Holy smokes! Suddenly it's November and I haven't written a lick since August. Well, I'll start sort of where I left off. I believe on our last episode of Tifftown that Rex was headed down to Long Beach to begin his post-high school student adventures and trials of independence as a young adult.
He met a woman named Yarina who helps place international students attending CSU Long Beach in off-campus housing. So, she is the one who hooked Rex up with his new digs down there. She has also kept him in the social loop with all her students. Pictured below is Yarina at the beach party she had for the international students (and Rex). Rex is the 4th from left on the below photo.
Here is another snapshot of the group at the beach. This time Rex can be found in his red shirt more to the right of the photo.
Dylan is attending school in SoCal also. Rex and Dylan have managed to keep in touch. I begged him to send me a photo. Here they are with that beachy glow.
September brought opportunity for Michael and I to hook up with some of our "Washington Place" friends from San Francisco. They have a home in Murphys which is a cute little town in the foothills of the Sierras known for its own little wine country. We started by having some German wine with Joerg & Outi on the deck of their mountain home.
Whenever we cruised into the main town of Murphys we had to stop and feed Molly (the horse) some carrots. Also, Molly has a pet bunny that lives in the blackberry bushes in her field. The bunny (yet to be named, but looks like it had been someone's pet. It's not a wild one) also enjoys the carrots. Sweet of Molly to share.
The big event at the local winery was to see Boy George & Culture Club play with the B-52's and Tom Bailey from Thompson Twins. It was a total 1980s flashback. Boy George puts on an amazing show. And I'm always a fan of the B-52's. I had higher hopes for Tom Bailey.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Valerie is fully immersed in her senior year. She is taking a floral class at school to fulfill an art requirement. She seems to be enjoying it. Also, we are enjoying the trappings of her arrangements that make their way home.
Valerie and her friend, Sarah, nailed it at a livestock judging competition this year. They are super into it.
Before we knew it, October was upon us. Amira and I headed out to the local high school pumpkin patch run by a rival FFA group. Amira picked out some awesome pumpkins for the porch, including this gigantic one.
Amira's troop crossed over the bridge from Cadettes to Seniors in October. They also added some new members to the troop. Amira is still taking part in some of the leadership activities in Girl Scouts.
In other news, although Amira is not in the band, she has a number of friends who are in the band and the color guard. Apparently the girl who was the letter "H" in C-H-I-C-O had to leave so Amira stepped in. Here are some photos of her appearing with the band in the Parade of Lights downtown Chico. She also got to do this for all the home football games too. Big fun!
I've been putting a ton of hours at work. But, to make up for the hard work on the weekdays, Michael and I have been enjoying some nature on the weekends. I got a sweet wholesale deal on a couple of kayaks from one of my clients. Nature is the best remedy for just about anything. And we are so grateful to live in Northern California where we can still enjoy these activities in late October.
Michael had to leave for Spain on Halloween day. Valerie announced that she would not be participating in the annual Wilhelm Pot-Luck as this was her senior year and she was invoking senior privilege. So, it was the "Tiff & Amira" show. Amira had a bunch of friends over all dressed as tourists. My friend (and hair dresser extradinaire) Grace came with her husband who was also dressed as a tourist. So, we put him and some of the teens together for a photo.
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Here are Miles and Grace together. They are a hoot! Both artists to be sure. In fact, Miles is the lead guitarist for the Aqua Velvets. If you dig surf music and the tiki scene, you'll dig his music.
Other attendees to the party each year are some of my neighbors. We have our little one from next door, Charlotte, as Wonder Woman. She was adorable. She spent the evening playing with turkey feathers, feeding the gold fish and entertaining everyone with her shining smile.
Most of the teen scene was in Amira's room.
How adorable is this?
Grace and I on the front step photo studio.
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