They’re interactive, much like my own little Turtle! They follow your mouse, and you can feed them just by clicking your mouse. This will be a great way to waste time.

I finally got to meet Jackson and Mason, Guillermo’s twin babies. It’ll be fun to watch these identical cuties grow up, but we anticipate some mistaken identity mischief in coming years. I had a good time helping Guillermo with the boys and catch up with my old friend. I’m a little sad thinking how different they’ll be the next time I see them!

Guillermo and Mason, the firstborn.

Sleeping baby Jackson, the best kind of baby.

And finally, a sleeping baby Mason. Would you believe we actually had a little bit of time when both babies were asleep? Silence is a rare treat in a house of twin infants.

I didn’t get to go skiing because it poured rain on my days off, which would have made the drive to Tahoe dangerous, so instead, I made a very quick trip to Sacramento on Friday evening. I hadn’t seen the Mizushima’s in over a year, so it was a long overdue visit. Ellie has grown so much, and in addition to her singing skills, she’s become quite the little photographer. At only 3-1/2 years old, I thought her pics were pretty good!

This was the storm I was about to drive into, about 30 minutes from Janet’s house. Yikes.

And this is my little friend Ellie, playing “family” with some of her toys.

This is Ellie’s pic of Janet and me. Pretty good, huh?

And this is her pic of the family dog, Tyler.

And a pic of dad, Koichi, and cat, Blackie.

I love this pic of Ellie and Janet. So cute!

Smiley Ellie

After my hike in Marin, I headed over to visit Ben, Spring and Stella for dinner. Stella had learned to walk only a couple weeks before, so she was still a little wobbly, but so cute! Ben and Spring are so lucky to have such a cute little girl.

“Franken-stella” walks with arms up, wobbling side to side. Here she comes!

Check out smiley!

The girls

My girlfriends make the best picnics, which are fantastic for Bay Area hikes. We met up on Monday to check out Baltimore Canyon, a lovely short hike in the beautiful redwoods of Larkspur in Marin. It’s days like these that remind you why people love to live here!

Mini waterfall

Amazing redwoods

Alisha, Nik and Ashe under a tree canopy

Our picnic included tofu spring rolls, hummus sandwiches, beet and arugula salad, Asian tofu salad,  blackberries, bananas, and tasty vegan cookies. Yum!

My girls