The boys had outgrown their bikes and we really needed a bigger one for Logan.  We found this well reviewed old bike shop where they sell used bikes but service them for you before you pick them up.  We browsed around and found a cool looking bike that is still in good condition.  We had Logan tried it out; he immediately seemed comfortable with it, and liked its cool look too.  We bought it and sent it for service, and on Friday Stuart pick it up.  Logan seems quite happy with his new bike.  Now Connor could inherit Logan’s previous bike and try it out.

   I took some time off to spend with the boys after they returned from SoCal.  We did some random things. Logan had a routine eye exam, and the exam went well this time.  While we were at Kaiser, I took the opportunity to take them to get their flu shots.  I waited until after the eye exam and while driving over to another building to tell the boys.  They both were whining about it and worrying how painful it would be.  Once we arrived, luckily we did not have to wait at all.  When the staff asked who would like to go first, Logan volunteered; Connor also said he wished he could go first.  Logan showed a lot on his face when the shot was in, but he did not complain.  Connor was next; he looked nervous but took the shot well without saying much either.  This was the easiest trip for flu shots ever.

    One day I took them to watch the Abominable which was a great movie.  We stuffed ourselves with popcorn too.  The boys also had some time on their own when I went in to work for a few hours and the other morning they spent with Maxim at their house. I took the boys out for a walk one afternoon and Logan chose to run the Bronco lap around his school like he did with the cross country practice.  Connor claimed that he could keep up and wanted to go with Logan, so Buddy and I just walked the loop on our own behind them.  When I finished one round, the boys were resting on the lawn waiting for us.  Logan said he took the wrong turn but still ended up having a nice run, and he had to wait while Connor had to stop.  Connor said he was super tired.  All in all, all four of us had good exercise; so we walked over to T4 for a treat afterward.   We also sneaked in a haircut for Logan this week too.

    We wanted the boys to go see the grandparents during the break; after some contemplation, it was decided to have Stuart taking the boys down while I stayed home with Buddy.  It turned out to be a successful and nice trip to SoCal.  The drive was great, and they spent some good time with the grandparents.  Connor did an awesome job playing chess with Grandpa and Stuart.  Logan played Connect 4 with Grandma.  They went to the beach one day; with the good weather, the boys had fun there.  Logan told me that they dug a very big and deep hole.  With Stuart and Grandma sending me photos periodically on those days, I was able see them often and not to miss them too much.

   While the family was gone, I took longer walks with Buddy, went shopping and worked part of the weekdays.  On Sunday, I also arranged to have lunch with Karen; it was great to finally catching up with her.  In the evening I went out to Benihana with the girls to celebrate Robyn’s and Julie’s birthdays.  With the table set up, I was able to only talk among my side of the table, but nonetheless it was a good evening seeing everyone and a wonderful meal.  On these few days, Buddy listened quite well to me and enjoyed the longer walks we took.  Once he even looked tired and sat on the lawn at our neighbor’s, I had to ask him to get back up to finish our walk.  Buddy is usually quiet; once he barked overnight and woke me up; it turned out that I accidentally left the light on in the family room.  After I went downstairs to turn it off, he stayed silent the rest of the night. 

     On Tuesday, I rushed home from work to welcome the family home.  Both Buddy and I were thrilled to see Stuart and the boys when they arrived; we all hugged each other for a long time.