December 2017

On December 4th this arrived at your house!

I then could make all reservations for Atlantis.  Which I did.  We leave on March 15th.  ATLANTIS here we come!!!

On the 7th, Uncle Jeffrey turned 54.  It was Pearl Harbor Day!

On Saturday, the 16th I picked you up at the Metro Station.  I asked you and your brother "what day is  it?"  You said Saturday and Andrew said the 16th.  No, the answer was it's 89 days until we leave for Atlantis! I didn't know that Andrew was coming over until we were almost ready to leave.

You told me you packed a special shirt to wear to church.  We went back to the house and Mr. Bob took us to lunch at BJ's.  You want to go to Bev Mo to get some drinks, but Total Wine was right behind BJ's so we went there.  Here's you and Mr. Bob Shopping.

Here's what you wanted and really liked!

Back at the house, we watched a movie you had been wanting to see.  Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.  Mr. Bob fell asleep.  He didn't care for the movie.

Making lemon cake.  We had a hard time getting the beaters out and when we finally got the last one out, I dropped the beater into the batter.  How funny!

Then we went to dinner at Tavern Americana.  However, getting there was interesting.  You wanted to turn on the car.  

You couldn't turn it on and I suggested you put your foot on the brake and then try.

No luck because Mr. Bob had the key in his pocket and wasn't close enough to the car.

Finally you got it to turn on!

At Tavern Americana they had a shuffle board and you and I played.

 Then you and Mr. Bob played.

We had a lot of fun.  Back at the house you frosted the cake.

Watching TV

Sunday morning you and Mr. Bob went to Starbucks as usual.  However, you couldn't get the car started again.

Finally you just got into the passenger seat.

We went to church and you helped me in the kitchen.  A young girl sitting in front of us walked up to you after church and asked you why you didn't go up for communion.  We Didn't know what you told her, but you ended up talking to her for about 15 minutes.  Destiny was her name!

Someone asked you what your favorite course is and you Said English and then math.  Who would have thunk??

After church we went to Soul Café for brunch.  You loved it.  You had Gingerbread pancakes which were huge!  This is now your go to place when you come over.  I had a Soul Mimosa,  which had a raspberry in it with champagne, Chambord liqueur and a splash of OJ.  When we got home I showed you my bottle of Chambord, which is made with raspberries.  You loved the bottle.  You said it be made into a Christmas ornament.

During brunch, getting baptized came up and we asked you why you didn't want to do it.  You said because you didn't want to get dunked.  What??  You said you saw a friend of your get baptized and held under water and it was scary for you..  Mr. Bob explained that we baptized people by just sprinkling water on them.

I told you we could have you baptized when Father Gary comes to our home to have it blessed.

You love Mr. Bob......more than me.  Good thing I'm not the jealous type!

You also liked the guitar shaped bottle we got in Portugal which holds cherry liqueur, which they served in white chocolate cups.  Wo when we got home you helped me order some white chocolate cups on line at Overstock.com.  I just got a note from them that they shipped and they will arrive before Christmas!

I was going to have breakfast with your mother on Saturday so we could catch up, but you and your brother wanted to join us.  So we went to Soul Café up by my church.  I think you convinced your mother to take you and Andrew there with me.  You got an A in PE, but I don't pay for that.  You did get a B in Marketing which you were happy about!

Onn Christmas Eve all of you came over for Dinner, but took some photos first.

Ate at our new round dining room table. All of us had filets, but you only ate rolls.

Then off to church for the 5:00 service.  Back at the house we opened the gifts.

We got you a speaker that is somewhat waterproof that  you really wanted.   Look at your face and then you turned around to look at Mr. Bob

More photos.

A good time was had by all.    See you in 2018!!

November 2017

On November the 4th I picked up you and your brother on Gilbert Road near Peter Piper.  We went there for lunch.

Apparently you dropped out of wrestling and decided to try golf.  Because of that we had to stop at a golf store.  Because of this we were late getting to the house and Mr. Bob had already hosed and scrubbed the garages and was almost done.  So you helped him with some odd small things and doing some touchup painting.

I gave each of you some money and put $10.00 into your savings accounts

Since we are selling our house and building a new one, I decided to start giving you a few things.  I had this bottle shaped like a trumpet that I thought you would like since you played trumpet for awhile.  I also gave you a mardi gras glass I thought you might like to have.

Your marketing class is selling coupon books for $25.00.  I said I would buy one. and I had you call your dad to have him bring one with when so I could look at it when I dropped you off.  

Mr. Bob and I came up with a little presentation you could use when selling to owner's of a restaurant or whatever.  Here it is:

 Hi, my name is Zack Tantillo and I'm a freshman at Perry High School.  I'm presently in a Marketing Class and would appreciate your support.  I thought you might be interested in buying this coupon book which you can give portions of the coupons to your employees as a little perk for a job well done, plus you can use them for your family and friends.  For just $25.00 you'll receive over $5,000.00 worth of coupons.

If he says yes then say thank you for your support.

If he says no, then say thanks for your consideration.

On February 14th you called me to ask if I would buy another book of coupons.  You had already cornered Mr. Bob So you have a total of 3 orders from me, Mr. Bob and a friend of mine.  You still tried to get me to buy another one, which I could donate to my church.  For everyone you sold over 5 you would get $5.00.  So I told you that I would have to spend $25.00 for you make $5.00.  You already got an A in this class because you sold 5.  Nice try!

Sunday morning Mr. Bob took you to Starbucks for coffee.  Then to church.  After we left the Sanctuary we went to the kitchen to get set up for coffee, etc.  The mild was sour and I asked you to dump it down the sink.  You didn't like dealing with that.  After church we went to brunch at the Local Bistro.  Mr. Bob and I are enjoying conversations with you and your brother more and more.  Very engaging.  

Thanksgiving Day....

Your mother couldn't make it because she had to work.

Mr. Bob's Family.  Left to right:  Courtney, Alyssa, Ms. Kim, Mr. Dennis, you, your Dad, Andrew, Wesley, me, Jaiden and Mr. Bob.  Ms. Cindy was taking the photo.

October 2017

October was a very busy month.  You and your brother left for Atlanta on Tuesday the 3rd to visit your grandmother and Les.  You returned on the 11th.  On the 12th Mr. Bob and I left for Seattle to celebrate his with his family.  We returned on the 16th.  Uncle Jeffrey arrived on the 18th and Marcus and Danielle arrived on the 19th.  On Saturday the 21st we celebrated Mr. Bob's 70th birthday at our house.

Mr. Bob and I opened some birthday gifts.

Then we had a putting contest.

I decided to put some money in #5 for anyone who got a hole in one.  Others added money on other holes.

Uncle Jeffrey won.

Eventually some were eliminated.  It came down to me and Uncle Jeffrey.  I won!!

Then we all went to dinner at The All American Grill at DC Ranch.

You stood up and sang happy birthday to Mr. Bob.  I was so proud of you!!

Back at the house Mr. Bob brought out a surprise cake for my birthday.

Then we had Mr. Bob's cake.

I bought a special candle from China.  When you light the center candle it turns into a sparkler.  The other candles rotate around the center one.

Some time during the day you told me you were going to go into wrestling instead of basketball. You seemed very excited about this choice.  You also mentioned that your father has set up a checking account for you with some restrictions.  I think that's a great idea!

The next day Mr. Bob, Uncle Jeffrey and I went to brunch.  I was wearing the scarf that Marcus and Danielle got me for my birthday.