Jared, Daphne and I headed in to Manhattan for the day to have an adventure.

We went in on the bus with all the commuters, and we were stuck in traffic. Apparently, a crane fell over in the city, and we got stuck right behind it. It is all over the news.

When we got in the city, we went to visit some friends that work at our church. We have not seen them in ages, and it was so much fun to introduce them to Daphne and to see the lives that they have built for themselves.

After that, we headed out and found a deli to get food at. We made a trek across the city to central park where the plan was to sit and eat some lunch. Daphne got a huge kick out of the park because she was able to run around wherever she wanted to, and she came back to us to get food.

We decided to let her have the day she wanted, so we took several hours walking with her in the park.

We happened upon the Carousel in Central Park, and true to my grandmother, we stopped to get on. All of the horses are orginonal carved art, and the carousel is supposed to be one of the best in the country. Daphne and I got our tickets to go on, and Jared spent the whole ride getting photos of us riding around. Daphne did not love it so much, but we did have a good time going up and down!

After we walked some more, we ran into the zoo, so we decided to go in. We went to the children’s zoo where there were goats and lambs and pigs and llamas and cows. Daphne had fun playing with them. She was used to them and very comfortable with them. We headed on over to the main part of the zoo and checked out the penguins. They were so fantastic, and Daphne just loved watching them dive down and play around.

We also got to see the Polar Bears in the park. They were playing around rolling around in the water, it sure was a lot of fun to watch. The zoo was not as big as I thought it would be, but we had a lot of fun anway.

After hopping on the subway, we ended up at the Met. I wanted to get a gander at some more works of art I had missed before. We hit up the painting area where I got to see another Boticelli and some Filpo Lippi paintings. I also got to see the Vermeer, Degas, Van Gough, Manet and Monet collection. Daphne and Jared loved the Japanese art. I am so glad that I have gotten the chance to look at some more wonderful works of art. This is a hobby of mine, and I love to do it.

We headed home and got home just in time to go out to eat. We went to the best clam bar where we got steamed clam and calamari. The steamed clams are to die for, and I think I could eat them for dinner every day of the year for the rest of my life with no complaints!

I am for sure a New England girl in the sense that I LOVE sea food!

We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art today in New York. As we were walking around with Daphne, one of the security guards mentioned that Daphne was more beautiful than all the art in the museum.

I tend to agree. That was one of the best compliments that a mother, especially one that loves art, could ever get.

It has always been a lifelong dream for me to go see the race tracks where the triple crown races are run. Jesse and I headed out to see Pimlico almost a decade ago, and I realized that being in New York, we are right there where the Belmont is. The Belmont is almost always run on my birthday, and, that being next week, I was wanting to head up and see the action.

We arrived for the 1:00 post time, and we stayed for 8 races. After a slow start, I was able to start calling the races, and I won about $100 with my new betting style. Jared is convinced I should start betting online because I can pick them with a little knowledge and a little luck.

The track is so beautiful, and we were able to play with the ducks in the duck pond while I watched my last two horses win their races. It is so much fun to be in the grandstand and to be a part of such an old and wonderful ledgend.

I am so lucky that I got this chance to see the ponies and be a part of racing history.

Oh… and Daphne liked it too. She was fascinated by the horses, but she had a better resposne to the geese in the duck pond. She liked jumping up and down with me yelling for the winner of the race, and she really liked how excited I got when I won!

A mother’s worst fear is finding the cap to a permanent marker with the body no where in sight.

I have been searching the house for ages trying to find the damage.

Daphne is very, very fond of our dog, and she cannot resist saying hello to him.

Somewhere along the line, she learned his name, and now all dogs are called “Bwaff”, though she does know the word dog.

Apparently, while she was hanging out with her Grandma this weekend, Daphne learned that the dog says, “woof, woof.” When Jared was telling me about it, I asked her where the “woof, woof” was, and she turned to where the dog was supposed to be, and looked greatly distressed that he was not there.

Later in the evening, we were doing a puzzle, and there was a dog in it. I asked her where the dog was, and she pointed to it and said, “Woof woof.” I then showed her the cow and went, “mooooooooooo”. She mimicked me perfectly.

My little girl makes animal noises. How fun is that?

It has been mega hot here lately. It is hard to believe that we had the latest snow on record here in Yamhill county just a few weeks ago in April, and now we have record breaking heat 3 days in a row.

The change from heat to cold has not been gradual at all, so it has been hard on all of us, including the animals.

Daphne and I decided one of the best ways to stay cool was to get a little wading pool set up. I blew it up and put it on our back porch. It worked out really well. There was a point yesterday when our neighbors were over here sitting in it with Daphne. Jared and I were standing in it to keep our feet cool.

Daphne really likes it, but her favorite thing is to get in and out of it. Since it is an inflatable pool, when she straddles the side of the pool, a bunch of water spills out, and the reaction she has when the water leaks out is just precious.

I have been working back and forth with Daphne about using the toilet. Ironically, she will poop on the toilet, but she will not pee (I hear it is the opposite with most kids).

She has been running around with out a diaper on mostly because we have been outside a lot. In fact, I only have 3 diapers in my diaper pail and I haven’t washed in 4 days or so.

We made a big fuss and gave her a big congratulations when she made a poop in the potty yesterday. I am hoping that she will start to tell us when she needs to go, since very often when she has to poop she just goes and stands in the bathroom to do it.

It is a little early, but the sooner the better, I say.

There is a reason why calling someone a bird brain is not a complement.

You see, the birds have a little tub that I use to fill with water. Two of the chickens decided to stand on it at the same time, and it managed to flip over on top of them. They were stuck under there for hours before I managed to find them and flip it back over (this was at night).

Silly, dumb birds.

Only 8 more days until the chicken and duck butcher.

I think that I will appreciate it, and I also think that my neighbors will appreciate it. The ducks have taken to “talking” to the neighbors. Though it is cute, it is a little more high-key than I wanted my farming to be.

And so, they have a butchering appointment on the 25th at 9am. Things will be a little calmer and I a little more quiet without the ducks. The living conditions will be a little crowded until I butcher the next set of chickens in 2-3 more months.

Today was hot, Hot, HOT!

Daphne and I spend the majority of the day outside despite the fact that it make it up to 101 degrees here!

I realized that our back yard gets shade later in the day, so even though it is very hot, we are in the shade and can be outside and play without too much of a problem.

I have been working very hard in the yard trying to get it all up to snuff. Yesterday, I moved my apple tree because it turned out that I had planted it originally in the only spot in our back yard that we can fit the trampoline. Our neighbor had a trampoline they were wanting to get rid of, so they gave it to use for next to nothing. It is in great shape, and I really like them, so it will be a fun addition.

Because of the heat, we also got a little blow-up kids pool, and I put it on our back deck. Daphne and I played in it, and she really, really had a lot of fun, which was nice!

I also finished planting all of my plants except for my herbs. It was nice to be out there getting that all done (oh wait, I still have to plant some garlic). I will be producing quite a bit of food, which is nice. I already have quite a few sprouts,so it will not be long at all before I have radishes at least!

It was all hard work, and I was definitely sweating, but it was totally worth it.