Good news and sad news...

SAD NEWS: As many of you already know, we lost our beloved Hercules about a month ago to cancer. He was just the sweetest dog ever and he'll be very missed!

GOOD NEWS: Well, there is a new family member...Her name is LilyAnn, aka Lily. She is a 3 1/2 month old Boglen Terrier - which is a beagle/boston terrier. She is a real sweetheart and loves to snuggle. She also happens to love to run around the house terrorizing the cat and stealing Devin's toys. She is scheduled for some puppy training which she could really use right now. But she is such a blast to have around and we adore her already!!!

Well, now the real worrying begins... Sami got her license today. Despite her nervousness, she of course passed the first time! We're soooo proud!!!

I thought I would finally post just a few new photos from our family trip to Shasta...
We had our mini-vacation at Mt. Shasta and had an absolutely fabulous time. We went swimming, fishing, sightseeing and more. I think the highlights of the trip (especially for Devin) were the train ride (through beautiful country) and the paddle boats we did on Lake Siskiyou. We also really enjoyed playing in the water at the bottom of a very pretty waterfall. It was a nice way to cool off since it was about 112 degrees the first full day we were there! And as you can see by the pictures I've posted, Devin had a blast with his cousin Matthew. They were soooo cute together. They played with their cars together, watched movies together and took baths together. Completely inseparable, those two!... I don't think any of us wanted the vacation to end! It was so great to have the family all together since we don't manage that very often, especially with our big kids!

It's so hard to keep in touch with friends as much as I'd like these days so I'm hoping that I can at least keep you up to date with what's going on through this blog I've started. (Thanks for the idea Janet!).

Let's see... Devin is now 3 - going on about 6! He is still in Jamie's daycare and has some really cute friends there. His latest thing is to quote whole scenes from his favorite movies. Right now it's Teenage Mutuant Ninja Turtles he likes to reenact... "Don't worry boys, there's plenty for everyone. What are you? I'm Green Vengeance!..." He's such a funny little boy. He's definitely got Mommy's silly personality.

Sami and Dougy are doing well. Dougy is now 13 and in the stage where he is torn between being a child and a young man. It's really kind of funny and cute! Sami is almost 16, quite the young lady now and a typical teenager with the phone stuck to her ear all the time (and mood swings galore!). She's less then 2 months from getting her driver's licenese. Yikes!!! They really are great kids though.

Not too much new with Doug and I. Doug bought an older model boat from a friend for a steal and has made this his latest project. He has to do some very minor mechanical work and a fair amount of cosmetic work but is enjoying it. Can't wait 'til it's ready to go out on the water!

Well, that's about all for now...