Where Does the Time Go?

I can't believe that the fourth of July is just around the corner! The past few weeks have been very busy for us in the home selling/buying process. We should close both our property purchase and our CA home sale by the 12th of July. That will mark a huge hurdle for us. Shortly after that, we'll be making final decisions about the layout and look of our new home that will go on the property. It is SO exciting to know that we'll finally have the huge kitchen we've wanted, plus plenty of bedrooms for the kids and anybody who decides to visit.





Recently, we've had the excitement of eating some things from the garden (like I said before--it's not rocket science, but it's the very first garden that the kids and I have ever grown ourselves). The radishes grew pretty fast and easy, and during the past few days we've gotten enough lettuce to make a salad that the kids and I have all really enjoyed. One of the pea plants survived and it has a few pods growing on it. Several of the bean plants did well and should be ready pretty soon. The carrots are growing, but may be too close together to really get big. I guess that's what happens with the planters are all aged 5 and under!

Something very exciting that has happened here recently is the resurfacing of the main road in front of the house. It was a grand parade with a rock layer, tar sprayer and six or more bright red dump trucks. The kids were absolutely thrilled! And there was Bruce, riding on the rock layer, looking like a cowboy! The boys think Bruce has the best job on the planet!





A few times, we've gone to the local dam and the kids have had a wonderful time playing at the park there. It is such a beautiful park...the trees are gorgeous there.

Great News!

Well, were very excited to say that our offer on the 5 acres of property just outside of Ephrata has been accepted. Now comes the task of getting through to closing, getting septic & well installed, then finally a house. And all of this needs to happen before school starts in the fall! Yikes! We'll be extremely busy, but I'm looking forward to the process.

In addition, we may have a buyer for our house in California. So, by the end of July we may be closing both ends of our move! We're more than ready!

Is it Summer Yet?

We had a couple of days where the weather was 100 degrees, then it pummeted down into the mid-70's the next day! Big change, but I'm glad that we aren't in full-blown summer yet. When it was hot, the river raised up pretty high (mosquitos came along with it), but now that it has cooled down, the river has gone back down. What was interesting was seeing the kid's reaction to mosquito bites. Jimmy's arm, eye, and forehead puffed up so bad that I thought he was needing medical attention. Emma has a bite under her eye and it swelled up pretty bad, too. Thank goodness for Benedryl and Calamine lotion!





Mom and Monte drove out here, arriving this past Sunday. They mainly needed to get the trailer on the upper property in good enough condition for Monte to live in. That meant removing the rat evidence (to put it nicely) and getting the other things in order. They left this morning to head back to California, but hopefully we'll see them again soon. The kids really enjoyed seeing them both! The crazy thing about their visit was that those Grosbeak did not show up at the feeder AT ALL while mom and Monte were here. Good thing I have pictures to prove their visit!

Jimmy found a HUGE dandilion (maybe they are always this big here, but I've just never seen them), and made his wish--to be Bob the Builder! Then later that day, we saw cousin Bruce (who works for the County maintaining the road here) working out in front of the house, so Jimmy quickly dressed in his 'safety' gear, and showed Bruce how his clothes look just like Bruce's clothes. After that, Jimmy says he wants to be Bruce when he grows up! The boys LOVE that Bruce works with construction equipment.

Finally, Dad found this critter outside one evening. He says it's a gopher snake (I personally don't know). The kids are really excited about all the new animals they get a chance to see here!