Sweet 16

Our little niece is not so little anymore, celebrating her 16th birthday!

Too hot for us outside, we stayed inside and made a puzzle.

Kimo playing with Kiko

Kiko is a pretty cat

Calissa opening her present from us...

I didn't even know this many colors existed!
These alcohol pens are what she wanted and boy, did she get some! 

 

Misc. Photos

Haven't eaten Kura sushi in a long while-so good!

Cool striated rock at the tidepools on the Point

Another Tesla truck

Pepto Bismol Jeep

Made Tom a new sticker for his cup

Attended a fireside about Book of Mormon artifacts; sat by Maren!

Jaredite barge

Liahona

Prof. Hancock was the presenter at the fireside,
he was Pres. Beesley's piano professor at BYU.

Pres. Beesley and Prof. Hancock played a piano/organ duet.

Missionaries with the Sword of Laban.
Asked for their email address and sent them this photo.

4th of July Picnic

Went to the Sub Base for a 4th of July picnic-the weather was perfect!

Asked Tom what kind of dessert he wanted for our picnic and
he chose Jello Poke Cake---a classic.

Not sure why some of the rocks on Rocky Beach washed out to sea, but it resulted in undercutting the cement wall which led to the asphalt collapsing.

Had to circle around to walk along another section of the beach.

We still love you, Rocky Beach!

Got to check in on this beauty over the holidays.
He is a flame point ragdoll kitty and has a great personality, always ready to play and loves getting pets!

 

To Gilroy and Back

Did a whirlwind trip up to Gilroy to attend the memorial service for Tom's uncle, Leslie Muraoka. Learned that Leslie was named after the owner of a ranch that took in his family after they were released from the internment camp following the war (hope I got that right).

These hills outside of Gilroy are so pretty-the golden grass dotted with oak trees. Not the greatest picture however, I took it thru the windshield!

Helen, Uncle Rob, Kimo and Grandpa

Leslie was a good man and was always super nice to Tom and our family. He lived next door to Tom's parents and he and his wife June would always tromp over to talk with us whenever we visited.  He laughed with almost every sentence he spoke, at least that's what it seemed like. 
 

Tak and Tom's dad, Kenji-the two oldest Katashima siblings-nice to see them together.

Tom's cousin, Leslie's son, Ritchie Muraoka.
.  He sat at our table for lunch and talked to us for a long time, telling us what it was like the last several years taking care of his dad.  

Tom really enjoyed talking with his cousin Ritchie.  I took several covert pictures of Tom smiling nonstop as they talked about their childhood exploits days.

Leslie was a truck driver and Tom has told us about washing this truck when he was a kid.

Most of these are Katashima relations-June in the front with the beige slacks.

Tom and his two brothers Ron (top) and Rob

Drove by the San Luis reservoir where Tom fished in his youth-pretty full of water this time around! Saw an elk nearby, which Tom had never before seen in that area.

No parking!

Today's Wordle!

 

Ulexite "TV Stone"

I've always liked these "TV Stones".

Not technically a stone, but a mineral, the crystals have natural 

fiber optic properties.  I just think they are cool and fun.

A booth at the fair was selling different gems and minerals at very reasonable prices so I added this to my collection, if three can be considered a collection...  

Parallel fibers

Can't see through it from the side

So cool!