Sunny Day-After-My Birthday

I am enjoying a wonderfully sunny day. Melissa and I walked to the bookmobile. Then we played outside together as we re-discovered parts of the front yard that make for a great outdoor "house". I showed her the two trees that used to hold a hammock in years past. Made a mental note to get a new hammock for Spring.

Yesterday was my birthday. I was just a wee bit grumpy. It was supposed to be sunny yesterday, but the weather was still cloudy and gloomy here. Karen was sick and Linda and Melissa were still coughing with leftover colds. I was still tired from working night shift the day before. That all made for an out-of-sorts-feeling family.

But then we had chocolate cake with whipped cream. For my birthday Dave and the girls gave me four really yummy-smelling candles. AND.... Dance Dance Revolution 3! (said with an echoing shout) for our Wii.

And today the sun is out!!! It’s time to go back outside and play! (I’ll save DDR3 for tonight after the sun goes down).

Snow Daze

Wednesday - drive to post office to mail mom her computer cable that she left at her CA house. Sent express mail. Could have ordered on online for same price. Pine Canyon was snowy/icy back and forth. My windshield wiper blade falls off! I stop several times to try to fix it. Blade is fine, cheap plastic thingy that attaches it is broken. Drive with squeaky empty blade arm scratching the window. Stop again, wrap paper towel around end of arm. No more nails-on-blackboard sound. Continue home.

New rocky rivers trying to cross our roads near home. I called work to say I wouldn't be in due to road conditions. They had 15 people call in sick. Dave later said the 5 was not completely closed and that I could probably get to work. Dave installs new windshield wiper blade. I head out, get on the 5 no problem. They are escorting over the grapevine. I make it to work. Had a 2-hour class after work..

The drive home after class on Thursday morning:
Got on the fwy. Saw sign that said Prepare To Stop. Oh. Wait. That means... Can I get off the freeway before the Prepare To Stop happens? Nope. Missed that last exit. Wait on I-5 in the rain. Moving 2 miles per hour. Takes 2 hours to go the last 2 miles where the CHP is having everyone exit the fwy. I hadn't slept in the last 30 hours.

Finally, off the freeway in Castaic. I make a pit stop at a Starbucks. Eat food. Call Grandma, Dave, friends. Head home via Lake Hughes Rd. Rainy, but not so bad. Snow at the top in Lake Hughes. Head home through snowy Pine Canyon. More snow there than day before. Icy in places. Stopped and had to go around a big rig (what was he doing on this road? Ah, avoiding the 5!) putting chains on his tires. Further on, another small car had slid off the shoulder. Stopped at a nice flat spot, got boots on and offered to help push car back on road. Another vehicle happens by, a pick-up truck. Guy in truck had rope. He and the stranded guy know each other. I went on my way. Slowly. Thinking there is not snow at my house.

Home Sweet Home! There is snow! Saw big tree branch that fell off at the rental house. Looks like it didn't land on anything vital. Dave has some chainsaw work this weekend.

Inside warm house. Call to postpone Build-a-Bear Birthday party. Sleep.

Life is Good 2009

We're gearing up for the GoodVibrations Unschooling Conference coming up this week! I remembered I hadn't done anything with the few Life is Good pictures I took in May. I was inspired by Mandy's slide show. I followed the link from hers and had a blast creating my first slide show!

Unplanned Vacation

On January 20th of this year, Dave became unemployed. Today, April 27th, Dave has started work at a new job. While we will be happy to have the full-time income again, the change is bittersweet. I'll miss him. While he was unemployed, I continued at my part-time job 2 days a week. That was mostly enough to keep our heads above water and I could pick up extra shifts here and there when needed. Losing a job is scary. If it had taken longer for Dave to find another job, I may have found myself working a lot more. We are thankful things worked out the way they did. It was a happy time here.

Dave worked on several projects around here that we already had most of the supplies for. He hauled large rocks from our field over to the side of the house. He used them to build stone steps at the side of our front porch and a rock border around the front and side gardens. They look beautiful! He poured a new concrete floor for the girls' playhouse in a new location, moved and rebuilt the playhouse. Our vegetable garden is all tilled and partially planted. The tractor project got some attention.

AND!

He spent lots of time with the girls. We spent so much time together as a family. I have SO enjoyed this time! It was so wonderful to see Dave's relationship with our daughters grow.

It was a glimpse of what our lives could be like without a "typical" work schedule. It is an inspiration to think about how we could have a vacation like this again, without defaulting on loans and without waiting for official retirement age - whatever that is.

-Jenny

How to make a candy roll-up (October 2008)

While camping at Carpinteria in October, Melissa
demonstrated how to make a candy roll-up.
A California Roll, candy style.

First the ingredients:
sour rainbow strip candy and gum tape.

Then lay them together,
and roll 'em up!

Viola!

Almost a White Christmas

Not quite. We had our snowstorm that dumped about a foot of snow in our neighborhood the week before Christmas. We had a blast playing in it. We were glad we didn't have to be anywhere else.

Most all of it melted by Christmas Day.

We're swingin'

Saturday, we picked up our new swing set. Well actually, it's about 15 years old, but it's new to us! We are so excited! We have my brother and his family to thank for this donation. He and his father-in-law built the swing set when my niece was 2 years old. It's made out of 10.5 foot steel pipes and built so strong that an adult can swing on it. They even made a glider for it. Dave and my brother spent 3 hours taking it apart on Saturday. They were able to fit it INSIDE the minivan for the hour-and-a-half drive home. Dave spent most all of Father's Day putting it together. He still has the glider to finish. What a DAD! It needs a new coat of paint, and the glider seats need re-upholstering. But otherwise it was operational today. The girls had a blast swinging together this afternoon. Linda was swinging herself on her without someone pushing her for the first time today. Yay!!

LIFE is Good 2008

We just returned home from Vancouver, Washington, where we experienced LIFE is Good for the second time. It was a wonderful and exhausting experience! We connected with friends from last year, and made new friends. Linda and Melissa played with their new friends every waking moment they could. Karen hung out with old and new friends, hosted a funshop, sold her hand-painted wooden spinning tops, swam in the pool. We saw the amazing Amy Steinberg in concert. Enjoyed the opening band, The Vibrations. Very cool.

Still decompressing, processing, reliving moments from an amazing weekend.
It's a Wide Sky Life!

-Jenny

Theater - A Cat in the House

October 15 Karen auditioned for a Missoula Children's Theater production of Cinderella.

She was cast as Cleo the Cat and really enjoyed the part. This was her fourth Missoula play and her first where she had a solo part instead of being one of a group. They come to town twice a year and Karen auditions every time.

Missoula Children's Theater is an international touring children's theater. The tour team of two directors arrives in town with set, props, costumes, make-up. Local kids, ages 5-17, audition on a Monday and perform on Friday and Saturday of the same week. It's amazing what comes together in that short time!

It's Harvest Time!

I love Fall Colors!