The Season is ON!

It's official...waterski season is back in action at the ribclan house. Kdee took to the water last night. She was so AWESOME! It was like she skied all winter, she did so well. We had the "trainer" bar on for her first run, but after that she wanted it off and did even better. The smile on her face was absolutely huge--from ear to ear. It was a blast to watch her, she is truly in her element out on those skis. She could go all night and always laughs after she falls. She's even good at getting her skis on in the water, if they come off after the rare fall. The rest of us enjoyed the gorgeous night and a sweet time boating! We love the ability to just jump in the boat and go--much nicer than trailing it, putting in, getting it settled, etc. This is going to be one fun summer. (Feel free to come join us!!!)

We plan to spend our weekend in the water--skiing, swimming and cleaning up our beach. The older couple who owned it before us didn't use the beach much over the last couple of years, so we have lots of "raking" and cleaning to do. Sounds much more fun than unpacking and cleaning in the house--especially if the weather continues to be so beautiful!

Pics: Kdee getting ready (with some help from her experienced mentor--dad!); after skiing; our house from the water.

Oh, SNAP!

We got a funny surprise this morning. 2 huge snapping turtles were laying eggs in our driveway, one of which was right next to my driver's side door (as I left my car outside the garage last night). I didn't take chances and got in through my passenger door--I felt it necessary to honor a fellow mom in labor. Lord knows, you can be a little extra anxious in those times! We also have a painted turtle who laid eggs up near our pole shed--at least she was wise to do it out of the way! From what we can tell online, it could take months for the eggs (or "clutch") to hatch--it depends on the age of the mother and the temperatures outside (the warmer, the better). They also tend to hatch at night, so don't envision the ribclan huddled around the nests in eager anticipation. Yep, guessing it will be awhile....

Last night, Angie & I went to see the Sex And The City movie (finally!). We also had cosmos before, which just added to the fun. Angie was actually seeing it for the second time (and loved it just as much). SATC was so dang good! Our new movie spot of choice (given our new home addresses) is our old hometown. How funny...and, to top it off, there was an old teacher of ours in attendance at the movie. Besides the movie, I also got to see Angie's new place and it is just lovely! What a cute, cozy home and beautiful property. Her boyfriend, Steve, helped with the tour and was very funny with all the details. They should be proud--it's become a great place under their care!
Afterward, on my drive home I went past my Grandparents old farm. Emotional, in a good way. I needed it.

We have yet another reason to love the small town living we've moved into. Long story short, Kdee started swim lessons yesterday and we inadvertently found out that there is no busing to home locations (or, in our case, our daycare provider). The librarian at the school let her hang out with her while they called us, and then offered to take her to our daycare (as she lives near it). She was so nice and friendly and Kdee was ok with it, too. Turns out, Tammy the librarian is going to take Kdee to Jenny's house after swimming lessons for us during the next week & a half. She offered and was totally happy to do it. Wow. We were blown away and incredibly grateful!

On a unrelated note, Heather and I went to a live taping of Twin Cities Live last Friday and on the show was "The Lovers Show"--a funny name for an awesome band (that consists of the coolest married couple with 3 kids you'd ever meet). We received CD's in our "goodie" bag from the show...and it's gonna be one of my fave summer CD's, that's for sure. Learn more at: www.theloversshow.com

whelts...

Seriously--I have never had so many mosquito bites at one time on my body. It appears that the combination of heavy rains and living near a lake do a mosquito good. We are literally keeping the repellent next to our front door...best to spray down before any time outdoors. I know I'm not alone on this itchy/scratchy adventure, so feel free to enter complaints here. Man, oh man! (One thing of note: Kdee got a mosquito bite on her lip and, yes, it swelled up. She looked like a Hollywood actresss with too much collagen implanted in her lips. She was a really good sport about it!) Yikes.

Father's Day Fun...

