Opening Week, A Little Late

As a friend recently commented on my Facebook profile, there hasn't been a Luttrullstown update in oh, forever, so here goes:

We're in our second week of family camp, and we had the smoothest opening in years, thanks to about twenty volunteers from California, Texas, and Oklahoma who came and worked hard to get the ranch in shape. Our summer staff is wonderful - they all get along well and do what is needed without having to be asked. They had a week together before guests arrived, and it was a great time of fun and growth. We're excited about this summer, and what God will do through them.

I've especially enjoyed the work of the kitchen staff - they are quite talented, and set a fun and easygoing tone in the kitchen. Krista, the sous chef, made a lovely blackberry cobbler last week. I loooooved it, savoring every bite. Later that night, Rob said something funny and I laughed. He looked at me strangely, and sent me to the mirror to check out my smile. I had blue teeth. I'm not exaggerating. It's been close to a week, and they're still not quite back to normal.


I've never really spoken much about our staff before, and I want to introduce Kristin and Sara, two of my favorite people. I met them last summer when we worked together in Kid's Club. Kristin is absolutely hilarious and keeps me laughing. Sara is a sweetheart, and I wish she would ditch college to be the ranch's summertime nanny. We were thrilled when we heard that both were returning this summer.

A new pool was installed just in time for the first guests' arrival. Our old pool was an Esther Williams pool, built in the late 60s. It was in pretty bad shape, requiring annual scraping and repainting, and it had to be vacuumed manually. The kids enjoyed swimming in it, but it was a sad sight. I got a picture of it right before demolition. The water in it has been standing all winter long, but it wasn't much better when the water was clear.

The new pool is gorgeous, and most importantly, doesn't have to be manually vacuumed! It's situated so that it reflects Longs Peak, and there's a hot tub that seats 16 next to it (though we did cram 20+ staff members into it last night). We have many faithful guests that are going to be thrilled when they get here. I mentioned Longs Peak before; the picture below has Estes Cone in the background.

It's been ready for over a week, but we were rained out most days. Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful, though chilly day. Rob and I made our way down to the pool looking forward to a soak in the hot tub, but dreading the return trip in 50 degree weather. Rob found a way to beat the cold.

That picture just makes me smile.

In other news, one of the mama goats delivered twin baby boys late last week. Rob and I took Levi over to see them when they were a mere four hours old. They are so precious, and their little voices made us laugh. Mama goat is doing a great job taking care of them. The baby goats stick so close to her that the wranglers can tether her to a post outside the goat pen, and trust that the babies won't go more than a couple of yards away. They're living a charmed life right now: eating, sleeping and frolicking. They should enjoy their rest now. When they get a bit bigger, they'll become part of the kid's rodeo.

The one on the right is quite the escape artist. Rob has suggested that we name him Houdini.

Levi went on his first hike last Thursday. We've been looking forward to breaking out this special backpack for quite a while. He (mostly) enjoyed the trip, so we think he'll get to go hiking a lot this summer.

Levi has begun to recognize the purpose of a camera, and he usually turns on his big smile when we get it out.

One last piece of news: Levi has cut his first tooth. Since he never fussed about it, we wouldn't have known if he hadn't bitten one of the staff girl's fingers. I can't show you a picture of it yet, because he guards it jealously. The first shot I get, I'll share.

In closing, please observe the best cat in the whole wide world. Aggie despises children. I've seen her hiss and takes swipes at many a toddler, including my niece and the other two ranch kids. But Levi? He can pull out her hair, tug on her ears and poke her in the head, and she bears it with grace. We have no explanation, except that she's brilliant and understands that Levi is part of our family. And that makes her the best cat in the whole wide world.

I am ending this marathon post. Over a out.

Lynda

Florida

We had a great time on vacation last week. It was nice to have several days to relax and spend time together as a family. We had two long travel days on either end of the trip, and Levi handled them very well. The picture below was taken in the Denver airport while we waited to board our plane. It appears that Levi was hungry...

Here's our little surfer.

He was a little beat after our long morning walk.

We took Levi to the beach the second afternoon to see what he'd think about the ocean. I put him on my lap and sat down so the waves would wash over his legs. The water felt great, but it was much colder than the bathwater he's used to. It was definitely over after a wave splashed his face. He stuck his lip out and fussed until we wrapped him up in a beach towel. He's much happier with daddy in the warm towel.

Levi spent the rest of his beach time time dressed and sitting under an umbrella.

And even if he didn't like sitting in the water, he loved watching it.

This is one of my favorite pictures because it shows off his beautiful little eyes. I loved being able to dress him in summer clothes, instead of bundling him head to toe. He loved being near-naked for a week.

I want to go on vacation again...

Lynda

Six Months Old!

Levi is six months old! At his six-month check-up this week, he weighed 13 pounds, 13 ounces, measured 26 1/2 inches, and braved his vaccinations with little fussing. I'm watching him on his play gym right now, and it's hard to imagine the tiny baby I brought home half a year ago. This baby is smiling, grabbing anything within arm's reach, and 'talking' almost non-stop. He's very social and notices when attention is going elsewhere. One short, plaintive cry restores attention to its rightful place, and all is well.

