2004

Nibble’s favorite person has got to be Nick. It’s easy to see why when he’s treated just like another member of the family. All the kids enjoy a juice box when they’re thirsty.

Gabe was very excited about heading out to Ohlone Day over at Henry Cowell park in Felton. I guess it was a big deal at school and he was particularly interested in the spear throwing he had heard about. We brought Doug along to make sure the day was a big success. First stop is a demonstration of starting a fire without a match or a flame thrower. Gabe’s attention appears to be drifting as the guy is taking way too long to get the fire going. ...

Nick is doing cross country again this year and their first meet is over at SLV.

We headed out to the boat show in Oakland again this year. It was plenty of fun as usual, and I’m drooling over a new fishing boat called a C-Dory these days. After spending the night at Jack London Square, we headed down to visit with George and his family. Charlotte went out for a hike with George and Ellen over at Crystal Springs. Back at the their new house in Hillsborough the rest of the crew entertains themselves with media and Maddie. Charlotte can’t resist a picture of Valri’s colorful wine glasses. ...

The new wetsuits have been getting a lot of action lately. The usual routine after a day in the surf is to hose them off and then let them hang to dry. The tree out front is out of the sun and does the job nicely.

Time for another fun day down at the beach, but this time we’ve got a huge group joining us. There were a million kids and many of our good friends. The heat wave made for a great day and plenty of people didn’t even bother with wetsuits. I really enjoyed hanging out with Jan and Teren too.

We finally stopped by a local sports store and bought some decent boogie boards. We picked up a wetsuit and board for Gabe so he could join in on the fun as well. Down at Manresa state beach it’s time to break in the new equipment. I think Gabe is addicted too now. Margot and her family joined us for what was a great day even if the fog never broke. ...

We’re off to the beach again for a get together with a bunch of friends down at Rio Del Mar beach. Paula, Margot, Ingeborg, and their families joined us with lots of food and ocean fun. First a little warm-up playing in the sand. Then it’s time to put on the wetsuits and hit the waves. When it got late, the kids had fun over at the lifeguard station while the grownups had time to catch up on things. ...

Ellen comes down with the kids to have some fun at the boardwalk for Doug’s birthday. The pirate ship has a great view and Zach goes for the best seat on the end. Gabe and Doug go for the tamer middle seats. The trio gets in a bit of spinning action. While everyone else tries to get sick on this monster. This is one of Nick’s favorite rides. ...

Gabe is still in withdrawal from the constant fishing in Michigan, so we head out into the bay off the Capitola wharf. Monica is along for trip this time also. We catch our usual collection of small fish, though the big ones still elude us. We caught a lot of very small halibut, so I’m hoping we’re getting closer to catching the big fish.