No fun pictures, YET, but they will come, I am certain!!! Our friend dropped off her Shitzu puppy, today while she travels to spend time with her father who is in the hospital in TX. Then one of our friends arrived from New Orleans with her GORGEOUS, full brother chocolate Labs. They are so sweet, and the girls are so thrilled to have dogs IN THE HOUSE again!!! The dogs are Bullet and Arrow, and their people-mom is so amazing with them. They are well-trained and so sweet. Tomorrow we should have another friend with her three dogs and two boys coming. Addie and Ainslee are so excited to know that they may have friends moving in for a while!! Of course, we pray that Gustav just falls apart, but it looks like we may not get that one answered. There are no bottles of water, generators, window unit air conditioners, batteries nor some other staple items on the shelves in town. We are going to try to hunt down a window unit A/C that we can power from our generator in the event we lose power for days. We have found that if we lose power DURING the storm, it's not so bad, but the days to follow here in LA in August when it clears up and everything is soaking wet and the temps soar and the mosquitoes swarm, it's not fun without AIR!! Praying for this to blow over FAST!!!

So yesterday was interesting! We seem to be right in the middle of the "cone" for the projection of the newest hurricane. It's actually a tropical storm right now near Cuba. First, Mom and Consuela are scheduled to fly with Addie, Garrett and me to Minnesota to the Mayo Clinic to meet with specialists in neurology next Wednesday....Problem is that we may have a hurricane here Monday night or Tuesday morning, and our flight is out of New Orleans. Not good. So we are debating how to handle this. We could drive to Mom and Dad's, then fly out of Birmingham, AL, but then that might be then Gustav is buzzing that area. We MIGHT be able to get out of here Wednesday, but it depends on the exact landfall and whether the airport here closes. Mom and Consuela may need to come down earlier than the Tuesday flight we have them on . I have called Mayo to let them know our situation, and they are looking into rescheduling availability. Nothing like getting this close to an appointment that could so change Addie and Garrett's lives and then having to WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then Oscar calls to let me know that we will have several evacuees from his squadron. So far the tally is three wives, 2 little boys who can keep up with Ainslee with no problem and 2-6 dogs!!! Boy is Oreo going to get some serious harassment done this weekend!!! One of the evacuee's husbands dropped off his antique car tonight as he fears it will get jacked if they evacuate and he leaves it. Good 'ole New Orleans.
SO the upstairs is all ready, the dog crates are clean, and let's hope the bar, grocery store, and Chinese joint across the street stay open for business. We should have a blast. These ladies are so sweet and fun, but due to the fact we live about 1.5 hours from them, we rarely get together. I am looking forward to opening our home to great folks and furry creatures!

Here are a couple of light moments in our day!! We cracked ourselves up during our school lessons today as Oreo was asleep under the table in the school room, as usual. I left the room to find batteries for the poor marathon electric pencil sharpener, and upon my return I saw Addie had placed a pencil on Oreo's paw. I got tickled and decided to make the paper and slip it under him. Honestly, we DID get our work done today!!!!

Note that Ainslee NEVER wants her photo taken. Hhhmmmmm...think it had anything to do with being able to stop doing her school work for a minute?

Although Calli isn't in our home, she is still in our hearts!!! She has bounced out of her first home, and yesterday she has gone to a new home with another grey named Clyde where Calli's new name will be Bonnie...get it, Bonnie and Clyde!!!!

Addie, Ainslee and their buddy Rebecca play dress-up last week.

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Addie and Tanzi spent the past year as good friends at the AEI arena Friday nights and jockeyed for the top four positions in every event all season!! We are so thankful for Tanzi and her amazing family. Thank you for making this past year so much fun!!!!

This is Ainslee at her happiest.....well, except for eating at the concession stand!! She began the 2008 season on Bert with us walking beside her and ended it on her 5 year old twin, Sunny, riding all events without any help from us!!! We are so proud of our big girl!!! To convince her that Sunny was the right horse, we pointed out that Ainslee and Sunny are both blonde, both 5 years old and both love to eat!!! It worked, and aside from being a bit lazy in the energy department, Sunny seems to get along great with Ainslee!

Daddy's Girl

Daddy always seems to know what the girls around here need!! In this shot, he had just finished getting Ernie all ready for Addie and I found him on one knee there talking to her about how to have a great attitude and do her best but be safe at the same time. I get too excited and spew off too many things to Addie, but Daddy-O knows just what to say and how to say it!!

Addie is warming up Ernie for the final competitive night at the AEI.

Addie and May-May crank it up in another round of the Farming Game. Addie WILL NOT borrow money from the bank in this game or any other game involving money....that's my girl!!!!

This is Garrett working on the ball with his PT Nanette. She is a sweetheart and has known Garrett for a year but only done a few water therapy sessions with him until recently when it regular PT left the practice. We miss her, but Miss Nannette rocks, too!!!