We celebrated yesterday morning by singing 'Happy Half-Birthday To You' and last night, we gave Levi vegetables for the first time. There were two distinct phases of the feeding...when Levi 'loved' green beans, and later, when he obviously did not. We couldn't figure out why there was such a drastic change in his reaction to the green beans until we watched the video again. Levi's had a head cold for about a week now, and we saw that partway through the feeding he coughed and sneezed. We think that when he sneezed, he reopened his nasal passages, and and as a result, re-awakened his taste buds. Once he could really taste the food, he was not impressed. It's encouraging, though, that he continued to eat it, even if it wasn't his favorite. You can see the videos by going to YouTube and searching for 'He Loves Green Beans' and 'He Doesn't Love Green Beans'. They're quite lengthy, so I combined and edited them into one, short video. I was really proud of myself until both Blogger and YouTube failed to recognize the format and upload it. Boo.

Anyway, here's Levi's six-month picture with Tex:

And here are a few more pictures we've taken over the last few days. The first is Levi's 'sleepy face'. This pose, featuring limp arms, no expression, and a leaning head is a dead giveaway that it's naptime:

We took a stroll in yesterday's gorgeous weather. There was still nip in the air, so Levi had to wear his monkey hat.

It's really a shame that Levi looks nothing like his daddy.

Levi tried out his Exersaucer for the first time this morning. He quickly realized that he could turn in the seat by hooking his arms around one of the toys and pulling. Then he got stuck when he couldn't unhook his arms. Poor kid. It's a shame when your own limbs conspire against you.

I've downloaded all our vacation photos, so look for those soon...and I'm on kid watch, too. The ranch's goats are due to give birth some time this month, and I hope to get pictures of the kids soon after they arrive. I won't be working in Kid's Club day-to-day this summer, and I look forward to sitting on the sidelines while another baby goat gives a staffer a run for their money...

Lynda

Swine Flu: Some Parents Just Overreact!

So when a reporter asks for your impressions of the swine flu 'epidemic', you probably shouldn't imply that the media is exploiting the story to the detriment of the American public. Okay, so I wasn't that eloquent, which is probably why they edited down my comments. Rob was much more articulate than me. Click on the link below to see what I'm talking about:

http://www.wpbf.com/video/19346192/

Let me set the record straight: we did NOT take Levi to the urgent care facility because we thought he had swine flu. We went because he got sick while we were vacationing, and we wanted to ask a doctor about it before we boarded a plane to go home. We were primarily concerned with taking him on a flight if he had an ear infection (ouch!), and secondarily concerned that we could expose him to other infections/viruses (read: swine flu). Thank you, Joe Biden, for planting this fear in my head (Oops! That's not what he meant to say!). Seriously, Mr. Biden only said what everyone with flights scheduled this weekend was already thinking.

Our pediatrician's office recommended that we take Levi to urgent care for a look-see, so off we went. The great news is that Levi's ears aren't infected, but the bad news is that he's most likely still going to have a rough ride tomorrow. On the way out we were approached by a very nice reporter who asked if we had a couple of minutes to talk about what we 'think about what's happening across the country with swine flu'. Suddenly, all the other outfits I'd considered that morning flashed through my mind, but it was too late - he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

Two final thoughts: 1) When you are going to an urgent care facility because you're concerned for you child's health, you may not think you have time to brush your hair, but you do. You really do. 2) My child usually wears shoes, but we were in sunny Florida...and we were in a hurry (did I mention that this is why I didn't care more for my appearance?). Ugh! So many of this morning's choices I'd like to revisit!

Lynda

Snow Angels

So, we've gotten A LOT of snow in the last several hours - over two feet now, and the snow is supposed to keep falling through tomorrow afternoon. The forecast is up to 3 feet, but I think we're going to pass that mark.

This picture was taken at 9:00 this morning as Rob shoveled our porch. The snow is about level with Rob's knees.

Eight hours later, it's about mid-thigh.

Rob found my long-lost ski clothes yesterday, so I threw them on to go play outside. It's amazing how fast a couple of feet of snow turns a thirty-year-old mom into a six-year-old again.

This picture is of the other side of our front porch. Look how high the snow is! You'll notice a 'hole' in the snow in the bottom right-hand side of the picture. I had the overwhelming urge to dive into the snow, so I did. So much fun.

Here's the white wagon and our cars:

We dug the Envoy out to make a trip to town this afternoon, otherwise, it would be covered like the Corolla and the Expedition next to it. I snapped the picture below after falling down on the road three times in one minute. I don't mind falling when the landing is so soft.

I can't wait until Levi is old enough to play in the snow with me!

Lynda

Ridin'

We got a lot of snow late last week and into the weekend, and our friend and coworker Emily invited us to take some of the horses out for a ride. I hadn't ridden since the beginning of last summer, and I was thrilled to go. It was awfully cold, but absolutely beautiful outside.

Here's a view from the saddle...

...and this is Emily and me on our horses. See, I can be ranchy, too. I don't leave it all to Rob and Levi.

And if anyone has anything to say about my not-so-ranchy hat, you should now that 1) it's very warm and 2) my sweet Grandma Helen gave it to me. So there.

Lynda

Five Months!

Levi's five month birthday was Monday, and we celebrated by getting vaccinations. :( We also got weighed and measured; Levi hit 13 pounds and now measures 25 3/4 inches (I'm not giving out my stats). Here's the official picture with Tex:

But this is my favorite:

Here comes trouble!


Lynda