It was my sweet nephew's, Christopher (aka "Critter") 1st birthday yesterday. Awe, what a cutie! He started off slow in the cake, but caught on pretty quick and went to town from there. Nice work, Ali, for making such a cute baby! :)
Then on Sunday we went to the State Fair. Aydin had been waiting all week to go, and even cleaned her room to keep on the "good side". It was super hot, (who knew!) and we were sweating the whole time, but the girls got to see the animals, ride the horses and play on the rides. But good lord, that place was expensive! For a corn dog, fries and small drink it was $13,50, and for $14 worth of tickets the kids went on two rides. Not to mention it was another $10 to go down the slide two times (of course Chad had to go with them, so he needed a ticket, too). All this on top of the price of admission. Good thing the fair only comes once a year...
Sweet Sisters
We rented some jet ski's and played on the beach for hours. The kids can never get enough time in the water.
After the beach Kanista made some YUMMY Thai food. She is such an amazing cook. I look forward to eating ANYTHING she makes. It is always mouthwatering.
The morning after.... This is the kids having breakfast the next day. They were so excited to have a "sleepover". :) It was so funny to see how similar their personalities are. Aydin and Zach, Makena and Cam. They could have been the opposite-sex versions of each other!
Ok, this was so cool. They live on the mountain, so there are deer everywhere. Chad went to the car to get something, and when he stood up there were about five deer standing in front of him. He was eating a cookie at the time, so he held it out to the deer and it ate it, right out of his hand! Maybe I should start calling him the "deer whisperer". ;)
Our beautiful dog of ten years, Kona, passed away last night. Our constant companion and loving friend, it is so hard to imagine life without her. Now I know some of you are probably thinking "it's just a dog", but she was so much more than that. We always called her our first child, even though she was more of a mother to us than us to her.
I remember the first time I met Chad and he had this monster of a pet, whom I might add, did not like the idea of me moving in on her man. I was terrified of her at first (you should have seen the teeth on her!), but she warmed up to me, and we finally bonded after I sat and rubbed her belly for about two hours. (She was a sucker for a belly rub.) She never left my side after that. Unless it was to chase after our other dog, or a kid here and there.
You couldn't have asked for a better dog. The alfa (fe-) male; she used to sit in front of our gate if it was left open so Bo (our other dog) couldn't leave the yard. And if any other dog even tried to come close to one of us she let them know who was boss. Everyone knew their place with her.
She was definitly a tough dog, yet every kid in our neighborhood knew her as the big teddy bear. She lived to run in the mountains and take care of the ones she loved. She will be forever in our hearts, and greatly missed. There could never be another dog as great as she.
We love you, Kona. Take care of Bo, and we'll see you later. 
Makena has got to be one of the funniest kids I have ever seen. Here are a few of the many qualities I love about her:
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