Happy Birthday Robbie!!!!

December 01, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Lordy, Lordy, Rob is 40!

 (And better than ever!)

Happy Thanksgiving

November 22, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  We're there with you in spirit and gluttony!

Good Morning!

November 12, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!  It's been a few whirlwind days of work and fun, but today is quiet.  It's my first day off in a month, so I'm still in my PJ's and gearing up for some house cleaning.  Love you all!

Personal Day

October 05, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Robbie and I are taking a personal day tomorrow (Isabell has the day off at her school).  We're going hiking in the 4th of July Canyon - look for some beautiful pictures in the coming days!

Birthday!!

October 02, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy, happy birthday Greg!  We miss you, and Sadie too!

It feels like this has been a hard or tiring ...

September 29, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

It feels like this has been a hard or tiring week for everyone I've encountered.  Here's a little inspiration.

How did we get to September?

September 12, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

What happened??  I think there was a major time warp.  I have managed to miss wishing Jordan a happy birthday, Sadie and Greg a happy anniversary, and will probably forget to wish Bob a happy birthday too, if I don't do it now.  Happy birthday Bob!!!!!!!

We miss everyone like craziness!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!

July 23, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy birthday to the bestest Mom ever!!  We love you lots and hope you have a fabulous day!

Happy Birthday Adam!!

July 19, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy birthday Adam!  I hope that you have some fun with the family today!  Lots of love from the NM branch.

July!

July 03, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Isabell has been fighting strep throat since we've returned from OR.  I think the worst of the fever and sleepless nights is over, but she's still feeling cruddy.  

Robbie headed out to camp training this morning.  He'll return on Thursday for a few days, and will hopefully know if the camp willstay open.  The forest service has closed the area where the camp is due to extream fire dangers.  If the rain season kicks in this week things may be back to normal.

I've started training for my weekend job at Vivac winery, and should officially start mid-month.  

We were able to visit Hanni in her new apartment yesterday for brunch.  She's all unpacked and starting to look relaxed again.  Later this week Alex and Anne will be out for a visit.  Always a great excuse to get the house cleaned up! 

We're back!

June 27, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

We made it back home!  It's hot and windy, and we already miss the rain!

Trip to Eugene

June 12, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

See ya'll tonight!

Early birthday wishes

June 08, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy early birthday Sadie!  Have a wonderful day doing whatever you want :)

Trip to Eugene

May 31, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Isabell and I will get into Portland on 6/12 at 7:05pm (I'm hoping someone can pick us up!).  Robbie will come in on 6/18.  We all leave together on 6/12 at 1:06pm.

We can't wait to see you all!!

Happy Birthday Emma!

May 28, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy birthday Emma!  We miss you and hope you're having a rockn' and rolln' time!

Happy Birthday Jenny!!

May 27, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy birthday sis!  We'll celebrate properly soon!

Friday!

May 18, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Wow, it's been awhile since we've posted anything!  Isabell is all better, and back to her usual antics.  Tomorrow is her schools 5k run/walk, recycled fashion show, talent show, and enchilada dinner.  She'll be participating in everything!

Robbie is working hard on the end of year details (only 5 school days left!).  He got a job at a camp near Jemez Spring, and will be gone all of July.  I'm sure Isabell and I can find ways to get into trouble on our own :)

I went and bought a 25lb bag of flour and have started baking bread.  It's something I really enjoy, and I've let our friends know that I'll be interested in "trades" (especially with those who have farms and wineries).  I'm still subbing away with the schools, and have two more days scheduled next week, as well as the final Dixon yearbook to get out.  

