Trip to Discovery Kingdom

The four of us went to Discovery Kingdom for a little family trip at the end of Spring Break. The kids were had a great time. We saw several different shows: dolphins, tigers, sea lions, and killer whales. And of course we went on quite a few rides....

The dolphin show....

Andy and the kids on "Monkey Business" which is just like the tea cup & saucer ride...

This is probably my favorite picture of the day. We were checking out the giraffes and this one came up and stuck his head through the fence...

The tiger show...

The lion after he woke up from his nap....

At the end of the day...

The sea lion show...

It was nice to get away and find the sunshine... and when we came back home, we've had even more sunshine!

Michela

I took some 6 month photos of Michela when we were down visiting... here are some of my favorites...

When we were down there, I bought her some sunglasses.... she much preferred to eat them than wear them...

C'mon Auntie... I've had enough!

Okay, but just ONE more...

Isn't she totally adorable!

Busy week

Wow, it's been almost a week since I have posted. It's been busy. On Tuesday thru Thursday, my mom and I went to visit Mary and Michela. It was great to hang out and relax. I took some 6 month photos of Michela too. On Thursday, my mom and I headed back towards home. Andy and the kids met me part away and picked me up. We went to Vallejo to go to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. I will get some photos posted from the week hopefully tomorrow.....

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! We went to Andy's grandma's for brunch and an egg hunt this morning. Abigail and I went to the Easter Vigil Mass last night.

Here's a few pictures from today...

She posed herself on this one...

Abigail decided, this year, that she wanted to help hide the eggs rather than hunt for them.... so she helped the little guys hunt.

J.T. had a great time running around the yard gathering eggs....

Hope you all had a great day with your families....

Branding day.... again

On Friday was our last big branding of the year. We still have a smaller one and the Hot Iron Branding competition branding coming up. Everything went really well and the weather was good, especially considering that it was pouring down rain the day before and 100 degrees at this ranch branding last year.

My main job for the day was bringing lunch out for the crew. However, I can't go to a branding without my camera... you all should know that by now! :)

Here's a few from the day....

This looks like a very serious conversation.... but it probably wasn't....

J.T. didn't help in the branding pen, but he had a great time running up and down the hill....

There's a little teaching lesson going on here between Andy and Ernest (the guy that works for us)....

Yes, my dad is back in the saddle... literally. I wasn't quite sure he would be ready less than two weeks after he got hurt, but he seemed to think he was.

Some of my favorite action shots of the day...

I probably take more of Andy than most of the guys... I guess that's how it should be though...

I just love this one of J.T.... too bad Andy isn't smiling more....

My last shot of the day.... the crew of Albin Livestock... Ernest, Andy and my Dad.

It was a great day but we are glad it's over. Andy and I went to the Brewery last night to celebrate!

Good-bye to Goodie

Abigail lost her favorite cow yesterday. She was 17 years old, which is pretty old for a cow.

And it's a big loss.... Keep in mind, Goodie wasn't your average 1100 or 1200 pound cow. We don't know her exact weight at the end of her life, but the last time Andy weighed her she was 1850 pounds.

Andy tried to sell her a couple times but Abigail would have no part of that! Goodie had a good life....

MIA

Sorry I haven't been around for a few days... it was a very busy, but fun, weekend. And then yesterday I was sick all day so I didn't spend any time on my computer. I don't really want to talk about being sick, so I will just tell you about my weekend.

On Friday night, Andy and I went to dinner with Clint and Christina to celebrate Andy and Christina's birthdays. We went to the Ivanhoe in Ferndale and it was so good! The kids spent the night at Grandma Pam and Grandpa Charlie's.

On Saturday morning, it was nice to be home and not have to rush. In the afternoon we had Isaac's 8th birthday party at his house. The kids had a great time on the treasure hunt that Christina put together. We stayed at their house for a BBQ dinner and lots of great food!

Sunday was a busy day too. The kids went to CCD (Sunday School) while I went and set up my photography equipment at an event I was helping with. Some girls from our area (aka the Humboldt Pinks) put together a Girls Tea Party as a fundraiser for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk that they are participating in later this year in Los Angeles. I had a little backdrop set up and anyone who wanted to have their photo taken was able to. I donated 50% of the proceeds to the Humboldt Pinks' fund for their Walk. The event had a great turnout and all the little girls were so adorable dressed up in their "Sunday Best."

I think this is an amazing cause because it seems like you hear all the time about a woman that has breast cancer. Awesome job Lucretia, Jen, and Kim!

Update on my Dad

Because a lot of people have asked, I thought I would post an update. For those that didn't see my post from last weekend, my Dad got bucked off his horse during our branding last Saturday. He landed on his hip/back area. He had a rough weekend but says he's feeling a little better each day. The first few days he had to use a walker to get around. Then he moved onto a cane. Now he can get around by himself.

He had an x-ray and CT scan earlier this week. My parents have had a hard time getting many answers from the doctors, but it sounds like it's a transverse fracture of one of his vertebrae.

Anyway, that's what I know for now....

More cruise pics

I just got these pictures the other day, thanks to Kelly. I thought I would share...

This was on the day we got on the ship....


And our second night on the ship... formal night. It's almost our whole group...


And our third night on the ship...

How do I answer this?

Do your kids ever say something that makes you go.... hmmm, I don't know how to answer this? This morning as I was driving J.T. to school he says, "What happens if everyone dies?" I told him I didn't know. He then said, "Does God just start over and make new people?"

Hmmmmm......