ITS A PARTY IN MY ROOM

Since we have limited the time they play electronics they have found me and my card games. My bedroom is the party destination.  UNO or Phase 10 are the games of choice. Oh my gosh. This is the best time of the day.  I love being a grammy.

AT THE RANCH FOR A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

April is a big month for birthdays in our family.  Both my boys were born in April, a granddaughter, my Dad Wayne, and bio-dad Neil, and the list keeps growing.  One weekend we went to Bakersfield to celebrate the big brother and the next weekend we went to the ranch to celebrate with the little brother (who is really the bigger brother.)

Joseph and Racheal purchased two horses. We secured a grazing lease agreement with a cattle owner so we now have cattle grazing.  With the chickens, rabbit, dog, and now I hear they have Kittens. Its beginning to look like a real ranch.  Still no crops in the ground but that will come in time.

I remembered to take my good camera with me this trip and got some good shots of the kids riding the horses for the first time ever.

She took to riding right away.  She may be a natural horsewoman.

This was a double rainbow taken south east of the ranch. I
 took it with my phone, not too bad.

This bunny is named Speed Bump.
Something about the black markings reminded the namer of a road.

First calf born on the BarBH.  Not one of ours.
It belongs to the family that is grazing his herd. 

Joseph's art work for our brand design.
Still a work in progress. I am close though.
Very close to making a decision.

No pictures of the party.  I was able to visit with my dear friends, eat good food, and completely relax.  One of the closest places to heaven that I know.

The Bar B H aka The Ranch

I promised to tell of our ongoing family, what would you call it? Project? Adventure? Probably Livelihood would be most descriptive and accurate although Project and Adventure will certainly be elements.

Some backstory:
Ron and I each had a dream for our family.  The only overlap was the desire we shared to provide for our children to be near enough to us that we could be helpful resources to them and that we could play with our grandchildren when ever we wanted to.

Ron's vision was a neighborhood with our home in the middle and the kids homes on each corner and playgrounds of various sorts in between the houses.  Five manicured yards and four well equipped playgrounds with something for every age.  He even found an abandoned housing tract not far out of town but his sickness overtook him before he could make any serious inquiries.

My vision was twenty acres out of town where we could build a house on each corner for the kids and build our home in the middle.  We would have outbuildings to house a tractor for turning over the big community garden; a few chickens, maybe a calf for the freezer, a couple of big dogs and a cat or two.  (Those of you who know me know that I don't fully appreciate house pets, but yard dogs and outdoor cats have a job to do. I like them.)  A small yard around my house and various playgrounds scattered on the 20 acres.

My plan could never be considered because of the prized corvette and cobra.  Too much dirt and rocks that would mar and chip the paint on the cars.  Too much dirt to track into the house.  Too much dirt on the porch. Too much dirt everywhere.  His plan was workable if we had just had the time together.  We agreed that we wanted a gathering place for our family. This plan was tabled but individually we kept our ears and eyes alert to promising possibilites.

After Ron's passing each of my children and myself longed for a large piece of property where we all could gather for any length of time to visit and reconnect but not be on-top of each other.  We shared our Wyoming adventure and being out on the Greet Ranch as a family just firmed our desire for some place out of town.  Joseph started looking.  I looked at a couple of places and was ready to place an offer when the seller changed his mind on a few details and took it off the market. I waited too long to make the decision.  Another piece caught Joseph's attention and he took a drive out to look it over.  In his mind it was more acreage than what we were hoping for but the price seemed right.  We did what we needed to do to secure the property and on November 28, 2012 escrow closed on 319.3 acres north of San Miguel, California.  Our northern property line is on the Monterey / San Luis Obispo county line.

Just a few pictures to give you an idea of the landscape at the Bar BH.

Looking East from the house. The road is well maintained by the county. 

Eastern View.  Property line is over the top of the hills.

From one of the eastern hillsides toward the west.

View from an eastern hilltop looking south west.  Property line follows near the second ridge inside the trees.

From a hilltop looking down on the house.

Also looking from the east toward the house.

From the deck of the house toward the north east. 

Directly east from the deck of the house

Directly south from the deck. Just slightly west of this shot is our fire pit, tire swings, picnic area, and out door movie theater.  

