scary

Cabin time sometimes turns a little crazy. Here is Kayla wearing Marty's underwear with a water bottle in her crotch! At first she was wearing it on her head! Missy....aren't you proud!?????

PS - It was clean...we were all packing to go to Cherry!

Rock Stars?

Not! This is Gracie, Drew and Jeremy pretending to be rock stars. Scary is what they were.

Weigh In

Chad's family always jokes that when Chad stays with us, its like Boot Camp. We do work him hard. This morning he got up with me and went for a 1.5 mile walk. During which he was as the end of his leash....BEHIND me!

So, this time we decided to see if he would lose any weight while here. But we don't have a real scale so we had to rig up a weighing device using the scale Jim uses to weigh dead deer!

Disclaimer: no real beagles were harmed during the weighing.

The hounds are in the house!

Chad is back for his summer vacation. There he is laying on Daisy's pillow while she chews up his favorite squirrel toy!

Artsy Fartsy

I taught the kids to cross stitch! Drew had done a little of it in 4th grade but Gracie is new to it. They both are loving it. We sat around last nite chatting and cross stitching....I felt like I was part of Little House on the Prairie! They are both designing and making flags for their rooms. Jim is going to help finish them by putting them on dowels and a stand.

Roasted Cauliflower

This was so yummy that I could have eaten the whole pan!

1 head cauliflower
1 medium onion sliced
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Mix everything in a bowl. Spread on cookie sheet. Cook 35 minutes at 450, stirring occasionally. Garnish with chives.

farm life

Yesterday morning I went for a long run. When I got back, it was so beautiful and cool that I did not want to go in the house. So I went and got Betty and let her eat slugs in the front yard while I read the paper sitting in my adirondack chair. The dog layed in front of me and Betty never wandered more than 10 feet away. At one point, Betty jumped up on the arm of my chair to see what I was doing. So I went in and got her and Daisy Mae some rice and threw it to the while I read the paper and had my tea.

Ah.....the life!

Oink

On Saturday morning, Jim and I went for a walk with Daisy Mae up on the levee by our house. It is a trail that we use for walking, running and biking. It has a great view of the valley and follows the foothills.

We see wildlife up there all the time: turkeys, bobcat, bunnies, deer, snakes, tarantula, etc.

But Saturday morning was a first....we saw ten wild pigs! Four adults and six babies! We have seen evidence of them before but had never spotted one. It was really cool. So cool that Jim went up at dusk last nite to see if he could find them again....apparently that freaked out the dog! She didn't know why they were walking in the dark and peering into the hills!

Phil...

This is Phil. She was running around the neighborhood today when it was 103 degrees out. And boy was she was hot and thirsty. I brought her in and left a message at the phone number on her tag. She has been making her self comfortable all afternoon. The nervy little bugger is even giving Daisy Mae some lip.

Update....

Daisy Mae's wag is working! Her tail looked better last nite and then she woke up this morning wagging it!

Matriculation Ceremony

Drew graduated today from the 6th grade. Not a big deal - at least that is what I thought. But when I really thought about it and experienced it, it turned out to be a pretty big deal. I say that because it made me realize that Drew is growing into the young man that I always hoped he would be. As parents, we can be pretty hard on him. Don't get me wrong, the kid has a great life, but we do have high expectations of him.

And today, he exceeded those expectations. At graduation, he got two awards. Now....I am not one of these parents who brags about how smart, great, one of a kind their kid is. I believe he is a great kid, but so are all the other kids out there, because we all have our strengths. But today, he made me so proud.

First of all, he got an academic award. That is great for him...not because he is brilliant....but because he is not -- and he really applied himself to get an academic award. The fact that he tried hard is what makes me proud.

Secondly, and most important to me, he received a social skills award. It was an award for being positive. His teacher told us that no matter who he worked with or what project they worked on he was always positive and never complained. He just stayed focused and worked hard. This award is much more important to me, because this is the type of skill that is going to help him in real life.

None of us knew about these awards so we were all pleasantly surprised.

These awards did not prove that he was smart, great or one of a kind....they only proved that he is becoming a man who will make a good friend, a dedicated employee, a faithful husband and a committed father. And I could not be prouder.

Congratulations Drew!

