Our California Summer Thus Far....

Meet G.I. Jezebel and her side-kick the Great Goldent Goliath.






Here is Goliath trying to catch a rubber duck out of the wading pool (the ducks are all now missing beaks). Jezebel won't get in the pool, unless I put her in it after one of our walk/runs, in which she gets home panting loud enough to let the whole house know we are coming.










I bought a tricycle from a man whose health will no longer allow him to ride it. We have been having a good time with it. My roommate was shocked at the pugs reactions to the bike. We wheeled it into the backyard, and the dogs started doing excited little circles and making excited snorting noises. Then Goliath tried to jump right into the basket. Neither one of us could figure out how they knew the basket was to be their spot. I put a cardboard on the bottom of the basket underneath a dog bed, and put pipe insulator and a pool noodle around the edges of the basket to keep them from hurting themselves. Then I attached a Y-leash to the bike to keep them from jumping/falling out. They love it. And I have to admit, I prefer the trike to the Kiddie bike trailer we had in Logan. I can reach back and pat their little heads. But I admit that riding a trike is a bit more challenging than riding a bike. It will take some getting used to.

Watch this all the way to the end, it is way funny.

DaNette's family and updates...

I just got back from spending the week in Indiana with DaNette and her family. They moved there two years ago as DaNette's husband is working on a doctorate degree in psychology. He has another 2 years of course work and then a year of interning. They seem to really like it there. They have three children 5, 3, 1.





They do a lot of bike riding and geo-caching. I'm not sure if you have heard of it. If not go to geocaching.com and check it out. It's a game where you use GPS systems to find 'treasures' or caches that other people have hidden across the nation...

A recent picture of Nette and I (DaNette's in the White, I'm in the Navy- well black in this picture). People still say we look a lot alike.... not sure. What do you all think?

Anyway, not a lot happening in our life right now. The kids only have one week of school until summer break. It's so odd how quickly time flies. It doesn't seem like that long ago that this school year started and yet Brandi was here on the first day of school and so much life has happened since then- wow. Anyway. We don't have any major plans for this summer as we are not sure when, or even if, we will be moving so we're trying to keep things open. Pete and I do have tickets to go to the Dave Matthews concert at the Gorge in Washington in August so that will be fun. We'd love to hear what everyone else has been up to. TTYS, Nae

Hey

Hey, I am assuming you are talking to me :) The job is alright. I have to study through a whole bunch of material and then take a test to get a license before I can actually start the work part of it. Getting through all the material is taking FOREVER! Not to mention, I am working on the MBA thing right now, too. I am kind of entertaining the idea of getting a part-time job just to get out of the house until I get the license I need. I don't have the kind of personality to spend this much time between the same four walls :P I think I would get through the material faster if I had a chance to get out and do something to burn off my restlessness.

My roommates said I can paint a mural or two in their house. I am pretty excited about that. I will have to let you guys know how that is going.

The other day, Cameron (the little boy I live with) came out of the bathroom and exclaimed with excitement "MOM! I just peed standing up!" Well, of course I had to open my mouth and ask, "was it very difficult?" Next thing I knew, the boy had whipped his pants down and patiently demonstrated to me how you hold it, aim, and then let the pee come out. I thanked him for telling me how, but I don't have a "pee-pee hose" (my term, not his), so I will just have to continuing sitting or squatting when I pee. Of course, then I had to explain squatting. Luckily for me, we have two female dogs here who are not shy to demonstrate their squatting talents ;) I've been told I don't have the filter on my speech that everyone else has- imagine me living with a three-year-old.

The trip to Chinatown with Lorena was pretty fun. We found this little fortune-cookie factory with the yummiest fortune cookies I've ever eaten :D They were still warm and everything. And my fortune said "suburban husband is a gardener with sexual privileges". I am thinking that fortune is probably inaccurate, since I am not married- unless it's talking about my roommate's husband. I hope not. He's a mailman, but he helps his his mom, grandma, and uncle do their yard work. Hmm, that's a disturbing thought-

I don't know when I am coming back to Utah. Money is a little tight, so I don't really want to pay for the gas right now. Not too mention driving through the desert after the weather has gotten warm. I think hot feels hotter when you are bored and driving through a landscape full of a whole bunch of nothing. I think you guys should take a road trip and come out here. You can see the glow-in-the-dark stars I sewed to the ceiling of my Jeep and the sheet I painted with my whole body after completely smearing finger-paint all over me. Fun times in sunny California :)

Hi

I was just wondering when you will be coming to town next? How is your new job going? I liked the pictures that Lorena posted from your trip to china town. It looked like fun.

Here are some of my pictures from Honduras, I took over 200 pictures so I will post some more later after I have sorted thru them. We were there to support the Marines in building a school house for the local town (4th pic). We supported them by keeping all their equipment running and we also did alot of transportation missions. It was a pretty fun trip overall besides the weather. It was hot and humid all the time. It was near impossible to stop sweating.

My New California Man...

This is Cameron. He is my California man. Look at that muscle!

He has promised to go on a date (or 'vate', as he called it once) with me to Santa Cruz for his fourth birthday.

We have lots of fun together. We finger-painted this morning. And grew some Magic Rocks. Last Friday, we used a paint-spinner to make groovy art work. And we made a collage for his parents. I watch him on Friday mornings, and we do all the messy, fun stuff his mom (who likes things super-clean) doesn't do with him- like draw tattoos on his arm with eye-liner.