Summer so far

I approached summer this year with a bit of anxiety.  I'm not sure why.  It just seemed like a big long black hole.  It's hard to believe that summer is more than half way over.  So far we've done a couple of local field trips, gone on a great road trip to Utah, and watched every episode of Mythbusters broadcast as well a a few more from Netflix.  We spend a lot of time reading and playing Legos.  We got a box from Amazon that included a Whirley Pop pan and a new game called Labyrinth.  We've played it almost daily since then.  It's a good game for big and little people.

The week after our trip we had a week of camp for the kids, Ancient Rome camp for Buddy Boy and games, songs, crafts, and pony rides at the park with friends for My Girl.  Buddy Boy HATES games, songs, and crafts if there isn't a point to it.  He LOVED Ancient Rome camp.  Each day they had art, history, and science all related to ancient Rome.  It was perfect for him.  My Girl has also had a taste of tap and ballet class.  She goes back and forth about whether she likes it or not, but always leaves smiling.

We've made paper glasses with red cellophane lenses and a transmogrifier. (Read more Calvin and Hobbes if you're unfamiliar with this important scientific instrument.)  I was actually a trout for a few minutes.  Luckily, I was transmogrified back pretty quickly.  Buddy Boy spent some time as a panda.

Our house is still for sale, but I've calmed down about it.  After two weeks there haven't been any offers so we may be here longer than I thought.  One good side effect of the open house and showings is that the house is nice and clean, the garage less so.

News update

The Monday after I got home from a fabulously fun and relaxing trip our landlord informed us that he is listing our house for sale.  Ughh.  We had really hoped to be here another year or so.  I can't blame him.  He pays a pretty hefty sum each month to cover the mortgage in addition to what we pay in rent.  The housing market around here is just a little crazy.  So the house hunt for us begins.  The problem is that rents have increased dramatically in the two years since we moved in.  Not enough that they are equal to what you would pay for a mortgage, but enough that we can't really afford a place like where we are currently living.  We've looked at a bunch of places and it's a little depressing.  So in addition to looking for a new place to live I'm also looking for a part time teaching job.  With My Girl in school every day this fall I'll have a little time for work.  It isn't what I had planned, but it will be OK.  I have a couple of leads.  One job that I thought was a sure thing is now looking iffy, but there seem to be other things out there as well.  We'll see what happens.  Now I need to think about packing.

On the road

On sort of a last minute whim, I decided to drive to Utah with the kids to see the family.  It just worked out so that if I stayed for one week I could catch two different family reunions and catch up with cousins.  Some of them I haven't seen for a long time.  We took two days for the drive so we would be able to spend a night with friends along the way.  Because of these friends my kids want to move to Reno.  Friends, and the fact that it snows there and Buddy Boy wants to build a snowman and bring him to life.  Thank you, Calvin and Hobbes.

I invited myself to stay with my brother and sister-in-law.  What I didn't realize at the time was that my other brother's family would also be there.  It was great!  Thirteen kids under one roof for six days.  It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it worked out.  Everyone had a fantastic time.  My kids were in cousin heaven.

One day we dropped the big kids off at the amusement park.  My girl was quite upset that she couldn't go with them until I assured her that she could go with them when she was a teenager.  Only nine years to go.  We took the littler ones to the Air Force museum.  We picniced under the tail of a plane outside before going in.  The museum was quite interesting.  Buddy Boy has learned a bit about the Wright brothers and liked the replica they had of their first flyer.

Buddy Boy took the camera for a few minutes and snapped a couple of these.

I like that he took a picture of his reflection in one of the planes.  I'm not sure why it tickles me so much.

The highlight for the kids was the empty platform and podium.  My Girl spent quite a bit of time speachifying.  I couldn't quite hear what she was saying, but she had a lot to say and was taking it all very seriously.

We also went to the LDS Church museum of history and art.  The kids played and practiced their Mexican folk dancing in the kid room while the adults rotated out to see the art exhibits.  I really enjoyed seeing how the different artists interpreted the theme of the exhibits.

On the night of July 3rd we went to see the fireworks in town.  This was high on the list of things to do for the trip. My Girl really wanted to see fireworks that go "whoosh--kaboom!".  We had a good time with the crowd at the park, dancing with the band, eating three different flavors of popcorn, and playing games.  By the way, if you make kettle corn with coconut oil it tastes really good. 

On the 4th we went to another cousin party.  My uncle has a great yard, nice deck for eating and visiting, a pool, and a giant DIY slip-n-slide.

That night the neighbors put on a firework show that rivaled what we had seen at the park the night before.  It was quite a show.  I was only a little worried for my brother's roof.