6th Graders vs Teachers

Today was the culmination of elementary school when the 6th graders got to play the teachers in the annual 6th grade vs teachers softball game. Since there are so many kids, each kid gets assigned an inning and a position. Drew played right field and got some good action. Here is a pic of Drew and three of his buddies that he has gone to school with since kindergarten. Bunch of handsome boys!

Cherry Weekend Away

Here are some pics from our weekend away without the kids for my birthday and father's day. We caught about 50 fish, took naps, read books, kayaked and swam! It was awesome!

Broken Wag

We had a fabulous time at Cherry Lake without the kids....but Daisy Mae didn't....she has a "broken wag". (that's a heating pad on her tail)Here are the details:

"Cold water tail," "limber tail syndrome," "broken tail," "dead tail," "broken wag" are all euphemisms for a relatively common occurrence in sporting dogs. This episode appears to be a painful, but relatively benign affliction that can occur after swimming, after a heavy hunting day or after a bath with cold water or water that is too warm. It is not always associated with a swim or water, but can occur after a heavy day of work that may involve a lot of tail action. The majority of cases reported have been in sporting dogs or hounds such as Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Setters, Pointers, Flatcoats, Foxhounds and Beagles. However, one source has cited a case in a Belgian Shepherd. Almost all dogs that suffer through an occurrence return to normal within a few days. Affected dogs may or may not have a repeat incidence during their lifetime. It has been described by the layman as a "sprain," fibrosis or a "cold in the tail." However, the affected dog is miserable at the onset and the tail is painful. The dog cannot raise its tail. It will be held horizontally for a few inches and then droops vertically.

She is laying on her pillow recovering.... Poor baby!

Carpool update

Carpooling was a success. The two gals were nice. We made it to work in 25 minutes. No one was smoking, talking too close, had bad breathe, etc.

I hope going home tonite goes as well.

This could be blog material.....

Tomorrow I am going to try a carpool for the first time! A couple gals from my company meet at a park and ride everyday and I am going to try to join them on Fridays for the summer.

I told my boss about this plan and he laughed hysterically. He said my carpool ride will probably be some fat guy, who smokes and lets his 4 cats sleep in the car! Ha! I never thought about the comedic value of a car pool....this could be good.

Stay tuned.

Bizarre Dream

I have a tendency to have some really bizarre dreams. Last nite I had one that seemed to last all nite long. In it, we had sold our home an bought a trailer -- as in mobile home. Picture a trailer in the midwest tornado alley.

We lived in it for a year before I realized it was a dump! Apparently I was too busy working so I did not notice. In fact after a year, I had not even taken a shower there because in my dream, I was shocked to find out the bathroom with the shower was right in the kitchen and was smaller than an airplane bathroom. And it doubled as the coat closet!

So once I noticed what a dump it was I was shocked....and mad! It was a long, falling down shack. And it was stuffed full of random furniture. And it had a pond in the middle of it where the floor was missing. I was really angry until......I found out it was on a bunch of land which would allow me to have a bunch of chickens! So Jim set about to start a remodel on the trailer so I could have my chickens.

And they all lived happily ever after. The End!

Dyslexia Update

We had a meeting with Gracie's school today to discuss accomodations in the classroom to help her in school. They include things such as: extra time to do an assignment, advanced notification of the literature so we can get them on CD, writing grades based on content not on spelling, etc.

Sometimes schools can push back on these because it takes time to implement. However, we got no push back at all! They happily included all our requests and even asked for additional information on some of our resources such as the Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic.

I also provided a book (Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz to Gracie's teacher for 3rd grade) and a summary of Gracie's history.

So we are all set for next year. I have layed the ground work for a good year.

Igloo

An update on the milk carton igloo building:

My super smart friend, Lani, made the suggestion that we get milk cartons from Starbucks! Duh - why did we not think of that??? So, this morning, Jim went over to Starbucks and got 26 milk cartons! That is how many they had used by 10 am.

The excitement around the igloo building event is building and we may need to consider having an igloo building party!

Apples

Drew's soccer team sold specialty apples for a fund raiser. This is a pic of the bride and groom apple that the company offers. They did not sell this type but sold:

• Triple Treat ~ Caramel drizzled with white, milk, and dark chocolate

Oreo Avalanche ~ Caramel, clumps of Oreos and white and dark chocolate escaping from the avalanche.

