A good dinner, and Do you know how much I love my Children?

I love them so much that my dislike for animals in my home, is somehow always softened by their persistent, passionate need to love on things that smell, pee, poop and cost me money. Yes,,,,we have two new members....well, they are actually on trial for a week, so we will see if they are truely admitted into this Golden clan. But meet, Lloyd and Gary, (Alex's names for them), Sniffles and Nibbles ( Allie's names for them) and Mickey and Lou ( Michael's names for them).... they are RATS! baby rats for now, but I saw the Mamma and Daddy and they are almost the size of baby kittens. EWWWW! We'll keep you up to date about whether they take up permanent residency. Anyways. We had a wonderful dinner with my dad, Carolyn, and my step brother Sean tonight. It was the first time we got to meet Sean, since he is in the airforce. He was very nice. It was hard to see my dad in pain. Please keep praying. The cancer is now in his back, hips, and ribs. He is quite a trooper though, never complaining. It was a nice dinner, and the kids had fun too. So now off to bed,,,,rats can't escape metal cages, right?

Vote for Allie

Allie is running for student council for her second year. She ran last year and made it. She was an awesome sergeant at arms. This year she is running for Treasurer. Cross your fingers for Allie on Friday!

Go for the Gold

Vote Allie For Treasurer !

Air Show 2006

Yesterday we got to go to the air show. Pete's parents drove down to come. We had a lot of fun! It wasn't too hot(Which it has been in the past), and there was a nice breeze. The planes were amazing and the kids loved it. Jenny and her girls joined us too. Kacia loved the show! Alex won a marine t-shirt by hanging for 75 seconds! He beat out a few junior highers and showed incredible strength and drive. He got a cool new shirt and his picture taken with a "real" Marine. Way to go Alex! Seeing inside the C-17 was a highlight as well as watching the beauty and precision of the planes. What a stressful job being a pilot would be! Here are some pictures from our day. Thanks for coming down Nanna and Papa---a Great day!

an evening with my babies

Life in Action

Beautiful Baby

Just had to share these pictures of my beautiful niece, Rylin! Isn't she the cutest!

please pray

Please pray for my dad, who is dealing with cancer right now. We were able to spend some time with him last week, and it was wonderful to give hugs and be with him. Carolyn is doing a lot to take care of him, and I know she could use your prayers also. Life can be hard, but God is so good, and so faithful and we praise him for a wonderful visit with them!

Back to School

Well, the kids are back in school. Can you believe summer is gone? and where did the wonderful days of sleeping in, and staying up late go? Most kids hate going back to school, but ours love it, they love learning, routine, friends and their school. Sometimes I am surprised at how excited they get to go back, but it is usually like that every year. They have wonderful teachers this year, which really does make or break the year in so many ways. These teachers are the ones that are rare, the ones you remember when you are 50, and they make lasting impressions on your life. The twins have been waiting for this year for a long time, just to be with their teacher. He is a wonderful man. Alex has the same teacher that the twins had in third and he is excited too. I am picking up my teaching load at the gym. So now that they will be back in class,,,,I am too. I am a little sore this week. Understatement! Although it is great to be back in a routine, the early mornings have taken their toll on them(as you will see in the before and after school photos) Here's to fall! (somehow it never feels like fall when it's 100 degrees)

Kaitlin goes to school

Yesterday, we said good-bye to Kaitlin, as she packed her bags and joined Matt's familiy on their way down south. So sad for us, So happy for her.
Can you believe this is the same girl who moved here 3 years ago. She is definitely all grown up now. Good luck Kaitlin, we will miss you so much!

new blog to announce

For any of you readers who know my sis, Jenny, she started a blog spot too.. you can check her out at myburnsfamily.blogspot.com........also, for any of you who are praying for our friends Darrell and Sandie, and their son, Kyler who is suffering from brain cancer, pray for them and check them out at....kylersupdates.blogspot.com.

Bre

Back Home

We are back home after a short weekend in SanFrancisco, but home sure feels good after being away sometimes... Redding may not be the up and coming metropolis, or the place where cool things start, but boy do I love the "No traffic", quiet, beautiful place we live.

We did have a fun weekend though, and the kids love going to Pier 39 and eating at Bubba Gumps. We drove through some beatiful areas, and had a great time. That said,,,, home and my bed sounds good.

Things that crack you up!

You know those moments where your kids crack you up???? This was one of them.
The boys have been taking turns pitching to eachother out back. This was Alex's guarantee to not getting nailed by Michael....a uniform sure to take the blows.....love it!!!

Cracked me up!

Lincoln City, Oregon

The kids and I just got back from Lincoln City. We drove up with my sister and her two kids and met my brothers and the Crabtree family. Skim boarding, sand scultpting, beach rugby and soccer games filled our week. How tired you can get "relaxing" ! It has been wonderful to spend so many days at the ocean this summer. It is one of my favorite places to be, reminding me of God's power and also bringing back wonderful memories of my mom. (It was her favorite place too.)

How far do you think the tide will come in?

Camping trip to Westport, California

setting up camp

watching the sunset

Sand, Sand and more SAND!

This past weekend we took the kids to Ft. Bragg, acutally a little town north of there called, Westport. The drive was a little windy, but well worth it. At one point the temperature dropped 32 degrees within 6 minutes. We got to camp right on the sand, about 25 feet from the high tide mark. There were no camp sites, just pick a spot you think will stay dry. It was a priceless view if you can handle sleeping and cooking in sand! It was wonderful to fall asleep to the sound of the waves, and then wake to them for the sunrise. It was also wonderful to be cold. We lucked out on the time we picked and were able to escape Redding's 116 degree week and stay in the 50's and 60's. The kids loved being able to run free and help dad set up the camp. It was a quiet weekend to just be together and focus on the beauty of God's creation. We had some wonderful talks about God's power and gentleness,,,,just like the ocean. Here are a few pictures of those quiet moments.

Baseball comes to an end

The All Stars came close to winning the tournament, but couldn't pull it off tonight. As bummed as we were for Michael, I am not sorry to get a break from the bleachers for a while! Michael was up in the last inning with two outs,,,, a position he has seemed to be in quite a few times this year. Thinking of how he would feel to have that on his shoulders a second time, made me cringe,,,, but he pulled it off,,, got a hit, and whew! The next batter got to be the third out.

Now that there will be no more practices or games to conserve energy for, (the coaches discouraged playing outside in the afternoons, since 105 degrees tends to drain 10 year old boys) we are going to play hard for the rest of the summer doing things we couldn't do during the season,,,, like go to the lake! Tomorrow the kids and I are going to Kayak on Whiskey Town, should be a lot of fun. So for now, no more baseball,,,, but I feel football around the corner!

A sad day for our family

Yesterday was a hard day for us. We had to say goodbye to our cat Jinx. He died yesterday morning. Even if you don't like animals, this would have broke your heart. He was very badly injured, and because of the timing and it being sunday, we had to endure watching him suffer all through the night. I hate watching anything in pain! We took him to the vet in the morning and they put him down. Pete came home to dig a grave, and Alex insisted on helping dad with "his cat". He was a very grown up little boy. I know that in the grand scheme of things it is "just a cat", but it is so hard to watch your kids hurt over anything. I hate not being able to fix things for them. Here is a picture of the grave the kids made for him.