FFF July 2017

To borrow that phrase from a friend, it's FFF! (Forced Family Fun) That's right, we are going to do things together as a family - and you're going to like it!

Well, we can get together as a family but we cannot always make them like it. On Independence Day we set out in the heat to watch a Chico Heat baseball game down at CSU Chico. We were promised fireworks after the show. And this seemed like a nice lazy way to get some fireworks action in after a long hot day. And, honestly, it's fun to root root root for the home team. Even if they don't win. They didn't. It was a shame.

The photos from our outing are priceless. You add your own caption here in the imagined little clouds above the heads of these three:

And now you can bubble in your own caption above our heads. Hey, we had fun! We partook in the chicken dance, cheering the team on and sang the YMCA loudly and proudly with hand gestures. It was a great game.

Although a bit toasty, we managed to find some shade and had a good view. Our seats were along the first base line, but Valerie and Amira scored a couple of seats behind home plate from our neighbors for whom they were house sitting.

Now, the fireworks show paled in comparison to the show we usually see up at Donner Lake. But I must say, we didn't have to drive far or pack anything. So, it all worked out. I think the kids bucked up in the end when the scorching sun set and we got a little show. Rex even navigated the crowds and drove us home. The baseball stadium was in his stomping grounds close to the high school where he had been driving all year. It was our pleasure to turn to the driving over to him.

A couple days past the baseball game we were ready to head out for family camping. Rex looked honestly surprised that we had a planned family camping trip and announced that he was going camping with another family over the same dates. At that point we looked honestly surprised that he had these plans. But, alas, it would just be us and the girls. 

This was to be our mulligan from the 2012 camping experience at Lake Siskiyou when we were rained out. The campground it up near Mt. Shasta and offers wonderful campsites, fishing, boating, swimming, hiking and a "fun zone" of inflatable lake toys. We were unable to enjoy some of that due to the massive deluge that hit us five years ago. You can click here to see our previous experience for comparison.

Michael and the girls and I showed up on a gorgeously sunny Thursday afternoon to camp site 78 and settled ourselves and immediately traipsed off to the beach. Look at Mt. Shasta in the background! What a view. The water was refreshing and not frigid with snow melt as one might expect (or experience at Donner Lake). The altitude here was around 4,000 feet. So, we were slightly lower in altitude than Truckee. But the nights were pleasantly cool, not cold. And the water temperature was the same - pleasantly cool, not cold.

One of the best parts about camping, for the girls, is getting to eat all sorts of chips and cookies and s'mores and stuff that we don't regularly keep in the house. It was nice to unplug and enjoy each other's company. We played many a card game and Valerie practiced her card tricks on us.

Something about fire beckons Michael to take charge. He built the best fires for cooking. We cooked everything over his fires. We had burgers, sausages, pancakes and bacon. He really does make the best fires.

Valerie stumbled upon the holy grail, Jiffypop popcorn (or, as Michael calls it, Jiffylube popcorn), at the local camp store. She was in heaven preparing it over the fire.

Amira swooped in to enjoy this exotic treasure.

There were more card games and cheerful banter at the picnic table.

Friday morning we all checked out the fishing. We could see the fish. They weren't biting this time. But just hanging out on the dock with a line in the water surrounded by the mountain views was so wonderful and relaxing. We have all been spoiled by fishing off Grampa Choo Choo's fishing dock in South Carolina. The fish just pretty much jump on your hook there.

Following a morning of fishing, or should I say relaxing on the fishing dock, we headed back down to the beach. The Fun Zone beckoned to the girls. Actually, it looked fun to me and Michael too. It was $8 for one hour out there or $15 for four hours. With prices set like that, we knew we would be tuckered out after one hour. So, all for of us swam out there and learned how incredibly difficult it can be to swing the lower body out of the water and up onto these floaties. It was really satisfying when Michael and I were able to get up onto them.  Some were more difficult than others. This area was swarmed with teenagers. I would totally do it again.

Although we had only paid for an hour of fun here, the guys were generous and were going to throw in another 20 minutes for free. At about one hour into the fun, we had to come in anyway. Valerie either slipped or was pushed off one of the floaties down onto Amira's wrist causing an injury.

We swam back to the snack shack and got some ice for her arm and asked where the closest emergency room was. The young guy behind the counter had no idea. So, thank goodness for asking Siri where it was. We then headed into the town of Mt. Shasta where we found a great doctor who saw her right away and sent her to the hospital next door for x-rays.

It turns out that there is no visible fracture but it is likely sprained. Amira said she didn't want to cut camping short. She was going to have to be in a brace with ice on it here or at home. And she really wanted to have another campfire with s'mores. What a trooper.

Here she is pictured cradling her injured arm outside the scenic hospital with more views of snow capped Mt. Shasta in the background.

Valerie was pretty stoked too that we didn't have to cut the camping trip short. Here she is making a meal of her flaming marshmallow on a stick.

