Photo Dump

It's probably easier to just do a photo dump as a summary of life lately. So that's what this is. I'm also searching for a 52 item list of prompts to write about, which would give this blog a weekly boost. We'll see what I can find.

Disposable sherry glass at the hunter pace

It was a gorgeous day

I saw a rainbow on my way into work

And Gwyn used the setting sun to her photogenic advantage

Hazel is a cat, "If I fits, I sits" 

The fish and plants are doing well

Photographer from the Pace

My campsite at Oak Leaf Run. It rained. A lot. But I love my camping set up.

I stayed dry and warm!

My mom came to visit while I was off camping. Hazel wanted nothing to do with me for quite a bit.

Family photo

We deserve each other

School fashion for the fall

Kaylee's schoolwork

This may seem like an odd photo to post, but it needs some explanation. I gave the empty square tupperware to Hazel and told her to put it away. She went into the grain room and placed it on the metal grain bin all by herself. She is a year and a half and not only knows where things belong, she can interpret a vague instruction correctly. 

She is also insistent on helping out every night.

And she loves Velociraptor (and he seems to love her too)

Aquaponics system!

This is Piggy and Gerald. Kaylee brought them home for the weekend and had to write about what they did with her.

They went to the post office.

And came to my work to do SCIENCE!

And Kaylee got to try vortexing a sample. She thought it was hilarious.

We've had some very pretty sunsets.

Hazel also got in on the Piggy and Gerald action.

We went pumpkin picking on a ridiculously warm October day.

And got apple cider slushies.

Gwyn shares her dinner with Hazel.

We've had a skunk visiting the yard.

We got a new fish. A coworker was griping that her fish was getting too aggressive with the rest of her tank so I offered to take him so he wouldn't get flushed. We are up to 5 goldfish and one chinese algae eater now. They have lots of space roam. 

More kitty love.

The full system.

Happy Belated Birthday to Me!

Work has just been ridiculous lately. I've been effectively working full time hours to try and help the lab stay on track with all of the sample submissions since our supervisor left for a new job at the end of June. We FINALLY hired someone who started at the beginning of September to be our boss but training her has been a trick and a half.

Because this blog is public I really don't want to go into a lot of detail, but it is very frustrating on a professional level to have to train your boss in microbiological basics. And in Excel. And how to save. And the rules of how to name the files so everyone knows where and what everything is.

I've also been adding new skills to my repertoire including taking point on running a proficiency test that is required for the company to maintain certain certifications. We passed. Oh yeah, I'm amazing.

I started my October birthday month shenanigans on September 30 when I volunteered for the Metropark Express. Remember, going to ride in it, but I knew Gwyn and I would not be fit and that wasn't fair to either of us. So I volunteered to be the timer and that was plenty enjoyable! Not necessarily stress free, but it's a fun kind of stress when you're juggling riders coming in and riders going out. It's something I'm good at.

The start in the fog.

Kaylee and I decorated our mini pumpkins that we grew ourselves

On October 6 the Kindergarten and First grade classes all went to the zoo. I took the day off and chaperoned because why the fuck not? I was in charge of Kaylee and one other little girl from her class, A. We had a blast together.

On Saturday we finally relented and let Kaylee set up my old tent in the back yard. She was ADAMANT that she was going to sleep in it that night.

It provided great entertainment for both kids!

We went to the Enchanted Woodland at Seven Ponds Nature Center. In retrospect I picked too late of a time slot (reservation only) but both kids had fun, even if they were ready to crash by the end of the night.

Meeting the coyote

True to her word, Kaylee went to sleep in the tent all by herself. But then we had a tornado warning for the county and we grabbed her and brought her back inside for safety. She never woke up through the whole relocation. Thankfully she understood when she woke up in her bed the next morning and we explained what had happened.

That led to her saying we had a tomato warning. :'D

Hazel being mischevous at my work. I had to work both Saturday and Sunday. But I didn't let it stop me from my plans!

I wore Kaylee out.

I had the Hunter Pace on Sunday (I opted to skip the Hunter Trials on October 1st and go get hay instead since my wasp problem was finally cleaned out).  This upcoming weekend I'm going camping with Gwyn. I'll ride unoffically and volunteer for the endurance ride. I can't wait!

Florida and Disney - Image Heavy

My parents have a timeshare in the Orlando area and this year I opted to join them in Florida with the girls. Kaylee is coming into the perfect age for Disney and for her fifth birthday we splurged on a VERY nice Princess Dinner at Cinderella's Castle on the Magic Kingdom property. It was a big splurge and I didn't do much for her birthday gifts as that was the big thing. It was worth it, IMO.

15 months: Phrases Hazel Knows

Hi
Bye
Thank you (take ooo)
Here you go
tickle tickle (teek-oh!)
Let it go (sung, to the song from Frozen)
mine
No (shaking her head)
Kaylee (kay-ee)
open
up/down (updown)
outside (ousside)
Mama
Daddy
all done (all dow)
cheese (cheee)
cracker/cookie/food (cookie?)
nursing (sign for milk)
Baby
Shoe
kitty (kiki, dit-ee)
Horse/giraffe/donkey (growling, grrrrraaaah)
Good girl
Good boy
Nana
Shell



Her comprehension is far greater. We can ask her questions and get answers, or ask her to do a task and she will correctly do it (go get your shoes! let's go get water! lay down for a diaper change, please!)

Kaylee is 5!

A happiest birthday to my adventurous princess doctor astronaut paleontologist. May her curiousity and drive to discover never wane.

She is an absolute shining star in my life and I love her to bits, even during the challenging moments. It's hard to imagine life without her now.

When she gets upset with us, she's ready to go live on her own, or so she tells me quite forcefully.

She loves her dresses and will do anything in them. She has 'dancing shoes' as well, though right now I think they're sitting in the sandbox serving as sand buckets...

She's always been fascinated by nature but our house now has only fostered that more. She's not scared by most things. She wants to touch them and she respects the animals we live with, like our resident snakes, frogs and birds. 

She's a free spirit to be sure, and will watch Transformers while dressed as a Princess. She has little use for stereotypes.

We let her stay up to watch fireworks on Saturday. Our neighbor puts on a show every year and our deck is prime viewing. 

She's a good big sister.

Until she isn't.  😅😄😄😄 In this case, she had been pulling Hazel in the dump truck... then dumped her sister out. 

We'll have her party on Saturday, but today we celebrated with just the four of us. Balloons and a mini cake and card for her. 

So tiny. Much squish.

Happy Day of Your Birth, precious one. Take over the world.