Directly north from the deck. Property line is the green line behind the shop. That is a vineyard in Monterey County.

Directly West from the house. Property line is the far fence.  Our second major purchase,  the Kubota and a couple of its attachments. The first big purchase being a generator to run the house when the solar batteries are low.

We feel especially blessed to have found this piece of property and were able to have everything fall into place so that escrow could close within 30 days. There is a lot of dirt.  Only three miles of dirt road and although I asked that Ron's vette be trailered in Joseph opted to drive it VERY slowly to its home in the shop. Where it occupies a corner all covered up. Never to see the light of day... well never say never.

Can you guess where I will be spending most of the summer?

PLANTING DAY AND OTHER ODDS 'N ENDS

  

 We planted our garden today, in wine barrel wanna-be containers.  There are 9 in all and each kid has his or her own and a few to spare.  We planted, radishes, carrots, nasturtiums, marigolds, watermelon, pumpkin, tomatos, potatoes, and petunia.  The kids planted his or her own container and we had way too much fun.  They were good students and all I had to do is supervise and lend a hand once in a while.  They were and easy group.

Garden signs being made tomorrow!

A few weeks ago we were threatened by a fast moving brush fire.  Just about a mile and half from the house is where I took the first picture.  The fire was fanned by the Santana Winds gusting to 60+ mph.  We actually were alerted to evacuate if the call came. But the winds kept the fire moving west and north.  I took the picture of the speed limit sign just as a policeman pulled up behind me to remove it.  I thought I'd just send the picture to the city and tell them where it was.  I think this is the same sign post that fell over and bonked Austin on the head a couple of years ago.  He's ok -- has a hard head.

Mothers Day was delightful though I did miss the girls' afternoon out with my daughters. Ame and her girls and I lunched late at Chili's. Then we got our toes "tickled".  I'm told that Clint and Joseph presented their wives with a massage and hot tub soak.  Nice.

Chris took his boys out shooting and then shopping.  Sunday morning Ame and I were treated to a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs.  Very tasty.  Thanks kids.

It was career day Friday at school.  As we were leaving school at the end of the day CHIPPER the California Highway Patrol mascot was just leaving at the same time.  He was gracious to take a picture with Jonathan.  Ame went to a couple of the classrooms to talk to the students about her experience at college and what she will be doing as a nurse.

Thursday the second graders had a "Pastries with Parents" day where they served their parents yummy sweet treats and interviewed them.  Austin told me that one of the questions he asked his dad was "What makes you laugh?" followed by "What makes you cry?" the answer to both questions was, "My kids."

The school year is winding down. Only about 10 days left.  I am working on a memory quilt for granddaughter Maddy who is graduating from High School and off to attend BYU Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho in January 2014.  After her graduation the Payan kids and I are off to the Ranch.  Oh, The Ranch.  I haven't shared the ranch yet.  Soon, I promise.

Two more kids books for review.

Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow is a sweet story filled with mystery and intrigue and the moral struggles of brothers growing up in post World War Two Russia.  It is historically accurate, though I haven't done any fact checking of my own.  I do trust Scholastic Books to check facts when they make the claim.  I didn't know that in whole regions of Germany and Russia dogs were shot in the street just because they belonged to the enemy.  Nor did I know they were cruelly used to blow up tanks.  If your youngster is a dog lover and loves his or her family this story will provide a glimpse into how loyalty to family and kindness to strangers can result in miracles. I think youngsters ages 9 -11 would enjoy the adventure. Google Saving Zasha to find out more.


Captain Nobody is a ten year old with big problems. The biggest is that he is invisible to everyone in town except his two best friends and his teacher at school.  But on the night of the big game against rival high school Merrimac things start changing big time.  Captain Nobody wants to do the right thing and it seems that a series of choices boosts his confidence as he faces ever troubling challenges.  I really like Captain Nobody.  I liked him when he was Newton Newman.  I think my kindergartener would like to hear this story if he would sit still long enough to let me read it to him. You can learn more about the Captain at www.captainnobody.com where you will also meet Captain Nobody's creator, Dean Pitchford.

My next children / young adult book is Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye.

