Tay: My Nickname Delima

Everybody at Taylor's school, including her teachers, call her Tay. I'm not sure why it bothers me. Maybe it's because a second grade student started it; it would be different if it were a nickname that we started at home. I can't figure out if it bothers Taylor or not. I'll ask her about it and one day she says she likes it and another day she says she doesn't. I realize that if I don't say something to stop it, she will be Tay for at least the rest of her education in this area, which may last through high school. Neither Peter nor I had nicknames so this is unfamiliar territory. Any suggestions or insights?

Odds and Ends

We went out to the coast again last weekend for Peter to take the CBEST test so that he can be a substitute teacher. From attorney to sub...that's funny. It was another beautiful day. Our friend Zan watched the girls while I did my run on a trail along the coastline. Then we took the kids to the park to play. This is the only good picture I got but I thought it was cute. This picture makes our deck look dirty, but I wanted to show the "cat condo" that we constructed for our kittens. It's basically a big shelf with a carpeted two-by-four that they climb up and down.

Harvesting pumpkins is fun...

or miserable?

Taylor and I were out on the deck today reading when we witnessed a new friendship forming between Sakari, our dog, and Trinity, my favorite of our five kittens. They played together for quite a while:

Got (Goat's) Milk?

Taylor's school has been doing a unit on farms and has taken a fieldtrip every week to a new farm. Peter and I have chaperoned the last two and it has been neat to see other farms in the area. Today we got to feed, and pet goats. Then we got to taste fresh goat's milk and make goat cheese. A lot of the kids liked the milk. I watched Taylor's face to see if she'd like it too. After a sip her face got really concerned as if to say, "Do I have to drink all of this?" She then offered me the cup and I knew she didn't care for it. (I was glad she didn't gag or spit it out or say something rude.) Lauryn and I had a taste. I agreed with Taylor but Lauryn loved it. "Dis is willwe yummy!" she exclaimed and then she downed it, barely coming up for air. I asked Peter if she'd eaten lunch because she seemed so ravenous about the milk. She had. She wasn't so crazy about the cheese however. It came right back out of her mouth and I had to take her outside before she spit it on the floor.

Our New Home

We're finally mostly moved into our new home, the largest "cabin" on the ranch.
We plan to make the gazebo a play room for the girls and to transform the downstairs storage area into a laundry room/utility room.

The main living space is the living room and eat-in kitchen.

Two views of the girls' bedroom.

Our bedroom and computer desk.

This picture is taken from the opposite corner. You can see into our bathroom and out to the kitchen.

We've successfully adopted the two ranch "puppies". They are sisters and couldn't be more different in personality.
Lottie (above) is LAZY and has floppy ears. Sakari /sa kar' ee/ (below) is our guard dog; her ears are always sticking straight up. They are both very sweet dogs and good with the kids and cats.

Mouse Patrol

After catching two mice on our second night in our new home, we asked Peter's mom about cats we could adopt and relocate to our place. That same day, Peter found a whole litter of kittens in the lavender shop. We've adopted all five and their mother (for the time being). They're cute but they all look the same. Blackish brown and fuzzy with blue-grey eyes. They're very friendly now and have taken over the gazebo outside which will eventually be fixed up as the girls' play house.

Anyone want a free kitten?

Family Vacation on a Budget

My long-time childhood friend, Jenny, and her family came to visit us for a few days. They live near Corvallis, OR; it was a long drive and I'm glad they made the trip. There were no guests here, and Doug, Heidi, and Cierra took a road trip; therefore, we had the ranch to ourselves. They had a mini vacation, staying in the cabin next to ours and doing many of the activities we do with our guests. The weather was cold on the day we planned to raft so instead we rode the pony, played on the zip line, fished in the pond, and made apple cider. The next day we watched the Bigfoot Days Parade and had lunch at my parent's house. I'm hoping Jenny will send me some of her pictures since I only caught the horse ride. Leo and Taylor brushing Domino.

James and Leo.

It was fun to see Annika wearing lots of hand-me-downs from Taylor and Lauryn.

A highlight for me was taking a hike with Jenny on one of the trails that leaves the ranch. We took Lauryn and Annika in packs on our backs. At one point we had to make our way precariously across a creek. It reminded me of a photo we have of Jenny's mom, taken by my mom: Barbie is hiking near a creek with Jenny in a pack on her back. I'm sure my mom was giving me a ride too. Would anyone else like to come for a budget vacation? Although James offered to help us finish the Laundry room, we didn't make him work that hard (besides moving some big pieces of furniture and pressing eight jugs of apple cider).

First Day of School

Taylor's first three days of school were outside at a nearby camp ground where they did outdoor and watershed ed.

Some new friends. The girl on the left is the only 2nd grade girl. She is the one who painted Taylor's nails on the bus while traveling to outdoor school. The girl on the right, Rose, is the only other kindergarten girl. She has a sister Lauryn's age and a mom who has a lot in common with me. Yay for new friends!

They could be related. Lauryn and Ruby, Rose's little sister, got to eat snacks, play in the dirt, and ride around in matching backpacks at outdoor school.

Junction Elementary school currently has 22 students K-8 and one teacher. Fortunately for Taylor, most of the kids are in kindergarten and first grade.