Everyone's coming to GiGi's B.D. Party!!

What a thrill that Derek & Hillary & Jocelyn will be joining us for Grandma's 80th on Thursday, Sept. 18.. Natalie, Laura, Jeff, Derek, let Uncle Jim know if you will be singing or dancing for the program. Or who you would LIKE to hear from on the program..... Also, put in your vote for Friday or Saturday morning: a first annual Don B. Clark Memorial Ozzie Osborne's Course (par 3) Golf Tournie (Grandma has extra clubs...we have LOTS of balls) OR rent bikes and go biking OR everyone to the beach? Other ideas? It will be so great to see you all....

Tongue Tied

A huge highlight of our fun day at the Santa Barbara zoo with GiGi (Great-Grandma Annette) and the Havell family, was treating the giraffe to a crunchy cracker. The giraffe seemed to love it. Will, too!..... Will was ecstatic with all the animals. Fish, even! Many thanks to the Havell boys....They helped us keep track of him.

All My Cuties

Here they are, all four!! Katherine, William, Andrew & Jocelyn. Sweet joys.

Captain Corbett Captures 2nd Place at Nationals

After four grueling days dueling on the high seas, Ray and crew scored a second place in the Annual Olson 30 Nationals at Channel Islands. The crew bunked here during their stay and we had wonderful salmon dinners while everyone recounted their adventures on the water. Ray was at the tiller, his brother Tom on the foredeck accompanied by former college chum Joe Burien, Tom's daugher, Kristen, and two veteran sailors and sail makers, Angela and Brian. Pretty awesome finish for these guys, some of whom have been sailing for a looooong time!! (To check out the action, zoom in on the boat on the right.).....

Oh, baby, baby!!!

Two babies in two days!! An unforgettable week! Natalie was in labor when I headed for my flight. I told my fellow travelers about the imminent arrival. When we landed and I turned my phone on again, there was a text picture of a little face in a blue cap! Andrew Jeffrey. "I feel honored to be sharing this moment with you, " said the woman next to me on the plane--also a grandma, headed for Baltimore....THEN that very evening, Derek called to say they were on the way to the hospital in Hawaii for the next birth. Unfortuantely, baby number two took her time. Many hours! We waited, anxious, all Tuesday evening. I had my cell next to me all through the night. No word Wednesday morning or afternoon. Baby was "stuck." I awoke in a panic Thursday morning. It was 4:20 a.m. and STILL no word. I prayed, "Heavenly Father, I just have to know." Three seconds later my cell went off. I could hear Jocelyn crying in the background as a very weary Derek announced her arrival. She had come late Wednesday, a C-section, but healthy and beautiful, Jocelyn Kaila Williams, born June 25.......

My week with Natalie's family was a delight. Katherine, when Natalie brought the baby home in his car seat and set him down in the family room, cried, "My baby!!" She seemed very certain that she did NOT need our help to take care of him. Interesting to see her various reactions to this new development. She put diapers on all her babies. Begged to hold the baby. Was thrilled to be a gopher for baby wipes and Desitin. Finally, she crawed into the baby's car seat with a blanket herself. ....Andrew woke up, yawned, snacked and smacked and fell asleep again in a kind of milk coma. By the end of the week, though, he was more awake. Fun to see him open his eyes and look around. He is such a cutie!!.. Natalie and Jeff took turns through the night. They are wonderful, devoted parents.....Hillary and Derek brought baby home on Saturday and have posted the most delightful, incredible photos on their blog (taken at wee hours in the morning), with lots of details about the adventure of Jocelyn's birth. She and Derek are crazy about her. She will be crazy about them. They will be a marvelous mom and dad...Two beautiful, healthy babies.........(yes, it appears they both have "the lips")..... and all this joy!! Now they are four: Katherine, William, Andrew and Jocelyn....

Feesh! Feesh!

He asked for it! A trip to the Long Beach Aquarium with Mommy and Grandma Christy and Grandpa Ray to see the fish for real. UP CLOSE. Tropical fish in giant tanks swam before his very eyes. He touched sharks and sea anenomes and starfish. Some of the exhibits were a bit scary but he just refused to leave! "Feesh!" everywhere!! After a nap, he cruised the beach, running away from (and into) the gentle waves that lapped on the shore. (Perfect beach for little kids. No big waves because of the breakwater.)

Will Meets Underwood Farms

Well, there were no "feeesh." But Will was delighted with the farm. He scaled a pyramid of hay bales, fed carrots to the burros, chased a fleeing peacock, and took a turn on a Sheltand pony. All in the most glorious sunshine. Happy day.