Lil' Dean Fam

Well, I'm still basically computer-less but dealing with the sitch. Colin is being nice enough to lend me his laptop when he doesn't have to take it to school. I know it's driving him crazy, but I'm very appreciative. So, I'm thinking of getting a new digital camera. I'm hoping to get an SLR if I can figure out a way to afford it. Does anyone have any suggestions? Have not really researched this at all... Do you have one? Do you want one? Which one do you have? What do you like about it? What do you not like about the model that you have? What advice would you give to someone purchasing a new camera? Sorry for all of the questions but if anyone has any advice or suggestions in making this purchase, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks y'all!

My laptop computer has no power. It is a work computer so I have no way of getting it or the battery, or the power cord, or whatever the problem is fixed until the end of August. I am assuming it will take AT LEAST a month after that for the computer to be sent back to me. My desktop sucks. side note- It is located on the top floor of our house. I cannot get the top floor of our house to a decent temperature. It feels like the heater is on. I don't even know if I can hook it up to the Internet. There is no memory left on it. It barely runs. It is 9 years old. Do I have to say anything else? Colin's laptop is kaput. I don't even know if it is worth fixing. Colin's other laptop is for school, and he takes it with him to work. (He is letting me borrow it so that I can post this pathetic entry.) My point is, I may not be able to update my blog. :( I'm not sure how long this will take me but I do know that being without the Internet is: 1. boring 2. annoyi...

This year our Clegg reunion was held at Cherry Hill in Utah. We had a really fun time camping and enjoying the water park. All four of us were able to go. The reunion seemed to have a pretty good turn out too. Ryan did not want to leave on Sunday morning. I'm not really that pleased with the pictures that I took. For one thing, I've totally lost my camera and so I'm using Colin's as a back up. His camera is okay, but I'm more used to mine I guess. Secondly, Ryan wasn't being very cooperative with picture taking. I also found it hard to take pictures and enjoy my time visiting with family simultaneously. Here they are regardless. PS: I'm sure my other relatives will be posting pictures soon too on their own websites and letting me know about it so those who missed out can get a more complete picture of how the reunion went down this year. YES, THIS IS YOUR HINT! Ryan, me and Evan at the Cherry Hill water park. Ryan enjoying some lunch. Shannon a...

Colin invited some buddies over to watch UFC 100 at our house on pay-per-view. We had a great time. I really enjoyed putting together a fun barbecue menu and cooking for everyone. The fights were a lot of fun to watch too. Aloha Kabobs recipe from Better Homes and Gardens new Grilling cookbook Prep: 30 minutes Makes: 10 side-dish servings 10 8-inch wooden skewers 1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 cups) 20 red or white pearl onions, peeled (I actually used golden) 2 yellow and or red sweet peppers, but into 1 inch pieces (I used green too) 20 sugar snap peas (I did not use these but used cherub tomatoes instead) 1/4 cup teriyaki or Szechwan glaze 1. Soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes. Drain. Alternately thread pineapple, onions, peppers and peas onto skewers, leaving a 1/4 inch space between pieces. 2. For a charcoal grill, grill kabobs on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 6 to 8 minutes or just until onio...

I decided to sign Ryan up for swimming lessons this year and was very pleased with that choice. He loved getting into the water to swim for a little while each day. He learned how to float on his back by himself. He's learning a little more about the water and that's a great thing. We may even do another session this summer. Ry took lessons at the pool that I was a life guard at for many years. It was a little strange going back as a patron. But lots of fun! Here's Ryan with his teacher doing a tummy float. Back float ride. Showing me some kind of a trick in the water. Blowing bubbles in the water. Ryan with is buddy Maycee. Hey, look! He's sitting on the steps with the rest of the class like he's supposed to.

We've been trying to think of ways to stay busy and cool this summer. The Splash Park is always a hit. I took Ryan, Curen, and Evan out there one day this week. We had a great time!

On Ryan's second birthday, the Dean's brought us out this rocking horse all the way from Maryland. It was Colin's when he was a little boy and Karen and Bruce saved it all this time. They've were waiting to hand it down to Colin when he had a child that could use it. Ryan was a little bit big for it by the time we got it, but he still rode it a little. I think it is so cute and has tons of character. Evan has really enjoyed it and he's been able to have it around for a little longer than Ryan, so he's really gotten some use out of it. I know Karen will be thrilled to see some pictures of Evan on it, but I just had to post the ones of Ryan too. I guess I think it's cool how similar they look and at the same time, they look a different too. Ryan is 26 months in these pictures and Evan is 15 months. So they're about a year apart, Ryan being older when the photos were taken than Evans. However, they're about the same size. Ryan's face looks older but...