On Sunday we took a leisurely sailing trip from Long Beach down to Newport Beach. Our friends, the Seling's invited us to go with them. Rob's brother, Steve was in a race and needed to return the boat to Newport. We had a great time. The kids even had a chance to steer the boat. Here are some shots from the trip.



Tom and Rob get ready to set up the main sail.


The sail is up and we're off!


Our newest little sailor.


I had a great time on the boat and I even managed not to get seasick (thanks to Dramamine!).

Kelly joins Annie at the steering wheel. In the background you can see the city of Long Beach.


Kelly and Tom enjoy some time sitting together.



Tom controls the spinnaker sail.

My Attempt at Creativity

I tried to get a little creative and take some fun pictures. Here's my attempt.

Latest Project

My friend, Rebekah, asked if I'd help her make a tablecloth for her school table. She bought the fabric from this amazing quilting shop called Fat Quarters Quilt Shop. Here is the finished product. This table is a bit larger than the one she's using.




Rebekah wanted large rickrack sewn between the two fabrics. It really added to the tablecloth.

Happy Birthday Summer

Tonight our friends, The Seling's, came over to celebrate Summer's birthday. In honor of Summer's birthday, they gave us a fruit tree to remember her by. It was a nice evening (the cake was great too!).


Kelly, Annie and Emma wait to sing.


On the right-hand side are Kristin (front), Rob and their daughter, Maddie. If you look on the table behind the cake you'll notice a beautiful planter. It was delivered this afternoon and came from Tom's family. Thank you so much!


Blowing out the candles.

Remembering Summer

September 11, 2001 is a day Americans will remember forever. September 11th also holds a special place in our hearts because it was a day that affected our family as well. Ten years ago today we lost our newborn baby, Summer Lynn, due to a premature birth. It has become a tradition that we celebrate our daughter's birth with a cake & friends. It's a great way to remember Summer and reminds us that while she is not here with us, she is up in heaven with our great Creator. Tonight we will celebrate with just a few of our friends. I'll post pictures after our celebration.

"How to" Speech

Today Kelly gave her "How to" speech at school. Her topic was "How to Braid Hair", and I got to be her model. She was very nervous about the entire thing, but after a lot of practice she felt ready. She did a great job.


Here she is giving her introduction.


Beginning the braid...


Continuing the braid...


Almost finished...


All done!!!

A Great Ministry

This morning at church we had a guest speaker, Wes Bentley, from Far Reaching Ministries. They are an outreach ministry who train chaplains to serve as pastors in the Sudan. They also minister to women and children in northern Uganda who have been victimized by an extreme group called the "Lord's Resistance Army", or LRA. You can read more about the ministry at www.farreachingministries.org.

During the message we watched two short movies about the things going on in Africa. I was very touched, especially by the one about the children. It was moving to see these little ones and to hear about the brutal things the LRA does to these innocent people. For example, they kidnap young children and force them to kill their parents to save their own lives.

This ministry is amazing. We are going to start supporting them on a monthly basis. I encourage you to check out their website to get a picture of the things going on in these areas we will probably never see. Please pray for the ministry and the people they help.

Brannan Look-alike Meter

I found this cool website from my sister-in-law, JaNel's blog. It was loads of fun. Let me know if you agree with the heritage meter.

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Genelogy - Family tree diagram

Brannan Look-alike Meter #2

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

A New Hobby

What started as a few times shooting the "little bow" in the backyard has turned into a budding interest in archery. Yes, Kelly really enjoys shooting the bow and now she even has her own. Tom bought her one on a recent visit to the archery store. Here she is practicing on Saturday at the indoor range.

First Day of School

Today was Kelly's first day of workshops at Coastal Academy. Workshops are days when the kids are in a classroom setting with their teachers. Kelly attends workshops on Wednesdays and Fridays. The other three days are homeschool days.


Here she is right before we loaded into the car. We went shopping yesterday with Kristin and her girls. Mom Mom bought her this cute dress.


Kristin's daughter, Maddie now attends the Classical Academy High School in Escondido. Kelly loves her, and she's a great "big sis".


Here are Kelly's other pals, Emma (left) and Annie (right). They're growing up so fast!!!


Kelly is now a 2nd grader. Here she is in her classroom.


Here we are in the hallway before I left her.

More Fun with Cousins

Kelly spent time cousins, Christion, Eben and Sam. Her Aunt Julie sent these pictures to share.

Kelly loves animals so it's no surprise that she's feeding the goat.


The man working there asked Kelly to hold the lead rope of one of the horses. I'm not sure if it's a mini horse or a pony.


This is Buzz, the blind horse. Buzz has a friend who wears a bell so he can follow him around.

Here's Kelly with her cousins when they went on a hike. Christion (the one to her left) is about 5 months older than Kelly. Eben just turned 4 and Sam is 2.

Kelly went raspberry picking with her Meme, aunts and cousins. From what I heard, they ate more than they put in their containers!

The kids made a chocolate chip cookie cake and decorated it with the raspberries they picked. Cousin Emily (the tallest one) put a "K" on the cake in honor of Kelly.

The girls had a spa day and cousin Tommy had to get in on the action. Yes, he really is rubbing lotion onto her feet.

Our Friends are Moving....

...to Fallbrook, that is. It's only about 12 miles from our house, so it's not too much further. They're not living there yet, but were able to get the keys beforehand so they could get a jump on moving. On Saturday we went over to unload some boxes and have a bit of fun as well.


The men had a blast shooting their pellet guns, crossbow and bows. Annie wanted to get in on the action as well.



My friend, Kristin and I played what else, but Scrabble while the men did their thing. Her daughter, Maddie played too.

Only Three Days to Go

It's Saturday, and there's only 3 days left until Kelly comes home to CA! Tom and I can't wait to see her, as it's been way too long. Today we went the our favorite place to eat (for the third week in a row!) and for the third time they asked about Kelly. I'm anxious to see if she's changed at all in her looks. I know being back will be an adjustment for her, with the time change and the fact that she starts school on the 18th! Where has summer gone??!!

More Fun in PA

Kelly had more fun at her cousins' house last week. Here are some pics her Aunt Kelly sent.


Aunt Kelly says that Kelly's become quite the driver. Here she is driving her aunt, cousin Leia, cousin Tommy and cousin Annie.



Fun on the playground


Look at these two amigos!

More Horse Pictures

Another Baby!

A week ago on Sunday the other mini horse, Lightning had her baby. It was a boy, but I don't know its name.


Here's Kelly with her mini horse, Sierra.


This is Sierra's baby, Pinky.