| 09-08-02 Hello All, Well the summer vacation is over and the boys are back in school. Cody was so sure he was going to go this year. He was very insistent. I hope he has the same enthusiasm next year as Lorelei says goodbye to leave him in his classroom! So let's see where to begin. We made it through Cody's birthday in June. He is officially the big 4 year old now. I took all the boys to see the new Star Wars movie, it was Cody's first time at a theatre. We tried to explain it to him before we got there. We stopped in the lobby to get sodas and popcorn (mom wasn't there). We got inside and shuffled to some empty seats. I glanced over at Cody and he was trying to reach his butt all the way up to the top of the folded up seat! I smiled and reached over and folded the seat down. He then slid all the way to the back and the seat tilted a bit, a startled look came over him and he said that he wanted to sit with me. I encouraged him that it would be OK and he settled in. He did great, although the movie was a little long for a 4 year old. He thought he was a "big cheese" with his own soda, and a giant tub of buttered popcorn at his disposal. The 4th of July was rather quiet. We barbequed, shot 2 gophers, and lit off our own fireworks. Those dang gophers! We have shot 3 this summer and 1 mole, and there is still at least 1 more working down by the orchard. We took the tent trailer and went up in the "high country" for a couple of days. We camped in a "primitive" camp spot. Cody was my camping buddy. No complaints, didn't mind the dirt or the mosquitoes, as for the rest of the group? Well let's just say they were not my camping buddies. We took the canoe and had a couple of nice outings on beautiful Olallie lake. It was the first time being away from the place for 2 nights. A friend came over and took care of the animals. Tree house news! The outside is as done as it's going to get for this year. There is some trim and little things to do. I don't think it will ever be completely done. We have slept up there several times, and the boys have each had a "tree house sleep-over". On the inside there is enough room for 4 adults to sleep on the bunks. There is a "closet" storage area. We have several shelves to store necessary tree house items. We purchased a small coffee table at a yard sale for 2 bucks, this serves as our chess, poker, table. We have some stackable chairs. It has really been a fun project. On the first day of school, when asked what was the most memorable thing you did on your summer vacation, Jon replied "we built a tree house!" Other things we have done. Been fishing a couple of times. Lorelei caught a really nice Smallmouth bass last weekend. I will post a pic on the website. She caught three in all, and also several squawfish. She was quite the fisherwoman. Took the boys tubing one day after work when it was really hot. The boys and I have been getting ready for the rainy, cold season. The wood pile is finished and we gathered kindling yesterday. We will clean the chimney and we will be ready for cold weather. The garden was relatively small this year. We are getting plenty of tomatoes and cucumbers. We have some beans, celery and carrots. We got a nice crop of strawberries this year and froze quite a few. Some friends that have a blueberry farm said that we could go and pick for .50 cents a pound! I think we came home with about 15lbs of blueberries! The orchard seems to be doing OK, but what do I know! We have a few apples and pears. The deer took care of the raspberries this year, so I guess one of my winter projects will be to put a fence around them. The blackberries are ripe, and we are eating our fill. We need to pick and freeze some. Other news, Jon signed up for soccer yesterday, but most of the kids on his team are playing football this fall. Jon may drop out if some more of his teammates don't sign up. Adam's homeroom teacher this year is the chess coach for the middle school. We are trying to get back in the chess playing mode. Lorelei continues her daily walking. She is feeling some better, though she has a ways to go yet. She still does not sleep well. I probably need to wait on commenting on the animals. It seems we have been "animal challenged" this week. Buddy freaked out about some thunder and lightning and decided to rip up my potted madrone trees, he then tore a hole in the chicken pen, the chickens proceeded to head for the garden, where they enjoyed some tasty veggies. Oh well, that's part of life on the homestead! Now if I could just get that last darn gopher! See Ya, Jr. |