Memorial Day Weekend

We had a nice memorial day weekend...didn't do anything in particular. Jim was off for 4 days though, so that was nice for us all to be here continuously. Lots of American flags waving over the weekend. Another good thing to see!

We've seen a few new critters here during the past 2 weeks. I saw a Great Blue Heron near the river yesterday and we spotted a very fancy moth the other day (see sightings). I took 3 of the kids up to Silver Falls (I keep forgetting the name of it, thinking it is called 'Sacred Falls' which is in Hawaii). This time the walk was a bit easier, though I carried Andrew most of the time. I also had a coyote run across the road in front of my car as I drove down river. I thought is was a dog at first, until I got a good look at his tail. It happened too fast to get a picture!

I took advantage of the sale at JoAnn's fabrics this past weekend...bought a few quilt books that I've had my eye on. Now I don't know what to do first!

The garden has started to grow. I don't know how big anything will get (or if it will produce anything), but still glad things are happening. The weather is supposed to get into the 90's over the next few days, and the mosquito activity seems to be getting heavy in the evening.

Good Golly Grosbeaks!

Well, look who came back to see us this morning! These are Evening Grosbeak and the group seems to like going back and forth from this feeder out on the back deck to a tall tree near the river. I was able to count 19 clearly out on the tree. I couldn't get more than 11 in one picture, though. I think this shot is a nice one...

Scooter Crew!

Well, the kids are now decked out with scooter gear! This is a new challenge for them--learning some balancing skills. Bowen & Jimmy want to zoom zoom zoom, and Emma is taking it slow, but doing great so far. Jimmy is excited about all the knee and elbow pads...he's really into the 'equipment' that goes along with everything. He loves to pretend he's a worker carrying around the tools for the job. Bowen is excited to be on the move. Emma is thrilled that she's getting to do what her brothers are doing!





Andrew is really becoming a full-fledged toddler. Yeah, sure, he's been walking for six months, but he looks so much like a baby still that I forget he's growing up! He's talking more. He says 'Daddy' very clearly now. He loves his daddy! You should see Andrew's face light up when dad gets home from work! Andrew runs to dad for hugs. He's also saying 'No', 'mommy', 'Go!', and a few more things that I can't think of! And after several months without any new teeth, he has 4 eye teeth, 4 molars and the 4th bottom tooth that never seemed to want to show up. He's also getting a mind of his own...he is insisting on feeding himself yogurt--won't take anything from a spoon now if mom tries to help (you know, I dread any more mess than I already have to deal with!). So, we're getting to the power struggle part of toddlership. Here's a picture of him feeding his ice cream to the other kids... He's giving big-mouth kisses now, and also gives great hugs! He really wraps his arms around me and squeezes! Makes mommy's heart melt! Makes all the daily craziness worth it!

Anyone who has witnessed me give the kids a bath has seen the CHAOS involved (usually), but tonight things went pretty well. Got a good picture of Andrew in the tub--he's 17 months old now. Funny thing--Emma managed to dump the whole container of baby body wash into the dry tub, so everyone used the same BUBBLE water for their bath this evening...you'd better believe that water was BROWN when we were done! I guess that means the kids are really getting their fair share of outdoor time!

Jim says he saw nearly 20 grobeaks out here on the deck earlier today. Unfortunately, a bit later today, a pair of grosbeak flew at top speed right into one of the large windows here on the side of the house. Bowen saw it happen. The birds died. Such a shame... I'm glad I didn't witness it, I'd probably have flipped out.




Garden plants are growing...some of the indoor seedlings don't look too good after being transplanted outdoors, but I haven't given up on them quite yet. There are beans growing outside that look like they've gotten a good start. Time will tell!

Here's a picture of the beautiful Iris's out on the bank, with Tyee in the background. Things are getting colorful here! Until next time!


~Stacy

Good and Bad...

Today has been hopping with animal activity. There were four grosbeak out at the feeder today, and just as I went to take a picture, SIX more flew up! There were ten (5 mating pairs) total, but they didn't stay long enough for me to get a picture of all of them together. Quite a site.