I think we'll all enjoy a nice breather after 5/25, when things can calm down again!   

update

April 12, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Good morning!  Just a quick update to let everyone know that Isabell is doing well.  She didn't go to school yesterday or today, but I'm hoping that she'll be back tomorrow.  She has an appointment with the orthopedic doctor tomorrow, but I'm not sure they'll be able to do much more than the ER doctors did.  She is hoping they can do something to stablize her arm better, as the sling still allows a lot of bumping around to happen.  Otherwise she's happily getting bored out of her mind and upset at how much fun stuff she's missing - I take that as a good sign :)

Monday in the ER

April 09, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Sigh... poor Isabell.  This morning (we have the day off today) Robbie and I were in finishing coffee and reading the paper while Isabell was out playing on her swing.  She walked up to the back door crying and holding her arm.  Apparently, her swing broke from the tree, and while not far from the ground, she fell and additional 2-3 feet into the acequia :(

We thought she may have dislocated her shoulder, so we headed into Espanola and took her to the ER.  By the time we got there she was doing a little better, but her arm was still really sore.  They took some x-rays and sure enough she broke the neck of her right humorous.  They can't really cast that area of her upper arm/shoulder, so she's in a cast for the next 6 weeks or so.  We finally got her home (with a stop for ice cream), and now she's in bed watching movies.  I think the part she likes is that we'll have to help with her homework!  So goes the ups and downs of childhood.

Happy birthday!

March 05, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy birthday Dad!!  I hope you're getting some time off to play and enjoy the day!

More about the dog...

March 02, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

I went to visit Chester today, and she nearly knocked me down with excitement and energy.  Yeah!!  It will be another day before she can eat baby food (though she apparently chewed through 2 IV tubes and tried to eat a syringe cap), and she may have to stay on easy to digest dog food (the stuff for old dogs) for the rest of her life (ie less intestine to digest). 

In addition to the dog news, I've been subbing at Alcalde Elementary the last two days (first for 4th, then for 5th grade).  Isa and Robbie are ready for spring break next week, and we're really excited to see Mom and Bob next week!

Chester

March 01, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Quick update on our dog Chester.  She went in for exploritory surgery today.  They originally thought something was obstructing her stomach, but when they opened her up they realized that whatever virus she had had damaged a section of her small intestant.  They removed about 3ft, sewed her together, and now we're hoping she can finally recover.

Updates

February 28, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Yesterday Isa and I went to visit Chester at the vet.  She's appears better, but not well enough to come home yet.  The vet said the next 24-48 hours will be important - whether or not she's really getting better or not.

After dinner Isabell had a spill on her roller blades (in the house).  She bumped her knee badly, but Robbie (like any good father) reminded her that she wasn't allowed to be too hurt because we'd have to shoot her or Chester.  We can't afford to have them both injured! 

Other than the little bumps, life continues along.  I subed at Dixon yesterday for the 5/6 grade class, and today I'm heading down to Santa Fe to run errands. 

Counting blessings

February 23, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

I suppose I should be counting my blessings and not my bank account balance.  We took Chester into the vet yesterday, where they thought she may have Parvo.  After shelling out several hundred dollars to get her on IV's and have her tested, Isabell and I headed home. 

Happily we got a call from thevet in the evening and the test for Parvo came back negative.  They think she may have eaten something toxic and then became really dehydrated from vomiting too much.  It won't be cheep, but she'll get better. 

Then... shortly after that happiness the buzzer on our septic tank went off.  Sigh.  The guys are coming out to pump it today.  Good thing we all get paid on Friday!  Septic tanks are one of the difficult parts of rural living.  Because we live on a very small (.25 acre) lot, we have to have a specialized, and very small, tank.  They installed in in June, so it looks like every 6-7 months we'll need to have it pumped.  I guess the upside is that our property taxes are only a few hundred dollars a year (yippy for sales tax)!

Recovery

February 22, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

We had an amazingly relaxing weekend.  The house got cleaned up, furniture rearranged, and a lot of movies were watched.  At school (for Robbie and Isabell) this week is really low-key.  Yesterday there was a school wide field trip to the family fun center in Taos.  The kids got to go swimming and ice skating, and everyone had pizza for lunch.  They have regular classes today and tomorrow, and then their last ski trip is on Friday.  Even with all of this going on, the teachers were panicing yesterday as they realized that there were only 9 instructional days until testing starts (it will last for about 3 weeks).

