July = Busy

July is always a busy month, and this year is no different.

 

With Lukas only a little over a month old, we had initially thought we wouldn’t make it to Lake Almanor for our traditional 4th of July celebration. But as the date got closer, we thought we could swing it. So we heading up to the Lake for the 4th, along with a million other folks. Lots of traffic getting out of the Bay Area turned what should have been about an hour-and-a-half drive to get to highway 505 into a 3-hour drive. Once we got on 505 and 5 I tried to make up some of that time, but the California Highway patrol had other ideas, so it was pretty much the speed limit the rest of the way.

 

We finally made it up, and as usual had a great time.  Kristin and the kids were up there already (Jason flew up on Monday), as was Katelyn and Megan who flew up earlier in the week. The weather was incredible, and the lake was SUPER-HIGH. For those of you that have been up there, check-it-out, the water was past the sand, over the rocks and up on the grass!

Ellie and Hannah had a ton of fun, and Freddy kept up with them for the most part. Give Lukas a few more years and I’m sure the two of them will be causing all sorts of trouble.

We tubed and swam. Played games and BBQ’d. We even fit in another edition of survivor. And this year we got our first THREE-TIME, THREE-TIME, THREE-TIME champion….me.

After the 4th we got back home, and welcomed Leo and Deloris back from Seattle where they went to visit their newest grandchild, yes, even newer then Lukas. John and Christiane had a baby boy named Dillon about 2 weeks after Lukas was born. L & D got another round of Ellie and Lukas before heading back to Texas, and the whole visit was really enjoyable.

 

Smashed in during all of this time was my birthday. The big 3-6. Steph planned a great dinner at Buca di Beppo, although she needs to work on her surprise skills. First, she left the Bucca menu and what-not open on my laptop when she was making all the arrangements, so I had a pretty good idea where we were going. And I assumed that mom and dad would be coming, but wasn’t sure until mom Facebooked me for my birthday and see you tonight.  Finally, Steph was adamant that I be home BY 5:30, and she said it a number of times, so to me this meant there was a schedule to keep. Even with that, I was very happy to celebrate with mom and Dad; Steve;  Jerry, Steph, Nathan & Katelyn; Marisa, Jiggy and Leah, Leo and Deloris, plus Ellie and Lukas. In fact I think Ellie had the best time of all, she was able to run around since we had kind of separate room and play with all the other kids. And a big hand to Jerry for occupying them (Daddy Day Care isn’t far behind!)

 

Mom and dad gave me a mini suite to an A’s game as a birthday gift, and I wasted no time in finding a game. In fact, my birthday was on a Monday and we went the next Sunday.  Me, Steph, Jerry, Steve, Bob, Ellie and Lukas went (Mike was trying to go, but he couldn’t get off work, so Ellie went in his place). It was the first ever pro baseball game for the kids, and although Lukas won’t remember it, I’m saving the ticket and box score for him.  The suite was FANTASTIC! Big enough for at least 15 people, plus sliders, hot dogs, wings and beer.  PLUS, the A’s scored 8 runs in the 1st inning, including a grand slam by Conner Jackson, and cruised to a 9-1 win.

On a sidenote for anyone that follows my Twitter feed and say this tweet -- Let me just say, I no longer have a sunflower seed stuck in my nose. *don't ask* -- let me explain. I’ve rediscovered David’s Sunflower Seeds and have been eating them on my way to-and-from work. One morning I had a handful of sunflower seeds in my mouth and felt a sneeze coming on. And you know the feeling of trying to stop a sneeze.  It’s a bit jarring. Well this one was no different. Except for the fact that during the holding back of the sneeze the sunflower seed that I was cracking got lodged in my nose.  It was NOT a fun day. I finally got it out that night, but WOW was it not pleasant.

 

So July will continue to be busy, with Katelyn’s Sweet 16 birthday on the 22nd, and her party on the 30th. I have been helping a bit with Matteo’s Dream Fund Dinner and Auction, and that will be in early August. Try and take a few days off at some point for one last run up to the Lake. A video conference and possible visit to Disneyland in September. Things just keep on coming. Thankfully the NFL lockout is coming to an end so a full season of football (and fantasy football) will be ramping up too. For some reason, I’m really stoked about Fantasy Football this year.  I mean, I’m always excited, but this year it seems more than others.