Babysitting Sophia and Avery

Sophia knew exactly which board in the fence to move so she could talk to the girl next door.

Celebrating Justin's birthday

Justin's choice of restaurant but I'm wary.  This will my first time to have sushi.

Uncle Justin!

Lenin suggested we order a sampler platter. I tried one of everything. I liked almost everything. Salmon with avocado was my favorite. Least enjoyed involved a small slice of eel.

It was pretty much impossible to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time. Justin is holding the glass he won after spinning the birthday prize wheel.  

Happy 38th, Justin!

Sandy's retirement party

Archie and Sandy have lived "forever" in Rio Linda.  Archie and I worked together in RLUSD and mostly recently he was our team leader for the CELDT team I've been working on. Archie's brother, Ken (far left below) also worked in RLUSD for a long time.  Sandy (sleeveless blouse), until her 65th birthday today, worked as a hair dresser.  Tonight family, friends, co-workers, and clients came to celebrate.

The party was a couple of houses down the street

at Jim and Lucy's.

Neighbors from G St: Jerry and Susan.

Master griller Jerry.

Sandy is now going to have much more time for her horse and competitions.

The finale was a fun magic show (despite the terrible picture).

Bromance rekindled

Doug's friend-since-kindergarten, John, is visiting from Nevada. They haven't seen each other in a year.  Here they are sitting in John's truck, having a beer and watching a DVD. Two happy guys.

So I wasn't sure about using the term "bromance," so I asked them both if it was ok. Both quickly acknowledged that's exactly what it was. Then I got curious about the term. First used in the 1990s, it "describes the complicated love and affection shared by two straight males." (Urban Dictionary online)

Planting the Peace Garden

At the Rio Linda Community Center.

Center and right, Shirley and Charlea, two of the organizers.

Local businesses sent employees,

many volunteers came from other communities,

and a family honored a loved one lost due to a violent act.

Next weekend is the big Country Faire, I'll be sure to take a few "after" pictures.

This week at work

This week our team of four was reduced to two at the request of Orchard School. Most of the testing had been complete by staff and they requested minimal support for a few days. I administered the group test for listening, reading , and writing to groups of about 15 students per grade level.

By mid-week, we were done and even got a handmade thank-you card and gift from Wendy. That was a surprise. 

We moved on to Castori School to help with grades K and 1, the entire test takes 45 minutes/student for a first grader. At Castori, about 15/class need to be tested and there are 4 classrooms/grade level. My favorite first name this week was Blue Shell for a girl.  

But let me tell you'll about Felix. He had a sniffly nose so I moved the tissue box closer to him. The pile on the floor grew and the test was taking way too long. Finally I asked him if he knew how to blow his nose. His face lit up, he grabbed 2-3 tissues, blew hard, and was amazed at how well that worked.  He held out his hands to show me all he produced.  "Look!" 

The joys of working with children never end.

Lost tooth and a closed trunk

Last week, Kellen noticed he had his first loose tooth. How exciting for a 6 year old. We talked about what would happen next. In an attempt to outdo the Tooth Fairy, I told Kellen that if he didn't find a coin under his pillow the next morning, he should say, "The heck with that dumb fairy, I'm going to see my grandma."  But instead he was the first one downstairs to share what had happened during the night. "Look, Grandma, the Tooth Fairy DID come!"

One afternoon, the boys were playing outside, Doug was in the garage.  Doug heard a thump and soon heard muffled screaming. Odin had gotten into the trunk of my car and pulled down the lid. Oh the number of times that boy has been told not to play in Grandma's car. Doug came in to get me and the keys to let him out. I now lock my car, just in case he hasn't learned his lesson yet.

We recreated the scene above after the fact. I thought maybe Odin might "freak out" being asked to get into the trunk. Oh no, he climbed right in. They also learned about the inside trunk latch and practiced getting out on their own.