Today Isabell is home sick.  We've all been trading colds around, and even the puppy (Chester) is sick.  I'll take her into the vet this afternoon.  Sadly, while I can feed my kid Tylanol and cold meds, the dog will cost a lot more :(

The week to come

January 31, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

This week I'm talking hands on science to a new level at Dixon!  First we're doing egg experiments.  We'll be looking to see what happens when their submerged in vinegar, soda, bleach and OJ for various amounts of time.  I showed them the chemical formula, and promised that they didn't have to remember it until highschool!  I did get to explain about the CO2 gas and why we couldn't put lids on them.  If the kids handle this well, we'll move on to Diet Coke and Mentos experiments.  If I can get approval from the principal that is :)

I talked to the teacher, Jeannie, today.  It looks like she'll be out until 2/13 at the earliest.  I hope I can keep the momentum until then!

The weekend!

January 29, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

I don't think I've been so happy for a weekend in many years!  We all worked really hard this week, with a lot of late nights catching up on housework and classroom planning.  I gave my kids a little break on Friday and (after their spelling/math quizes) we did a claymation project.  I showed them projects done by other students, and a Wallace and Grommet clip, then we broke into small groups so they could develope their own stories.  After lunch we all went to the art room to play with modeling clay and create our characters.  Overall, a lot more fun then the usual reading/math/social studies!

Yesterday we puttered around the house while Robbie ran to Sante Fe to deposit our paychecks.  Today we ate french toast, are getting ready to do a little cleaning, and then I'll be planning for the next week.  Tomorrow it's back to work!

Happy birthday!

January 22, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Happy birthday Isabell and Joanna!  What a wonderful day to be born!

Work

January 20, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

Sorry all if I'm out of touch for awhile.  I will be substituting for the 3/4 grade at Dixon for the next 2+ weeks because of a medical issue the teacher is having.  Love to all!

Back to normal?

January 09, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

We had a busy weekend that left us all exhausted.  Last Thursday I had my first subbing gig at Dixon Elementary.  I was filling in in the 3/4 grade class and had a blast!  The fun carried over into Friday when the school had their first ski trip of the season (there will be 4 trips in all).  I drove Isabell up to Sipapu, where we met up with the school bus (Robbie came up on the bus).  The first visit is always chaotic, and this was no exception!  After an hour or so, everyone finally had skiies, tickets, and lessons set up.  Once all the kids were off, I took Chester (the new puppy) for a hike.  She had a great time tromping through the snow and getting loved by all the guests.

After the ski trip Isabell's friend Gennys stayed over, and they played all day on Saturday, while Robbie and I made a dump run and constructed Chester's new kennel.  By the end of the day we were happy but tired out!  Unfortunately we did not get much sleep that night because Chester was barking and whinning outside.  I'm amazed none of the neighbors complained!  In the morning I got up early and took both dogs for a walk so Robbie could sleep in.  Several cups of coffee didn't help much.  We set out to take down and store all the Christmas decorations.  We were all so tired and grumpy, and there were more than one tear shed and voice raised.

Things settled down in the evening.  We all watched the show Sherlock then headed to bed.  Thankfully the puppy did much better (I think she liked her new dog bed) and we all slept better.  This mroning was rough, and Isabell ended up staying home tired/sick.  Now there's chili on the stove and cornbread ready for the oven.  I'm hoping it will be a calm relaxing evening. 

Home

January 02, 2012 by Seraph in Cortez

We made it home sfae and sound.  Robbie is off to a training this morning and Isabell is sleeping in.  I'm now catching up on a weeks worth of ignored e-mails and work projects.

We had so much fun visiting with everyone this vacation!  I can't wait to see you all this summer!