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| Catherine and Warren about to start setting up the tent at Burlingame Campground |
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| I just helped for a minute--just long enough to get a couple of pix taken. |
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| Catherine, and most of all Gerard and Warren, very much wanted to have a bonfire---but I vehemently opposed. Ordering pizza was a much more practical, and much safer, alternative . . . and a yummier one as well. I'm 100% Italian--and pizza compares favorably to anything else. Besides, I have terrible memories of Catherine's college graduation party at home in California. There was a big fire pit in our backyard and I agreed to a bonfire. Many of the invitees were large homeschooling families with older and younger kids--and I was terrified that we'd need to call 9-1-1 for one child or another. |
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| It looks like Maximilian and mom were just falling asleep. |
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| Look at that little face (not so little any more, actually) sticking out of the tent! |
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| And here comes Thomas! |
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| Catherine (only the back of her head), Philip, and Warren inside the tent |
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| And several more inside-the-tent pix. Please scroll down. |
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| Warren comforting Nicholas. These are pix taken during the morning, with the sunlight shining through the tent. |
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| Another great smile from Thomas! |
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| And an even greater smile now as Catherine hugs him (as she does all the time) |
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| Here you can see all of my children--including Stephen, who didn't want to pose for pix at that time. |
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| Now Stephen is making a silly face-- |
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| --and is pouting and frowning on this one. |
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| Finally! Everyone is smiling on this one! There are some more to come as well. |
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| This would be just perfect--if it was not that Catherine was the picture taker and therefore is missing in it. |
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| Please notice how much love there is in the big brothers' eyes! |
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| Another awesome picture here--except for the fact that now it's Warren who is missing. |
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| I was able to ask someone from the family camping next to us to take a couple of pix--so that we could all be in those--including me! |
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| They cannot help petting every dog they find. As you can imagine, they are trying to convince me to add a doggie playmate for Motor, our cat. Do you want to hear the truth? Can you keep a secret? They've convinced me already. It's going to happen soon. The lady and gentleman to the left are the owners of the yellow Labrador that is being the center of attention. |
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| That family also had a chocolate Lab--the one Philip is petting. |
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| Catherine picked up a caterpillar-- |
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| --in order to show it to Thomas. |
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| It was certainly not that I liked it so much--but I like being brave . . . and had to hold the caterpillar too! |
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| A stop for breakfast after camping and before going back home |
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| Philip and Thomas sharing the use of the i-Pad. At the time it was just one i-Pad for all five of my younger ones. Recently I added two i-Pad Minis, thus making it into three i-Pads for five kids. And now I just added one more, this time an i-Pod, which will make it into four i-Pads for five children--and no, there will not be a fifth i-Pad of any kind, model, or size. |
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| More petting zoo pix . . . |
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| Petting zoo pix again . . . |
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| These pix were taken at Petco. To Stephen Petco is not a store, but an opportunity to pet a couple of dogs each times. Yes, you guessed correctly: soon there will be a puppy at home too. |
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| And even more petting zoo pix . . . |
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| All the goats love Maximilian! |
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| As all of you already know, this is our very own Motor. |
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| Catherine and Gerard |
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| Catherine, Gerard, and Maximilian--and Motor in Gerard's arms |
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| That day we locked ourselves out of the house and needed to wait until Catherine came back from work. She's a lead therapist at Access Point, an agency that works with children with special needs . . . and she does have |
