I remember being able to fill up my car for around $20 and now, as you know, you can't even buy 5 gallons for $20. So I'm really wondering
-Why? I hear explanations like short supply or increased demand, wars in oil producing countries, politics, governmental conspiracies, increased costs for drilling, and blah, blah, blah. Although I'm no economic genius, the only explanation I really believe is
greed. Greed prompts people to do some pretty unthinkable things, so it's easy to believe that some really wealthy people (who happen to own oil companies) are really greedy and they want to get even wealthier, so they inflate the price of oil and we all just go along with it. It's not the end of the world, but I don't like the price of gas influencing my daily decisions.
(I think my son has a broken bone-should I drive him to the ER? I have really good insurance, but no, can't afford it, the gas alone would cost more than the hospital bill. I'll just make him cast out of popsicle sticks and tape-it's better than wasting a tank of gas.) Does anyone
really know the truth? Will the prices ever come back down?
Why was 6 afraid of 7? 
People have been asking me if Aaron's family has been affected by the fires, and yes, they have been evacuated. Aaron's hometown of Paradise, CA has been hit hard by the CA fires. The last I heard 49,000 acres have burned. The first big fire didn't burn near his parent's home, but at least 70 homes were destroyed. Unfortunately, the latest fire is right behind their house. It has burned to the bottom of the canyon in their backyard, but hasn't crossed the river (more like a stream) yet. It is doubtful that firefighters will be able to save their home if the fire crosses the river and heads up the canyon as there are plenty of trees and brush to fuel the fire. We are praying that it does not cross the river as many other families will also lose their homes. Aaron's parents were able to remove many items (photos, albums, etc.) from their home before the mandatory evacuation and are staying with relatives for now. Hopefully the fire will burn itself out before any more families lose their homes. 
We love our Tyler. He is a good big brother for Bret, a great helper for Mom and Dad, and a very happy, smart, handsome, and kind boy. We are so grateful to have him in our family!
Tyler decided on the morning of his birthday party that he wanted a transformers cake. I made Aaron make it because he has all the artistic skills in our family.
I thought it looked pretty good, and more importantly, Tyler thought it was really cool (if you don't know your transformers, this is "Bumblebee"-he transforms from a robot into a Camaro)!
Tyler with his new hotwheels track-he couldn't stop jumping up and down when he opened it. He loves speedracer even though he has never seen the movie-you just can't go wrong with race cars.
Tyler waiting for us to hurry up and take a picture so he can blow out his candle and eat Aaron's masterpiece.
Tyler trying to bust open the pinata (unfortunately I could not find a transformers pinata, but I did learn that a "party store" in MI is actually what I call a "liquor store"-not a place to buy balloons or pinatas). 
