Raven and Max, and their parents, came for a glorious visit during the last week of July. Many adventures were had, some of which are documented below. Click on any photo for a larger version (and a slide-show interface, if you’d like to flip through all of them).
We had plans today to head downtown to see museums and monuments on the national mall, but it was a poor sleep night and a bunch of us were fighting colds, so we decided to stay closer to home. We walked down to Brookeway Drive, the street Dave and I lived on as kids in the ’70s. At the end of the cul-de-sac is a path up to the old railway tracks, now repaved as part of the Capital Crescent Trail. (I remember trains going by, and often put coins on the tracks for flattening.) The kids had a blast in and around the creek for a couple of hours, though I didn’t get the camera out for the epic meltdowns they had after one too many daring maneuvers led to cold, wet feet (and a butt, in Griffin’s case).
We spent Christmas in Bethesda with Grummy and Grandpa Stape, and all the Roy cousins. Fourteen people under one roof! Wonderful mayhem.
We were fortunate enough to rent a house in Bodega Bay that would accommodate all of the Roy Boys and their families, and at a time when everyone could make it! It was a sweet time to reconnect with Anthony, Gena, Dave, Nancy, and their kids. The cousins were non-stop playing from the moment we arrived until the moment we left! Highlights included trips to the beach, meals together, and a carnival put on by the kids. We have a lot of photos in this set, mostly of the adorable children. I have a feeling our kids will be talking about this trip for a long time to come!
Dear Raven,
A couple of weeks ago I got a letter from you. Inside the letter was Flat Raven! We took pictures of Flat Raven. It was so fun. We can’t wait to share them with you.
The first place we went with you was Hidden Falls Park on the east bank of the Mississippi River. It’s so fun because the roots of the trees are pulled up and we can climb in them and slide down them sometimes. We even hide in them while playing hide-and-seek. Did you know that the Mississippi River starts in Minnesota? It starts at a place called Lake Itasca, but it goes by not far from our house. We ride our bikes to the river sometimes.
Next we went to play with Richard, a friend of mine. We played at his preschool which is very close to my preschool, the Dodge Nature Center. Both schools have animals and lots of nature. We play outside a lot. We played a game called Grumpy Old Troll which is the same as Tag.
After we got home, we decided to walk to a Thai restaurant for dinner. This Thai restaurant is on a street called Grand Avenue not far from our house, just like the Thai restaurant we used to eat at with you in Oakland on Grand Avenue! On our way to the restaurant we found a cool purple chair beside someone’s house. My favorite Thai food is Pad Si Yew. It has big brown wide noodles. It’s so yummy!
On Thursday night we had a really big snow storm. Some places got more than a foot of snow, but we only got about six inches. Whenever it snows, we like to sled to my preschool. We took you along for a ride in Maggie’s sled. We know that it doesn’t snow very much where you live, so we thought you would enjoy this fun part of winter.
Love,
Griffin
Raven’s real birthday (her fourth) was on Friday, but she celebrated it today with a fabulous party at Kids In Motion. I had no idea that such a cool place was only a short walk from our house. It’s like a huge padded gym for toddlers, featuring a massive trampoline, balls, balloons, rocking things, bouncing things, swinging things, sliding things… all the good stuff. It was awesome. I’ve posted a full set of photos in our gallery, with some highlights below.
Our big Thanksgiving gathering took place in Santa Cruz again this year. The consensus is that Santa Cruz is the best of the various destinations that we’ve been to. It’s close. It’s beautiful. Rental houses are plentiful and relatively affordable. And there is no shortage of fun. (Plus, nutritionists always recommend riding roller coasters after a 10,000 calorie meal.) Thanks to Nancy for the massive job of organizing the event! Some favorite pictures are below. Click on them to see larger versions or click here to see the full album. (You may notice a slight parental bias in picture subjects…)
Nancy and Raven were at a big health care reform rally in San Francisco on Wednesday. And they sure photograph well. Here’s a link to the article: Hundreds rally for health care reform at San Francisco City Hall | The Public Press. And the pictures:
In case the article ever vanishes, here’s a PDF for posterity:
Grummy is in town for a visit, so the whole Stocco-Palmer-Roy family (minus Andrew, who was working hard getting his classroom ready for students on Monday) went out to the Eat Real Festival at Jack London Square on Oakland’s waterfront.
