Colin's First Christmas Program

Colin's school presented a "red, white and blue" Christmas program last week, that we were lucky enough to see. The kids sang the "Star Spangled Banner" and the music teacher (bless her heart) had members of the armed forces stand and then anyone who was related to anyone who was serving or had served. Almost everyone was standing by the end. It was pretty moving.

Colin sang with gusto and sure knows how to play that recorder. We were very proud grandparents. Sissy was a good listener and seemed to enjoy the program. Max fell asleep in the back with Dad.

Cookies after the program were a big hit!! (Each song is a little over a minute long.....hope you can sit and enjoy!)

And, here is our little Max.....love the faces he makes! He sure wants to know what's going on and to be a part of it!

Max Turns One, Papa Turns Sixty-one and the Polar Express

Lots happened in the month of December......Max had his first birthday, Papa had his sixty first birthday and we all enjoyed the Polar Express Train out of Hood River.

See Max walk. See Sissy hugging and lugging Max. All is good!

Amy invited us all to celebrate the holiday season and the two birthday boys' special days with a train ride on the Polar Express (just like the book!) It was a great way to start the holiday and a special time to be together. The kids loved it - hot chocolate, Santa, a conductor who actually punched every child's ticket with an "E," and cookies!! We even got to sing Christmas carols!

Nana's Big Adventure

In November, Nana had a great adventure with nine other women. These were mostly gals from Nana's old bridge group in Roseburg, plus a couple of brand new friends. We all met in Puerto Vallarta at a Villa that two of the friends purchased at an auction in Eugene. We stayed for a week where we were pampered by Sammy, fed delicious food whipped from scratch by Margarita, and kept neat and clean by Concha.

Even though we have very different interests, we all had a fabulous time with each other.

It was nice for Nana to be able to catch up on all her long time friends.

One of our big adventures was zip lining through the Mexico jungle. It was quite an arduous climb up (why did I think there might be elevators or even a drive up the mountain?) but well worth the trek. Zip lining was a hoot! Live footage of the daredevils are below!

We also took a very popular excursion called "Rhythms of the Night" held on a remote beach out of Puerto Vallarta. The food, show and trip out was one of a kind! We especially liked the crew and all their entertainment (see below - not to be Missed!)

Eating one of many delicious meals and enjoying good talk!

We visited a tequila factory with lots of samples!! It happened to be Lynn's birthday (sworn to secrecy on which one!!) so we celebrated (many times) during the week.

These are the boys on our evening cruise. They kept everyone in stitches and swinging their hips!!

Bet you will never think of "Grease" in the same way! We won't!

Here we are on the highlight of the week!! Fantastic, safe and way too much fun!

And, of course, no trip would be complete without hours of bridge......Seven No Trump!!

Colin Turns Six

Colin turned six in October, just before Halloween, so we celebrated both special days. He requested a fishing theme this year, so there was a fisherman's cake (river, salmon, and fishing pole!) and fishing for prizes (Papa is holding the blanket up and Nana is putting the prizes on the end of the pole.) Even Max got into the act!



Carving pumpkins was on the agenda, and didn't they turn out cute?



Halloween featured a Ninja, Tinkerbell and a Bumblebee. Since all three kids were sick, trick-or-treating was held to a minimum (but they still came back with good eats!)

Soccer, Kindergarten and Candyland!

Here is one of our favorite songs to sing!


Colin and Adi are learning Candyland with Mom while Max is hiding out!



I love how Max pushes the blue ladybug across the floor - just like a car! And, yes, that's Mike Bellotti being thrown around!

Papa and Colin are playing a hand held video game that Adi found at the Dollar Store (we had to go back and buy two more, they were so popular! - See Max toward the bottom of the blog!)


(Aunt Janie, close your eyes!) Here's hot rod Adi racing across their front yard!


Colin started kindergarten this year and Nana got to go and volunteer in his classroom. I got to hand out the paper apples, read an apple story, and visit his music class (I was very impressed that they are already learning to play the recorder - and they know three notes so far and three composers and their music!) September has been all about apples: they made applesauce, caramel apples and visited an apple orchard to pick apples! I love his teacher!


They are writing thank-you notes for their trip to the apple orchard (those paper apples? Those are the ones I got to hand out! )

The summer Nana and Papa moved into their new home, they found a robin's nest in the pergola. Nana, being the sharp gal that she is, said," This would make a terrific sharing for the grand kids! Let's stash it in the garage!" Five years later they were unable to find that sneaky bird's nest (Papa has admitted he "might have" tossed it!) Now, Nana is frantically trying to think of something for Colin's "Show and Tell." She's promised a bird's nest! Fast forward to the night before leaving for St. Helens.....one of Nana's bridge gals has one in her garage. Nana is happy, Colin is proud, and Papa is off the hook!


At the end of the morning the teacher plays "Backpack Boogie" while the kids get their backpacks and clean up the floor. What a way to end the day!

Nana and the class in music!


Colin scoring a goal! Yeah team!


Listen for Adi at the end of the video calling to Colin after he makes the goal.....he gives her a little smile and nod!

Even Max enjoys the game (oops! He's enjoying that handheld video game!)

Adi is number 19 and cousin, Judah is number 20.....they are very determined and listen well! Good job, Adi and Judah!!

And finally.....for your listening pleasure.....we present Colin!! (He also knows "One bright day in the middle of the night, two dead boys came out to fight....!)

Unbirthday Weekend

Last weekend the kids came for their last summer visit. Colin is starting kindergarten on September 1st, so they wanted one last hoorah before getting into the school schedule. They wanted a chance to float the river, fish, golf, and just laze around with Nana and Papa. So.....Nana planned an "Unbirthday Party" to help celebrate everyone's unbirthday. Colin even knew the words from "Alice and Wonderland" when the Mad Hatter sang! We had cupcakes, candles, and presents for everyone!

