AWWWW...big wet sloppy kisses and a Happy Birthday to you Dakota!! She's a real sweetie and it is a heartbreaker that they don't live long... Now go bake her a cake or at the very least some white cupcakes!! (I did that after I priced a doggie cake at the store...17.00...it was more then a REAL cake!)

Thanks you guys! We're doing well. Always busy, and always something going on. I'm still employed by a large company during a 5500 cutback. In fact, busier than ever. When I hear about all these companies cutting back, I count my blessings that I have a great job with good benefits. We have a Plan B for when the time comes, and I'm glad it doesn't have to be in the forefront of my mind. DH is almost a second year resident. He is finishing his intern year by spending a rotation with his dad. It has been a great month for both of them to spend time together. DH has a bedside manner very similar to his father's, and I'm glad that he's had the opportunity to spend more time watching him practice medicine. They are both wonderful, caring physicians, and I'm glad they are both a part of my life. In July, DH starts concentrating on neurology, and he's very excited to spend time learning more about his favorite area of medicine. Three more years to go until private practice. Jacob is five and a half, and has graduated from pre-K. He's spending the summer at a day camp, and has aged 2 years in the past 2 weeks. I think it's because he is surrounded by older kids. He's maturing, and I love watching him grow into a school aged kid now. I love the things that excite him and watching him interact with Tyler. He's always had some reflux problems, and they've been escalating lately (vomiting, breathing problems, and lots of pain). We are scheduled for an endoscopy soon, and hopefully we'll get some answers and a long term plan. He's a very, very smart kid, and always keeps me busy with questions and finding the answers. His recent interest is the weather, and each night we watch the radar, look at patterns, and discuss the conditions for a proper tornado. He starts kindergarten in the fall, and we are all very excited. Tyler just turned three, and has started outgrowing the baby feel that he's carried around for a while. Tyler is on the small side and his speech is slightly delayed, but a perfectly healthy three year old. He's cute as a button, but still felt baby-ish. Not that I mind; he's fun to snuggle with. With some speech therapy, he has blossomed. He is more intelligible, and now we are working on some language comprehension. Potty training is on the back burner, as I refuse to make it a battle. Potties and underwear are plentiful in our house when he decides to no longer use his pants :) He's adventurous and loves imitating his big brother. We've spent the summer going to the pool, participating in summer reading at the library, and taking day trips to smaller Indiana towns. We had planned to go to Destin, FL in July, but those plans are on hold pending the oil spill migration to that area. We'll either make last minute reservations or we'll head north to Lake Michigan. Sorry for the novel, but I thought an update was in order :) Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Ahhh! Thank you! I answered some questions on the forums today (the ones from active threads that show up in your email), but really didn't have a chance to look at the forum until now. It was a beautiful weekend to be outdoors in the yard/gardens, and working on trees, so that's what I did. Laura - how did you know it was my birthday? Thanks very much for the nice surprise, and thanks to everyone else for the b-day wishes. I really appreciate it! Al

I LOVE them!! Youre flowers are ALWAYS GORGEOUS and PERFECT looking! I hope i can get my cactus to bloom at some point lol :)