Last year we celebrated a new home; in 2017, we “added” a home… Robin’s parents now live with us in the “Casita” in our backyard! When we bought the house, there was a small guest house in the backyard. Earlier this year, we embarked on two construction projects – one, to reconfigure the downstairs of the main house, and a second, to enlarge the guest house to be a full-time house for Bob and Elaine.
Though none of us would recommend living through a big construction project, we are all thrilled with the end result. As happy as the 7 of us are, none of us were ready for our dog Cody to be as elated as he is – most mornings, he waits by the back door so he can go visit Grammy and Grampy… some days, he doesn’t come home until dinner!
As a result of the construction, we skipped our annual summer trip. We did, however, take a big trip for Spring Break, spending a week in London. It was the kids’ first trip to Europe, and we could not have had a better week. Trying to figure out how we'll top it next year, our last with all three kids at home. (Gulp.)
Rick’s a senior in high school, and is now watching the mailbox (along with his parents!) each day waiting for college application results to start showing up. He completed his engineering certificate at Cal High, enjoyed working at the vet’s pet store this summer, and got his driver’s license this summer. We love how much he loves running errands, not to mention driving himself and his brother to school each day!
Robby’s a sophomore at Cal High, where he was invited to join the improv club Mission Improvable. If you live in San Ramon or are passing through on a night when they’re performing, you will thoroughly enjoy them! Robby was terrific as Captain Von Trapp in the Bay Area Children's Theater production of The Sound of Music. Finally, he joined his brother behind the wheel this year, earning his learner’s permit at the end of the summer.
Becca is starting to work on her Silver Award for Girl Scouts, and was chosen to join the Pine Valley Middle School Leadership group. This spring, she tried out for and was selected for Pine Valley’s Symphonic Band, and will be joining the Symphonic Band on their annual trip to Disneyland next spring. Now in her second year of confirmation class at Holy Cross, she’ll be confirmed next year.
As for Robin and me, we celebrated our 20th anniversary in October! We are taking a trip in early December to Hawaii to commemorate the milestone, our first week alone together since we had kids. Robin’s involvement in California education expanded this year, as she continues to serve on the Ed100 and 32nd District boards, and was appointed to the California State PTA Board earlier this year. I passed the 10 year mark at Google, with the last six at GV. In addition to serving on NCWIT’s Board, I also joined the Defy Ventures Bay Area Board. (If you’re in the Bay Area, you need to come with me to prison in 2018!)
Some of our favorite photos from this year are the ones that capture the many wonderful memories created with friends throughout the year. We are so grateful for your friendship, and hope to see more of you in 2018.
With love,
R5
(PS: If you're reading this on a mobile device, click 'view web version' below to see the year in photos album!)