On our last morning, Michael and I got up to see a package of our hot dog buns laying in the dirt in the middle of camp. I picked them up and went to put them back into the bag with our bread products. Oddly, that bag was conspicuously absent from our campsite. The bag with all the chips and cookies was still there. But the bag that had the bagels, bread, pancake mix, etc. was totally gone. Who or what would take a bag of gluten free bread products? They are not the tastiest. One would only eat them if they had to. We checked for animal tracks or other disturbances. Nothing.

Michael and I walked around the camp grounds and saw deer in some people's sites. He checked the antlers in case our bag could be seen hanging from them. No dice.

Well, since bagels were the breakfast planned for that morning, we decided to pack up camp and head into town to the original Black Bear diner for breakfast. I had never eaten at Black Bear before. That place is DELICIOUS! And I love that their orange juice is fresh squeezed and there is no high fructose corn syrup in any of their products. Also, I didn't have to do camp dishes that morning. Bonus.

Here are the girls digging into their breakfasts at the diner. Amira's non-dominant hand is all braced up and the diner gave us a bag of ice for her hand on the way out. What a great trip. We all agreed, we would totally come back camping here again. But it looks like the rest of our summer is already booked up. I would totally love to carve out time to come back and bring Rex if we could.

Jumpin' June

June brings us to the end of the school year, the beginnings of (hopefully) camping and other yard harvests. I'm hoping for a little reprieve from playing school bus driver.

I spent the start of June weeding the front yard. We have so many lovely salvias out there but it was not easy to appreciate them as the eye had to wander past spent poppies, overgrown fuschias and random weeds. A full day of pulling, snipping, trimming and cutting lead me to a treasure I did not know we had. Apparently my wild yard had turned into a quail habitat.

I found this clutch of eggs under an olive tree, behind the yarrow and buried under an abundance of fuschias. I snapped a quick photo and covered it up hoping that the mom would return to her nest soon and get a good hatch. I have to confess that my mind briefly wandered to the delicacy of those quail eggs cracked atop some sushi ... but then I quickly reverted back to images of baby birds.

Just after school ended for the summer I headed into the foothills with Amira's Girl Scout troop for their June Jamboree. Brrrrr! You wouldn't know it from this photo (taken upon arrival as we were eating our pre-packed dinners) but it was icy cold up there! Good thing I brought my long undies, wool sweater, down coat, hat, gloves, scarf, extra blanket and borrowed Michael's Gortex coat. I still had a chill. 

Amira's troop is at the Cadet level and they were station aids for the younger Junior Scouts, Brownies and Daisies. They worked such stations as cooking, art, archery and leather working. There were other stations too. But those are the ones these scouts took charge of. Amira is here in the lower right with the homemade hand warmers (or, finger coolers ... I suppose it is all how you want to see it).

Here is Amira with Trenity in the camp kitchen. These girls can prep food and wash up. I should take them camping more often. I'd like to see more of that around the house. :-)

In other news, we know that it is summer because "shirtless Rex" is back. Here he is with his friend, Andrew, working on the car. It's got new tires, wheels, suspension, mud flaps and all kinds of stuff. It's nice to have another driver in the house.

Speaking of other drivers, guess who passed her written test and activates her permit this week?

That's right! If all goes according to plan, Valerie should get her license by about 15 December. Happy Hanukkah! But, I am getting ahead of myself here. There is so much of the summer to appreciate. Let's not jump seasons just yet.

Our turkeys and "Red Rangers" are getting big already. Well, I mean, the turkeys are really small compared to where I expect to see them in, let's say, November. But those Red Rangers are solid. The turkeys are pretty cute. They bark and chortle and follow us around. And right now they are not aggressively following us. They are just being cute. Let's hope it stays that way. The first batch of turkeys we raised (that were this heirloom type) were seriously aggressive and literally bit the hands that fed them. They also tried to kill each other. I'm hoping that raising these with the chickens will mellow them out a bit. These are not your average "broad breasted" type. These are a heritage breeds (read: a little wilder).

I didn't want to leave Colonel Sanders and his harem out of the photo shoot. They were pretty sure I was giving those other birds something good. They were a little disappointed when I didn't start dropping treats but, instead, clicked a few photos.

And, now on Tifftown, it's time for some Garden Flaunt. I have to capture the highlights so I can look back and remember why it was worth all the work. Ready?

The good news in the veggie garden is that the winter squash that has come up his hiding the gaping holes left by the Caddy Shack incident. And we may have a few potatoes surviving. Maybe not. But let's just admire what we might get for a moment.

In our back row we have tomatoes, basil, marigolds, zinnias, eggplants and peppers. In the background you can see the artichokes flowering up.

Although we had an intensely wet winter (I did not get out to trim or spray) and it looked like half of my orchard was dying this spring, we may get some fruit after all. Here are some nectarines (that I clearly did not thin out!) They are not quite ripe yet. I'll know they are ready when I see all the bird bites.

What's this? An apple? Wahooo!

These gorgeous orange blossoms will become pomegranates in the fall if all goes well. 

Donut peaches!! I did thin these fruits. This was the first tree that I trimmed and sprayed ... and fertilized, etc. These are special little fruits. Again, not quite ripe yet. See, no bird bites.