Oh, what a week it's been. Lots of unpacking. Crazy insane kids (who are trying to settle into a new routine but are just plain weird during the transition), more unpacking, a little fishing...really, it's been very good. We are really happy with our new location and living on a lake. ribB said last night, and I quote, "I keep wondering when it's going to feel like home and not a vacation. I mean that in a really good way--it's so nice here!". I think we all feel the same and little by little, our lives are settling into our new HOME. We got to enjoy the community's festival this weekend--albeit, just a bit. The "CHEESE DAYS" parade provided just enough candy, string cheese and fun historic data (prior to the parade) that this family could handle. Nothing fancy, but fun all the same. We also were treated to my mom coming by on Saturday to see our place inside for the first time and having her watch the kids so we could do some chores and errands. That was great. Later that night, ribB caught a 19-20 inch bass right off of our dock. He believed it was the biggest one he's caught in the US (as Canada has bigger fish, eh). I've included the photo evidence (that's not blood on his shirt, but rather part of little B's ice pop from the parade, perfect for fishing).

Father's Day was spent doing whatever ribB wanted--and that turned out to be a trip up to the family cabin and time with his Uncle Bart/Aunt Donna and Cassie. The kids got some swimming in (check out the crystal clear water), we did some more fishing (with me catching a smaller bass on little B's Spiderman pole--classic), took a trip to The Village Scoop (always a must) and lots of hanging out (including a boy's trip to The Sportsmen's Headquarters). During the boy's trip, little B got a sucker...and later fell asleep while enjoying said sucker. He looked so funny--and what was even better was later he was looking for the sucker in his sleep--but after this photo was taken, we removed it from his mouth, so he was just grabbing at/sucking on air. I love the sugary glisten that's all over him from the typical toddler sucker enjoyment.

I've also included a photo of the kids goofing around after they went swimming. I love the fun they're having...they really do play pretty well together. (Of course, I do have a couple of photos of them pretending to pull hair, bite each other...silly kiddos!)

mix mash of photos

A little this, a little that:
*On the way to the airport, going over the Golden Gate bridge
*Kdee's last day of school photos with various friends & her teacher (during the height of moving, poor thing!)

yes, photos...

More images of Cali:
*biking back to Healdsburg, wrapping up the wine peddaling
*a gorgeous view of wine country--this is how I imagined it in my head!
*our nightly wine & appetizers (and a couple bloody marys, too! I love Rebecca's expression as she and Kelly talk--must have been a good conversation!)
*our last group photo before Julie & Kelly left for home...not the best photo, but thanks to Julie setting all of our camera timers, we got a photo!
*Rebecca & Cheryl during our fun last day of shopping & fine dining in Sonoma (and fashion show by Cheryl!)

and photos...

More CA photos...
*Posing along a vineyard--rose bushes are planted at the end of the rows of vines, to increase pollination
*vines, up close and personal
*Another vineyard stop
*...and a little lunch & wine...yum!
*back on the road--a traveling vineyard shot (loved the roses!)

Photos...

California photos...in no particular order:
*dancing at Cheryl's place...pocket full of sunshine took us over...
*the backyard at our sweet Sonoma cottage...perfection!
*Hanging out--Julie, Cheryl & Kelly
*Prepping for our bike ride through wine country
*our first winery stop--enjoying the gardens and a break in the action

Here...kind of...

We are moved (but still unpacking!). That said, I can't find my camera case (with the rechargeable batteries and I'm holding out to find them). Since the camera is in need of said batteries, I can't upload my pics to the computer at work (cuz the one at home is still is disarray...oh, heck, everything is in disarray at home!). Pics will be coming soon, there are lots of fun ones.

The closing and move went alright. Not perfectly smooth, but overall we can't complain. ribB and I basically didn't sleep the night before we closed--it was hard to get everything done (aka house cleaned out) by 8:30am! But, done it is. Ann & Kevin watched the kids for us over the weekend, and that was a huge help. ribB and I were able to get some items moved into the new house and a few things unpacked. Our pole shed is still quite full, but each night it gets a wee bit more empty. Last night I found our plates! The other night I found the light bulbs! Truly, it's the little things that matter.

Little B has started at his new daycare and Kdee has started summer school. So far, so good. We're trying to ease them back into their "usual" routines to bring back some normalcy. It's a slow process :-). They have been fishing practically every day--with much success. Little B even caught, in his words, a "bobhead" (aka bullhead). He was VERY excited!