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The Evans and Damron families held a year sale this past Saturday to raise money to give the following weekend at the MDA telethon. We raised a whopping $830.00!!!!!!!
THANK YOU to each of you who donated time, money, sale items, baked goods and prayers!!! We love you all and appreciate your untiring support for our sons and the MDA!! We were asked to appear on television next Monday, Sept. 1, to make the check presentation...so exciting to feel like we are doing something to help!!! The below photos are of our families and friends at the garage sale!

The kids enjoyed drinking...uuuhhh...selling lemonade, too!

3.1 Girls Adventure Racing Team Racing For a Cure for MD!!

Duke got to rest UNTIL the recliner was sold!!!! (He was the main mover!!)

Yes, that's the cat, Oreo, playing Garrett's new piano!!! He has turned out to be such a neat little dude, except that left inside at night, he parties and likes to attack our hands when we move in our sleep!! He sleeps outside at night now!

Sadly, we have realized that we must send Calli to another home. She has won our hearts, but she is snappy towards Garrett...can't blame her. She was straight off the track, and it seems that she is being motherly toward the children, not making it fun for them since she wants to discipline them more than be playful. So we called the local group of Greyhound Pets of America, and this couple here in town was so kind and reassuring to me. They agreed to take my sweet girl and foster her while we wait for them to find the right dog for us....possibly....Nina, don't panic!!!! We may also become a foster home instead of adopting soon as there are so many greys coming here from foster homes in Florida who need a family for a short time before permanent homes are found. We may even end up finding the right dog this way.
I am very sad to see her go, but the dominance usually does not get better with time, but sometimes worse.
Then I got a call Monday that there is already a home lined up for her without children!!! I am overjoyed!! The local adoption people will come to get her Friday, and I think she will go to her new home on Friday or Saturday. So  a happy ending for a sweet pup who came from a dreadful rescue a few weeks ago. Lesson....ONLY ADOPT FROM A REPUTABLE SERVICE WHO HELPS PLACE THE RIGHT DOG IN YOUR HOME if you are looking for one that is good with kiddos and kitties. Oh, and Calli is doing GREAT with the cat!!!

Ainslee's BIG Mushroom/Umbrella

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Addie's Big Mushroom/Umbrella

We love you, Ace! We miss you.

This is the last photo we took of our first child, Ace. I found him peacefully, permanently asleep a week and a half ago in his favorite spot under the swing set where his daddy had made a big, cool, sandy area for him in the shade. This was taken on Garrett's birthday in the morning. He loved following Ace around and Ace was proud of Garrett. He never lost his patience and would gladly let him place Garrett's hand on his back to stead himself while he walked. He allowed the girls to both crawl all over him, and for months when Oscar was out of town, he would protect me and keep me company. You just cannot thank a loyal companion like him enough! The last couple of weeks Ace was here, he would take walks with Calli and me. I think she made him feel young again. He was proud to walk with her and show her around. He perked up a great deal upon meeting her. I will argue to my grave that Ace was the greatest dog ever. He never complained, always welcomed us with a bark and lots of wags, and even on a bad day, he could jump as high as my chin when it was time to be fed!!!! There will never be a dog like Ace, and we will never even come close to replacing him. He came from the animal shelter in Gainesville , Florida. I urge anyone considering getting a pet to find one from a rescue or adoption type situation from a shelter or similar place. So many pets need homes. Please avoid pure bred pet store pets that are usually from puppy mills where imperfect pups are killed. There's my soap box for the night!!! Ace, we love you and miss you and know you are happy with Mancha (she went to Heaven about four weeks before Ace)!! We are so at peace knowing we will see you again!!!

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Beautiful Big Girl!

That's one lucky dog!!!

When the girls are not loving her, Garrett is "walking" her.

Here is our youngest daughter Ainslee with our newest little girl, Calli. We are working diligently to house train Calli and cat train her. So far she really wants to eat Oreo, the cat. We found some great methods online that are specific to Greyhounds. Cat training is getting better, and house training is an 18 hour success to this moment...YEAH!

Oh, and Calli says that for Christmas she will gladly take other collars (martingale type) with matching leashes, and any warm sweaters or jackets for the cooler weather. She prefers diamonds, by the way....HA!

GARRETT GOES TO SCHOOL!!!
Garrett started preschool last week. He is not at all happy to have the teacher get him out of the car in the morning, but once his feet hit the floor inside the building, they say he is a dream! He is getting along great with the other children, listening well, following directions, EATING WELL, and very happy! He will have the same sweet teacher, Mrs. G, that Addie and Ainslee had when they were 3!! I could not ask for more. She is a God-send and a very fun lady!! She genuinely loves our children and lets us know that every time we see her in town.

"HI POP!"
Garrett asked to talk to Nina and Pop, so I called them and then handed him the phone. He walked away talking on the phone. This was where I found Garrett while he was chatting with Pop on Thursday! It was funny to see how serious he was about his conversation with his grandfather.