Washing the Car

Now that we have the minivan and Jim uses the our car we decided to make a family fun day of cleaning it for him so he could enjoy it now that there are no carseats or fruit loops in it. The girls had so much fun and they really enjoyed helping.

Count Your Many Blessings

A few days ago here in Ridgecrest we had a very big rainstorm. It was the biggest I have seen in Ridgecrest so far. I was so excited for the rain that Jim, Violatte, and I all went and played in it. It was really pouring, though, so we got soaked really quickly. I was loving it.

Then, yesterday I was looking at the newspaper and saw the pictures of the flash flooding that happened. I had heard there was some flash flooding, but I didn't realize how horrible the flooding was until I saw the pictures. In many places the water was up to some peoples' knees. They had to pry open doors of some places to get the people out because the water was so high they couldn't open the doors.

Many, many cars were stalled along the roads because the water was so high it stalled all the engines. Both Jim and I were home at the time, so we didn't have to worry about problems with our cars. The thing that surprised me the most is that one of the picture in the newspaper that showed people stalled and having really bad trouble with the water on the roads was just three blocks from our house.

As I've seen all that and realized what has happened, I have realized that I have so many blessings to be grateful for. Our house was not affected much by the water. We had a little water gather in our garage. It was a very little puddle. Then, in our backyard, a big puddle gathered, but it was back by our back corner fence. It didn't get near the house.

We are so blessed because so many people had big flooding problems in their homes. Some were up all night pumping or vacuuming the water out of their homes. Many businesses also had a whole lot of water damage. We are so blessed. We have had no problems. I really have had many blessings to count.

Jo-Jo

So, we have had our dog, Jo-Jo, for quite a few months, now, and I finally am getting some pictures of her up. She is such a sweet dog. She is a Chow/Corgi mix. She is reddish in color. The girls really love to play with her, as you can see, and she is really good with them.


I don't know if you can tell in this picture or not, but her tongue is both black (from the Chow) and red. It is pretty cool looking -- all patchy.

Violatte's Dance Recital

I am finally getting around to putting the pictures from Violatte's dance recital on my blog. Her recital was at the beginning of June. They performed "Lion King" and all the girls in Violatte's class were all little lion cubs. They all looked sooo cute!

Violatte had gotten this little dance teddy bear from her dance teacher and she just loves it!




Isn't she absolutely beautiful! She has such stunning eyes!

Rain!

It is raining here! I have learned this past year that I love rain so much! It's amazing that when you don't have something you really learn to appreciate it.

It rained a week ago or so, also. It was the first time it had rained this year, I think. When it started thundering I thought that there were some really big explosions happening on base. I was very surprised to find out that it was thunder! The only problem, though, is that when it does rain, it doesn't rain for very long -- 10 minutes or so.

Each time it rains I love to stand outside with my face up and just let it fall on me. (I stand out in the backyard so my neighbors don't think I'm too crazy.) I just love the feel of water. Water seems like such a rariety anymore that I can't ever seem to get enough of the feel and smell and look of it.
I guess that's what I get for living in a desert!

'So You Think You Can Dance' thoughts

I don't write much about TV shows (mostly because I don't watch much), but I love the show "So You Think You Can Dance." I love dance and I love the variety they have on this show. Most weeks I can understand what the reasons are for someone leaving the show. This week, though!!! I am in shock!!!!


I am so not happy that Gev was sent home! He was an amazing dancer! I really wish Mark had been sent home instead. They have so many contemperary dancers and Gev really was unique and phenomenal -- I especially was so impressed with his solos! He seemed all quiet and reserved and then we did his solos . . . WOW! He could stun anybody!

Also, I was pretty surprised the Kerrington was sent home. She was pretty good. She had amazing technique! Comfort was awesome at hip-hop but her technique could not compare to Kerrington's. I do understand, though, that his week Kerrington wasn't at the top of her game, but I think she has proved herself these other weeks. Comfort did phenomenal at the hip-hop routine this week, but that is her genre.

Well, at least both Kerrington and Gev will be touring with the top ten. I loved the group dances last night -- very cool!

One more note, I feel so bad for Jessica! I really was rooting for her! I wonder how long she had danced with the broken ribs. I am so sad she is out! I will miss her!