Lastly, a few mulberries. Nom, nom, nom. (Not for you, Scott!)

We are looking forward to some adventures down the summer road. Michael will come home from San Francisco this week and then he turns around and runs off to Mexico. Valerie has sheep shows, sheep shows, livestock judging, sheep shows, officer retreat, trip to the Land Down Under to work with more sheep. I'm hosting a Girl Scout Journey here at the house at the end of the month. There will be some back yard camping I think. Unless it's an inferno. We'll see. We will do some family camping in July. I hope to get out to a few baseball games. Oh, that reminds me. I don't often get photos of Michael here on the blog. Last month we made it out to a local "Chico Heat" game. We sat next to the best hecklers ever. Can't wait to go back. Here's Michael at the game. It will be good to have him home for the summer!

I'm Allllllriiiight

Tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, melons ... these are a few of the items that were well enjoyed by the gopher in my garden. I started April out fairly optimistic about the summer bounty as I placed my tomato starts in the well composted soil. Then I added some eggplants, basil, loads of marigolds, cucumbers, summer squash, melon seeds and more seeds for winter squash. On the bed ends I seeded amaranth and sun flowers. You should have seen my mind's eye. It was gorgeous. Our garden soon resembled a bit of a battle ground as there are now gaping holes, traps and more half eaten plants. But I put on my rose tinted glasses and look past my husband, who is going all "Caddy Shack" on the gopher, and see the surviving plants. I think to myself, "I'm alright." Thanks, Kenny Loggins.

As we speed closer to the month of June I feel a bit hurried to capture the highlights of the last two months that seemed to have passed in another blink of my eyes. For Rex, as always, more paintball! And he's also wrapping up his junior year. Next year he'll spend his senior year out at Butte College. Sounds like an adventure.

He is also enjoying working on his car. I can't tell you everything he has done to it. But it is very clean and sounds "sportier" than it did when he first got it. I can tell when he's leaving home as I hear the car accelerate up the main road. 

Valerie attended the FFA State conference in Fresno during April. She's the "flight attendant" on the right in the photo below. She is really looking forward to attending the National Convention in Indiana in October. Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets for the beef raffle. I can't say I know the person who won, but all the students who sold tickets definitely have a leg up on the financing of that trip. Valerie was able to make a down payment thanks your help.

April took Amira's Girl Scout Troop to the Bay Area to compete in a Camporee Skills event. This was the first event for these girls and they took home some ribbons! Knot tying, first aid and pancake flip flop were some of the winning categories for these skilled young women. A good time was had by all.

Here is a photo from the long ride home. It was too hysterical to not post. 

May brought the prom! Valerie's school is pretty small, so sophomores, juniors and seniors could attend. Valerie went with a group of friends. First they all went shopping at the Roseville Mall for their gowns. Next Valerie had a photo shoot with the John Deere. Her friend, Raelyn, took this photo (among others). She also gave Valerie walking in heels lessons in the driveway. She was like a drill sergeant, "Heal, toe! Heal, toe! Not: stomp, stomp, stomp!"

The night of the prom Valerie went out to dinner with her friends, Hannah, Isa and Madelyn and then more photo shoots downtown. Valerie has been friends with these girls since grade school. It was quite startling to see them all looking so grown up and elegant. 

I came downtown to pick them up from the venue at about 11pm. I could see the sparkling lights on the second floor of the building downtown from the parking lot below. I took this photo of the four of them near the window and texted it to them. They realized they had a stalker and quickly moved along. I heard there was actual dancing at this prom. 

May also brought the FFA end of the year Banquet. Valerie received several awards and was elected Vice President of her chapter for next year. Of course we are very proud. We are so happy she has found a passion that inspires her to the levels she has achieved.

We were supposed to receive about 30 baby chicks and 15 turkeys back in March. But due to a poor turkey hatch they were delayed until May. For anyone who has never received a box of baby chicks in the mail, here is what it looks like when the peeping and rustling package gets opened.

 I was really worried about the chicks this time after the condition of the sweet potato slips I received earlier in April. Can you imagine a flattened box with that generic apology note wrapped around it? Seriously, this is what came in the mail:

I planted the survivors. And we hope to harvest whatever the gopher leaves for us.

Memorial Day weekend came along with the Silver Dollar Fair and Rex's 17th birthday. Also, Amira's Girl Scout Troop placed flags on the graves of soldiers in the local cemeteries. It's not a place I usually go, but it was a good experience to go look at the past and present and read the names and dates on the stones.

And now as we turn to June, we say good bye to the poppies of spring! But we will enjoy the humming of the birds and bees all over the salvias and fushias in the front yard. I think the roses are happy too.

I could leave you with photos of flowers, but I think, instead, I will leave you with this:

April Fools

Saturday morning Rex woke up to find that Valerie and Madelyn pranked him by artfully decorating his car with post it notes - A LOT of post it notes!

The rival high school "PV" was embedded in the design.

And, of course, they tagged the back window with their initials.

Fun prank! They helped him clean it up so he could go to work on time.