Does this kid have anything else to wear?

I just noticed that in most of the pics on the blog, Drew is wearing his Chico State sweatshirt! He does have other sweatshirts, but he LOVES this one. I try not to say anything because I secretly want him to go to Chico and hope that his love affair with his sweatshirt helps him decide to go there!! The brainwashing starts early and occurs often!!!!

Snowshoe experts

These kids were made for this stuff. On this day, Drew didn't really want to go snow shoeing, he wanted to stay at the cabin working on his fort. But after we got snow shoeing he was really glad he came with us. Gracie is always up for anything - just be sure to bring lots of snacks!

This is for Grandpa Tom

This is a pic of Drew playing golf using his snow shoeing pole for a golf club and while wearing snow shoes!

This is in Yosemite last week.

Wildflowers

Loved this pic of the wildflowers in the Sierra's. With the huge amount of rain this year, we will likely have a tremendous wildflower season.

Fort Drew

Here is a cool fort Drew built over the weekend at the cabin. He started digging a hole and then I helped him prop up dead manzanita bushes as the "walls". We used green pine boughs for the next layer and then added dry pine needles. Everyone had fun with it until we put it in the burn pile.

No pics yet and thoughts about AI and hockey

I have not had a chance to post pics yet as I have been dealing with technical hurdles at work and working long hours this week - and the thought being on a computer in my few spare minutes makes me crazy! So I will get to it when I can.

In the meantime, I can talk about American Idol and Sharks hockey!

So last nite the 3 remaining idols sang. The 3 girls were terrible, 1 guy (Taylor) was bad, 1 guy (Elliott) was good and Chris D was great (and hot!). I predict that Kellie Pickler will go this week - although my friend Jenn doesn't think that will happen as she says "she has some kind of weird fan base out there"! Jenn thinks Taylor will go. If Pickler doesn't go then I think it will be Paris.

Now about hockey: The Sharks have won 2 out of 3 against Nashville and they look like they are on the beginning of a steam roll! The best part is I got tickets for Thursday nites game at the Shark Tanks!!!! Wait til Drew finds out....I will get mother of the year award! Unfortunately, I could only get 2. So if Drew is a bugger between now and then, I get his ticket!

Cabin Time

Took a couple days off this last week to head to the cabin for the kids spring break.

On Thursday we took the pontoon mama (that would be the pontoon boat) out to McLure Lake which is a lake we had not been to before. It was a beautiful spring day and was 78 degrees! That was the nicest day we have had since the Noah's Ark rain started 3 months ago! We had a relaxing time fishing and checking out the beautiful green hills. The highlight of the day was when Drew spotted a huge toad. It was in the lake and had swam by the beached boat and taken cover in the plants on the bottom of lake. We lost sight of it so we went hunting for other frogs. Not having any luck we went back to the boat and found the big guy floating on the top of the water. We called "long armed Daddy" to reach down and swoop him up in a net! SCORE!!! Got him! We played with him for a while and then let him go. We are pretty sure he was the type of frog that they catch and use in the Calaveras frog jumping contest.

The next day, we went into Yosemite for the last snow shoe trip of the year. We snow shoed off trail around a couple meadows. It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies. We were snow shoeing in short sleeves. The snow is melting fast, so we packed up the snow shoes and put them away til next year.

The 3rd day was a work day. Our good friends, Tina, Marty, Mari and Kyle came up to be our work crew. It was a hugely successful day. We
* prepped for painting the cabin
* chose the color to paint the cabin ("turd" brown with moss green trim)
* did an all day burn of pine needles and other debris
* rearranged the downstairs with new furniture
* took a load of stuff to the local thrift shop
* got rid of all kinds of stuff at the dump - that was huge!!

We ended the day with a yummy dinner at the mexican place in Groveland - where we were all giddy from the day of work! Next we will schedule a weekend to paint. Then move on to putting on a new roof.

I got some great pics of the weekend that I will post shortly, so keep checking back. There are pics of tremendous wildflowers, Drew's fort made with manzanita branches, pine boughs and pine needles; and beautiful snow shots.

Life with Chad

Chad is such a little buddy. We are so enjoying his little beagle ways. He has not been with us for 9 months but the minute he walked in it was like he never left. Right now while I am typing he is sitting behind me on my office chair - of course that only leaves me with half a chair!!!

He has taken to Daisy Mae's new bed - which is a bed for a lab sized dog. He curls up in the middle of it and opens one eye if talked to. The other nite Daisy was laying in her bed and Chad walked up - gave one BIG bark and laid down and stared at her. After a little while she got up and walked away and he ran in and took her spot! Little bugger! Daisy is like a doggie saint for dealing with him.

