Update

Whew! I can't believe it has been nearly two months since I last posted! Crazy! My only excuse is that I have been very busy over the past six or seven weeks, but I will let you be the judge!

First of all, I've got a new job! Hooray! No more Buz's Crab Shack! No more smelling like greasy fish and having to worry about when the mean ol' boss is in! No more being trapped indoors over the summer or working crazy shifts! Yep, I'm really loving my new job as a Wings of Summer Attendant at Turtle Bay. I get to spend all day outdoors interacting with the public, the nearly 400 parakeets, cockatiels, and rosella parrots in the Aviary, and the hundreds of butterflies from around North America in the Butterfly House. Sometimes I do get hot and tired, but oh is it worth it! I am so much happier at Turtle Bay and less depressed. I think it has to do with the amount of sunshine I get and the great people I am working with. It should be a really good summer!

Joe came to visit for two weeks in late April/early May! We ALL had such a great time and can't wait to see him again. Those were definitely some of the fastest two weeks I have ever spent. Even though I started at Turtle Bay five days after he got here, we still did a ton of stuff. We hiked on the BLM, which were starting to dry out but are still lovely, finally made it up to Whiskeytown for a hike around Guardian Rock and some kayaking, climbed to the Crags at Castle Crags (where we saw not only a pileated woodpecker!!! but a BEAR!!!!!) and did some crazy stuff like tour a couple of million dollar homes. I can't believe you've only been gone a week and a half, it seems like so much longer! We can't wait for you to come back out! And about that guy....

Let me see, what else.... Three nights ago we went to an award ceremony because Vanessa recieved second place in non-fiction at a writing contest! Hooray Vanessa, Congratulations!! Glad to see that we have another writer in the family. Now if only I could bring my writing up to par...

Two nights ago we went to the Redding Rodeo!! There's nothing quite like listening to good country music and watching guys trying to get themselves killed by riding broncs and bulls. Gives the women in the family a thrill every time! Seriously though, Mom, Vanessa and I love rodeo and had as much fun this year as we did last year. The Budweiser Clydesdales were back (they are so amazing and well trained) which this year I found slightly amusing since the "Cowboys' beer of choice" is apparantly Coors, according to the ads....You still can't beat the clydesdales though!

And last night Vanessa and I went to Whiskeytown to go swimming. The water was super cold, so we didn't actually get in, although last Tuesday we did go swimming. You've gotta love Whiskeytown when it starts getting into the triple digits and I predict that we'll be spending a lot of time there and at Lassan since I bought a pass this year. Now if only our car were big enough to haul both kayaks and our bikes and still get up the mountains....:)

Whew! I'm so glad that tomorrow is my Friday! I'm looking forward to a little quiet, or at least more time to spend out and about! And in case I don't get on to post again for a while, have a good week y'all!