More to come soon...enjoy the little words of wisdom posted here. Now that I have a longer commute, I am appreciating this pic even more.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

I'm heading home today--Noon PST, in fact. It's hard to believe that vacation time is almost over, but I'm excited to get back home to my loved ones. (Especially after little B gave me the saddest, near tears "come home" last night...oh did that hurt my heart!). My grandma's funeral starts at 11am CST--only a half hour from now. I'm still very sad to be missing this last significant event in her life, but have found ways to reconcile it and honor her without physically being there. She was such an important person in my life and I will miss her greatly.

Say a prayer that flights, drives, etc., go smoothly and are on time. I'm not sure when the next update will be on the blog, as we move lots tomorrow and close with buyers/sellers on the homes Friday morning. Then, it's move in time! Whew...it's going to be a busy few days and I'm feeling quite grateful for the down time before such big push at the end of this whirlwind.

Coming home with me will be these snippets of memories from CA:

TONS of flowers, especially roses--there's a reason the rose bowl is here! (And being around so many roses was perfect for thinking of my grandma, who loved roses!)

Cup of Yumminess--Cheryl's treat each day, Italian roast expresso. I'm bringing an Italian roaster home...

SIGNAGE...sucks in CA. Big time.

Evil! Joy! Hills on a bike...going up=evil; going down=joy (& a ding of the bell on the bike!)

Alright...gotta leave. See you all soon!

Wine, wine, wine....

Just a quick update to you 5 readers about how things are going on the adventure out west, as well as some family updates.

First, the family update: My dear, dear grandma passed away on Friday night (turned out she had a staph infection in her bloodstream and at 86, it's nearly impossible to recover). I'm still in a bit of shock at how quickly things went from "good" to "bad", but I'm so thankful I had time with her at the end and even more grateful for my time with her on Friday morning--I was able to have amazingly peaceful closure. Which is why, after lots of encouragement from loved ones around me, I decided to continue with my trip out to CA. One of the biggest reasons to come? My grandma loved CA and had lived her in her 20's...doing hair in/around Hollywood. My aunt Karen told me Friday morning that my g'ma had renewed her CA cosmetology license up until 5 years ago. So, I figured it was the best place to honor her. (However, after I got here, I got word that visitation/funeral is going to happen on Tuesday/Wednesday...and, I will be missing it. I'm very sad about that...this one's a long story, meant for in person.)

So now, on to more uplifting news. The trip is going very well. The flight was near perfect and Julie, Becky & I had lots of time to chat and catch up. So, lots of laughter! We met up with Kelly in San Fran and then drove our rented mini-van (they were out of the car we reserved and in return, they gave us free gas--GOLD!) to Cheryl's place in Berkeley. Such a great place and we enjoyed an awesome Thai dinner, complete with wine and Fat Tire beer...yum! Then it was onto Cheryl's place for margaritas, music, snacks, laughter, fun.

Sunday we ventured to our rented cottage in Sonoma and enjoyed some stops along the way.At night, we sat around enjoying wine, cheese, fruit, and discussions about life. Always good. Our cottage is AWESOME and we all fell in love with it immediately. I can't wait to share photos (as I don't have the camera's USB cord with--opps). I don't think I've slept in such a comfy bed in a long time--it is heavenly!

Today we rented bikes and did a 12 mile bike ride through wine country, complete with stops at a couple of vineyards...yum! It was beautiful and great to ride through the incredibly scenic landscapes (including hills!!!).

I really can't ask for a better group of friends to travel with, and to be with, during this time in my life. They've been so supportive regarding my grandma and we've discussed doing our own ceremony out here. They are truly amazing women!

(And speaking of amazing, ribB is one big moving machine while I'm gone. Many thanks to Angie, JoAnne and ribB's parents who've graciously helped us!!!)

Pictures to come as soon as I'm home (which, is a funny statement--we close on our new house Friday). For pics of my grandma, see the September 2006 blog entries ( I think...or just look around there if I'm wrong.) I love my grandma so much...she taught me a great deal and took such wonderful care of me while I was growing up. I love you, Grandma!No one will ever make better apple pie, corn, 7 layer bars, or "shake and bake" pork chops than you...thank you for being there for me and my family.