Gerbils and Mices and Rats, Oh My!

Last week, Soleil woke up to find one of her gerbils (previously named Kyle, but now obviously a Kyla) gave birth to 5 babies. By the time she left for church there were 7 and when she returned from church there were 8! These babies are in addition to the one that was born 5 weeks ago...prematurely we are figuring. The 5-week old will remain in Soleil's care and,in three months, the new babies will be brought to Critter Hut in North Kingstown. Soleil will receive store credit for selling the gerbils to the store for others to purchase and enjoy!

This week, the girls have attended meetings at two different 4-H Clubs. We are trying to connect with a dog group for Soleil and Aisha is trying to find others who are into rats. She has two rats named Lio and Neko (girls). Photos to follow soon!

Fun For Sale

This 36' Sandpiper 315BHT has served us well for our year-long cross-country trip. We're ready to downsize and so it's time to look for someone to enjoy it as much as we have. If you are interested, please contact me at thepierrefamily@gmail.com. Renee

Asking price: $22,000 OBO (can also combine with 2005 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD crew cab including hitch if interested... $45,000 combined)


2006 FOREST RIVER SANDPIPER 315BHT
WTS: GVW 14,000#
EMPTY 10,390#

FEATURES:
Fiberglass exterior, Fiberglass end caps
Rubber roof (recently resealed)
3 slide-outs
front master bedroom
rear bunkhouse (desk removed for extra storage)
17 ft awning
50 amp service
15k ducted A/C
Furnace
10 gal DSI gas/electric water heater
(4) holding tanks
Enclosed underbelly (stays heated)
43 gal fresh water capacity
(2) axles
Spare tire
Front electric jacks
Tinted windows
Auxiliary shower
Park cable/phone connections
Exterior security lights
Handicap assist bar
Monitor panel
3 burner stove w/oven
Vent-a-hood
Microwave
Refrigerator
Sink covers/cutting boards
Day/night shades
Ceiling fan
Booth
Kitchen skylight
Linoleum kitchen floor
Sleeper sofa
AM/FM/CD/surround sound stereo
Private potty room
Ceiling vent fan
Shower w/skylight
Mirrored medicine cabinet
Closet w/mirrored sliding wardrobe doors
Bunkroom with full lower bunk and twin upper bunk
Bunkroom fold-away table
Smoke detector
LP gas detector
Pass thru belly storage.

FLOOR PLAN: Front queen, Center bathroom, Center kitchen, Center living, Rear bunks (2).

COLORS: Mauve/tan

Too much time on our hands...

So we've had a slightly less stressful week... with it being a short week at school for the girls (yippee), a less-than-full work week for me (boo-hoo...less work = less money), and science fair season is just around the corner (yikes!)

Soooooo, with so much time on our hands, we just had to play with the camera! Enjoy the pics.

Here's hoping you find stress-free days in your life too!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving 2007
This was the beautiful scene of last year's magical Thanksgiving in Sacramento with my sister Kristen, her fiance Vaughn, and their friends. It was a Thanksgiving to remember. And this year we're grateful to be home with family and friends once again...this time to have Turkey Dinner with Michelle and Rob and their adorable kids...Jordan and Jonah at Rob's parents' house. It will be a day of playing with little ones, chatting with bigger ones, and filling our bellies with delicious food.

Rockclimbers Beware!

On Friday, Aisha had her first outing with the Rock Climbing Club at high school. She headed up to a placed called Carabiner's and was certified to belay. She didn't get much climbing in, but she is very proud of her accomplishment. She says she owes it all to her favorite aunt and uncle in Sacramento...Kristen and Vaughn...who taught her everything she knows!

Jordan's 2nd Birthday

Jordan prepares to blow out her candles!

Jordan wearing her new slippers from Auntie Kristen

Aisha multi-tasking...
talking to Auntie Kristen and holding "the little man" on her lap
as he looks up adoringly at her.

Yes folks, I know... the stupid camera was set with the date of 4/6/2005. I finally figured out how to get it off the pictures and so now it won't happen anymore in the future. What a pain in the kiester! We had a great dinner at Michelle's house and got to play with the kids...well, Jonah more than Jordan because Jordan was so busy with food and cake and presents. Jonah just sits and smiles...all the time. They are both waaaaaayyyy too adorable!

Happy Birthday Ulana!

We celebrated Ulana's birthday yesterday. Ulana and my dad were married about 25 years ago. She's been in my life since I was in high school. We all feel blessed that she has come into our lives. Dad, of course, is especially glad, but we're glad she's put up with him all these years so we get to hang out with her too :-) She's strong, generous to a fault, a level-headed dreamer (the opposite of dad and me), patient, tolerant, and incredibly thoughtful.

While the girls and I were on our trip this year, she and dad have been our constant. They have been the ones asking, "Where are you now?" and "How are you doing?" They gifted us with a national parks pass and a reciprocal zoo pass. They were part of the reason we headed home a month sooner than expected. We were all a bit homesick and missed Papa and Ulana.

We have been staying in our camper at Papa and Ulana's house for the past month or so. It has been an absolute joy. We get to have dinners together, laugh a lot, and share our lives with one another.

Yesterday, we took Ulana and Papa for a picnic to celebrate Ulana's birthday. We wanted to give her an afternoon of beauty and rest. We took them to Colt State Park in Bristol (beauty in nature) in the late afternoon. We had deli sandwiches, watched the people go by, and watched the sun begin to set. (restful) It was a beautiful afternoon.

The girls and I each made her a gift (we've been very crafty this past year-me with jewelry and Aisha with Shrinky-dinks; soleil is the consummate design and sticker girl). We told her how we each chose the gift we made for her. We're pretty sure no one else gave her the same gifts we did (as they were all one of a kind) and we think she liked them very much.

Happy Birthday Ulana!