Karate Kid "Daniel-son"

An amazing man in our little town, teaches Kenpo Karate to the kids...for FREE. He has 8 Black Belts in different disciplines, including TaeKwanDo. When he was a child, finances were tight for his family. A giving man with a Black Belt in Karate taught him for $10/month. The gratitude in his heart has lead to his very generous gift of his time and talents to our children. With gratitude in MY heart, thank you Mark!

Daniel has been working hard for about two months to earn his first Belt. Here you see the ceremony for his yellow belt:

Taking the white belt off. Placing it in the "L" position, symbolizing Love and Loyalty for family and his fellow Karate Instructors and classmates.

The new yellow belt is placed in front. They kneel and touch their foreheads to the belt...

With the new belt partially tied, he stands in front of the Instructor...

Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in - hold it...a gentle kick to the belt...

The Instructor finishes tying the new belt and gives him a hug.

Congratulations Daniel...we're so proud of you!!!

Summer Growth Spurt

We first met Shadow on the 5th of July...so cute, so chubby, so SMALL. He was the same size as our little kittens...about 4 lbs.

That SMALL bit...it didn't last very long.

Here he is one month later in August...the SAME size as Suzy, about 17 lbs. She's still in shock and not quite sure she likes it. She's gotten very spunky lately, trying to prove that she's still the queen bee.

Here he is THIS month, right after his bath...yup, in just two short months, our little bundle has become a BIG bundle, and it's just the beginning, I'm sure. Check out the size of those paws.

One cat says to the other...How did THAT happen?
He has taken on the role of protector - he won't go to bed until all of the other animals are in the barn. He makes us laugh with his funny ears. He's part German Shepherd, part black Lab...and the ears can't decide if they want to flop over like a Lab or point up like a Shepherd. We love you, Shadow!

Michael Eats!

Wednesday night, the four older kids gobbled up dinner at record speeds and ran out the door to their activities at the church. That left Michael, Eric and myself. As with every night, I asked if he was going to try dinner. I expected the "no", but I got a "sure". What?! After almost falling out of my chair, I dished him up. He tried it, liked it, and dished up some more! After dinner, he was feeling so grown up, we did the dishes together.

I know...amazing! He tried something new, and he liked it! Bow tie pasta with spinach and cream sauce. This may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but for those of us that try to coax him into trying dinner almost every night, we're still in shock over the whole event.

Celebration in California

August brought our Annual Isagenix Celebration. This year it was in Anaheim, CA! I made reservations for the team at Jazz Kitchen in the Downtown Disney District.

The Lloyds, so cute! I was so excited to finally meet them.

Everyone LOVED the bread...Here you see the gang enjoying the "famous bread". Tracy, Dan, Nedda on the left - across the table: Juanita, Bill, Bill and Chanda

Smitty, Julie, Karen, Jeff, Michelle...there's Priscilla peeking into the picture on the right!

Nedda, then across: Jerry, Juanita, Bill and a better one of Bill and Chanda

Dawn? I just met her...so nice. Sweet Diane and Jan.

I finally got to meet Jeff and Karen in person! We missed you Norita and Warren...we know you were having a great time at the Gala. We especially missed Tami and Gary who needed to attend a wedding and then a funeral.

Some of us watched the Disneyland fireworks to music to make the evening perfect. I love this team. Thanks guys...I can't wait until next year!!!

Root Beer Milk

We took a trip in July to a local dairy called "Shatto Milk" with the George Family.

The boys got to get up close and personal with the cows. Michael was hesitant at first, but when he saw Daniel do it, he worked up the courage.

It was so cool to see how the dairy worked the cows. The calves were so cute, they sucked on our hands. Daniel said, "It feels wierd."

We tasted Banana, Strawberry, Orange, Chocolate and our favorite, Root Beer Milk!

The old milk truck was AWESOME...and so was spending time with our new friends!

Don't Feed The Animals

New friends, new city...we had to go to the zoo on Wild Wednesday! Can you believe we were there with TWENTY-ONE KIDS?!

It was so much fun - and we only lost a few of them. Briefly.

Tyler was the easiest to keep track of...
just look for all of the girls.

Michael's favorite part of the whole day...
the swinging bridge!

The sea-lion show was a big hit.

Everyone had a great time.

Our feet were sore, we were hot and sticky...
but it was a super day.

We love our new friends.
(The kids got surprised with a cup full of water!)