Thanksgiving

The Kelly portion of the Thanksgiving crew.

Grandparent Overload

The kids have become used to seeing the San Mateo grandparents on a regular basis.

But now that we are a short flight from Washington, the kids will be seeing a lot more of the Olympia grandparents as well.

We showed the folks a little sunshine.

Books were read, hoops were shot.

Next visit: Christmastime!

Solar Eclipse

Rosemary is shown here holding a device for viewing a solar eclipse.

She and I made this pinhole projector (okay, mostly I made it) in order to view the partial eclipse that occurred here recently.

We brought our show on the road and demonstrated the projector for Silas' class, who took turns creating an image of the eclipsed sun.

The next solar eclipse in this area occurs August 21, 2017.

That will be just before classes begin (fourth grade for Silas, first grade for Rosemary), so there won't be a schoolyard viewing.

The next solar eclipse after that will be October 14, 2023. 

These kids will be in the tenth grade.

Halloween First Steps

Look who took her first steps on Halloween!  (Caught on a grainy cellphone video.)

Lion and Tiger getting ready for Silas' class costume party:

Rosemary volunteered for the mummy-wrapping contest (that's Silas as Buzz Lightyear).

We trick-or-treated with our neighbor Selena and saw some elaborate Halloween displays.

Many more pictures are here.

Seven!

We celebrated seven years of Silas on October 21... 

... followed by a jam-packed birthday weekend.

We had a great party with neighbors and classmates, new friends all.

Here's Silas wiping out with Trenton in the three-legged race.

On Sunday we hosted the grandparents and cousin Liam's family.

Aren't Tess and Liam sweet together?

Many more pictures from the birthday weekend are here.

Tess Videos

Pastorino's

Longtime followers of our blogging will recall Silas' trip to Pastorino's, in Half Moon Bay, when he was two.

Silas has changed.  Pastorino's has not.

Yet the second trip to Pastorino's was even more enjoyable...

... perhaps because we tripled the fun?

Actually, quadrupled the fun.  Cousin Liam came along too! 

Liam and Tess posed for this one while Silas and Rosemary crept through the Haunted House with Uncle Pete.

Here's the whole crew with Grandpa Ray and Grandma Charlotte.

Ready for Halloween!

Silas and Rosemary

The first few weeks in California, Silas and Rosemary fought a lot, for whatever reason.

Perhaps stress from the move. 

Perhaps celebrating their newfound ability to rumble without disturbing the downstairs neighbors.

Silas told us at one point, "Tess is the sweetest baby sister. 

And Rosemary is the most annoyingest sister!"

Now two months along, their fighting frequency has decreased significantly.

Maybe that's due to Meredith's propaganda ("You two are best friends!").

Maybe it's because they have become co-adventurers in exploring San Mateo.

At any rate, it's welcome.

Here are some pictures of the two.

  

Top photo: Enjoying ice cream at Beresford Park.

Next:  Rosemary scoots with Silas to his school every morning.

At left:  First haircut on the west coast (missing Ray's barbershop in Inwood).

At bottom:  Glow sticks for evening ghost stories.  (Listening to my fractured version of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.)

Soccer!

Rosemary is playing soccer, which she refers to as "baseball."

She looks great out there.  This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows her -- she can really kick the heck out of the ball.

Rosemary is the only girl on the team.  Which is so lame! What is up with the other parents of three-year-old girls around here? 

Tuckered out after Sunday afternoon practice.