We spent a rainy day picking up, going for a little umbrella walk, and running a few errands.  That night we jumped at the chance for free tickets to the un-rodeo.  What is an un-rodeo you ask?  It's the event that takes place in between the nights of the PRCA "real" rodeo.  It was pretty funny.  We saw BMX and ATV barrel racing, horse-drawn-wagon races, stick horse races, and last but not least steer milking.  Teams of two chased steers around the ring trying to rope them and get the ribbon off their tail.  We got rained out after the steer milking, so we missed the mutton bustin' and what must have been a pretty muddy hide race.  In spite of the rain it was worth every penny we paid for the tickets.

After all of that it was time to head home.  The kids were exhausted and even though I was having a great time I was ready to be home again.  Thanks to a DVD player in the car and McDonald's playlands all across Nevada we made it home.  It was a great trip.  Now that I've broken the ice and made the long drive, I'm willing to do it again... but not for awhile.

Some girls...

Some girls play with Barbies.  Others don't.  These are the real men Barbie dates when she is tired of Girly-Boy-Ken.

Yes, they drive a tank.

We just got back from a great trip to Utah.  More pics etc. later after I recover.

Summer's here

Summer's here.  School's out and it's time for reading on the back porch while you eat snacks and dry off after running through the sprinklers...

and disco dance.

This summer I have a new plan to maintain sanity.  Last summer didn't go so well.  I had great plans.  But that was part of the problem.  I had great plans that never happened.  So this year I've significantly scaled back my ambitions and now after four whole days it seems to be working out OK.  The secret to my success?  Clothes pins and door knob hangers.

Each hanger has two sides and two days.  Monday mornings we do a big planning session for the week that lasts all of 5 minutes or less and each morning we redo the plan for the day to move forward things that didn't get done the day before and review what needs to happen for the day.  If we get through half of what we plan for the day I call it good.

Ideally each day will include reading, writing, and math.  Reading is pretty easy to get in since they both love it.  Buddy Boy won't get in the car without a book.  My Girl is following his example.  I'm defining math and writing pretty loosely.  Math includes mostly games like Blackjack, Set, Sudoku, Kakooma, Richard Scary's car and truck car counting card game, and if we really get desperate we might do a few pages of the math workbook that came home from first grade, maybe.  I think it was the workbook they were supposed to have worked on all year, but it doesn't look like the teacher used it at all.  There are also math story books for kids at the library.  The kids like these.  It's reading and sneaks in a little math.

For writing we have comics, poetry, and letters, which include party invitations, and handwriting workbooks, which My Girls loves and Buddy Boy hates.  I include Story Cubes as writing even though there isn't any actual writing involved.

There are also pins for fun or not so fun things (cleaning) to do at home and places to go like the park, swimming, bike rides, shopping etc.  I'm also trying to do little day trips.  I bought a membership to a zoo for the year and that gets me half off a lot of other places I might not otherwise make an effort to get to.  There is a lot to see and do around here if I just get out and do it. 

This week we went to Ardenwood Historic Farm.  We rode the train, fed the animals, pumped water...

and dramatically wiped our brows after watching the Blacksmith do his work.

It was a fun day and this week has been a great start to the summer.  One week down nine more to go.

My new dress

Here's my latest sewing project.  I really like the idea of the maxi dresses I see around.  The only problem with the dresses in the stores is that they aren't long enough, and they are generally sleeveless, the neck is often too low, and I'm not a 20 year old hippie.  I guess that's four problems.  Three, since being a non-20-year-old non-hippie isn't a problem.  So I decided to try to make one.  I don't sew with knits a lot, but I'm doing more lately.  Finding fabric wasn't easy.  There aren't a lot of knits around and printed knits are even harder to find.  I found this at Hart's in Santa Cruz.  They also sell fabric online which is handy, but it is also nice to be able to see it and feel it before buying.  This fabric is a lightweight knit that is SUPER soft and very stretchy and drapey.  That made it a bit tricky to work with, but the pattern was simple so it wasn't too much of a problem.  The print isn't what I originally had in mind, but I think it works.  There is a small white floral print on the grey that hides any errors in the sewing and any lumps and bumps underneath, which is just what I wanted.  Who wants a dress that is comfy enough for a night gown that requires "shape wear".  I'm still working out how to accessorize.  I did find out that if I wear the fabric belt high and my hair pulled back the dress is decidedly Jane Austen.  Dad and Buddy Boy like it.  My Girl thinks it needs to be shorter.  The fashion critique begins.

A weekend in the country

This weekend we headed out of town for a little trip we have been thinking about for quite awhile.  When our friends bought a farm in the area we invited ourselves up to "camp" in their shop and spend the weekend playing around.  It was just absolutely gorgeous all around.  The grass was still fairly green thanks to late rains.  In the summer it is all a beautiful gold dotted with oak trees.  The agriculture in this area is mostly cattle ranching with a few olive orchards and vineyards thrown in the mix more recently.

Because there isn't irrigation for the farm land it hasn't changed as much as the big agro-industrial complexes of the Central Valley.  You still see things like the Salt Springs Valley one room school house.  This one was in operation from 1861-1945.

