1 down 19 or more to go!

Savannah's last day of preschool was Friday. She still has two more years at the same preschool if all goes well. Here's a picture of her on her last day:

3 years old



The preschool had an end of the year party at a students house. Savannah had tons of fun playing on the water slide and running around the property. We found out she is not allergic to wasps!!

The children were able to ride some of the horses and Savannah picked Big Ben to ride. Apparently he is a movie star.

Nice Day For A Walk

Last Sunday was a nice day for a walk. Savannah, her baby and I headed over to the Riverwalk to enjoy the sun. Here are a few pictures of our day:

Cruising with her baby

Relaxing

Going off road

She loves the outdoors

Oakland

March 27, 2009

Yesterday I had the honor to attend the funeral for four of Oakland's finest. It was amazing to see the response from other agencies across the U.S. and from the citizens all around the Oakland area. This picture is of the Oracle Arena in Oakland. It was filled mostly with Officers and their families. A few yards away was the Oakland Coliseum which held the overflow mostly that of the public. It was amazing. I tried to hold back the tears as family members spoke of the brave Officers and amazing men that they were. At one point one of the speakers thanked a member of the public who performed CPR on one of the Officer's until medics arrived. One of the widows started clapping to thank that man and the whole stadium followed. It was tear jerking. Thank You. Even thought the life was not saved, it shows that there are people out there that will step up and help when the people they rely on to help need it the most.

During the funeral I kept diverting my attention from the speakers to one person in particular. It was the daughter of Sgt. Sakai. She reminded me of my little Savannah and was about the same age. She also comes from a Japanese American family. She danced during the music breaks, ate little treats and played with her many stuffed animals that she was given. She is too young to know that her Daddy is not coming home again. That is what saddened me. I will be donating to her trust fund and I join others to do so.

Sakai Family Trust

c/o OPOA

Attn:Renee Hassna

Oakland, CA 94607

She is THREE!!!

Savannah turned 3 a couple of weeks ago and I have been slow at adding any new photos. I added a few to MySpace and I will add a couple here too. Savannah is staying busy with Preschool for a few more months. We also enrolled her in PeeWee sports and Swim Lessons. Eventually she will focus on track and field where she will be an Olympian:)

Savannah likes to dress up like a princess, draw, do puzzles, sing, dance and play with bubbles. She also loves to ride her new bike.

I was looking back at her photos from when she was a baby and I can't believe how fast it has gone by. Here is my little princess a few days old.

I love her. Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Lori Brock Museum

This morning we went with Savannah's preschool class to the Lori Brock Museum in Bakersfield. Savannah had a great time playing and learning. Here are a few snapshots to enjoy:

Officer Savannah

Brush those teeth

I want to be like Papa

Working at the bank

Bakersfield Relay For Life

This is the year! I have always talked about getting involved in a walk for charity, but it always ended up being just talk. Well this year I decided it was time for a change. With the help and motivation of a few coworkers I have not only signed up to be part of the Bakersfield Relay For Life, but I am the Captain! What the heck did I get myself into????



I attended the first Captains meeting on Saturday and had a blast. Lots of music and dancing which is right up my alley. I love to have fun and I know the event will be just that. The hard part for me is raising the money. I am not one to ask for anything. This is for such a great cause that I decided I'd give it a try.



My team is CSUB Campus for a Cure and is made up of members from the Police Department. Our goal is to raise at least 1,000 dollars and I know we can do it!



If you would like to help just check out this site......




http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09CA?px=8801756&pg=personal&fr_id=13826&s_tafId=254397


I will post pictures as soon as I can. Thanks!

Christmas Present

Here is Savannah at a Bakersfield Condors game showing off her new t-shirt. Doesn't she look Japanese? I think so:)

Tomorrow is a BIG day!!!

