Sunday was birthday party day – the day before Katelyn’s 9th birthday and only 4 days before Alex’s. We had 3 sets of grandparents, uncles, cousins and friends all bringing gifts and both local grandmothers brought cupcakes – pretty and delicious – some with a butterfly theme, some with a Lego theme, and some with a chocolate theme – see the photos below.

Katelyn had a choice for her birthday gift from here parents – either a Kindle Fire or she could get her own puppy to raise and prepare to be a guide dog for the blind. We can proudly say she chose the dog and the gift was symbolized by a new dog bed (the guide dog to be will come in a week or two). That choice was put to the test when brother Alex did get a Kindle Fire but Katelyn has saved enough to buy one for herself and, with Dad’s help, did that after the party.

Turns out that Kindle Fires are Android-based tablets and can be used to read books, surf the net, and play games. Mark and Kristin have their work cut out for them regarding rules for the Kindles.

I have to tell those who don’t already know, Mark and Kristin and proud owners of “The Local Bark”, a Sacramento-area (Rancho Cordova) dog boarding and training business. They recently started a new program training “Diabetic Alert” dogs. These are service dogs, like guidedogs for the blind, that accompany their owners everywhere and can detect and alert their owners’ to the need for insulin. Visit their site at www.localbark.com to read about it and all of the other services they provide. Can you tell I am a proud Dad?