5 MINUTE FAMILY HOME EVENINGS

A few weeks ago I lamented in Relief Society that I was unsuccessful at getting the kids gathered for family home evening and invited the sisters to let me know how they were making it a successful event in their home.  Last week during our discussion a sister offered that she does five minute family home evenings.  I was excited to hear her story.  I felt like I could do a five minute family home evening.  I was pretty sure I could get the boys to sit for five minutes to tell a story or sing a song and read a scripture.  The trick is to be ready for that five minutes to start as soon as they all set foot in the room at the same time.  Think "herding cats." That's the best visual I can give you.

I tried it.  Promising only five minutes of family time and insisting they leave their nerf weapons in the other room we started with a song chosen by the youngest, next a prayer, then a scripture. So far things were going well. It looked to me that they were each engaged in what we were doing. Then it happened--they caught the spirit of family home evening. "Can we have our *one-minute of fame," they asked. "I want to choose the closing song." "No, I want to choose the song." "You can each choose a closing song. We can have more than one song tonight." "Can we read the scriptures?" I was so excited to experience what was happening. We were having family home evening. We were having family scripture study. We were feeling the spirit. They were asking questions about Jesus, the gospel, heaven, and hell, and when they were born. Twenty minutes into fhe their mom came home and the next hour they spent rehearsing their day at school and in fhe. We closed with prayer and it was off to bed. (The weapons going with them.)

I am so grateful for my dear friend who felt to share her five minute family home evening plan with us.  I am grateful I felt the witness of the truth and put it into action.  Once again, I let go of my strict vision of what fhe should be like and stepped aside so God could work his miracles in the heart of my kids. Parenting is easier with God as a leading partner.

* one minute of fame consists of me setting the timer on my phone to countdown from one minute. Each child gets his own one minute to do whatever he/she wants to do in front of an audience.  Some have read out-loud from any book we have in the library, some have taught a song, some have just stood in front of us making silly faces, some have shown us what funny noises their body can produce, and some have just giggled for 60 seconds. Usually before the closing prayer they ask for another minute of fame. If there is time we go for it, otherwise its off to bed.

A Million Words Read This School Year by Fifth Grader Ashlie

We are raising readers here in Beaumont.  All of the grade schoolers participated in the read-a-thon earlier this spring and all but the kindergartener are involved in the AR reading program at school.  Our fifth grader read over a million words since the beginning of school this year. Our kindergartener is reading everything, labels, road signs, grocery bags, computer games, but doesn't want to sit and read a book when the brothers are home. Our third grader reads at school during the free time his teacher gives the class for reading but he is not one to "curl-up with a good book" like the fifth grader.  Our second grader doesn't want to stop moving much at all when he is at home reading is a chore for him. Our middle schooler will read if she is assigned to read but hasn't found the genre that captures her attention. She may be more of a reader for information than entertainment--that's good too.

Before we have to tie them to their seats and read to them I am trying to set the example. I have a large library of reading material which is mostly packed away but I brought a respectable few with me and have determined to read through as many as I can this year.  Last year I read the complete Narnia Chronicles by C. S. Lewis.  I found the boys wanting me to tell the story so well they feel like they read the book.  I like to tell the story but I am perfecting my technique of selective reporting hoping that when they do read for themselves the story will be familiar and surprising.

Following is my reading list so far this year.  I have opined on each of them and included a link for other reviews for most of the books.

DIAMOND BACK CAVE
K.L. Fogg
Covenant Communications, Inc.

I bought this book a year or two ago and kept it in my library for summer reading to my grandkids.  They haven't been interested in reading it themselves as yet.  They find Harry Potter and the Wimpy Kid more interesting. So, I decided to read it myself.  I'm not sure what I expected from it -- maybe along the lines of the Hardy Boys. Maybe I was hoping for deeply developed main characters with a strong supporting cast.  I was disappointed. The teens were asked to deal with a multitude of crises from the adults in their lives.  Kidnapping, murder, schizophrenia, amnesia, blackmail, being trapped in a snake infested cave, more murder and extortion punctuated nearly every page. The cast of adult characters were so numerous it was hard to keep track of them.  I'm 60+ years old and my brain is not as quick as my grandchildren's but about the time I started caring about the main characters the story was winding down.  In the end the kids escaped to return to their families and their high school life to cope with the highly publicized fallout of their kidnap experience. The good adults returned to their daily lives and everybody lived happily ever after. The bad adults were jailed or killed off. Maybe I'm just too old to fully appreciate this piece of work.  Here's a link to a youtube video.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhX0ONzsetk    It is an inviting film.


