Turkey

Notice it is not turkey jerky. If only the rest of the family will join the space age and get ovens that make it impossible to ruin a turkey.

Winter Garden

The winter garden got planted last weekend. This time I tried making the garden with rows and a furrow, then ran a soaker hose down it. Soooooo much easier than trying to connect a bunch of little dripper things, and a 50' section of soaker hose is only seven bucks or so.




We planted some seedlings form the nursery (brocoli and some carrots, and peas) and are trying lettuce, turnips, carrots, beets, and radishes from seeds. No need to write down what is planted where. Heck, there are only four rows with seeds.



And here are the first seedlings popping up. I wonder what kind of vegetable they are. I seem to have, uh, forgot what is where. Makes it so much more interesting really.

Oh, and yes, the ground really is that grey. Clay soil. And that is what it looks like after 8 years of having composting and soil amendments roto-tilled back into it. In it's natural state I think it's called adobe.

Canning

Yum.

Apple butter last week, raspberry-peach jam this week.





Hmmm... note to self - wipe off the lids and stove before taking pictures next time.

firefighters

OK, it's come to my attention I'm not a good blogger. But knowing that, I will just press on and post something - because I might not get the Yellowstone post finished until Christmas at the rate I'm going.

So a few weeks back we went to Kings Canyon to camp again. While we were there a fire engine came through the campground. The kids ran out and the firemen stopped to talk, and even let them use the fire hose. Of course our camera had a memory card failure while we were there. But the fireman took some pics then emailed them too us. So yeah, we are going to write a letter to the park superintendent full of praise. Hopefully I'll get around to it faster than my blog.

Back from vacation

So we are back from vacation. Before we went I was on a business trip and I came home the night before we left. While we were in Yellowstone I found out I would have to travel the day I got back. Talk about a lot of driving.

Anyways, let's see if I can get this gigantic post in order.

First there was the thousand or so mile drive, a lot of which looked like this:



Which in turn led to this in the back seat (but we wish there had more of it!):




I particularly like the tongue out. It like bait for the fly trap. The picture of the girl drooling didn't come out so well.

We got in after dark the second night but were pretty happy with the campsite when we woke up in the morning..



The next day (the fourth of July) we went into Jackson to see the touristy sites.



And after dark we sat in the back of the truck to check out the fireworks.



We moved campsites a couple of days later up to Colter Bay. A short hike from the campsite was Jackson lake. This is the kids just before they disregard my advice/order of "don't get your clothes wet!"



For dinner that night we lucked out. We camped right next to a chocolate milk tree.

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At least they don't think it comes from a chocolate cow! They aren't dummies. I think I can tell how much they liked the chocolate milk followed by smores dinner from the expression on his face.



Earlier this summer the girl earned her Junior Ranger badge in Kings Canyon national park. Not satisfied with that she also got one in the Grand Tetons.

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After our time in the Grand Tetons we moved on up to Yellowstone. There was a lot of snowfall this year, so the lakes and rivers are very full.

Luckily for us the national parks are full of rocks. We try and get a picture of the kids on every one we can find. Here they are at the upper falls of the Yellowstone river.

Just one more step back... and get that worried look off your face.



There is nothing like being at the precipice of a really big waterfall with little ones to make you feel ill at ease. The hike down to the falls overlook is only 3/8 of a mile but drops like 600 feet. The girl hiked all the way back out, but the boy had a melt down... there is only so much sightseeing you can do a day before the kids get worn out. Which of course leads to parents getting worn out.

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The next few days we drove around looking for rocks to set the kids on (or so it seems).






On the boys birthday it was really cold in the morning - you could see your breath in the trailer. The girl was crabby, but the boy was happy being a dragon.

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Of course that was AFTER he finally got out of bed. It's like we have little teenagers. Check out what he does when we told him it was time to get up.



Of course there was the usual wildlife. You know - the giraffes, elephants, and wildebeests.





ok, there is more to come... it seems like I've spent more time downloading/uploading/cropping than I actually spent on vacation.

The kids came down to visit me on a business trip. It was the local "flower festival" and the surrounding fields looked like this.

We are allegedly off to Yellowstone today. A lot of packing left to go and here I am typing on a blog.

the garden

Yep, a month since the last post.

It's not that nothing has happened, but rather that the camera got lost. I know, I know, I could just type words instead of posting pictures, but where is the fun in that?

It seems we forgot about the make-up soccer game from the boys league. And since we forgot about that we forgot about the camera being in the lawn chair pocket. So after almost a month of head scratching the missing camera mystery was solved last night when some friends dropped by and we had to pull the chairs out so we could watch the kids ride bikes in the street. (Love those run-on sentences)

Anyhoo, just before the camera was "lost" I grabbed this shot of the garden.



