the afternoon. And the wine is superior (i.e. McKeon Phillips "replacement"). Wow! We capped off the day with a fabulous dinner at Estrella in Paso Robles. If you haven't tried this South America/Italian Riviera restaurant, you're missing out. All the photos are here: http://JF2.com/140726/

A Theater Rat Birthday

What does a theater rat do for her birthday. She invites theater rat friends over to put on a show. "Newsies" was the theme, and all the world's a stage, which is good because the best we could muster was the back deck. Well, the show's over, and they're watching a movie. Newsies.

AJ got some mic time, too!

It's Sum-mer!....

Tracy: My babysitter just sent me these pictures! ‪#‎love‬ ‪#‎summerfun‬ ‪#‎twins‬

2014 PCPA Summer Camp Graduates

There they are! This was Serafina's first PCPA experience, and of course she loved it. This shot captures the finale of the Showcase that the campers put on for family and friends at the end of the week. Serafina is 2nd from the right on the first row.

Matt and Tracy Thank Sierra Vista NICU with Hand To Hold Grand Prize

Matt and Tracy recently won a fundraising contest by Hand to Hold that led to their twins' NICU at Sierra Vista Hospital receiving the grand prize. The hospital/NICU held a little party to celebrate.

SLO Tribune video (YouTube)
SLO Tribune article (PDF)
KSBY article (PDF)

Tracy: YEAH!! It was so much fun seeing everyone and saying thanks for all Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center NICU did for our boys!

Tracy: Today we had the honor of helping present Sierra Vista's NICU with the gifts from the Hand to Hold giveaway! We posed for a family pic but my camera wasn't in the action so hopefully someone will forward one to us! @handtohold #handtohold #preemiepower

Lynn's Retirement Party

And what a party it was! We lost track at 30-some adults and over 15 kids. The event doubled as an inauguration for the back deck, too. Check it all out in the photos: guess the quantities, taco bar, tequila sunsets, quilts for the chilly, s'more kits, a couple doses of labradoodle puppy, a blessing for the under-construction classroom, fruit sculptures, quilt squares, hide-n-seek and cops-n-robbers, prizes, lots of smiles, and just a couple tears. All the photos: http://JF2.com/140628/

Meet Emmy Sandy

She's a relatively small Labradoodle puppy. I think full-grown she'll be about 35-40 pounds. Cute kid, too! This is what retired teachers do, get students...

Loveable Labradoodles

Lynn is quite the disciplinarian.
About 2 minutes into the bedtime whining
and look where Sandy ends up. 

Tracy: My pet lover, my child who is (was?)
deathly afraid of dogs, and our new puppy Sandy!
I think we chose the right dog!
#compoundliving #labradoodle

But wait, there's more. Janice also has a puppy. A full
sister to Sandy named Molly. Sandy is the one
on the pillow. Napping away in the office.

All Six are IN the Wedding ?!

Yup, all six kids were in Karlee and Aron's wedding. If that didn't make for an interesting preparation period and some very clever "management tools" Mom put in place. Like baggy after baggy of treats that the kids love but won't stain wedding clothes - even if drooled. And there was the last minute run for new pants! A baggy marked "Bloody Nose Kit." The things that never cross your mind if you haven't had kids. Sam ushed. Serafina was a Jr. Bridesmaid and sang The Lord's Prayer. Matteo bore (the ring). AJ stood with the groomsmen (the ENTIRE wedding) after helping get the twins get down the aisle. I'm not sure what role you'd call the twins', Cute Dispensers?, but there they were! It was a beautiful wedding, everything worked out. Karlee and Aron are off to a great start. Here are some pics Tracy took along the way. I grabbed the words she used to describe each on Facebook...

AJ thought that stripping was part of the wedding
ceremony! #compoundliving #boys

Not going to walk down the aisle.
His brother is plastered to my leg screaming. #fail

Amazing heart pancakes to inspire
awesome ring bearing action! #karlee&aaron

Big bag of non staining (even if you drool) snacks
on individual bags that don't make noise to open.
Bribery is not beneath me today....
The kids will walk down the aisle!
#karleeaarron #weddingfun

I could eat them.
#karleeaarron #preemiepower #love

Pre-wedding fun!!! #karleeaarron #boys

The Fam! #compoundliving
#karleeaarron #lifewith6kids

They made it down the aisle!
#karleeaarron #soproud @kscalzo5

One more super cute picture!! My babies!!
#karleeaarron #lovemykids#lifewith6kids

Hand Holding in the NICU

One of our boys NICU nurses just sent me this picture she found! Makes my heart melt. She is pretty sure it's Jonathan's hand holding her finger when he was still in his isolate! I have so much love for all our nurses that loved our boys soooooooooooo much! Tracy

Cinderella

The musical by Rodgers & Hammerstein
August 8-24, 2014
Produced by  SLO Little Theatre / ACT
Serafina's Roles: Village Kid, Ballroom Guest, Footman, Little Baker

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First reading on June 17, 2014 (thanks, Lester, for the photo):

August 5, 2014 - a few shots during a tech-week rehearsal:

She took a moment during a break to
sing her audition song at the little chair
in the little corner.

Footman

Hrrrmph.

Hrrrmph again.

The prince is having a ball.

Time to dress Cinderella for the ball.

It doesn't fit!

Curtain call (left).

At the Drive-In

It was the first Drive-In experience for AJ, David, and Jonathan! Gotta love those popcorn bowls. Oh, and in case you were wondering why you buy the biggest pickup truck you can. This. Imagine if the whole family would have been there!...

The Art of Teaching

Today was the last day of school at Alvin. THE last day of school at Alvin for Lynn. For ever. Tomorrow her "endless summer" begins (i.e. retirement!). Well, sort of. She'll continue practicing teaching at home as she helps Tracy with the homeschooling part of SLO Classical Academy next year for the four Bigs.

To celebrate, Lynn joined a group of teachers and friends at Wine and Design in Orcutt. And guess what they painted? Alvin Tigers! Lynn painted the tiger at left.

Alvin also presented Lynn with another piece of art... Two hearts, the left filled with fingerprints of all her students, and the right filled with fingerprints of all the teachers. How cool.

Box Houses

I need say no more...