Hot August Nights

We slid right into August this year with another trip up to Donner Lake. It was decidedly quieter than 4 July. And rumor has it that the water in the lake was ever so slightly warmer. I wouldn't know first hand as I'm a toe dipper myself. But Michael and the kids are part mer-people and cannot get enough of the aquatic life. Michael & Amira swam out to the dock to check the beach view from there. (Thanks again to Susan and John for the cabin and beach access! We don't get up as often as we like. But we sure appreciate you when we do).

Rex and I made sure that the shore didn't go anywhere. And we played the important parts of photographer for our aquatic family members. Also we got in a few more games of table tennis. That is my beach activity of choice ... right next to taking a nap and reading.

 Thar she goes! Action photo of Amira diving in from the dock. 

After a quiet day and evening at the cabin we cruised down into Reno. The girls and I squeezed in a game of mini-golf. The girls were getting a little hungry and took to each other with the clubs outside the "Whatsyersis Mine". That was just perfect. Being frugal, I packed my lunch and drink. Also, it was a favor to the girls. No sense all three of us getting snippy.

After a quick bite to eat we skipped off for a few rounds of bowling. It was pretty warm outside so an indoor activity seemed in order. 

Later that day we caught up with Scott, Dawn, Joel and Dawn's family at the house where they were staying. It was easy to pick out. It had all the classic cars parked out front. Here are the gals in front of the Falcon.

Hey, Amira, if someone slaps you on the back while you make that face, it might stick that way forever.

 And here are the guys in front of the Thunderbird.

We all piled into assorted classic cars/truck and headed in to a casino buffet. Nom nom nom. Rex got to ride in the front of the T-bird. Looking good!

Tiff/Scott selfie in the casino while waiting in line for the buffet. After dinner was a show by the Paperback Writers (Beatles cover band) and checking out all the classic cars in the lot.

 Scott, Rex & Joel in the truck.

The following day Scott, Dawn, Joel and Dawn's parents came up to the lake for lunch and a visit. It must be genetic to feel the need to nap at the beach. 

It's tradition to get a photo with the lake and the mountains in the background. Looking good!!

Aunt, Uncle, Nephew, Nieces ... possibly super heroes?

 More jumping off the dock. Joel was incredibly athletic. That guy could spin and plunge!

Later that night it was back down to Reno for the Wednesday night cruise at Hot August Nights. I was lucky enough to drive the Falcon so that Dawn could be photographer. Thanks again for the awesome experience! Scott piled Joel, Rex, Valerie & Amira into the back of his truck. It was pretty cool.

After the cruise was over Rex got some night driving practice in the Swagger Wagon (minivan) as we started our journey home. We got home about 2am and he turned a bunch of his laundry and was back in another car for the long drive to Oceanside the next day for a paintball tournament. He was gone before the rest of us even woke up. When I was 16 I guess I could do that too. 

His team did well. They came in 3rd out of 25. Go Norcal Kings!

Michael and I turned some laundry ourselves and then drove down to Murphys, CA. We had never been there before. it's a little wine country in the Sierra Foothills South East of Sacramento. We had a reunion with our Washington Place friends from San Francisco. "Washington Place" was an apartment building in San Francisco where a bunch of us young, single city slickers lived in our 20's and 30's. Gradually we all moved out and got married and life went on. We have remained friends all these years. And here we are for Joerg's 50th birthday.

When we drove home on Sunday we looked forward to dinner at our friends' house, Holly & Casey. They have a garden straight out of the garden tour and have been known to raise a pig or two as well as poultry in their yard. They are super homesteader models. Also, they are just good people who are fun to be around. We had some beef brisket that was taking up some space in our freezer so we turned it over to Casey to brine it and it became part of an amazing homegrown spread. 

The travels were fun. But it's always good to be home. And to be greeted with this homegrown garden feast was out of this world. So colorful. We could taste the summer.

We are lucky to have such amazing friends and family. Now off for a nap.

Unlicensed

Bunny update: They are fat and happy and possibly addicted to kale.

Too much kale ... must take nap ...

In other news, our garden has been putting out some good stuff. I am thrilled with our veggies. Also I threw in some zinnia seeds, So when I look out at it garden it's just a burst of color. It may sound like I am bragging. But mostly I'm just appreciative. Some years the garden is amazing. Other years it has issues. This is a good year. For this I am thankful.

