Life is good...

Today's entertainment

This afternoon Ernest came over to rake and bale hay in the field behind us. The kids were very excited! They got out their lawn chairs and you would've thought they were watching some kind of show.

I think they waved to Ernest every time he went by...

As you see, J.T. is feeling a little better...

Abigail really wanted her picture taken by herself...

J.T. couldn't have been more excited when Ernest asked if he wanted to ride with him and "help" drive the tractor.

They had to get off and fix something on the baler... I could hear J.T. talking a mile a minute.... Ernest doesn't seem to mind. J.T. really idolizes him... it's pretty cute to watch.

This was definitely the highlight of J.T.'s week.... his week has been pretty awful since he was sick.

Totally ridiculous

Does anyone else think this is completely ridiculous??? This morning I woke up to the sound of chain saws. I looked out my window to see MD's Tree Service cutting down our neighbors' tree. Now I don't have a problem with them cutting down their tree.

Here's what I have a problem with... This was at 7:00 in the morning on a Saturday! I can't believe that a company would be so insensitive to the neighbors to start that early in the morning. I am thinking of writing them a letter or calling them to complain. You can bet that I will never use MD's Tree Service! And I urge any of you that live locally to avoid them also!

Love this!

Guess who?

Sick kid

Sorry I haven't been around much.... JT has been sick all week with a stomach bug that refuses to go away. Just when I think he's getting better, he has another "issue"... Keep us in your prayers. So far the rest of us are okay. We leave for Hawaii soon so I want us all to be healthy....

Family weekend

We spent the past weekend over in Chico. It was our second annual family get-together weekend with my mom's family. This included her siblings and their children, and her cousins and their children. There were about 28 people there, including six kids under age 7!

My cousin Alison and her husband Chad, along with my Auntie Barb and Uncle Bill did a fabulous job hosting the weekend!! We all had a great time. The weather was pretty toasty. I think it was about 95 degrees when we got there on Friday evening.

The first night's activities included a surprise baby shower for Mary and Jeff.

As part of the shower we all made a scrapbook page that included, among other things, advice for the new parents, guesses on when we think the baby will be born, and our favorite books for the baby. Mary and Jeff received a lot of great stuff to help get them started, including a basket of all our favorite childrens books.

On Saturday morning, four of the guys went golfing while the rest of us went to my aunt and uncle's house to swim and hang out. The kids had the best time. J.T. especially loved having Uncle Jeff throw him up and in the air and catch him. Abigail practiced jumping off the side of the pool.

Unfortunately our pool time was cut a little short when the rain, thunder and lightening started. It was pretty much out of the blue and it was very strange!

Saturday's dinner had a luau theme. We all festively wore our leis, including Buddy the dog!

Another really cool thing about our luau was the "pig on a spit" that Chad did. He spent all day prepping, seasoning, and watching that pig. He may disagree, but I think it was well worth it! The pork was fabulous, along with the rest of the meal!!

I couldn't let Mary get away without a baby bump shot... You can't probably tell at this angle but we made her wear an open lei, because in Hawaii pregnant woman cannot wear a regular closed lei. I think it's some kind of superstitious thing.

Sydney and Abigail had a great time sitting in the kiddie pool and blowing bubbles..

I think it's truly amazing that 28 people can all be looking at the camera, don't you?? I think this shot turned out pretty well...

Here's one of my family.... one of the very few that I was in for the weekend.

Here's one of my generation of first cousins....

And one of my mom's generation of first cousins...

I asked Alison if I could take a few shots of her twins... This is my favorite of Tyler!

And both of them....

At the end of the evening, J.T. discovered that the boys have a John Deere Gator. He probably would've been all over their yard except the battery ran out right here...

On Sunday morning we had a great brunch at Barb and Bill's before everyone headed home. We also looked through stacks and stacks of photos that were my grandparents' before they passed away. In addition, we all got a wonderful memory book that my cousin Jacqueline put together of a bunch of old pictures. I will try to put a few pictures on here of that later.