The kids had fun with the equipment.  There was a little John Deere gator, a cross between a 4-wheeler and a mini truck, that we took all over.  The kids loved going for rides in the thing.  Just remember to smile with your lips closed.  (Obviously, this isn't the gator.  A John Deere is green.)

As you might expect there were a lot of animals around.  So many birds!  I liked the blackbirds with the bright red shoulders and the meadowlarks with their little bits of yellow.  I enjoyed watching the hawks.  They were everywhere circling in the sky looking for prey.  We also saw a surprising number of big buzzards with red heads.  We saw a bunny, but only one.  Earlier in the year they had nearly taken over the buildings.  An owl has made some sort of claim to the property and regularly leaves "presents" on the front steps.  I thought of picking up a few of the owl pellets to bring home to dissect but forgot as we were packing up to leave.  We did get to see the owl hunting at night when we were out looking at the stars.  At night you could hear the coyotes.  We saw a dead one hanging on a fence post.  I don't think it got there accidentally.

We walked out to the lone oak on the property.  It's been around for awhile.  The kids had fun playing spy with the walkie-talkies and made up their own spy code for the weekend.

We took a trip to Moaning Caverns.  Buddy Boy is more than a little bit obsessed with a game called Mine Craft for a while now and has been interested in crystals and gold since even before that so we thought that the cave would be just up his alley.  He had a great time seeing a real live cave.

I think these drapery formations are really pretty.  There was one that was thin enough that a light could shine through, only 2 mm thick.  It was far enough away that I couldn't get a good picture.

This formation was on the other side of the cavern.  It is about 2 stories tall.  Massive.  It looks like it could be some creature out of a horror movie.

This is part of what they called the chocolate waterfall.  You can also see part of the spiral staircase we walked down.

In the gift shop you can buy a geode and crack it right there.  Buddy Boy picked a good one.  He loves his crystals.

After the cave we went panning for gold.  I didn't know quite what to expect.  Dad found a guy online who owns a couple of gold claims and for a fee he will bring his dog and his equipment and teach you how to pan gold for an hour or two on his claim.  They started with shoveling some dirt out of a likely spot on the bank and then took it into the stream to pan.  My Girl slept through this first bit.  It was a much needed nap.  Dad took photos while I waited with her in the car.

Buddy Boy found the first gold, a speck just barely big enough to see.  What a relief, we at least found something.  He's been trying to find gold in our backyard for a while without any luck.

Our guide was quite a character.  I think he liked our little group.  He was laughing and joking by the end.  He said he charges more if you make him mad.

Dad found a piece big enough to be called a picker, meaning it is big enough to pick up with your fingers.  It is even big enough you can hear it clink in the little glass bottle.  You can see it here in the top right part of the pan.  I had low expectations so I'd call this a huge success.  Miner John said it was worth about $10.  You could see a bit of grey metal attached to it, mercury from old gold mining days.

Overall, this was a fantastic weekend.  Now that the kids are a little older I hope to get out and about a little bit more often.  I hope you had a great Mother's Day weekend as well.

Happy New Year

I know it's odd to have a new year post in May, but it was about a year ago when things started to go down hill for me.  If I was someone else I might say that this past year was #^%*&;?!.  The worst of it was September-October and then November with the cancer diagnosis.  Once the treatments started it actually got better.  Sometimes you don't realize how bad things have been until it's over.  After one last thing it now seems to be over.  Now I feel like I'm back.

Before all of this started My Girl started requesting the second verse of the church song, I Am A Child Of God, at bed time.  So this is what I've been singing almost nightly for quite awhile.

     I am a child of God, and so my needs are great;
     Help me to understand his words before it grows to late.
     Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way,
     Teach me all that I must do to live with him some day.

So, thanks to my little one for the reminder and Happy New Year.

Poppy

The latest paper cut.

Pandas and PJs

Buddy Boy's absolutely favorite animal is the panda, especially Teddy Panda.  I've had in mind that he needed a panda shirt so when we found the perfect panda fabric it was time to make it happen.

I used the panda design from the fabric, tweaked it a bit and added text, and then used the freezer paper stencil technique to put it on the t-shirt.  Buddy Boy wanted the red fabric for the shirt, but I vetoed that idea and made pajama pants instead.

On the same trip to the fabric store My Girl saw the one and only bolt of Hello Kitty fabric in the store.  I'm not sure if this is a dress or night gown.  She asked for a night gown and I used a dress pattern.  Maybe it's another one of those all day all night gowns like the t-dresses.  I changed it to make it a lot longer.  It actually comes past her knees and buttons in front instead of zipping up the back.   After a specific request, I also made the sleeves "ruffly".

I had a bit of a revolt over the fact that there is blue trim instead of pink.  I may need to change it if I ever want to see it on her body.