On a sadder note, our guinea pigs must have gotten into something poisonous. I had them outside on the patio and around 4 pm this afternoon, Jimmy noticed that they were sleeping. I looked at them, and decided to move them into the shade, and oddly they didn't scurry about the way they usually do. I brought the cage into the house, and then I witnessed Cinnamon take his last breath...he just stopped breathing altogether. I couldn't believe it, and since Brown Sugar was also behaving listless, I figured that he was sick somehow as well...minutes later, he joined Cinnamon. Jim and I are trying to figure out what happened, and if they somehow got exposed to the rat poison out in the garage. Maybe a snake got to them, or a wasp, or something poisonous. Pretty sad thing.





I can't say that traveling with guinea pigs is a picnic, but the kids sure did like those piggies. Emma called them the 'pinny pigs'...So, here's to a couple of tough guinea pigs, may you rest in peace.


Jim was sitting near the garage a little while ago, when a spider came down on a web, touching his head, then coming down to hand in front of his face....he said it was a huge black widow spider...Good Grief! He also found the frog shown above...I think it's a tree frog, but I didn't look it up.

Crazy Weather!

Well, it's been in the mid-80's during the past few days, then overnight we had rain and thunderstorms! It was 42 degrees this morning around 8:30 am, and there is a fresh new blanket of snow on Tyee!

Jim filled one of the bird feeders on the back deck yesterday, and this morning we saw our first Grosbeak pair (male/female) since being here. VERY colorful male! I did get a picture of his tush... Maybe we'll get a bunch more birds if we keep the feeders filled!

Yesterday we went to the 'Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center' dedication in north Entiat. It is a kind of fire museum that has pictures and historic information about the forest fires in the area. It also includes a trail that leads to a lookout tower. The tower used to be at Chelan Butte, but it was brought down and set up as part of the museum. The trail is very pretty and shows the various plant life. We all walked the trail over to the lookout tower, then we all climbed up the tower with my uncle Wayne. It was a little more difficult getting all of us down... The stairs are quite steep! I'm not sure we'll do that again until the kids are bigger!

Keeping Busy!

The top picture is of Emma with the WONDERFUL Lilacs that are growing here all over the valley. My cousin Garci brought some here to the house this evening! They are really fragrant! The picture of Bowen and Jimmy was taken yesterday as they tried to 'build a fort/house/tent" with some wooden stakes that I bought....I ended up nailing them together, but the nails didn't old very well! The nearest picture above is of my grandpa holding me (yes, the bald toddler!) with grandma in the back, plus my brothers and a whole crowd of cousins, probably at Easter 1972--11 kids in the picture, but there ended up being a total of 18 grandkids (the rest hadn't been born yet). Anyhow, that picture was taken on the very same property where I am right now. There's heritage here...The pine trees in the background are gone, of course, from the 1994 Tyee fire that also burned that house down, but BOY the memories are still so alive!

Well, the wildlife here continues to fascinate us. The other day, I noticed that the Canada Geese that we've seen on the river (every day, all day long--about 3 mating pairs) have BABIES! Two sets of goslings were taking one of their first swims with their moms--probably 12 or so goslings total. Very cute to watch! I've also tried a few times to get pictures of the baby finches in the nest out the back door, but nothing to clear...they're tucked down pretty good. I am, however, watching two wasp nests develop out the back door. Obviously, we'll remove them asap, but in the meantime, it is fascinating to watch how quickly these wasps work! Jimmy has decided that he 'hates' the wasps (probably because he's scared they'll sting him), and he's found several more abandoned nests that I failed to notice before. He's an observant kid!

As far as the other birds here, I've just seen the common variety--mallards, quail, brewers blackbird, robin (very fat robin, at that!), finch, swallows...still no sign of the bald eagle from the other day.

We've got a little compost pile started, and Bowen and Jimmy are now 'in charge' of taking the kitchen waste to the compost pile. They like that. We've also started rotating the sprinklers around various placed to try and keep alive the few plants my dad has put in here. During this last week, we also have attempted to start a little garden outside (the kids haphazardly placed the seeds--granted, this is a learning experience, and I want them to be involved, but it got a little chaotic!), however I'll be delighted if anything actually grows!

