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