We also have an abundance of poultry in the yard at the moment. Honestly there is over 40 birds back there. We have layers and chickens for meat and three turkeys. One of our roosters (a very good looking one) went down to the neighbor's house to live. Amira's friend, Bella, has a cute yard full of chickens and horses. Her banty rooster is getting older so we sent them an up and coming lad. Remember the bunny carrier that used to house Buster in Phoenix? Well, it's packed with a roo!

Recently Amira got invited to a Willy Wonka mystery themed party where they had to solve who stole the ever-lasting-gobstopper. It was sort of like a murder mystery dinner but more candy oriented. Amira was assigned to play Mrs. Gloop. Here is a very young and fashionable Mrs. Gloop. Note the length of her gorgeous locks. She's all about styling the hair and doing the make up. What a glamour-puss.

When the orchard provides fruit ... I provide tarts! It's an almond flour crust (no sugar) and just a tablespoon of honey in the gelatin glaze. Naturally sweet and delicious. Nom, nom, nom. 

So, Amira came to dinner with decided shorter hair last night. She did it herself. Surprise!

 She couldn't really see the back when she cut it.

 But, I have to say that overall she did a good job. 

This brought back memories of her early hair cutting experiences ... which seemed to happen often. Here is a link to a blog that includes a much more severe hair experience when she was in kindergarten. Enjoy that blast from the past.

Valerie was a little bent out of shape. "Wait a minute! Amira cuts her own hair and you take pictures of it? If I cut my own hair, you'd yell at me!" Oh, the indignation. We reminded Valerie that Amira tends to use scissors and that Valerie uses a drill bit or rock polisher as noted here in a blog post that shows how Valerie tends to get her hair fixed.

I'm not actually condoning any self hair clipping for any member of the family. We must again remind Amira that she does not have a license. Although when I contacted our hair stylist for an appointment to clean Amira's hair-do up she took a look at the photos and texted, "Oh geez! Maybe cosmetology is in her future."

Here are Amira and Valerie calling on the "foot phone" for a license to cut hair. Nice try.

Amira's wish list includes a cosmetology head for practice. If anyone feels so inspired ... we would welcome anonymous donations of such things before she runs out of her own hair.

Go Team!

I forgot to mention a few things in last post. First, Valerie got to take some horse lessons this summer. Her friend Hailey brought her horse along for a trail ride to one of them. Here are Hailey and Valerie in the kiwi orchard on the horses. I wish I had a close up photo of Hailey's horse. It has the most crystal blue eyes ever. It's pretty stunning.

Meanwhile, I can occasionally snag a good photo of Rex and his team when he posts them. I like this one because I can actually see his face. Also, he complained that he was shirtless in all the photos on the last post. It should be noted that he walked up to me without a shirt on and asked why he was shirtless in all the photos. Oh, you ironic teenagers!

Here's Valerie with her champion sheep at the state fair. Hailey (her friend and sheep mentor) his holding up her banner and belt buckle. Yay, Valerie!

Here is a close up of her first belt buckle. So shiny!

Summer Fun

Oh, summer break, how you fly so swiftly! Well, actually, the school years are flying by quickly too. Maybe this is just time in general. I cannot keep up with it! Remember when time used to creep slowly? It may be doing that now for Michael. He is doing his civic duty - jury duty - this week. 

This summer Valerie kicked it off with a back country back packing trip with a couple of friends up at Mt. Lassen. She was generous enough to share a few photos of said adventure.

Just as soon as she came back from her camping trip we were off to Eugene for the annual Black Sheep Gathering. Valerie showed more of Carol's champion Shetland Sheep. Valerie also placed first in showmanship this year. That was a treat to see.

While working the Black Sheep event, we stayed in a trailer on the fair grounds. It was a sweet deal. We made it very cozy. Coffee and tea were brewed and I brought my essential oil diffuser to make it smell nice. We sat around in the evenings and crocheted together, Valerie, Madelyn and I. We shared meals at Carol's trailer with her family. She brought meals for everyone. We provided a few desserts and brought some flowers from home to be a center piece on the table. It was a very nice time.

