Happy Birthday, Heather and Shel-Shel

Cash and I went out to Aunt Vickie's to celebrate Heather and Michelle's birthdays. It was such a nice evening...I love going there. It is always gorgeous, and I never feel more at peace than when I'm with all the women in my family. Each and every one is amazing.

Poor Doze (PS...buy pet insurance!!)

Dozer had his boys downsized last Thursday, but after a couple of days at home he just wasn't back to himself. After the third day, he started vomiting and stopped eating completely. I took him to the vet to learn that he needed emergency surgery to remove objects obstructing his intestine. Poor guy. He had gotten into Breann's jewelry box and eaten SEVERAL items. He had the emergency surgery and spent the whole night and next day at the animal hospital. I was astonished when the vet showed me the collection of items that had been in his tummy for who knows how long. He is slowly getting back to his old self, but needs a 'round the clock dog sitter to make sure he takes it easy and doesn't lick his 12" long incision.

Did I mention that I had to cough of $2,000 that very day?!? I will definitely be purchasing pet insurance. I'm kicking myself for not having done so already. I think everyone should!

We took a short trip to the LA Zoo (mostly because it's on the way to Ikea). It was so hot that most of the animals were hiding, but it was a nice afternoon for the three of us.

Random Desert Adventure

This year we bought a new (ok, slightly used...2005) boat. We also got a place at the river, anticipating that we would spend all summer using said boat. Well, we've had a few kinks to work out as most used boat owners do, so we've hardly had the chance. We had a whole week of vacation lined up at the river, and the boat broke on the first day. After a few hours of being really bummed out (what the hell do you do when it's 112 degrees out and you can't go out on the water???) we decided to take the kids for a desert adventure. We were just an hour away from the Mojave National Preserve...old stomping grounds for Shane and I (we both worked at the Park Service fire station there). Our first stop was Fort Pah-ute. It was originally a stop-over for traveling Pah-ute Indians, as one of the only water sources in the Mojave Desert. It was later used as a military guard facility. To get there we drove 20 miles up a rocky dirt road, it was 115 degrees outside, and we had no cell service.

What particularly stood out for me was how afraid I was to be in such a remote place with our young kids. I handle calls at work, daily, for families stuck in the middle of the desert with no cell service, not enough water, etc. I usually shake my head and wonder why anyone would take their kids tromping into the middle of nowhere. 5 years ago, I spent a few days at a fire at this same location in mid August, and thought nothing of it. Now that I'm a mom...I thought it was a ridiculous idea to go there. Anyway, I sucked it up in the name of exposing our kids to new things. The desert is my home, after all.

Foot Phone

Cash's new thing is to pretend like his foot is a telephone. He calls Pappa, Daddy, Grandma, pretty much everyone. It's so cute.

(This happened back in June...I just never bothered to post pics...oops).

During the last week of school, Shane and his crew made their annual trip to Kamden's school with the fire engine. The kids had a blast. Shane told the class that he was the third generation in his family to be a fireman. The teacher asked Kamden if he was going to be a firefighter when he grew up. He shook his head and said, "Nope, I want to be cop."

Summer Blog Slacker

It has been such a busy summer, I have hardly posted anything. I guess I was enjoying my family time so much I didn't stop to take any pictures. I will try to be better. So far, it's been an awesome summer.