Beautiful moon

Buddy's Birthday

The Budster is 3 today! Since we don't have a cupcake for him, perhaps a meatball will do as his special birthday treat!

Ryan turns 16!

We had a very busy weekend. The highlight of course was Ryan's 16th birthday. Although we couldn't officially celebrate until Sunday due to Mark and I having a fundraising dinner to attend, he was content as he got the iTouch he's been wanting for a long time. He and I did spend a few hours Saturday afternoon volunteering at a Million Meal Event where we packed over 3,600 meals to go to Haiti, Africa, and some to stay in San Diego. The event ran for two days and over 1.1M meals were prepared and packed for shipment. It was an amazing experience. Sunday Ryan's friend came over after church and we went to dinner and had his oreo ice cream cake before heading off for his meeting. Thank you to everyone who sent him cards and gifts as he was very excited to get mail!

Brothers

Buddy & Jake napping together

A good checkup!

Jake (previously Jag) got an excellent report from the vet yesterday. He said he's never seen a dog as athletically fit as him. He looks thin as he is solid muscle with no body fat. We are going to try and beef him up 5-6 pounds though. He and Buddy are having a great time and getting into a game routine. He is a very sweet and easy dog.

Remember when I mentioned the Lemi Shine for the dishwasher? It is FABULOUS! My dishes have never come out as clean and sparkly as they have since I've been using it. Where was that guy six months ago when this saga started?!

Ryan has begun his 5th week of IOP. We've had some bumps in the road but overall it's going well. Today and tomorrow the sophomores are taking the California Exit Exam which they are required to pass to graduate. Hard to believe that Saturday is his 16th birthday.

Mark got his letter that it's unlikely he'll have a teaching position next school year. Guess the job hunt will get underway again so pray that something works out.

Jag is here!

Jag, the rescue lab, is currently with us as foster parents to ensure he is going to work out. He and Buddy have had some great chase games and Buddy seems to accept him better than the puppy! He is a very skittish dog as he was left alone in an apartment in the past. He is slowly warming up to us and busy checking things out. We will go for a vet check early next week as he seems very thin.

Connor's new look!

Connor has been asking me to take him for a "new" haircut so today there was no lacrosse and off we went. Pretty handsome isn't he? Got Kelleigh a few swimsuits and some shoes at Kohl's today only to come home and none of the size 8's I'd gotten fit her! She went from a 6x-7 to a 10-12 and shoes from 13 to a 3. Wow! I took her with me after dinner to exchange them and of course she found a sundress that "she had to have to go with her new high heel sandals".

Life continues to be a daily challenge with Ryan so please keep praying for him. We are beginning the fourth week of his IOP and it's been very tough. The new trimester began yesterday so grades will count now. He's having to learn to deal with situations without drugs and that's not easy for these kids.

Connor and Kelleigh are back to their usual bickering as often as possible! Guess I should have appreciated the week of peace more.

I have a call in for a one year old lab at the lab rescue center so hopefully we'll hear from his foster mom sometime this week. If you want to check him out, go to http://www.labradorsandfriends.org/RP_AdoptMe.asp?aid=877

Will let you know if we have a new family member soon!

Our camper is home!

Kelleigh is home - wet, hungry, and happy! She had a fabulous time although she said she was very cold most of the time. Could that be because everything I pulled out of her suitcase was wet?! I drew her a hot bath and she was luxuriating in it as I went to pick up her brothers. Now she is grazing through the kitchen although she said the food was good there. Connor really missed her - no doubt because he had no one to argue with - and made her a little welcome home sign this morning. Don't worry, they are making up for lost time!

In my on-going quest for clean dishes, Bosch had a recall so the service guy was here this morning. When I told him I was so annoyed at all the service calls and still feel nothing looks clean, he said it wasn't the dishwasher. Apparently San Diego's water has gotten much harder in the last 6 months and most of his calls are a result of that. Here is his solution. After running a container of Finish Dishwasher Cleaner through the dishwasher to get rid of the film buildup, he said to buy Lemi Shine (from WalMart). Fill Finish detergent to the bottom line of the dispenser and add one tablespoon of Lemi Shine to it in each load. He said that the glasses will come out sparkling. Apparently some companies are now giving away bottles of Lemi Shine with each dishwasher sale as there are so many complaints. I'll let you know what happens!

Have spaghetti sauce cooking as Ryan has an early meeting tonight. These meetings make dinner prep challenging!

6th Grade Camp

Kelleigh left yesterday for 6th Grade Camp for the week. She was a little more excited the closer it got as initially she was adamant she wasn't going. Hopefully she's having fun and won't get rained on!

The entire community has been devastated by the death of Chelsea King. The outpouring of help has been incredible and no family left untouched as they realize it could have been their child. Our hearts break for her family.