Halloween fun!

I went Trick or Treating with the kids in the neighborhood of their great grandma Esther. Once we filled our tummies with pizza, we set out to go door to door. The moon was full, skies clear, not a lot of people out, but that was ok with us. As usual, I just had to dress up. I love to play dress-up, don't you? My boys were in high spirits (pardon the pun) and knocked on doors and rang doorbells and filled up their bags with all kinds of sugar that their Mom would have to say no to in the coming weeks. But, it is still fun to receive something for absolutely nothing! Tell the parents that after paying for costumes etc. Every year seems to be more fun than the last. The children make it so. There was Jayden as a Phantom, Addison as Spiderman, and Jaxson as Ben Ten. And don't forget Ella Amberley, the baby leopard with her Mommy leopard, and Daddy type cast as the devil. MaMa brought up the rear as the oldest living Punk Rocker!

Grandchildren rock!!

I am so blessed to have my grandkids. I talk and talk about them, to my lucky friends! Fortunately, most of them also have these little joys in their lives. Jayden finally lost both of his front teeth. It's official. Now he has something to ask for this Christmas.

Addison and Ella are buddies. He's only in pre-school at Happy Times 2 half days a week. The rest of the time he gets to play with his baby sister. They really communicate. Sometimes he cries, then she cries, much to Mommy's dismay. And Jaxson is enjoying the role of big brother as well. He loves to tickle her under her chin. There is no jealousy amongst them and Ella. Only the boys fight, and that includes Daddy. The Janowicz house is a lively one, for sure!!

Beach Day with Addison

I picked up my Addison from Happy Times preschool and we were called to the beach by some gravitational pull. Even though I live only 7 blocks from the Pacific ocean, I rarely get down to enjoy it. That's just silly, isn't it? So, my little 3yr old grandson and I threw caution to the wind and just got down into the water and watched the waves for about an hour. The sights, sounds, smells, are so unique. I plan on making time to do this with him every time I pick him up. It's good for him, me, and the universe is calling us to enjoy its beauty. The days are sunny, warm to hot, getting slightly shorter, and the leaves are falling around us. There is a special feeling in the air of Fall. Even though we don't have extreme seasons here on the Central Coast, I still have the memories of chilly nights, frost on the pumpkin, and hay rides on the mesa in Albuquerque where I raised my own children.
I am sooooo blessed to have the honor of spending special time with my grandchildren and seeing the world through their innocence. Addison never stopped smiling the entire time we spent together that day at the beach. He marvelled at the constant waves one after the other, reaching down for a shell now and then, tasting the salt on his fingers, letting the water go up his pant legs. By the time we left, he looked like a little sugar donut!

School is in session

First day of school and we now have two boys, Jayden, 3rd grade, and Jaxson, kindergarten, at Branch Elementary. So far they both have made new friends and Jayden reconnected with some of his from last year. In fact, he has a few in his classroom. The public school system here in Cali. has seen better days. With the state itself in bankruptcy, the schools are taking a beating. Many have lost teachers, forced some into early retirement, and pink slips were plentiful at the end of last year. Our concern has been class sizes, but at Branch that is not a big problem since it is a small school to begin with. Bridgett will be volunteering for each of their teachers and I will help by watching Baby Ella and Addison one afternoon a week. I am proud to be of any help. Of course, my grandkids are the world to me, so it's all about loving them.

Addison will begin his pre-school experience 2 days a week beginning today, Sept 2nd. Hopefully all will go well, he is very ready to tackle a challenge. And, Mommy is ready, too!

Summer in full swing

Big news! Jaxson, aka Avatar, turned 6 ! He was so darn cute in his costume. I even helped celebrate and painted an arrow on my head, too. We had fun eating pizza, cake, playing lots of games at the Round Table Pizza restaurant and arcade. It was utter chaos, lots of kids, lots of presents for the b-day boy. He really had a great birthday!Great Grandma Esther took good care of Ella while the party went on. She managed to put her to sleep even though the noise was deafening. I guess she's used to it with three brothers at home.


The next outing with us was the Blues Baseball game. All four grandparents took the three boys to the game and watched them roll down the hills, run and chase each other and manage to eat some hot dogs. They all participated in a "dizzy bat run" running the actual bases on the field. Jayden was the winner over his brothers and a few others. Fun was in the air, we all enjoyed our summer activity.

Happy Fourth of July!

On the left is Addison, in the patriotic board shorts. Up above is our Ella Amberley in her PaPa's arms. On top is Jaxson is playing in the sand next to the pool. And the video shows Jayden lighting fireworks in the Janowicz front yard. We had a really fun time. Lots of food, thanks to everyone, especially Leah and Uncle Chris, and Bridgett. There were a lot of family, friends and dogs running around. The day was breezy, but perfect to sit around poolside and chat and have margarita's. My boyz are growing up. Jayden really gets into the fireworks, lighting them etc. I stayed inside holding Ella and watching Jaxson play a video game. He's not much on noise and smoke either. PaPa and I went home around 9pm and continued to watch the big display off Pismo Pier sitting in back of our truck parked in the street. It was a fitting end to a busy day.

Graduation!

Here is our Jaxson at his pre-school graduation on June 10th. The singing program was about 20 minutes and he hung in there pretty darn well. At the end we all had food and drinks outside that each child requested as their "favorite." Jaxson's was Taco Bell bean burritos. So Mom and Dad had to go and buy a dozen for the party. There was every thing including pb&j sandwiches and hard boiled eggs. The children decorated the room themselves, put flowers in the vases and really did a great job. We are so proud of Jaxson! He will go into kindergarten this fall.Way to go, honey!