My little girl turns 13

My baby is turning 13.  

 And, although, I'm absolutely amazed that she can be this old,

I can barely remember a day in our lives without her.

She has blessed our family

with smiles

and love,

and laughter

and she fills our days with sunshine and warmth.

 She has the kindest heart 

 and the most generous soul

 and she makes every day an adventure.

I'm proud of my girl every single day

 And know that whatever she does,

It will be in her own special, beautifully Chloe way.

 She's a firework! 

Happy Birthday Chloe.

It has been an honor watching you grow into such a beautiful young lady.

We love you more than words can ever say and can't wait to watch you take on the world.

A Cake for Max

My neighbor has been asking me for several years to do a cake for her son, but the timing never worked out.  This year we were in town for his birthday,

so I finally got to do a cake for little

Mr. Max.

Logan served as my creative director on this one, being that I've never played the game before and knew pretty much nothing about Mario Galaxy. 

A new addition to the family

So, it is official.  I have completely lost my mind.

A couple of months ago, I decided to take in another foster.  I'm sure you remember me saying, without a doubt, he was only a foster.

Well....

Last week he was bestowed a middle name.  And in our household, that means you're here to stay.

I'm happy to introduce a new, permanent member  of the family (I know, Shocking, right?)

Dustin The Wolfman Steindorf.

He loves to play ball, kiss anything that sits still

and follow his big brother Roger where ever he goes.  

And his tongue so SO LONG he can't keep it in when he sleeps!  

He's quite a character, this one.  Which means he fits in perfectly with the rest of our clan.

In case you have lost count.

We are now up to 5.

Dinner time is a real production now.
Here they are waiting patiently for Chloe to bring their food out.

I think it's safe to say.

We are done.

But aren't they just the cutest  bunch you've ever seen!

Oregon! Family!

And, of course, the whole purpose of the trip, was to spend time with some special people.

Thank you Mom, Dad and Grandma for everything!  

We had so much fun and made some very special memories.

It was an amazing trip.

No butts about it!

Oregon! Gold Beach

In an effort to try something new, we headed south to Gold Beach.  About 80 miles north of California.   We took a jet boat ride up the Rogue River.

This was A BLAST!

Finally, some seal lions!

A blue heron and a gaggle of Canadian geese

  

Lots of rock skipping time during our dinner break.

Oh and here's a black bear, just sitting on the hillside eating berries.

And a family of otters playing on the shore.

Such a great trip!!

The next morning, we decided to explore Gold Beach, right out front from our hotel.

There were all these really cool rocks along the beach and Grandma decided she needed some from her front yard.   (Now you see where I get my loose morals from...)

Anyway, I think the car weighed a considerable more on our way home.

This little guy was outside our room the morning we left.