And here is today.

the ocean and the mountain

So I'm finally back to the blog. I guess life in general is not as interesting to write about as bathroom remodeling, but I'll give it a try nonetheless.

Last weekend we went up to them thar hills for a little camping. And to a kid what is camping but getting your ride a bike in a different place?



We went for a walk through the woods and over a log.



They even went horseback riding. I only got video of the boy though. Now she wants to be a cowgirl and he wants to be a cowboy.



Cute picture of a rock.



The boy waking up (the best part of this trip was the kids slept in to about 8 each morning. Er, I mean the best part was spending quality time. Second best was the kids sleeping in)



And what camping trip is complete without a sticky mess of burnt marshmallow? Although I have to give the girl some credit here - she read in a cookbook (I know, what 5 year old reads a cookbook - even though she is six now) how to make banana smores (you'll never guess - add a slice of banana). I like them better than the normal version.



And to think, the day before we left here is where the kids were.

birthday time

I know, I know, I'm woefully behind on blogging.

Here is a pic for Laura:



What is the holy trinity for kids? Cake, ice cream, AND candy.

Private school uniforms

Yep, we send the girl to private school. Because, apparently, I'm made of money. What kind of uniform does she wear?



I know, you think I'm kidding. But here is a picture of her at school. See?



So today is dress like a superhero day, and they have a school rally. I will be doing "yard duty" (watching the kids at lunch) today too. Nothing like watching a bunch of Kindergartners dressed as superheros after they get a dose of sugar. I'm sure they will be under control. And maybe I'll win the lottery.

Severe Weather!

Is this how the global warming hysteria has manifested itself? Sever weather warning. Look carefully at the forecast. No flooding, tornadoes, or even high wind. It's getting warm. For one day. Quick! to the fallout shelter!

Bathroom Complete

..except for some outlet covers, a toilet paper holder, and a rug. Anyway, I went with the frame less glass because.... well, because. It was more expensive, but the recession has brought down prices considerably. I figured I would regret not getting it later.

You know there is a hillbilly on every street. Here is one hint how to find them:



In a comical plumbing repair incident.. well, how to describe this? The connection between the PVC main and the house copper cracked causing a torrent of water. So an expandable compression fitting was brought in. The problem is that our street pressure is ridiculous (like 120 psi) so the compression fitting would expand to it's maximum length. What to do? I know, how about putting a big rock and a bucket full of broken tile on it?

So as most of you know (except for ailec.. Hi, by the way) mama bear is out of the country on a church mission (hint hint ailec) I would think most people would be smart enough not to entrust me with two kids, for a week, by myself. Well, I married for the money, not the brains. Anyway, the boy misses his mom. He doesn't so much say so as just being crabby all the time. I went in the other day to wake him up and said "Good morning!" He scowled at me and said. "No! It's a bad morning!" And things went downhill from there.

The good news of the week is as of tonight the Penguins are up 2-0 over the Flyers.

And for a totally unrelated to my life but nonetheless hilarious video:

Videos

Some kids grew up wanting to be atronauts, or spies, or in the special forces. I wanted to upload videos of bathroom remodeling. Just say it out loud: "noche travertine".

Goal achieved. What else can I hope to accomplish in this life?

A Pox On Your Vaccinations!

I'm sure this will only add to my siblings new world order/UFO/mind control/conspiracy theory about vaccinations. She's had both sets of the chickenpox vaccinations and yet...



Is there any good news from this? It is "atypical" chicken pox if it's any consolation. It's going to be so fun while mama-bear is away on the mission with our church.

Anyhoo, on a totally different note, here is my favorite sports headline of the year:

"Satan rejoins Penguins for playoffs"

the joy of home imporvement

I bought 45 pieces of 18"x18" polished noche travertine for the shower. (I know, it sounds all fancy-ish, doesn't it?)

Guess which six pieces are significantly lighter than the rest? (note - the floor is unpolished, lighter travertine by design)





So frustrating. Especially since I really like the way the everything else looked right up until those tile were put in. Allegedly the tile guys will be here on Saturday to replace the tiles with the new ones I picked up today.

Soccer practice

The difference between girls and boys. When the girl was in soccer, and basketball, she would skip down the field, twirl in circles, catch rain on her tongue, and generally do her own thing.

Boy, on the other hand, was making sure no one ran faster than him during practice. When he stopped for a water break we said "good job - you did a good job running." He said "yeah, I'm fast. I beat everyone!"



Maybe a little too competitive?

Reading in the spaceship

fat dad: "What are you guys doing in there?"
brain damaged kids: "we are reading."
fat dad: "Why are you under the covers?"
brain damaged kids: "We're not, it's a spaceship."



fat dad: "so much for the gifted program."