Happy Fall Ya-All!

It has been soooooo long since I have updated this blog! I am not going to try to play catch up or else I would be totally overwhelmed! Things are going well here at the Shadd household... We finally broke ground on our new home! Yea! It is going to be a totally slow process, but of course, well worth the wait! I shall try to post photos occasionally... or make up a slideshow or something creative like that. I've planted around 19 trees in front of the new house, and a photo of the most recent is above... Acer Sun Valley... pretty cool color change pattern... Hey I'm easily amused!

The business is doing well and I'm doing the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" dance because I don't have to work in the office anymore! Another Yea! Well I pop in to sign checks occasionally, but mostly my friend Christy is managing the office. Thank you Christy! We had a truck & trailer blow over from the heavy winds last week down in Modesto... so needless to say, the business keeps Mike on his toes. Hayden has been keeping busy with the usual things for him... playing flag football, riding his dirtbikes, and he is especially proud of the new blue rim on his bicycle. Koltin has become a Halo expert and plays online everynight with his best buddy Uncle Jeremy... It's amusing to listen to the two of them talking to people all over the world with their little headsets... They scream things like "Sniper" and "Behind you!"... we just roll our eyes as we walk past Kolt's bedroom. Silly boys.

We've had a few new additions to the family this spring & summer... Ella, Hudson & Emma. The top photo is of Emma (my cousin Bobbies's daughter), next is little Ella (Mike's sister Kathy & Randy's daughter) & then comes Hudson (my cousin Lynsey & Jarred's son)...They are all way cute and I'm going to love taking photos of them for the rest of their lives... whether they like it or not!

Well we are off to the coast for the weekend, so hopefully I'll have some fab photos to add next week! Happy Fall Ya-All!

May Madness!

May was yet another busy month for the Shadd family! My most creative Mother's Day present that I've received EVER was given to me by my son Hayden. He's 12 and his Papa Jere just taught him how to weld, and Hayden knows how much I love yard art (or junk as Mike would call it).... ANYWAY, Hayden managed to make me a little yard sign, which I promptly declared that it belonged by the fish/frog pond in the back yard. Didn't he do a great job? If you look very closely at the photo there is a huge frog at the left the base, with his head resting near a stick.

So something new that Hayden also tried this year was 4H. Hayden, Mike, Jeremy & Papa Jere got together and set up a pig pen behind the old barn area, where 30 years ago piggies roamed in excess. Grammie Norma didn't get much say about the stinky mess growing in her back yard... Hayden tried to keep it clean, but... well pigs tend to smell & collect flies... it's a fact! The Silver Dollar fair was this past weekend. Mike & Hayden faithfully went each morning & evening to feed and water the pig... and on Saturday... this little piggie went to the market... I managed to slip in at the exact time that Hayden went out by himself with the pig. I was scared to death that no one would bid, and poor Grammie Norma would have to keep this pig in her backyard forever, not to mention how much pork can one family eat really? It was over in a matter of seconds. Porkie sold for $4.00 a pound and we were all jubilant! Hayden got a check for just over $900 dollars and was elated. Now that Mike & Hayden have gotten their first fair under their belts, they want to do the Gridley fair next... I'm not sure what Grammie Norma will say about another stinky visitor in the barn.

This is Hay showing his pig for the first time... There were about 10 pigs all wandering around with their little owners. Something that doesn't really make sense to me is why they wear white clothes... but I'm sure there is a reason that I have not been privy to. Below, is Hayden who is supposed to be guiding his pig back to the pen... unfortunately, the pig usually ran a bit amuck...

With May coming to a close this next week, June promises to be a great month! First of all it is my birthday month... and Bailey's too... and that makes it a very important month! Next the kids get out of school & we are off to Lake Siskiyou to camp for a long weekend with Mike's family, and then up to Oregon for a long week where we will meet up with some more family & visit a cousin in Portland, do a bit of riding on the sand dunes... and basically have a fabulous time at the ocean!!!!

One last photo... of my pretty hollyhocks... I just love them! They make me happy!

Dang nature...

