Goody Bags? Check!

Oh my. It's been rainy all day and in the low 40s, which is just a preview of our winter. Just no fun. Michael's flight home was delayed by a couple hours which threw off my game plan in terms of shopping and prepping for tomorrow's big party.

But the shopping happened eventually and a some of the prepping, too. We have 8 beautiful goody bags, a plan for a pretty tea table, fillings for two of the adult tea sandwiches (kids are getting PB&J on cinnamon bread, nutella, and butter and cucumber; adults get more interesting varieties), and LISTS for tomorrow. With any luck at all, the rain won't be quite as bad as it was today. Darcy's birthday tea party is at the historic Requa Inn, which is owned by friends of ours. I was there for work on our very sunny Monday and the views from the dining room were lovely. I'm afraid we might just get clouds and fog tomorrow, but I hope not.

Wish us luck -- this is the first real kids' birthday party we've thrown!

Don't Do Drugs, Kids

Some allergen got up my nose and I had to give in and take a Benedryl. Now my brain isn't working. That's the whole message tonight.

Purple Waterfall Wood

On the way to Grants Pass, OR, we drive through the small hamlet of Kerbyville. The first few times through, we noticed this wood carving place with a giant wooden waterfall with purple water. We finally stopped so that Darcy could see the purple waterfall up close and discovered that it is home to some amazing craftspeople. There are four or five tree houses to climb, some multiple stories tall, there are wooden bicycles and tricycles, wooden swings, wooden cars hanging from trees. It's a very fun place to stop for a leg-stretch.

The Most Tired Rainbow EVER

My poor sweet girl is all worn out tonight. We went to Brookings for some shopping and play and gas and pulled out of the gas station about 6:55 and she was asleep three minutes later. She had eaten a snack while our gas was pumped, but hadn't had dinner. When we got home, I woke her up just enough to ask if she wanted to wake up to eat some dinner or stay asleep. "Stay asleep." And so she has.

Here, for your fashion enjoyment, is a picture of Darcy's class photo outfit. She insists on rolling up all full-length pants these days because she doesn't like getting her pant cuffs wet from the heavy morning dew we get. Her teacher told me that she did roll down her sleeves and pants before the picture, so she wasn't sporting those socks for the snaps.

Spiders! Why? I Have No Idea!

So in Cima, we could spy migrating tarantulas on the road from twenty or thirty feet away. They were big, they were hairy, they freak most people out. I kinda like them. Here, our slugs are giant and can be spied from a long way away, but our spiders are not that impressive, usually. They're mostly small and we're lucky that many of them spin their webs in places where we can watch. Darcy and I watched a spider spin its web strand by strand. It's pretty darn cool.

Occasionally, however, our spiders -- I don't know -- throw parties? I have no idea, but here's what they do:

We saw this line of spiders on the outside wall of our garage. I was pretty impressed. Each of them was probably about three inches across with those long, long legs. I was watching them and then noticed their friends:

Three Views Of Darcy

Daddy might have gone hairclip happy on this day. But she sure is cute and I sure was mostly asleep before realizing I hadn't yet blogged for the day!

Running With Scissors

The park recently opened a new hiking trail -- the first in about a decade. Invitations went out for a dedication ceremony. We went and joined about fifty people gathered at the dedication site for the Lady Bird Johnson Grove, where we listened to a number of short speeches, met some of the trail crew who built the trail, and then walked a short distance to the trail head. Where there was a ribbon. That needed to be cut. With giant scissors.

You might think a Park Ranger would know better. A supposedly all-grown-up Park Ranger at that. But no. If you put my personal Park Ranger around an oversized pair of scissors, the end result is pretty much inevitable. Those of you who know him well will not be surprised: