And Here's a Message from Our Advertisers.....

Who knew my next post would be a commercial? Yet when I saw this Thai pantene commercial, I thought, wow!! It literally moved me to tears. I couldn't help but pass it along. Talk about overcoming adversity, and finding something within yourself that is stunning! I pray that each of us never gives up on our dreams...we all have a spark of the divinity in us....let it shine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um9KsrH377A

Unabashed Jonas Fan

My little Laine just adores the Jonas Brothers. So imagine her shock and throes of excitement when she was invited to attend their concert here in Fresno by her best friend, Sydney, as a late Birthday present. She could hardly wait and kept asking, when do we leave? Can we go now? Mom, how much longer!?! Then, they were invited to go back stage (one of the benefits when your best friend's mom happens to be the mayor, I guess.) where they had their photo taken with the Jonas Brothers. Laine was bouncing off the walls when she came home and looked like she was going to faint when she told me that Kevin had his arm on her shoulder during the picture. LOL So cute. :-)

Late photos of Kelly's 8th grade graduation

(((sigh))) I admit it. I'm a bad mother. We have been so busy this summer and with all of our computers down frequently, I just haven't been blogging. Here are some photos of Kelly's 8th grade graduation!

Camping at Soquel Creek

Last week we decided to go camping! We took our new tent, Erin & Nick, and lots of water with us. The campground is over 5000 feet in elevation, nice and cool, and has a creek nearby that the kids had a blast in. The best part is it's only 45 minutes away. Here are some photos of the adventure. We have others, but since they are on Nick's camera....LOL The next day we went up to Yosemite and played in the Merced River and hiked up to the Bridal Veil waterfall. It was fun, but very busy there.

New Puppy

We were blessed with a new puppy this summer...and she keeps blessing my floors, too. We call her Syrah. We inherited her from an elderly couple in our ward who couldn't keep her...they inherited her from family members who couldn't keep her, and that family had adpoted her from the SPCA. So she has some habits that need breaking, but she's a very sweet and docile dog most of the time. She's a beagle mix (Kelly calls her her bagle) and she's best friends with our cat. I'm thinking of having her teeth filed so she'll stop chewing through her leashes. Just kidding...I wouldn't do that. Besides, I'm lucky that her leashes and toys are the only things she seems to chew. She's a good companion for Abby, but I worry that they play a bit rough, so I'm trying to break that habit, too. She'll pee on the pad and outside, but if she has to go number two and we don't get her out on time, she'll do it anywhere. (sigh) Beagles are notoriously hard to potty train, but I've been known to be pretty stubborn myself. :-)

Sierra Endangered Cat Haven

The kids and I had a great time visiting the Sierra Endangered Cat Haven. It was amazing! The walking tour was very informative and fun, despite the hottest temps we've had in the area. I had a few favorites....I loved the Snow Leopard (who apparently in the wild is so afraid of people that you can pull her by the tail and she'll just run away), and the lion, as well as my personal favorite, the Tigers. I have to admit that all of the 24 exhibits were pretty cool.

The funnest part was as we were looking at the young 400 pound lion, who still has 200 more pounds of growth before he's considered full grown. He refused to come down for proper viewing. The docent asked who was the youngest/smallest in the group. That happened to be Johnny. She took Johnny by the hand and walked up the path by the cage. As soon as the lion caught sight of Johnny, he was instantly alert, and three seconds later had reached the side of the cage in just a few leaps. He then followed Johnny down the path toward the crowd, and we all got to see him up close. He didn't take his eyes off of Johnny the whole time, and laid down by the front of the cage where Johnny was standing.

We loved the tigers, too...they were very playful and played hide and go seek with the keepers. They are such beautiful animals. We learned a lot, and now all of us wish we could afford the $6000 price tag to go on safari with this group...they take people every year. ((sigh)) Maybe when I get rich and famous.