Mason turns 7

On his official birthday on June 27th. 

Mason bday party

Although Mason's birthday is this coming Friday, we had his party this past Saturday because many people are out the weekend prior to July 4th.

We had it at the Broomfield rec center very near our home.  It is a great facility with a climbing wall, and a great indoor pool area with 2 slides, lazy river and more.  We did an hour of climbing and went to our room right next to the pool.  All the kids from his school are great swimmers since they have swim lessons 2-3 times a week.  Most of the parents just stayed out of the pool and enjoyed talking as the kids played.

There is a height restriction to go down the slides alone and Audrey wasn't tall enough.  But we found out that you can do a swim "test" and if you pass you get a bracelet that allows you to go down alone.  Audrey was happy to test - swam 25 meters free style and backstroke as instructed and spent the rest of the time going on the slides by herself. Bill was happy about that too.

We had a great time and probably will do more parties there.

Cousin Bromance

Bill's cousin Thad, his wife Michele and their sons Jake (8) and Brody (7) finished their 3+ weeks RV trip back in Denver last Tuesday.  Michele went back to Atlanta the next morning because her grandmother had passed away.  Thad and the boys stayed until Saturday morning.

It is beautiful to watch the bromance between Brody and Mason.  They are two peas in a pod.  Jake also bonded nicely and Audrey would go in and out of playing with the boys.  Although after only a couple of hours of her cousins leaving she said "I miss Brody and Jake".  

Brave Thad took the 3 boys to Elitche Gardens on Friday, hitting the rollercoasters in the morning and the waterpark in the afternoon.  We all had a great time together!

The kids and Bill will see them again in mid July in Atlanta.  The kids can't hardly wait.

New roof

We had a bad hail storm in May that damaged our roof.  Quarter size hail fell for 15-20 minutes as we took shelter in the basement (mainly because of the very loud noise).  Many homes in our neighborhood had the same damage and  many of the homes are now getting their roofs replaced.

Although covered by insurance, we were not excited about the work itself.  In our case, involving getting the solar panels down and back up, which by itself would cost over $9K, but also covered by insurance.  

I told Bill to handle all the coordination with solar guys, roof guys and insurance. But of course, the morning the solar guys choose to start the work is the one morning Bill is in Chicago for work.  The next day, the roof guys showed up at 6:30 am and stayed until 7:30 pm, but couldn't get it finish until the next morning.  I'm glad the roof is done, but now we have an inspection and the solar panels need to be reinstalled.  

There is still some work on 2 windows that need replacing (not broken but causing some water intrusion), window frames that need to be fixed and many torn screens.   

Hopefully this roof will last another decade or more.

Father's Day

Sleep in, Krispy Kreme donuts, watching How to Train your Dragon 2, pool and Korean BBQ = great day!!

Copa

It is World Cup time!  There has been a lot of controversy over the amount of money Brazil has spent building stadiums and getting ready for the World Cup.  There has been protests against the government and FIFA over the last many months.  But it is the World Cup, "Copa", and it is time to set those aside and cheer for the "Selecao". 

I have many memories of watching the World Cup growing up, good and bad, but all full of emotion.  It is true that Futebol is more than just a game, it is a religion in Brazil.  It is the one thing that unites across social economic boundaries.  I hope that is the case this time around too.

John Oliver had a great and funny segment on the World Cup - a must watch:

Bay Area

I had my first work trip this past week, a workshop in Palo Alto all day Friday.  It has been nice not to have to travel, pack, fill out expense reports afterwards.  The kids had also gotten used to having me home, each hugging me and kissing me 3 times before I left on Thursday.

I tagged a day on Saturday to visit my friends Yvette and Yvonne, and came back early Sunday morning.  We ate, shopped, got manis and pedis, and ran in the marina and the weather was beautiful.  Short, but great trip.

Destin

We had a great week in Destin with Bill's mom Helen and Jack, and our friends Julie, John and Lexi.  We had this trip planned for a number of months and been looking forward to some warm weather and beaches.

The kids finished school on Friday and on Saturday we flew to Ft. Walton Beach.  We rented a 2-story 3-bedroom penthouse  on the 17th floor at Silver Beach Towers with great pools and beach front.  We had extra space for Bill's sister Shawn, Lena or Mary to come down, but they couldn't make it.  The Comellas were staying in the place, but East building.  

We enjoyed the beach and pool, grilling and eating meals together, the view from our balcony.  We went on a boat to watch dolphins, and found 3-4 pods.  Storms moved in and it rained 2 of the days, but we didn't mind it.  It was a very relaxing and wonderful time.

Mason and Audrey swam like fish, both great swimmers.  Lexi was more timid in the water, but making great stride keeping up with or kids.  We played on the beach and had front row beach chair service included.  Lexi and Audrey watched movies, including Frozen, and sang along while Mason hid upstairs.

We took Helen and Jack to a wonderful dinner for her 75th birthday at a seafood and steakhouse called Seagars, while the Comellas watched our kids.  One of the best meals in food and service any of us have ever had!  

I had to work a couple of hours each day, attend a few calls, and Bill checked emails, but life is good!  We will definitely be back.