Here are Hailey, Valerie, Madelyn and Meghan with Carol's grandchildren, Alaina and Alex. It was a lot of work the last few days so now it's time for the gang to collapse on the straw bails and wait for the signal to load out.

Back at home Rex was making a batch of popcorn on the stove. It's inevitable that some popcorn will spill when tipping it from the pot to the bowl. Rex thought of a genius way to clean up the popcorn.

Rex really enjoys the poultry. He and Michael are in the process of selecting 2 roosters to keep for our flocks. They will be keeping one of the white rock roosters to breed out more meat stock. And then Rex has chosen his favorite rooster from our tax day hatchlings to be our breeding rooster for the laying flock. This guy, below with the fluffy cheeks, is Rex's favorite. He is training it to be a nice rooster. He's got it perching on his arm here. 

My friend Crystal likes to call this "FFF" for "Forced Family Fun". We packed up the kids and took them to the cabin at Donner Lake for 4th of July. It's always such a scene up there and so crowded. But we expect it and manage to have a good time each year. The crowds are kind of fun to see and hear. It's a real festival atmosphere. Here are the kids trapped in the car on the way up the mountain. They are all snacking and listening to their tunes. Rex is cooling off after a paintball practice in Davis.

Once up at the cabin we settled in and trotted over to the lake. Amira was Michael's little buddy the whole weekend. Here they are enjoying the cool mountain weather by the water.

There was many a game of table tennis on the beach. Michael was the only one who actually swam in the water this year. I am a notorious land lubber. So my book and I sat on the beach. Well, I did get up for a game or two of ping pong. My main goal was to stay cool, relax and see some fireworks. Mission accomplished.

Following our weekend at Donner, Valerie was back on sheep duty. She is in Sacramento for Part 1 of the California State Fair. Michael and Amira and I came down on Sunday to watch her show. Then we went off to enjoy some of the fair. Each year this is an awesome petting zoo set up behind the barns. Here is Michael with his new alpaca friend (with the crazy Dr. Seuss salon job) having snacks.

Well, the alpaca was having snacks ... not so much Michael.

Our favorite animals to see at the petting zoo are the wallabies. They spring around the place and always appear so happy. They have little joeys in their pouches (which cannot be seen here). When they get tired of the crowds, the zoo people hang bags on the fences and they jump in and relax.

Amira was up for the rides. Sadly, I cannot tolerate them anymore. Amira went on most of the spinning ones by herself. But she got Michael to go on the roller coaster with her. What an awesome dad!

Amira and I both enjoy sitting in those chairs that give the vibrating foot massages. We decided to take a selfie in our happy moment of foot massage and lemonade. Valerie and I will be back at the State Fair in two weeks for Part 2 of sheep showing. So, maybe I can get another footsie massage?

Valerie Auction 2016

Tournaments, Banquets, Auctions & Promotions

Here we are just into June already. And I cannot tell you where May went. (Or April for that matter!) It seems that end of the semester slide just picks up speed. And if we are not running along side it, we are sure to be under it! Where do I start?

Rex had a paintball tournament in Las Vegas. Michael coincidentally had a job there so they flew in together. I gather that Michael stayed at a separate hotel from the team but hooked up daily and took photos. They did very well and made it into the playoffs. So, while they didn't come away with the amazing cash deal they did for shutting everyone out in Carlsbad earlier this year, they still well. Rex looks really good. Paintball is definitely his passion. He is quite the marksman as well as the team gun tech from what I gather. He is a Mr. Fixit just like his dad.

Here are some photos of Rex and his team.

 Just in case you don't recognize him, he is the center bottom below.

Valerie's market sheep kept everyone quite busy this spring. She had her sheep for the fair, Stumpi, and her "back up" sheep, Marsha. Marsha was a neurotic mess. As Valerie put it, "She just looks for new ways to try and kill herself." As a result, that meant lots of repairs. Here is Marsha behind the bar Michael had to place in the window through which she broke. She had a knack for getting herself locked into the sheep shed.

Valerie had her end of the year FFA banquet the same night as Amira's open house. Michael and I had to divide and conquer. Michael took Amira to her open house where he met with Amira's teachers. Looks like Amira is being put into a high level math class for Junior High. Yes, I'd like to brag a little. What a smart cookie!