When we left Chico, it was 92 degrees.... when we got back to Fortuna, it was 61 degrees!

We're home

We've been gone all weekend. We went to Chico for my mom's family's reunion. We had a great time. I will write more and post a few pictures later....

Food vs. Fuel

*I got the following email from my friend Samantha. She works for Foster Farms. This is important so please read it. Thanks so much!*

Friends & Family,

Corn is the single biggest component of what we feed our chickens and turkeys at Foster Farms, representing about 32% of our total cost to produce chicken and turkey---and my guess is, that’s not much different from any other animal proteins we consume. A bushel of corn cost about $2.25 in 2006 and today that same bushel cost $7.26. The production of ethanol for fuel from corn has been a primary reason for this dramatic increase in corn cost. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 created the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that mandated the use of 4 billion gallons of ethanol in 2006 increasing to 7.5 billion gallons in 2012. The RFS was modified in 2007 increasing the use of ethanol to 9 billion gallons in 2008. Approximately 34% of this year’s corn crop will be used for ethanol production.

We all recognize the need for a National Energy Policy that frees the US from our dependence on imported oil. Wind energy, solar, nuclear and drilling in our own untapped oil reserves are all alternatives we must explore. Ethanol from corn is not a part of the solution. It is subsidized by the government at $0.51 per gallon to the benefit of the producers. It is mandated to be used regardless of price by the RFS. It is protected from competition by a $0.56 per gallon tariff on imported ethanol. It is a major contributor to the 9% food inflation we now are suffering. It threatens our success both individually and as a company.

TAKE ACTION! Today there is a proposal being considered by the EPA that would suspend 50% of the RFS, reduce the demand for corn caused by ethanol and hopefully reduce the price of corn. You must file your comment by Monday, June 23rd.

Go to this site and follow the instructions to let the politicians know you support the waiver. Thanks so much!!

In search of...

I am looking for an extra battery for our portable DVD players. I want to take at least one of the players on the airplane to Hawaii. Here's the problem.... the flight is over 5 hours and our DVD player's battery only lasts 2-3 hours. And that's if it gets a good charge.

I have been trying to find an extra battery online and I came across these battery extenders. Does anyone have experience with them? Do they work and do they last? If so, leave me a comment or email me. Thanks so much!

John Deere Man

Last night Ernest dropped his tractor off so he can make hay in the field behind our house. As you can probably imagine, J.T. was one very happy guy! He was in complete awe over the tractor! Of course, I had to take the opportunity to take a few photos...




And my personal favorite....

J.T. is going to be so excited to watch Ernest cut the hay tonight... I probably won't be able to get him to come inside for dinner!

Woo hoo!!!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally won a race! I think everyone knows that Dale Jr. is my favorite driver in Nascar and has been for quite a few years. It's been 76 races since he's won.

I guess if you didn't know I love Nascar before this, now you do!

Happy Fathers Day to Andy!

Wow they were small... time sure flies!

Abigail was 3 1/2 weeks old here and this was not the first time she got to go to work with her Daddy...

This was the day we took J.T. home from the hospital...

Happy Fathers Day Andy!

Daddy's little girl

What else can I say? Although, I am sure he would prefer a silver can instead of red! :)

She was 2 weeks old here...

Fathers Day BBQ

J.T.'s school had a Fathers Day BBQ on Friday for the kids and the dads. I sent the little camera with Andy but he forgot to take any pictures. I took one of the two of them when they got home. J.T. is holding the gift he made for Andy at school.

Here's a closer look...

J.T. thought it was pretty cool to get to take just his Daddy to his school!

We told them...

A few days ago I posted on here that we are planning to take the kids on a big trip this summer. A lot of people have asked me where we are going. We hadn't told the kids anything about the trip before tonight. We finally told them that we are going to Maui, Hawaii at the beginning of July.