Just in case the outside garden does flop (Emma has been walking through it, and digging in it after the seeds went in, plus I've never had my own real garden, so this is new!), we do have some containers of seeds 'started' in the house that could be replanted outdoors soon. They ARE growing, so that's exciting. I swear I witnessed the sunflower plants grow nearly an inch just today! Not having cable TV is really turning out great! Every so often we'll watch a movie, but mainly it's the radio or nothing at all. It's great to see the kids wanting to do something rather than be glued to the boob tube.

It's been pretty warm here over the past few days--over 85 degrees, but thankfully it does cool down pretty quick in the early evening--SO unlike California, which would be 80 degrees all night long! Pretty windy in the evenings as well.

Andrew (17 months old) is starting to say some new words. He was saying 'daddy' pretty clearly yesterday. That's pretty fun to hear a 2 syllable word...He's also getting pretty fiesty--wanting things his way! Half of us have colds today, and in the midst of him pointing at things and then refusing them, I finally sat him down on the floor of the kitchen, gave him a spoon and let him go at it....well, he was just pleased to feed himself with a spoon with no help from mom. Mind you, I've been trying to avoid the 'feed myself' mess...but he did a darned good job!

Emma is doing well and really having fun playing outside as well as with the other cousins. There's really lots of new things for her to see. She doesn't really understand why we haven't 'gone home' yet. She's brought that up a few times. Especially when she's tired. Hopefully, this interim period won't last a long time. She'll feel better when she has her bedroom back.

Jimmy is having an absolute BLAST here....He'll stay outside ALL day long if I let him. Lately, he's been carrying around my tools (hammer, etc.) or a small first aid kit, asking "do you need a band aid??" He's such a tactile kid! He's really great.

Bowen is totally aware of why we're here...and knows just about every landmark up and down Entiat River Road! Now he's watching where things are compared to the mile markers. He doesn't understand why I won't go buy some more wood so he and Jimmy can build a house outside....He's writing more and more...making signs that say "welcome to washington, bi bi california"...

That's it for now... Check back once a week, and I'll keep the postings coming! Plus the pictures!

~Stacy

Enjoying Nature

Well, the kids sure have been enjoying their new freedom to play in the dirt! They have also reached a new level of creating dirty clothes! Besides seeing the variety of birds around here, there is also a birds nest right out the back door that has babies in it. I can hear when the mom comes to feed the babies...the babies are all chirping loudly. The mom flies away, however, anytime I try to get close enough to get a picture. You can't see the babies unless the mom is there to feed them. They stay tucked down pretty low. I haven't seen any signs of the bald eagle from the other day. I'm still hoping to get another glimpse of him.

The weather here has been very nice. Pretty cold in the mornings (around 35 degrees this morning), but warms to the low 60's around noon. We don't miss the California heat! That's for sure! Last night the kids got together with their second cousins (my aunt and cousin, plus my cousin's kids), so there were 7 kids playing last night. Pretty fun to watch them all get along so well.

We've Arrived in Washington!

We survived the 2 day drive from California to Washington with 2 cars, 2 parents, 4 kids and 2 guinea pigs! Yay!

March and April of 2007 was such a busy time for us! It’s hard to believe that this snow picture (above) was taken a little more than a month ago...it feels like much longer!
Jim interviewed for a job in Washington after this group picture was taken, and later was offered the position as safety coordinator of the hydro-electric operations at Wanapum Dam. So the whirlwind started shortly after that! Jim started working the day after Easter while the rest of us in California worked to get the house on the market.
Now at the end of April, the whole family is together up in Washington. We’re looking forward to new adventures and to learning more about the area up here.

Above is a group picture of Jimmy and Bowen with Bowen's preschool class. That was his last day of school in California. The boys sure had a great time with the other kids and the teachers.

Also above is the picture of the kids playing in the dirt here, and also some of the kids looking out at Tyee mountain. Yesterday it was quite warm (in the 70's) and we all got a little sun, but this morning we woke to rain! What a surprise. And some more snow on Tyee!

I hope this blog helps us all to stay in touch. Internet brings the world closer!

~Stacy