Spring has hit our vicinity in full force… and as much as I love the green on the trees, wildflowers in bloom, happy little bee’s poking around… and all of the birds singing from early morning ‘til eve… a huge part of me HATES the nature… or at least hates what it does to my leaky itchy eyes, stuffy nose, and never-ending headaches. I guess I should be happy that it eventually fades… but until that time I’m literally chomping on benadryll like it’s candy. Yuk!

So, you might be wondering what we’ve been doing the past few months… and heaven knows that I’m lousy about updating this blog so I’m going to attach a few photos…

I threw a baby shower for my cousin Bobbie...
I threw a bridal shower for my cousin Lynsey...

We celebrated Jeren's (My brother Jeremy's son.) 6th birthday.

My cousin Lynsey, married her long-time boyfriend Jared and performed what had to have been the best cake feed that has ever been done... I was captivated from the moment that I saw her eyes sparkle with mischief as they each took a piece. Way to go guys!

Hayden & I went to Pt. Reyes science camp for a week with his entire 7th grade class... I swear we walked so much I was sore for a week afterwards! This gorgeous coastal area was an incredible place to hike, play on the beach & to just sit, enjoying the magnificent views.





I just love this photo of the campfire above, and all of the kids sitting around laughing & joking. Hayden is sitting behind the fire in the center...



Beachcombing was a blast... There were so many starfish, shells, driftwood & clams stuck to the rocks... This was my first slimy starfish that I've found... most have a crusty shell but this one was actually smooth.


Koltin celebrated his 10th birthday at Heart Attack Race Track in Chico... That's him in the lead...

I had a fabulous long weekend in Las Vegas with some friends & my cousin Becky. My first time there... and although Tom Jones was an interesting show... Cirque du Soleil Love Beatles show was the BEST!!!!! I walked almost as much as when we were in Pt. Reyes, but the shopping was much better!

Happy Easter 2009!

Casey on the hunt...

Koltie, Caden, Casey, Hayden & Kaili

Each year we take turns trying to crack each other's egg to see who gets the good luck for the year... This is one of Vicki's greek traditions and we've fallen in love with it!

This year, Jeren won!

It was a very long day... Bryan & Casey take a break...

So... as you can tell... things are as they always are... CRAZY at the Shadd home! It has been nice for Mike lately, he's decided to take a break from driving, and put someone in his truck leaving him more time to... well, do whatever it is he does... ha ha ha... mostly talking on the phone... just kidding honey! Until next time... I'm off to lay in the hammock and soak up a bit of 'dang' nature...

Taking a break...

Happy New Year! Only a month or so late! I always get around to things, just on my own time schedule! December was crazy for us, as was January. February kicked off in a good way for me because I finally moved out of my inky-dinky office in the house to a new office trailer out back! Yea! I've been working in a tiny laundry room like space for years now, with barely enough room for file cabinets... not to mention the issue of children using the same computer, spilling drinks on the keyboards (not kidding, went through 4 keyboards last fall), etc. etc. Now everything has a place... I have a copy/sort room, filing room, my office, and Mike's office... wonderfully organized. It's all good on the business front... Slowing down... I can finally take a break!

The family got away this weekend to Fort Bragg. We always get so lucky when we go to the coast, the sun always seems to be shining! This weekend was just like the rest and we spent our time geocaching, shopping, playing on the beach and lounging around... One of the things that we like about geocaching is that it gets us off the beaten trail... to places we would never have known existed without our little gps pointing the way. This trip's highlight was finding the Cabrillo Point Light Station, between Fort Bragg & Mendocino. It's about 1/2 mile walk back to the station where there is obviously a large rotating light in a building, a museum, etc. but the coolest part was the water. This particular point is rocky with inlets and the water is agitated to the point that it appears a light blue turquoise... so unlike what one is used to seeing on the north coast! I could have sat on those rough rocks for hours reading. Fabulous spot and we are sure to return there in the near future. The collage above shows a few shots from the light station, glass beach, etc. from this weekend. Our next trip to the ocean will probably not be until June, when we plan to go back to Bandon Oregon and do a bit of motorcycling on the dunes. Can't wait!