Po Po's Little Helper

While Mommy and Daddy went to the Oregon coast, I got to stay with Po Po and Grandpa. While Grandpa was at work, Po Po put me to work. I love being outside.

Like watering plants...

Moving pots...

More pots... No wonder Grandpa complains about his back...

Pruning...

Outside Cleanup...

And inside cleanup. What is she thinking? I don't want the manual broom, I want the motorized broom!

The good thing is she makes a yummie German Chocolate cake as a reward for our hard work... Hurry up Grandpa, I worked hard today!!!

Young Wine Maker

It all started in the Schei vineyard in the spring.

Finally the grapes came...

After they were picked, James tried making the juice (Isn't this how they do it in Italy?)

What do you think?

Legacy of John Deere Tractors

When Ron was growing up on the farm, his favorite tractor was the John Deere 3020.

When Chris was growing up he had John Deere toys.

Now James has his own John Deere toys. He tried to play with Uncle Chris' but they were too heavy. He could break a toe if it dropped on his foot.

Weekend Trip to Discovery Bay

Velda and I went to Discovery Bay last weekend for some R&R.

Friday, we explored some of Sequim. Our favorite shop was the feed store in Sequim which had plants and lots of riding kid toys and wagons. James would love this store.

Then we had dinner with our friends Bob and Wendy that have recently moved there full time. They showed us their beautiful home just north and east of Sequim and it overlooks the Dungeness Bay and Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

Scott, Allison, and James met up with us on Saturday. We had fun in the pool at the condo.

And exploring the beach around the condo.

We explored Port Townsend.

Grandpa, Scott and Allison tried some of the local brews.

Velda took James to look for rain puddles so he could splash away in his new boots.

Sunday we decided to take a leisurely trip home. We made it in plenty of time to make an early afternoon ferry. The ferry came in unloaded and started loading. I was almost ready to start the engine because we should be one of the next rows to be loaded. An aid car came up quickly (no lights or sirens). The aid car went directly on the ferry. We commented that it was okay for an aid car to cut. As soon as the aid car drove onto the ferry, the ferry left! I said it was not even close to being ½ full. Afterwards, I talked with one of the WSF people. They made an announcement but we did not hear it. The aid car had a person that needed immediate emergency medical attention on the other side. All of the choppers were busy so a decision was made to attempt an emergency ferry crossing. The WSF person said in 26 years, he had never seen or heard of that. He also commented since they were now out of sequence, he was not sure what time the next ferry would depart. We arrived home later than planned but we still made it home before dark and get the lawn mowed. Back to reality.

Fall Trip to Vancouver

We (Ron, Velda, Scott, Allison & James) went to Vancouver over the Columbus Day (US) / Thanksgiving (Canada) weekend.

We drove up Friday. We stopped for a rest stop in Fairhaven near Bellingham. A group of Japanese exchange students thought James was real cute. I am sure his picture ended up on a number of their Facebook pages. We think he was overwhelmed with all the attention.

Three generations in a minivan made it quickly through the border to Vancouver.

We checked into the condo that was downtown and later walked to Yaletown. Then we had dinner at Yaletown Brewing Company. We sat in the courtyard outside the Restaurant (kid friendly). We could not get a picture but Velda was playing with James. She lifted him up to touch the leaves on a tree and let him down over and over again. He thought it was hilarious and laughed so hard that the patrons in the courtyard started laughing with him. Too bad we didn't have it on video.

Saturday, we took the ferry and toured Granville Island.

James had fun chasing all the pigeons and playing with the kids stuff.

The adults had a good time going through all the little shops and playing on the playground equipment.

We went out for Chinese dinner with Velda’s cousins from Vancouver in Burnaby. James was a good sport to last as long as he did.

Sunday we visited Stanley Park. It was a beautiful fall day. It had plenty of activities to keep James busy.

Monday we explored a little more downtown before heading back to Redmond. James was intrigued with the giant Orca.

Fruit Crops

Although we had a late summer, the fruit crop was very good.

With our grapes- lots of clusters but not ready to eat yet.

Raspberries- huge ones that were close to an inch long on some of the berries.

Blackberries on the valley floor that Scott picked--- See that little hand dipping in the berries?

Which is good because James really likes eating lots of fruit. He left us enough to make a blackberry cobbler. He can easily eat one cup of fruit in a sitting.

He wasn't too keen on the Japanese pears though.

James Reading

Recently James was over and when we picked up the mail, he went through ones he liked

Car parts catalogs...

and restaurant coupons.