Adi is wearing a hat that Nana got when playing in a TEA/TEE Tournament!

Colin and Adi both like to "work" on the computer. Here Colin is playing chess (really lowered Papa's overall score!!!)

Colin, Max and Nana are watching "Pete's Dragon." (Colin and Nana have popcorn, Max has "puffs!)

A week before Max arrived he had started crawling..... and here he is.....

And, no weekend would be enough without a couple of fishing trips down to our pond across the street. Colin and his dad could spend hours down there, catching and releasing those poor bass! They each must have hundreds of holes in their mouths!

Sheppard Family Reunion

The Sheppard Family Reunion was held in early August at South Tahoe, right on the lake. It included all four Sheppard siblings (Sam, Art, Marilyn and Papa), twelve cousins, and twelve grandchildren ranging from 8 month old Max to twelve year old Alex. We celebrated with Sponge Bob/Square Pants, pinatas, and pirates (argh!) There was lots of golfing, swimming, skateboarding, bike riding, and good food!





























We caravaned down to Tahoe with the Leo and Amy. We had Colin and Adi half the time in our car. I loved Colin's exclamation at the end of the two day trip down: "My head is about to explode with all the fun I've had!" We took a quick detour in Roseburg to see the old house and ran into several longtime neighbors.

Here are the four Sheppards: Samuel, Arthur, Marilyn and Michael (the baby of the family!)














Nana and baby Max (a very tired little boy who didn't want to miss a thing!)














Here is Adi pinning the square pants on Sponge Bob with little cousin, Vivien watching!














Three happy Stoddards!














Jennifer directed the pinata with all the little cousins....here is Colin doing what he does best....swinging a golf club!














We spent one day on the lake playing with kayaks, paddle boats and wading (brr!)















Dinner the first night.....everyone reconnecting and meeting the new little ones!


Our little Max is the happiest baby!


Jennifer and Colin heading out for his first kayak adventure!


Danielle, Jennifer, Adi and Colin really working hard!

Football, Fishing and Puppet Shows

We enjoyed a fun packed weekend in St.Helens last weekend. We got to see and cheer on Colin when he played flag football with his team. Leo even stepped in to do a little coaching. It was great fun watching Leo teach Colin and his teammates some basic plays. Even Max cheered his big brother on!

We were treated to several puppet shows. There was so much video footage, so just put in one special show by Adi alone.

And, Leo took us out on the Columbia River where they keep their boat. Nana even got to do a little fishing with Leo and Colin. Didn't catch anything this time, but I'll be back! We set up our beach camp on the Washington State side of the river. Boy! There's lots of action on the river. Huge ships coming and going, lots of fisherpeople, jet boats, and sail boats. It was quite a sight!

Leo and Colin are working on some secret plays. Nana has promised that she won't sell the video to the other teams! I really wasn't scouting!

This is one of two touchdowns that Colin made. He's a fast little runner!! That's Coach Dad getting everyone lined up.

Adi's fantastic puppet show!

And this is what Max does best right now. What a jumper!! And what a very happy boy!!

These are the Stoddards doing what they love: being together and having fun!

They even let Papa drive!!

Leo's 30th Birthday and 4th of July

We had quite the birthday and 4th of July celebration this year. Leo turned 30 and his mom and dad, brother Aaron and his family, and sister Tanya and her family, came over to Bend to surprise him!

We had 8 cousins all under the age of six - one who was only a few weeks old. As you can see from the pictures and videos, a good time was had by all! There was eating, swimming, parading, fishing, biking, golfing and four-square.

The only thing the kids didn't get in was floating down the river.

Here are the pictures of all our adventures.....

Our Max......always the happy one!

Amy and Adi....two real bathing beauties!

Max in the parade.....

Colin's fourth parade with Nana!

Adi decorated her own scooter!

Colin with cousin Judah.....

Colin trying on Nana's hoop (these hoops are over 30 years old!)

Grandma Julie was also game enough to wear one!!

Cousins Adi and Judah with 3 week old Darius.
Adi does love those babies!!



Nana reading (singing) Max's favorite book!

Both kids are quite good on their bikes.....hard to keep up with them!

Decorating all the bikes, scooters and wagons for the parade.

I think Amy would make a great teacher!!!

Max and Papa watching all the fun!

Notice the clean-shaven Papa - Nana's 40th anniversary present!!

We spent almost every day at the pool.

Max in Nana's bathtub trying to catch the water!

On the last morning, Nana taught the kids how to play Four Square. Even the "big kids" got in on the act!!

Golfing and Fishing

For Nana's 61st birthday, Amy, Leo and the kids came to help her celebrate the big day (all weekend!!)

Colin has been saving his money for over a year, in order to buy golf clubs that he had seen at Joe's. We called him and told him to bring all his money to Bend and his work clothes. Papa put Colin and Adi to work (a dollar a bucket for pine cones!!!) They kept their own tally, and when all was said and done, we all trooped to the sporting goods store where Colin proudly bought four clubs and a bag. Adi bought a water bottle and gum!

We had already purchased a bag for Colin, but he happily gave it to Adi to use (Colin lets her put one of his clubs in it when they practice.) I gave them both a sleeve of balls, some tees, a ball marker, and golf pencil.

We took them to Widgi Creek, where they smacked the heck out of those balls!!! Colin could hardly believe that he finally had his clubs.

Max was the supervisor of the whole event. He remains calm under pressure and is a very good boss.

We also spent a lot of time at the pond across the road from the house. Colin is quite the "pro-fisher," as well as a "pro-golfer." The highlight of the weekend was when Colin let Nana reel in his catch. Nana's first fish (and most probably her last!)