Happy Independence Day everyone! A few shout outs to some very important children, pre-teens and teens in my life!...

JaS'Intermediate Hula class has advanced to the International Dance Challenge Western Regional Finals to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada between July 31 - August 1st! You go, J - I'm so proud of your hard work, determination and dedication.

MagM celebrated her 7th birthday in June and concluded another successful year of dance classes with a stellar performance at her annual recital. Her recital costume resembled a pair of pants I once owned in high school - yes, the tiger striped ones.

JuS will be celebrating her 7th birthday this weekend and devoted her creative energy to designing her very own invitation cover. She also concluded another successful year of hula classes with an awesome performance at her annual recital.

MarM, once again, outshined everyone else, with her glorious smile and dimples, as she danced her way into the audience's hearts with her moving performance at the annual recital. Maggie and Mary are also currently taking swimming lessons and Mary goes into each lesson with her usual "no fear" attitude, as expected. I think she could wrestle a shark if given the opportunity.

Kirk R. has been invited to participate in this year's Junior National Young Leader's Conference. This prestigious program will bring him to the National Museum of American History, the U.S. Capitol, and our nation's monuments and memorials this Summer! I guess my dream of getting him into Big League Baseball will have to sit on the backburner! He's clearly losing focus.

Kelsey R. has made it into her school district's GATE Program! Woohoo! She needed to score atleast 95%, and she scored 98%! Because the bare minimum is just not enough for our little brainiac!

Baseball News:

Noah Lowry returned to AAA Fresno to get in more innings under his belt, and David Aardsma returned to the minors, just today, to make space on the roster for our LHP Jason Christiansen. I'm glad to have Christiansen back in our arsenal, but I can't wait for the day when we bring up our younger reserves from AAA to come together in the Bigs: Lowry, Aardsma, Kevin Correia, Cody Ransom, Damon Minor, Jason Ellison, Lance Niekro, Todd Linden, Tony Torcato... I'd be happy just seeing Lowry and Ransom getting regular play in the Bigs in the coming year!

I was at the Giants vs. Oakland A's game last Friday, July 2nd. I had awesome Premium Lower Box seats, from two of my coworker/friends, as a birthday gift! Ofcourse, I was seated immediately beside two of the most die-hard A's fans I've ever had the privilege of meeting! I actually really like both ball clubs, but have sworn, in secrecy, to loathe Oakland for their past World Series 'behavior' against the Giants! That night, it was Reuter vs. Redman and it was a bit painful to watch - I'm not all about the speed, but both of these pitchers were - two - of - the - slowest - pitchers - I've - ever - experienced! Anyway, no game could really be bad from section 126, row 24 in SBC park...

BUT... the Giants WIN added so much more to the whole experience. Ofcourse, Barry went opposite to Left-Center, putting us ahead of the A's and it was something to behold. #680 baby! Absolutely perfect swing... There were some ugly A's fans chanting "Let's Go Balco", but for me, it all boils down to respecting the game and being a decent person - First, of all, it really is not about the bulk - It's all about the bat speed baby. And Secondly, despite your belief in a certain subject matter, that type of chanting was just inappropriate, in my humble opinion (But this is comin from the type of person that wouldn't disrespect Sammy Sosa about the alleged corked bat incident, even if the Giants met him at the World Series). I'll be the first to admit that I may be too soft for baseball, though - I still miss our Fall 2001 centerfielder, Calvin Murray, #8... and Shawon Dunston, and David Bell and Andres Galarraga... sigh...