Rocky Road ~ Caramel, pecans, & globs of marshmallows, swimming in milk and white chocolate.

Apple Pie a La Mode ~ Caramel with white chocolate & cinnamon

Toffee Apple ~ Caramel rolled in clumps of award winning toffee, with rivers of chocolate.

Pecan Turtle Apple ~ Caramel, pecans, & gobs of chocolate

Almond Obsession ~ Roasted diced almonds and caramel dripping with chocolate

The team sold 222 of them. This made them $888 for their team! Thanks to those who purchased them. I am sure we will do it again, so let me know if you are interested next time! The apples come in on June 27 and I am counting down the days!

Siblings

This is a great pic from this weekend of Jim's Dad (far right) and his sister (Aunt Nancy) and brother (Uncle Glen). From left to right they are 69, 70 and 71! They are all in amazing shape!

Big Dummy Part 2

Remember when Drew ate 12 breakfast sausages before hockey and almost died during his game from the belly ache?

Well.....he did it again. But this time it was 3 cinnamon crunch bagels, slathered with spinach and garlic cream cheese! The difference this time is he never made it out of the house with the belly ache and missed the game. Big dummy!

Got Relaxation?

It's the end of a long week and I could use a trip to the cabin for some R & R. But its not going to happen. This weekend is filled with a trip to Sacramento on Saturday and berry picking on Sunday!

Credit Card Fraud

My credit card- well actually Jim's, had been compromised about a year ago and we had some fraudulent charges - a telephone call using Yahoo! and opening a website business. I had the charges reversed and we did not have any other trouble. I knew at the time that I should cancel the card, but I have a bunch of bills automatically coming out of that card and I did not want to deal with changing them. Then, this week I got an email from a college bookstore that I buy from and our credit card number was stolen!

So...off I went to cancel the card. And now I am patiently waiting for a new one to come in the mail. In the meantime, I feel naked....how can I survive for a day and a half with no credit card. Truly....I keep having little panic attacks!

New do

My hair cut was making me look fat and old....at least that is my excuse. So I got it all cut off and it looks better.

happy day

Today my family has a little spring in their steps....why, you ask? Because......it is meatloaf day! Everyone (except for me) gets fired up about meatloaf!

New toys

Our lake no longer allows wake boarding or knee boarding - only water skiing. So here are our new toys - short fat skis! They are trick wake skis. They allow you to do jumps and ski backwards. They should be fun.

Cherry update

Whoa Nelly!!!!! Dogs should not eat cherries.

While picking cherries yesterday the dog ate cherries non stop. Then about later, our neighbor comes up to our front door to tell us that the dog is laying in the front yard - not moving - and that something looks to be wrong with her. I went out to check and with my vast veterinary skills determined she had a belly ache from her binge! But she was ok and got up and moved around.

Then, last nite at dinner time, the trouble REALLY began....the results of the belly ache started shooting out the back end of the dog.....MAJOR flatulence! At one point we all had out shirts up over our noses during dinner! AND we had guests over for dinner! HA! Welcome to our home....and our gas bag dog!

It was baaaaad! But led to a lot of laughs!

Cherry Picking

We have a great old cherry tree in the backyard. It is slowly dieing though. We lose a big limb each year and the trunk is cracking more and more. But every time we think of taking it down we think of the awesome cherries we get each year. Today we must have picked 30 pounds of cherries! Daisy and Gracie are going to be sick later because neither one of them has the sense to stop eating them!

Point Lobos

Yesterday we went to Point Lobo's with Brian and the kids. Point Lobos is a place we used to go to as kids, so it was fun to reminisce together. We had never been there as a family, so when Brian said he was taking his kids (Diana was out of town), we decided to tag along.

We did some tide pooling, hiking and playing on the beach. The kids had the best time! They are so fun to watch - they have a ball with each other. It is so great that they are such good friends even with the age difference between all of them. Gracie, Sam and Jack ended up sopping wet because they were harvesting seaweed out of the ocean with all their clothes on. Amelia, hated sand! She would act like a monkey trying to hold onto Brian when he tried to put her down! But she loved laughing at the antics of the other kids. Drew was the ring leader in getting them to run back and forth away from the waves....at first they all beat the waves, but by the end they were all standing ankle deep in the water!

All in all - a great day!!!