Junk Drawer - August 2025.

My dad wanted some caramel popcorn, so I delivered.  This is seriously the best (non sticky) caramel corn in the world.  I got the recipe from a build a bear cookbook that the girls had.  It is a keeper!

Sidney's first day of 11th grade.  Back to in person school she went.  It has been a transition for both of us.  

My lime light hydrangeas are giant this year.  I love them!

Kendall SFO Bound.

Diego took a trip to Cali to visit his family.  They invited Kendall to join him.  Their first stop?  The science museum.  Kendall said it was awesome.  I love this picture, not only for the cool suits, but for the crazy smile that Kendall is adorning.

Grandpa told her that a crab sandwich was an absolute must.  She obliged and enjoyed a delicious sandwich.

Diego and his family are die hard Giants fans.  He goes to a game every chance he gets.  Kendall joined them for her first professional baseball game.

The stadium view is awesome!

Sadly, the Giants lost big time that night.  They had been on a winning streak and that streak continued after this one loss.  Drat!  A good time was still had by all!

It was a great trip and a weekend filled with fun!

Celebrating Sidney and Mom.

We celebrated the twins birthday's at Red Robin (Sid's pick).  The balloon man stopped by our table and made Sidney a special balloon bicycle for her birthday. 

My  mom got her a lovely, delicious cake.  Funny story, Sidney loves the attention being on her.  This was news to me, as I despise the attention being on me.  So, we made sure to celebrate in style (and very loudly).

My beautiful mom.  I think she loves sharing her birthday with Sidney.

Two beautiful girls here.

Happy Birthday to these lovely ladies!

Dutch Pups and Coffee Art.

Kendall brought the doggos some Dutch Pup bandanas.  They wore them with pride.

Kendall has been practicing her coffee art.  She is getting pretty good.

Night Glow, Night Rides and Night Life.

Sidney is really living her best life.  I may say that often, but it truly brings me joy.  I remember a day not so long ago that I worried about whether she would find her independence.  Well, she has.  She and Kennedy went to the hot air balloon night glow.

Sid and Corinna went for a late night horse ride.

Sidney enjoyed the lantern festival with her friends.

Wyatt Flores at the Revolution Concert House.  Ask her how the ride home went...

Just in case you were wondering, she still loves her job...if you can call it work.  I think she loves the doggie snuggles.  Though one of the downfalls is that she gets very attached to the dogs.  Dogs have much shorter lives than we do, so she has experienced some loss in the past year.  One of her favorites, Finley, passed this past month.  It was very sad.

The Boys.

I had Anna do two sessions with Levi while she was visiting from Germany.  She could not believe how much he had grown.  He was so good for her.  Anna claims that she was stretching him here, but I think she was really giving him a hug goodbye.

Sid and I managed to sneak a couple of early morning rides in during the hot days.

Levi, the knucklehead, decided to roll right next to the fence.  It was late one evening, and I was literally the only one at the ranch.  Sid was out of cell service.  He got his legs stuck in the fence panel.  Thankfully he remained calm.  I tried to think of what to do.  I was walking the outside of the fence and going to try and help get them unstuck.  As I did this, he managed to get one leg free.  He then tried to stand up and free the other leg.  In the process he scraped it along the metal of the fence.  He had a pretty  nice wound.  Again, I was by myself.  I thought...what would I do for a human?  I walked him over to the wash rack and hosed it down good to clean it out.  I found some antibiotic cream in the trailer along with some gauze and vet wrap.  I got it all doctored up.

I had Sid check it the next day.  Thankfully, it healed up very nicely.  Gah!

Keeping Up with the Animals.

How did they get on the stairs?

Willow keeping me company while I work.

Just hanging out.

Helping Kendall pack.

The cone of shame.

BSU Life.

Kendall has been settling into college life.  She and Bentley went to the splatter party the weekend before classes started.

She has been finding her new stomps and has taken up cooking.  She has also been enjoying the Saturday market.

It has been fun to have Bentley close by.  They have been grabbing some meals together and having a good time.

The staff at her apartment left them some gifts on the door before classes the first day.  

Kendall took a first day of school selfie.  I guess that is what you do when mom is not there to take it for you.

Kendall has found that classes have been challenging.  I think, because she had already been taking college classes, that the transition would not be dramatic.  We both did not realize that she is no longer taking the 101 level classes, but rather, jumped right into the deep end.  Forging her independence has been both rewarding and not without its challenges.

There She Goes...

Kendall had started loading the sunroom up with stuff for her move.  The fuller it got, the weirder it felt.  This was getting real.  She found the last couple of days at home to be a roller coaster of emotions.  It seemed that even the animals knew what was coming.

I thought I would handle this transition with unprecedented smoothness. Ha! The minute I pulled the truck around the curve and saw the move-in line, my throat squeezed tight and the tears started to flow. Sidney looked over and said, "It's okay mom, just go ahead and cry." I am just thankful Kendall was off parking her car.

The move in was so awesome.  They had movers helping with our stuff.  All of her things were sitting outside her apartment by the time we parked the cars and made it up to her room.

I was not really sure whether I should stay and help her get settled or not, so I asked.  She welcomed the help.  

We made a couple of trips to the stores to pick up a few things that we had not thought about.  Truth is, Kendall had done an amazing job planning it all out, so there was not a lot that we had to pickup.

I am glad she is close by, but the tide has changed. She is spreading her wings. This is what we all wish for our kids, but it doesn't mean it will be easy. This is just the beginning of a new season of great things!

So how does any good parent deal with the silence when you get home?  Clean, of course.  I gave her room a top to bottom cleaning and started reimaging it as a sewing space.