At the same time that he is stealing Daisy's bed, he is "protecting" her from other dogs. Yesterday, Bella, Daisy's half sister, (a black lab) came down for a play date. Everytime Bella would get near Daisy, Chad would start howling! A couple times he would run into the middle of the wrestling match only to come running back out twice as fast. Big tough guy!

So far I was right on...

Told you that Bucky and Ace would be in the bottom! Bucky was voted off. I really wanted to like Bucky because he was a country singer but he just was not that good. Half the time you couldn't understand the words he was singing. On to next week and I think it will be Ace and Kellie Pickler in the bottom 2 - even before they sing on Tuesday nites show.

American Idol Prediction

So I have to admit, I am an American Idol fan. I know, I know, it does not fit the mature, sophisticated persona I put forward....hahahahah...Ok you can pick yourself up off the ground - I know most folks would not use the works "mature" and "sophisticated" to describe me but just let me think they would.

Anyway, I love American Idol. My favorite part is in the beginning when all the really bad singers who think they can sing are on. By the end of those shows, I am hooked like a "tuna on a hoochie mama" (that is a fishing term that I learned from my hubby - a hoochie is a fishing lure - I added mama to the end because it sounds good!).

My favorite this year is Chris Doughtery. Although I did not like the song choice he made last nite. The theme was "Queen" songs which does not have many good options - especially since I am a country fan and "Queen" could not be farther from country. I am making the prediction that he will be the winner in the end. My other prediction is that Bucky and Ace will be in the bottom 3 this week.

My Little Fisherman

I really do think the love of fishing is genetic. This is about the happiest Drew can possibly be. He and Jim spent the weekend in Santa Cruz fishing for salmon. They ate at the Crow's Nest, fished for bait off the dock and slept on the boat! A stellar weekend for a 10 year old.....and for his dad!

Sharks Not Red Sox

Chad is a little confused. We are not rooting for the Red Sox, we are rooting for the Sharks as they try to make it into one of the top 8 positions. This pic was taken during the game last nite when the Sharks beat the Dallas Stars 4 to 1! Chad slept thru the whole game. When we would cheer after a goal, Chad would open one eye and look at us --- but never lift his head.

San Juan Bautista Field Trip

Here is a great pic from inside the San Juan Bautista Mission. The California missions are a big area of study in the 4th grade in California and classes go on a field trip to the closest mission. I chaperoned the trip and was matched up with Drew and 2 of his buddies. We always get the comment "Drew is so tall"....this pic shows you why we always hear that. These are 2 kids the same age as Drew and you can see the differences in there heights. At 10 years old, he wears the same size shoe as me and I have BIG feet!

I had a really funny thing happen on the field trip. A kid I was walking with was chatting with me and telling me about his family. Immediately following a story about his sister, without taking a breath, he says to me, "I have been wanting to ask my dad what a sperm is". You can imagine my shock! We are just walking along, chatting and eating girl scout cookies and he busts out that statement! My response: "That is a great question for your dad!" Then I said a quiet prayer for him not to ask me anything! I figured since I was standing right next to a mission there must have been a direct line to God and he heard my prayer because no questions followed.

Chad at rest

This is Chad after a short walk. He needs a big rest! Luckily Gracie is willing to give him a belly rub to help him rest!

Chad's Spring Break

Chad is baaaaaack!!!!

Many of you know Chad - he is a bit of a celebrity to our friends and family. For those of you who don't know Chad, he is a handsome, charming, somewhat itchy beagle! We had the pleasure of taking care of Chad last summer when his family went to the East Coast for 2 weeks over the 4th of July. The pics of "Chad's Summer Vacation" became a sought after book. The book showed Chad's adventures with our family, including: swimming, lounging on the pontoon mama, hiking, fishing, log rolling, sleeping in a tent, howling at deer, viewing chickens in our backyard (that almost made his little hound head explode!) and having doggie play dates.

Chad will be with us thru Easter Sunday. We have no big plans for him but you never know what might come up in our house, so I am sure there will be some good stories to tell.

I plan to blog about his visit, so check back often for details and pics.

Opening Weekend

Here is a pic of Jim and his best buddy, Al, on opening day of salmon season this past weekend. They caught limits on both days.

If you have not already done so, please go to the website below and send your government official an email asking that they leave salmon season open. It is a long story that involves a river in Oregon that some bozo diverted water from that killed all the salmon in the river.....
It is a quick process - shouldn't take more than 30 seconds.

http://capwiz.com/asafish/utr/2/?a=8638771&i=79360972