Time for a new faucet...

 One of the joys(?) of owning an older house like ours (it was built in the early 1940's) is that there is always something that needs to be fixed. This time it was the faucet. Something clogged deep within its recesses reducing the water flow to a mere drip, literally. Tom tried everything in the book, but this was unfixable by even the most crafty of handymen. Off to Home Depot I went and after a couple of tries, finally came back with something that will fit under our window sill and still allow for the tap to open.

While waiting, somewhat impatiently, for the weekend when Tom had time to tackle this little project, I made the mistake of opening up the instructions. They made it look so easy! 10 steps, 8 if you decided not to use an accessory. Feeling rather brave, I asked Tom to turn over the wrenches so I could give it a try. And honestly, it wasn't so bad. It actually took longer to get the old faucet out than install the new one.

Here I am removing the old....

Here's the new. Not bad if I say so myself....

Tony tries tubing....

Bailey looks on nervously while her owner gives his nephew a pep talk...

Ok, well it wasn't exactly a tube, but it makes the title sound better. Last week while we were at the lake for some swimming and birthday fun, he mentioned that he might like to try tubing and wanted to know if Papa could pull him with his boat. While we were up for the weekend he asked again and Papa dug out the "Penguin Hot Shot"(where do they come up with names like that??) some rope, found him a life jacket and away they went. Uncle Frank was kind enough to hop on with him for his first ride. I know you can't really tell by the white-knuckle death grip he has on the handle, but he really did have fun and wants to go again...

aahh...the beach

We're back from our mini-vacation to the coast. We spent 4 days camping in Trinidad, exploring the giant redwoods, bonfires on the beach, hiking through Fern Canyon, hunting for agates, and soaking up the cool ocean air. We had lots of fun and we're more than a little sad to be back- this was our last big trip for the summer as school starts in 2 weeks.

Hello again!

Wow, what I thought would be just a brief hiatus turned into bit more than that...hmmm, where to start. So, obviously school is out and summer is just about gone. We have 3 weeks until school starts up again. Tony will be starting 3rd grade and Meagan will be a Kindergartener. Yikes! How did that happen??

Anyways, in a not-so-brief recap, here's what we've been up to for the last 6 months:
I finished my "back-to-school" project and am now a fully credentialed teacher. I'm in the process of applying and interviewing for teaching positions, but the outlook is not good (I knew this going in) for this year. I have several teachers that have requested me for a substitute, so that will keep me busy and pay the student loans.

Tom turned 40(!) in March, and in honor of this milestone Tom wanted nothing more than to visit the friends we always say we need to see, but somehow time slips by and before you know it, it's been 10 years since we've seen them. You know the story, I'm sure. As such, we embarked on the "Tour de Friend" with stops in San Francisco (a first for the kids) and surrounding Bay Area, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, and capped it off with a couple of days in Yosemite. Now, I can hear the peanut gallery rumbling (or is that grumbling?) "How come you didn't stop to see us??" There are a lot of you we didn't get to see on this trip. Not to worry, there will most likely be a second Tour de Friend next spring....

This spring I got to coach Meagan's first ever soccer team. What an experience! Let me tell you that it is way harder than it looks! I liken it to herding cats. It was fun, and Meagan can't wait for the fall season to start up next month. We got a big kick out of watching the Women's World Cup this year, especially since a Redding local, Megan Rapinoe, was playing for Team USA.

Meagan figured out how to ride a two-wheel bike this spring. This was a big deal for her and daddy, who still owes her a "big girl bike" but she's happy enough to ride on Tony's big blue until he finds the right one. There is no stopping her now, literally. She rides with Tom to the gym, all over the River Trail, and anywhere else she can.

School got out in June and we have been going non-stop ever since. The kids spent 2 weeks at "Camp Nana & Papa". They had so much fun they are already planning on new adventures for next summer's camp. We picked them up and camped in our new trailer on the other side of the lake for 10 days. Well, the kids and I camped the whole time. Tom had to come back down the hill and work in between. We stayed in the same campground I used to camp at as a kid, so it was a fun little stroll down memory lane for me. We had a perfect view of the fireworks on the Fourth.

Tony is learning to play golf. He picked up a few lessons while he was staying with Nana and Papa and he spent a week at golf camp here in town.

It was also Tony's 8th birthday recently. He had a big friend party this year at Oasis Fun Center. They got to play in the arcade, a round of mini-golf, laser tag, and bumper boats.

Tom rode in the Fall River Century last weekend. That's 100 miles, to those of us who aren't biking fanatics. He finished in 8.5 hours, including lunch and rest stops. While he was off riding, I took the kids and explored Burney Falls, the little towns of Burney, Fall River and McArthur. We also checked out a fish hatchery and ate ice cream while we waited for Tom to return. (I had guest photographers for this, I'll let you guess which shots they took...)

Anyways, thanks for making it this far in the post. Stay tuned as there will be more posts coming soon: Meagan's room is just about finished, our trip to the coast, and more....

Meagan's Bed

Whew- it's finished!

And better yet- it is out of the garage, so now I can park in there again! (I know, it's the small things that get me...)

Snow day!!

It's Snowing!!

Ok, in the grand scheme of things, this really isn't much to talk about, but remember, this is Redding (that's in California: nice, warm, sunny California). We are barely 500 feet above sea level. It was above 70 degrees last week. Our neighbors have roses blooming right now. Get the picture?? This is unusual to say the least. I love it!! Of course, this will shut down town for three days, but hey, it is a change of pace....

It's Finished!!

Whew.....in a fit of repressed creativity I have been pumping out the projects.

Here is Meagan's quilt. At long last. Don't ask how long this has been in the making....

I even had the top finished and quilted way back in August, but because of student teaching I never had time to get the binding on. If I wasn't totally exhausted, I was feeling a little bit guilty for not spending my free time with the kids. Now that I'm finished with ST, I have a bit more time to play. Thanks to Nana for finishing the binding.....

This loft is a silly little (ok, maybe not so little!) whim that possessed me last week. It's nearly finished (Can you tell I'm procrastinating writing my final philosophy paper and studying for the RICA??) I still need to mount the railings and finish it. The bed is also for Meagan's room. Up next are a couple of bookcases and a desk for underneath the loft. Her room is tiny- 8'x10', so she literally has no space for anything but her bed and dresser. I'm hoping this will help. I combined a couple of different plans from here and viola- this is the result.

It feels so good to let the creativity flow....