THE RED PYRAMID
Rick Riordan
Scholastic, Inc.

I liked this book.  I liked the story tellers skill of weaving Egypt's historic magic throughout the world.  For the most part the good people were really good people trying to do the right thing or trying to make a wrong they had done right.  Evil was really evil.  The youngsters in their teens discovered their own strengths and came to appreciate and depend on one another as they fought to rescue their parents and the world from the dark magic.  THE RED PYRAMID is another book I bought with the grandkids in mind. I think it will stay on my book shelf.  I didn't do any fact checking to know how accurate the ancient Egyptian myths are. But the author made them seem real as he skillfully told the story.  THE RED PYRAMID is the first of the Kane Chronicles. I'm looking for book two.  Here's a link to the author's website http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/kane-chronicles/books/red-pyramid.aspx.

A WRINKLE IN TIME
Madeleine L'Engle
Square Fish

Here is another book where the children are called upon to face evil and rescue their father.  These children have been empowered with advanced IQs and face obstacle after obstacle using their intelligence. A trio of sweet muses guide them with additional gifts or riddles all designed for each child to discover their individual uniqueness and overcome the evil that has entrapped their dad. Ultimately they come to appreciate what it means to be a family; learning that the power of love conquers evil.  I hope my children read this book.  It is a fantasy in time travel and interstellar travel where we meet good creatures fighting against the Black Thing trying to impose his will on all creatures in an effort to save them from the pain of making their own choices.  The first in what has been called Time Quintet introduces us to the Murry family and Calvin O'Keef.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.  As I was reading this book the kids were more interested in what I was reading asking, "What's a wrankle?"  "You mean a wrinkle?" "Yeah, what's a wrinkle in time? How can you wrinkle time?" That question alone opened up a brief discussion on physics, which I know nothing about, except the very, very, abbreviated definition of the word.  I could see their imaginations working though.
You can learn more about the series here:  http://us.macmillan.com/awrinkleintime/MadeleineLEngle

I also read something for me.  I am a big fan of good westerns -- books or movies.  But I want my heros really good heros and my bad guys really bad guys. I know life is not that clearly defined and that we all have a dark side within us.  I like the old fashion books/stories that dwell in the moment the hero has already decided to do the right thing and then does it well and courageously even if he has to do it alone.  That's the kind of heros I found in Louis L'amour's collection of short stories titled VALLEY OF THE SUN (Bantum Books).  With only nine short stories this was a fast read for me -- about a week.

My reading time is limited to the half-hour when I wait in the parking lot at school or waiting while they play at the park. The boys are so accustomed to seeing me with a book that they now make sure I have it with me whenever we leave the house. They sure take good care of me.

THE HEALER'S ART
Lloyd D. Newell and Don H Staheli
Deseret Book

The authors discuss Carl Bloch's painting Christ Healing at the Well of Bethesda.  Insights inspired by the painting draw the reader into the painting and offers the mind and spirit pathways to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ. I found my soul drinking deeply from the spiritual refreshment Mr. Newell and Mr. Staheli offered.  From its pages, which related many familiar scenes from the life of the Savior, I polished my understanding of the divine sonship of Jesus Christ. It is worthy of its subject matter.  THE HEALER'S ART is a small book with only 98 pages and two small appendices.

Next up on my reading list is THE INFINITE ATONEMENT written by Tad R Callister, published by Deseret Books.  This is for my edification.

And as an example to the kiddos is CAPTAIN NOBODY by Dean Pitchford, published by Scholastic, Inc. They have seen it on my bookshelf for the past year and threatened to read it but then got distracted by Harry  and Hermoine, or the Wimpy Kid, or The Magic Tree House.  I'm hoping they will continue to enjoy good books.

We are planning a stay at the ranch in Paso this summer.  I may have to insist on indoor reading time during the hottest part of the day.

What great reads have your youngsters discovered?