Steal of a Deal

Last weekend I found a great deal on Craig's list. It was just too good to pass up. As I was browsing the garden section I found large retaining wall bricks for $1 each. I was excited because we have been wanting to get some to go around our small pond for a couple years, but not wanting to spend the money. Rich and I talked about it and decided we couldn't pass up this deal. Fortunately, I was the second person to email. The gentleman had 150 bricks and the first person only wanted 110. It worked out perfectly because we only wanted 40-50 bricks.


That Saturday we made arrangements to pick up the bricks. It was raining most of the day, but we didn't care. It worked out that my parents were visiting, so we had access to their Yukon for just that day. We were really blessed during this project because it stopped raining just long enough to get the bricks loaded (took 1 1/2 hours). We were also happy to have my parents SUV because the bricks turned out to be much bigger and heavier than we anticipated. The 40, I mean 39 (I miss counted), bricks barely fit into the back of my parents Yukon and we never would have been able to get them in our Impala. Having my dad's help was also nice because I was unable to lift the bricks. It was a hard, messy, and back breaking pond, but for $40 it was definitely worth it.

These are the bricks unloaded on our back lawn. Rich was filthy dirty and a true champion for doing most of the work.

You might notice in the background half of the bark is gone. After several years we (mainly me) have decided we HATE it! It is too hard to keep nice with all the trees around. We can't use our blower because it blows the bark too. Also the neighborhood cats like to use it has a liter box. Our plan is to eventually fix up the area and put in pea gravel. It probably will be a year or two, but no bark is better than dirty, smelly bark.

The bricks are huge and heavy. I was frustrated because I couldn't move them and was not much help. Rich thought they weighed around 50lbs. I thought for sure I could move that much weight, so we decided to weigh them to find out the truth. WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY WEIGH? We were all wrong and under.

This Saturday we put the bricks around the pond. Again Rich did most of the work and he did a great job. It is not his dream Koi pond, but it looks so much nicer. The only problem is now Ava wants to climb on the bricks and play in the water.

Rich has 2 fish in the pond and a variety of plants. The tree is a curly willow. Rich just recently bought some Lotus seeds and sprouted them. Yesterday he planted them and placed them in the pond. We are excited to see if they will grow. (Lotus seeds=$5 for 5 seeds; Lotus plant=$50+ for one plant).

Gnocchi

Back in May Rich made gnocchi. We were trying to figure out what to do with some leftover sage and Rich said gnocchi is good with sage butter. We had all the ingredients, so he made a batch. It was tasty!

Memorial Day in Gridley

For Memorial Day we headed to Rich's parents for the day. We had a good day hanging out with the family even though it was cold and windy.

Rich took some dinner and cupcakes over to his grandpa.

Ava loved picking and eating cherries. She started shoving them in her mouth before Rich could get the pit out.

Here is a nice shot of a pit in her mouth.

Rich had to sweep her mouth to get the pits out. Eventually, Ava figured out how to spit the pits out. She also swallowed a few, but they just came out the next day.

This is the face of a happy girl.

While Ava napped Rich went on a critter hunt with Kobie, Bella, and Lily. They found bugs, snakes, and frogs.

Kobie is so funny. He found a snail shell and put a tiny frog inside it. I was amazed at how long the frog stayed inside.

When Ava woke up from her nap Rich showed her a red racer. Ava thought the snake was interesting, but didn't like holding it.

Even though it was cold the kids enjoyed playing with water balloons.

Ava couldn't break this one, but it got a leak and sprayed all over her. She didn't care. She loved it.

Ava attacking Rich with a water balloon.

I made butterfly cupcakes to share. It doesn't have anything to do with the holiday, but I just wanted to make them.

New Member of the Family

Last week we adopted Ambrose an African sideneck turtle. I got the name from my favorite TV show, "Monk". Mr. Monk's brother is named Ambrose. One of the episodes explains that Monk's brother was named Ambrose after the family turtle.

Coloma Nature

Coloma Hike

Rich took Monday, May 23rd off, so we could have a family day. On Mother's Day he learned I would like to go hiking more, so he suggested that is what we do. We searched the internet for a place we could go that would hopefully work for a 2 year old. We decided on the Monroe Ridge Trail in Coloma. It was a 4 mile loop, but we thought with a lunch break, snacks, and daddy's shoulders to ride on Ava would be okay.

The hike was great. We enjoyed being outside and together. We saw beautiful wildflowers, butterflies, birds, and even a lizard. I enjoyed being able to use my camera because Rich was there to help watch Ava. Ava loved being outside and especially like snacking on pretzels while on Rich's shoulders. She did a good job and walk at least a mile. She did not complain at all and fell asleep in Rich's arms the last few minutes of our hike. It was a great family outing and we hope to hike more trails together.

Beginning of the trail. Here we go...

Ava picked the first flower she saw and smelled it.

During our lunch break Ava kept taking Rich's lunch meat off his sandwich. We were both surprised because she usually won't eat meat. I guess this day she needed the extra protein.Ava and I going down the trail. It is nice she still likes to hold hands.

Ava sitting in a Manzanita tree. She loves being up in trees.

Ava enjoyed taking a short break on this log.

Rich was wonderful and carried Ava when needed. In this picture they are next to one of Rich's favorite trees, a Manzanita.

We found this giant dandelion like flower and thought it would be fun to blow the seeds. Rich tried and tried, but the seeds wouldn't budge.

This was around the halfway point in our hike. We reached a vista point and could see the river. We were excited. Ava made us laugh because she kept holding onto Rich's hair while on his shoulders. She wasn't gentle either. Rich kept joking that he was going to have a receding hairline before the hike was over.

This rock was at the bottom of our hike. It is the trail marker. I think we hiked the trail backwards, but whatever.

Almost back to the car and Ava is fast asleep. She held off until the last 5 minutes.

Coloma is actually a neat historical town. It is where gold was first discovered in California. We quickly toured the historical sites because it was at the end of our journey and we were tired.

Funny & Sweet

The last few weeks Ava's growth and learning have exploded. It has been fun watching her learn and seeing her personality continue to emerge. Ava is super chatty and is learning new words everyday. Sometimes she amazes me with the things she will say and do. I just think to myself, "when did she learn that?". All of these experiences have created many memories and I want to make sure I preserve a few. Here are a couple stories that demonstrate two parts of Ava's personality...

The first story shows off Ava's sense of humor. She really is a silly little girl and is turning into quite a ham at home. The other day during lunch we were eating one of Ava's favorite, Macaroni & Cheese with peas & broccoli, and I was explaining how eating works. I told her the food goes in our mouth, down our throat, and into our tummy. She looked at me kind of funny and then proceeded to feed her belly button the next bite. It cracked me up and she laughed too.

The next story shows off Ava's compassionate side. This morning during breakfast I bumped my elbow hard on the chair and yelled, "Ooww". Ava asked me if I was okay. I told her I was and then she asked to kiss my elbow to make it feel better. This made me smile and melted my heart. Ava is a sweet and caring girl. She likes to make others feel better and is always ready to help out. I can't wait to see what wonderful things she will do with this gift.