They were both excited, but Abigail was much more so. She has been asking to go on an airplane for quite a while. In order to tell them about the trip, we gave them several clues that led them to my wall calendar where I had "Hawaii" written across the dates we will be gone. The kids got even more excited when we told them that the Victorines are going too! It will be a great trip and we can't wait!

PS. They both look pretty tired in this picture. It's been a busy day!

Last day of school activities

Today was Abigail's last day of school. Every year her school has a play day on the last day. The classes rotate through 6 or 8 different activities. J.T. and I walked along with Abigail's class so I could take a few pictures. J.T. was able to participate in some of the activities too.

Here's a bunch of girls in her class getting ready to play "Doctor, doctor."

J.T. and I went outside on the playground while Abigail's class was doing the music activity.

Next was the parachute activity...

Nolan and Abigail's annual end of the year picture...

Sidewalk chalk....

The kids had lots of fun today. J.T. especially loved to pretend he was a big 2nd grader... It's officially summer vacation!

Yippee!

I just got done making the last school lunch for the year (for Wednesday)! Yay! Abigail's last day is Thursday but she is having hot lunch. J.T.'s last day is Friday but they are having a Fathers Day BBQ so I am officially DONE for the year!!!!!

Today

Today was my last day watching Evan for this school year. He is such a great baby and I am going to miss having him here. We will get to spend a week with him and his family on our trip in July though!

My favorite cartoon ever!

This is my favorite cartoon ever! I never read the "funnies" let alone cut them out. This was in the newspaper 3 or 4 years ago and I cut it out. It permanently lives on my fridge. Those of you that just have girls *might* not understand, but for those of you with boys, you will totally get it!


In case it's a little too small to read, here's what it says:

Boy (riding his bike): Mom, I need a band-aid!
Mom: Where? What for?
Boy: I'm not sure yet. I never tried this trick before.
Mom: COME BACK HERE!

Gotta love it!

Posting comments

My friend Shelley from Arkansas wrote an interesting post on her blog. It is about posting comments on blogs. Check it out if you want....

I love when people post comments for a couple reasons. For one, I am a little curious about who reads my blog. Second, I want to know what other people think. I have anonymous comments enabled so you can leave me a message without having to sign in. Just please sign your name at the bottom of your comment so I know who wrote it. Thanks.

This weekend

I haven't posted much lately so I thought I would give a quick recap of our weekend...

On Friday night, we had a great evening with the Victorines and Parlatos at our house. The guys BBQed while the ladies chatted up a storm. The kids had fun too. Abigail wasn't here, though, because she went to the Arkley Center with my mom to see a ballet "Jack and the Beanstock." I didn't take any pictures of the kids. I wish I would have but sometimes it's nice to not worry about it.

On Saturday, I was "hired" to take photos for an 80th birthday party. The Victorine family put on a really nice party for Lilly. It was fun taking photos and visiting with everyone. Andy was home with the kids. They finally got to fly their kites. It was a good day for that since it was pretty windy.

On Saturday night, we stayed home and hung out. The kids went to bed early since we had been up late the night before.

Today, Andy and I mowed almost the whole lawn (it takes awhile to do 2 1/2 acres). Abigail went to a birthday party for her friend Emily. It was a water party. Even though it was only in the low 60s the kids didn't care. They had a big blow-up water slide, slip and slide, water balloons, etc. Abigail said she had so much fun!

Tonight we are having dinner here tonight with my mom (my dad is on his annual trail ride), Pam & Charlie, and the Parlatos. I guess I better get some stuff ready for dinner.... Hope you all had a good weekend too!

Yesterday and Today...

I helped Andy out in the hills at one of the ranches we have. It is the one pictured below... (this picture was taken in March at our branding).

When I was on my way home today, I decided I would play tourist and stop at a few spots along the way and take a few pictures. I am definitely not a landscape photographer. Plus I only had my little point and shoot with me, instead of my good camera. Oh well, it did just fine...

That's the Pacific Ocean in these first three...

Some of our cows...

Now you can see what I got to see on my way home....