Yes. We're stil here!

I apologize for being MIA in the blog world.  Looking over the last couple of blogs-it's starting to become a "quarterly" blog :)

In addition to just being plain busy with activities and travel, those are only excuses as to why this blog has not been updated in a timely fashion. Truthfully, after reading some friends blogs, and "friends of friends" blogs I realize how truly talented some people are with the written word...and in comparision, I dont' feel like one of them :)  But then I decided I am not trying to write eloquent novels about my faith or any other agenda except to let friends and family (who may interested), know what's happening in our lives and share some photos of my cute kids too.

In early June, Scott had a training in South Lake Taho,e so the whole family travelled with him.  We were staying at a hotel right on Lake Tahoe and I'd had high hopes of spending the days on the beach with the kids.  The location of the room was perfect for this-however, the weather was not.  It was in the 40's and even snowed while we were there!  Of course that did not stop the kids from playing on the beach and eventually there will be some photos in the Shutterfly album to attest to that.

I attended a local homeschool conference upon our return from Tahoe.  It was very informative and encouraging.

We had our annual Fort Bragg Abalone Dive Camp trip the week before Father's Day.  At our abalone dinner night we had a total of 30 people!   This year the weather was perfect-no rain or fog but it was a bit windy.  The other challenge for us was that the campsites for our group were spread far apart and it was not conducive for the kids to travel back & forth by themselves safely to Mema's camp or their friends campsites.  We may remedy that next year by travelling in May instead of June.  You will see photos in our shutterfly album from this adventure as well hopefully in the near future. 

In July, we took the kids to the Folsom Rodeo.  Other than it being hot, the kids had a great time.  And though she will probably be too big next year-Leah has decided she wants to try the "mutton busting" :)  We had an early 4th of July celebration at Uncle Guy's house and celebrated Forrest's 18th birthday a couple of weeks early.

I had a heart catheterization on July 6 that was a bit challenging for me.  I originally thought it was because I was getting older and perhaps my body's tolerance for pain wasn't up to par anymore. However, when I was able to remove the dressing 24 hours later-I realized that the location for the cath site was 1 inch above the location where it should have been placed.  Ugh.  No wonder why it was much more painful than any other cath I've had to date.

A couple weeks later, we headed with Scott to Chico for another training.  The kids and I spent our days at Bidwell Park, at a roller skating rink, at Chico Mall, and at Max's Miracle ranch in Biggs, CA.  The family that owns this place was very friendly and showed us their ranch.  Max is a 7 year old boy who has a heart defect-the same one Scott & Nolan have.  His family started Max's Miracle Ranch as a retreat for families with children with all types of pyhsical challenges.  You can find out more information  on their websites: http://www.maxsmiracleranch.net/ or http://maxsmiracles.wetpaint.com/.

The kids had a great time visiting and playing with the Williams children. Nolan and Max became best-buds and Nolan followed Max around the ranch for most of our visit.  Leah enjoyed playing with the youngest three Williams' girls and all attempted to put on a "play" on the makeshift stage-albeit it was a bit disorganized with each of the girls and Max doing their own thing :)  While visiting the ranch, we also were able to feed the miniature horses, ride the train (twice) pick plums and thornless blackberries, visit the chapel and visit with the Williams family.  What a wonderul thing this family has and is sharing with others! 

The week after Chico, Scott and I travelled to Redwood Shores & Costa Mesa for more training. While Scott was busy training, I was busy putting together my lesson plans for the year. The kids stayed home for "Camp Me-ma" and she had many activities planned for the kids for the week we were gone.  On the way home from Costa Mesa, Scott dropped me off in Modesto for a homeschool conference as I gear up for Leah's 1st grade year.

I apologize for no updated photos in the Shutterfly album.  I'm having an issue with photos disappearing on me-so until I figure out the problem, I won't be up to upload the photos.  I don't want to take a chance and lose all my photos.  But I've added a few from some trips on the side bar.

That's all for now.