Valerie scooped up some awards at her banquet. She is a Star Greenhand. 

Valerie was also one of two freshmen to be elected to an officer position for next year. She will be reporter. So here she is with the next year's officer team for FFA. They are already planning their officer retreat in August.

 We had such a delightfully wet spring that there was a major frog hatch at Rancho Wilhelm. Michael put together a habitat for the budding tadpoles and mosquito fish. In fact, Valerie won a gold fish at the fair (again) this year. It also resides in the below water feature on our patio. So many little frogs! Amira helped Michael pick out the plants.

Speaking of Amira, she continues to enjoy her horse lessons each Monday. I have been lucky to get lessons with her. Starting in June Valerie will take my place for the summer. In the fall I hope to again resume them. It's such a peaceful way to end the day on Mondays. Here's Amira on Snickers taking a stroll.

Meanwhile, Valerie has worked hard all winter long with her mentor, Carol, and "Drill Sergeant" Hailey to learn how to properly work with and show a market lamb. Here is Valerie at the Silver Dollar Fair with Stumpi. She showed in the 2nd of 9 breaks and was one of the top two people in her break pulled for the final drive. 

So out of all that she placed 6th in the final drive. This is a huge deal as while she was learning all winter long it seemed she rarely made a cut. But hard work paid off! Here she is with her showmanship ribbon with Hailey and John (who helps work and shear the sheep). Valerie was in Hailey's 4-H Club until she moved on to FFA this year. But Hailey is always right there for Valerie and a huge wealth of knowledge and talent. Hailey is almost always grand champion and has the award winning sheep.

 Valerie worked very hard with Stumpi. When he got to the fair he weighed in at 150 lbs, which is the maximum weight for auction. That was ideal. And Stumpi came in fourth in his class.

 Valerie had many long days at the fair between set ups, practices, weigh-ins, shows and auction. Grandpa Alligator came on auction day. Valerie was lot 478 out of 498 which meant she went at the very end of the day. Alligator came at the beginning of the day and stayed for a long while until he realized he was going to be in the stands until dinner time. He came back at the end of the day. 

Bids opened at $10/lb. We do not even know the people who bid on Stumpi, but he fetched $15/lb. She kept coming back to the fair to help her 4-H friends show their market and dairy goats. It's a supportive group of kids and parents all backed up by the amazing Carol Albrecht. We are going to be excited to have Carol and her son Josh in the FFA chapter with us next year.

In the middle of all this fair hoopla, Rex turned 16. I can hardly believe it. Here he is with his boysenberry pie which followed a delicious steak dinner and potatoes and salad from our garden. We had Alligator, Susan and John over to celebrate with the family. Michael took him and his friends go cart racing on Saturday in Sacramento. Again, we had to divide and conquer as that was the day of the auction at the fair. Amira was off with some friends that weekend. There was so much going on my head is still spinning. 

After a three day weekend of fair, birthdays and friending Rex came back to school for final exams. Valerie went back to Carol's for "sheep camp" to prepare the wool sheep for their trip to Eugene in a couple of weeks. Michael took off for New York. Amira returned for her 6th Grade promotion ceremony. She got a new dress and shoes and jewelry for the occasion. Neni came down to watch the ceremony. Following the ceremony all the 6th graders went roller skating for the rest of the afternoon. Then after school she went to a swim party. This was an action packed week, I tell you!

Here is Amira with her friends Sarah, Marissa, Juliana and Ally after the promotion ceremony. In another week they will be the station aids at the Girl Scout camp for June Jamboree.

In other news, Rex officially has his driver's permit. He has put in many hours of driving this week already. I think he likes it. He does not like driving the van (or, the Swagger Wagon, as we call it) and seems to prefer the Leaf. I have to agree with him. The Leaf is much more comfortable and a little more zippy and responsive.

 There was a nifty display outside the 6th grade classrooms on the last day of school that had photos of all the students with their career goals. An interesting one was"bread delivery guy". That's not pictured. But here you can see Amira in the upper right with her dream. To her left is a girl who has already been on national television more than once for her dancing ability.

 Amira and her friends doing their last walk at 6th graders.

 Junior High, here we come!