Penny

Penny is more of a tomboy than Eliza. She was very interested in Julien and all of his books on snakes and bugs. When we went out on a walk Julien held Penny's hand to cross the street and generally looked after her, like a big brother. It was cute.

Jumping

In the morning the kids had fun taking the air out of my mattress.

Sleep over

That night Julien, Eliza and Penny had a sleep over in Eliza and Penny's room. They were all very excited. We overheard many funny conversations. I think this conversation was started with Eliza watching me nurse Sebastian:

Julien: Men have nipples too, they're just smaller

Eliza: When my mom was nursing her dark part of her breast was this big!
Julien:It's dark. I can't see how big.

Eliza: I have a kids starter-bra my aunt gave me. I'm the only one in my class with one!

The next morning Julien ran over to me.
Julien: Guess what? Eliza has a bra! She's the only girl in her class with one!

Clearly, he was impressed.

Train at Tilden

In the afternoon we went to the train at Tilden. Julien loved it, and by the end of the ride was snuggled up to Rob.

Tot's Playground

When we first arrived we went straight out to the tot's playground. It was just what the kids needed after the morning drive.

Susi and Rob's

It was wonderful to see Susi and Rob and their kids, Eliza and Penny. Julien was thrilled to have kids to play with! Although very busy with life and work, they seemed very happy. Susi is working as an editor and writer for the blog Fitsugar.

Dicken's Universe

On Saturday Richard went to Santa Cruz to start the Dickens Universe on the UCSC campus. He spent the week at Kresge College among the redwood trees. Julien Sebastian and I started the week at Susi and Rob's house in Berkley.

Great grandparents

We visited Richard's grandparents in Sacramento. It is hard to see them getting older and frailer. His grandad Dick is now in a nursing home after breaking his hip.

Julien always enjoys Grandmars great. It helps that she gives him special chocolate.

I let Julien use my camera during part of the visit, so he took most of these photos.

Self Portrait

Julien took more photos on the trip to and from Sacramento, where we visted Grandmars great and Grandad great. I love his self portraits. He also took lots of photos of Sebastian in the car.

Road Trip

We drove a lot during this trip. Julien and Sebastian were hearty souls, for the most part.

Julien's Photos

I let Julien take some photos with my camera, which he LOVED. These are all photos from Kathy and Rick's house. He worked hard at getting some of the angles.

Swimming

We also went swimming everyday. Sebastian loved his inflatable car.

The Garden

When we were in Napa at Kathy and Rick's we spent most of the time in their garden. We ate dinner outside every evening.

Sebastiani

We saw this theater in Sonoma. Julien thinks we should start calling Sebastian "Sebastiani."

Sebastian Smiles