First Step

As soon as Jeremy and I noticed that Munchkin had been provided with proper motivation to propel his feet without help from either of us, we ran for the camera.

Leo and Lola were lying on the futon and Munchkin wanted the doggies... badly!! Badly enough to brave his first, unhelped step.

It was clumbsy and awkward, but it was his own. His very own first step and we caught it on camera.

I haven't been able to get him to do it again, but even if he never walks again I have this one time captured on film!

Mandu: 1996 - May 26, 2006

Mandu was a cat who greatly appreciated a good snuggle. She showed her love by head-butting whomever was giving her affection. Mandu was a special cat, slightly remedial, but that never stopped her from loving every person she ever met.

Good Bye, Mandu

Swimming

Marilyn invited us to come swimming today with her and her cutie-pie daughter, McKinley. I was hesitant at first because I still had a winter coat of fur on my legs, but this gave me the nudge I needed to do some much needed maintenance on my body.

Munchkin absolutely loved the pool. He was sitting in a floating tube that kept him above water, allowing him to splash and kick to his hearts delight.

McKinley, almost two years old, is an adorable little girl. She is a natural in the water. She will tell you so herself. While in the pool she said the word "water" at least one hundred times. She can even put her face under the water without fuss. Way to go McKinley!

Thanks Mar, we had a great day!

Mom's Garden

My mom is an expert in most areas, but when it comes to gardening she blows the competition away. Her specialty is conifers, weeping conifers, deciduous trees, weeping deciduous trees, anual flowers, perennial flowers and shade plants.

Way to go Mom, your garden looks spectacular!

Dog Park

As Jeremy and the dog's ran about chasing tennis balls, I carried Munchkin on my back in his convenient, carrying pack. I am preparing myself for hikes at the Cabin this summer. Munchkin will go anywhere I go.

We found a quiet, little wading pond aside the river this afternoon. It was a hot day and we wanted to offer Munchkin optimal comfort. Perhaps a quick toe-dip would cool him off, we thought. Munchkin accepted our offer for a toe-dip and upped us a "sit down/splash around".

I know, I know. Don't worry! It's not like he was swimming unattended in the white-water. We asked him if he wanted too, but he declined.

Dog Park

We took the dog's for a much needed run in the park today. There were inch-worms everywhere! Jeremy went into the brush to recover a tennis ball and came out crawling with caterpillars. Seriously, he had about twenty on his back. Some were pretty meaty and I had to use the chuck-it to clean him off. I am not usually offended by caterpillars, but I was way out numbered. They gave me the hebeegeebee's! The dogs didn't seem to mind the creepy crawlers at all! Leo played 'till his hearts content, or until the skin on his paws wore off and he could no longer walk normally. Poor dog, he has such heart, he doesn't know when to say "when".

Flowering Locust

This beautiful tree is covering a portion of our back yard deck. It is awesome to look at and it smells lovely too. It is a shame to leave this tree behind with our up-coming move. I wish I could dig it up and take it with us.

Semper Fi

Shiloh married the love of her life last night. She looked gorgeous and her husband looked great too. He is a Marine and they provided Shiloh and Greg with a proper Marine ceremony. Marines lined up with swords in the air creating a tunnel for the newlyweds to walk under, at the end of the sword tunnel a marine gently patted Shiloh on the butt and said "welcome".
She looked as happy as I have ever seen her. The evening couldn't have been more beautiful.

It's True

Yes, I am already smarter than the President.

I Love Photography

At last the return of picture taking has made me feel whole again. With a love of photography and a missing camera I have felt as though a part of my soul was vacant. No longer will I stress over the memories I was watching slip by undocumented. Alas, we have the Kodak EasyShare P850. A much loved addition to our family and a great deal from Costco.

Darfur is Dying

Darfur is in the midst of a genocide. Learn about the threat that Darfuris face each day while performing routine tasks necessary for life here. Ah, nevermind, they don't have any oil. Screw 'em.