WEIGH IN!!!!My family is having a friendly competition. We are playing our own version of the Biggest Loser. Last Thursday we all weighed in for our starting weights which honestly were not that bad. So now every Thursday until the end of May we will continue to weigh in and see each others progress. Hopefully this keeps me motivated and also helps me motivate the rest of the family. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. (hey stop laughing) I will keep you posted and maybe just maybe I will add a photo or two.

Spoiled by Santa!

Christmas Eve was spent at home putting reindeer food out on the lawn so Rudolph and his friends could find our house. Savannah also decorated cookies for Santa.

For the last few months, thanks to Sally and her son Isaac, Savannah has been wanting a pink car aka Barbie Cadillac Escalade. She wanted one with a radio so she could ride in style:) So Santa suprised her with her wish. She is more excited about the radio and just dances around her car.

Presents from Florida. Thanks to the Crabtree's!

Our little princess.

Happy 2009!

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Bishop

On Friday afternoon, my mom, Savannah and I went to Bishop California to meet up with my sister and her family, my Aunt Lois and Grandma. We spent a few days there relaxing and freezing! On Saturday night Beth and I took the kids to our Aunt Lynn's house to see Santa. We decided to leave Sunday, a day earlier then planned because snow was in the forecast and us Bakersfieldians don't drive well in the snow. We were able to visit with cousin Amanda for a few minutes before we left. It was a nice visit and like always we are looking forward to the next time we go back:)

Grandma Maxine, Kylee, Blake and Savannah

Kylee and Savannah making snow angels!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009!

Christmas Parade

December 4th, 2008

We took Savannah to her first Bakersfield Christmas Parade. She loved it!

Preschool Picture

Savannah's first school picture.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for my family.

Pictured are Clayton, Kylee, Mom, Blake, Dad and Savannah

We had Thanksgiving Dinner last night because of work schedules. There was plenty of food and noise in my house and we had a great time. Gramma Nakashima is in town for awhile (hopefully shes stays, sorry Utah family) and she came over with Uncle Jeff, Karen, Conner and Dylon. Beth and her family and Jeff and Sarah and Mom and Dad were all here. It's my favorite holiday because our family always gets together. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Countdown Begins..........

75 days and I will be spending the night with him!!!

Josh Turner

To Iraq with love...

Yesterday Savannah and I went Christmas shopping. It wasn't a typical Christmas shopping adventure to the mall, list in hand and dodging hundreds of people just to get that one special present. No this present was for someone we didn't even know and probably we'll never meet. This person is in the United States Army and is stationed in Iraq until September 2009. We didn't want to forget about the soldiers this Christmas so we went out to pick them up a few things hoping that it would make their Christmas a little brighter.

Every couple of months Savannah and I pick a soldier from Anysoldier.com and send a package to them. This month we decided to send a Christmas package hoping that it would get there in time for them to enjoy. Here's Savannah and the items we chose:

Mmmmmm Candy Canes

It's very easy to do and I highly recommend it. Head to the post office and get a flat rate box(free)

Fill it up with all kinds of goodies. Here's Savannah next to the full package.

Fill out a customs form which can be picked up at the post office or found online and send it off.

This package is headed to Iraq. Merry Christmas SSG Steven M. Huff!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

It's a beautiful day in Bakersfield, California. It's not very often that I can say that.

Look at those clouds!

This is Savannah yelling Trick Or Treat!

Savannah at school decorating a cookie.....

then eating it!

Hope you have a safe Halloween. I will post costumes pictures later.

Farm Days

Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowgirls!

This picture was taken at Savannah's school during their Farm Day.

Pismo in September

These pictures are from September when we went to Pismo Beach. Beth and Paul have a travel trailer and parked it over at a campground for the week. They invited all of us to stop in when we could. Aunt Lolo was able to stay the whole week with Beth and her kids. I stayed a few nights with Savannah. My mom was there almost the whole week until my dad came and saved her (jk). Thanks Beth and Paul can't wait until next year, hint hint!!

Aunt Lois with Kylee

Kylee

Savannah

Vanna

Fun Times

Yummm marshmellow