I agree with your son :001_smile:, we love to go to Yosemite. UC Merced is brand new and closest to Yosemite, and all of the Sierra hiking. Cal State Fresno is close too. One of my cousins went to University of Nevada Reno. Close to skiing.:tongue_smilie: He also went to Humboldt State University near Redwood National Park.

IBD is Investors Business Daily. They are one of the top business daily newspapers. Looks like the editorial is worth investigating. Editorials always have the potential of being unfounded attacks.

Traditionally the night the VP speaks at the political convention is the night every speaker attacks the opponents. Gov Palin and Mayor Giuliani did a great job softening the position of their opponents before the Sen McCain accepts the nomination. I still like Gov Ann Richards of Texas comment about Pres George H.W. Bush. "Poor George, he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.":lol:

She is a bit facetious, but astute on this question. A VP may only shake hands, make speeches, preside over the Senate, and wait for the President to become unable to perform his duties. Day to day that isn't much. However, the President may choose to use the VP for much more.

I have been using it all day. Chrome is very fast. The speed test seem to be misleading, since the slow parts of a page does not slow down the rest of the page. With the other browsers I've used, when a part of a page gets stuck the whole page will not display. Also, very long pages seem to work very well. Browser competition is great! I hope Chrome keeps the competition alive. (The integrated spell checker is great too :001_smile:)

McCain's vp pick is awesome. :hurray: 1. Young experienced in getting things done. 2. No Washington/national experience, and fights corruption. 3. Woman 4. Conservative viewpoints I wish she was older, but she has accomplished much. Obama's accomplishments are more winning offices and holding liberal views. She has never been in the big leagues, but has fought corruption even in her own party when she sees it. Her selection is a great strategic move in the right direction for the Republican party. She will learn the ropes of national elections. She will bring interest by younger voters and women to their party. If McCain wins, she will probably be the first woman President. If McCain loses, the Republican party will develop a better selection of candidates. She might be the first woman President. She strengthens McCain's appeal to conservatives. This is going to be some horse race. God Bless America P.S. I guess I can wait until after the election to learn more about Ron Paul and the Libertarian party.:tongue_smilie:

The US Congress is likely to be highly weighted to the Democratic Party. I'll be voting for McCain to keep this in check, and to help keep more judges that do not legislate from the bench. Obama could have introduced most of his Change as a US Senator. Why make him President? He could have built consensus in his current position and didn't. I don't like some of McCain's positions, but he seems to be an honorable man. He has tried build consensus, and is not another President Bush. I have watched McCain in previous presidential elections, the spin doctors are just trying to fog the issues. Obama seems to be a typical lawyer, college professor, and politician not professions I see a lot of honor and trust. The United States is the greatest country in the world! The checks and balances of the Constitution will stop either candidate from ruining this country. You can see this by the SCOTUS limiting President Bush's powers at GTMO. :auto:

I would contact her and ask her to remove the pictures immediately.:confused: Explain to her that she is required to have permission from you to post the pictures. You have not given her permission, because you are concerned about your children's security and safety, and do not like nosey people looking at your children.:D If she doesn't take them down, then I'd contact Facebook and have them removed. In general, the more personal information about you and your children you keep off of the net the better. Bad people can always find a way of using the information in ways that are undesirable or dangerous. While I see the draw of Facebook, I would not have anything on Facebook that I didn't want everyone in the world to see, because they can.:chillpill:

:grouphug: I have watched friends go through this many times. You are getting great advice here. One of the things I've observed is that my friends have acted as enablers. For the sake of their children, they have bailed losers out of jail, and given money to help with difficult times. This has delayed decisions the children need to make, which prolonged the agony for all. I'm praying for you and your daughter.

We tried the tiles without magnets. Alphabetizing took too much time. Keeping the materials organized on a magnetic white board makes a 30-45 minute lesson only 15-20 minutes. We put magnetic tape from Hobby Lobby on the backs of the tiles. The tape doesn't stay sometimes, but I've been able to reattach the tape again without any trouble. I still have 1/2 the roll of tape remaining, so quick replacements are always possible. I'll use hot glue if necessary.:001_smile: I would have purchesed the magnets from their site, but I am click challenged :tongue_smilie:(I clicked too fast, and won't go back to buy something where the shipping is more than the item.)

Try this link. You can hear it by clicking on the speaker.:tongue_smilie:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apologia

I haven't tried the recipes, but this site looks very interesting. http://frugalabundance.com/ Keeping the cost down while being GFCF looks hard, she was known as the Hillbilly Housewife and now has by necessity moved to GFCF. I hope this helps.

:thumbup:Awesome!

The best time at the parks are between open and noon. Thunderstorms happen often in the afternoon around 2-3. Get to the park gate around 30 min to 1 hr before you can get in. At MK dash to Dumbo on open and ride until the line gets too long (maybe 2 rides). BTW, if you do not already have PS at the restaurants you need to get them or expect to eat after 1 hr waits at the sit-down restaurants. I would not try to do any running around before heading to the parks on the first morning. Explore the hotel, hotel pool, and food court. If you have a car have dh can go to the store for provisions to defer the costs of water, easy lunches and breakfasts, and snacks. Everything is better in the morning (before the day gets hot). We did not have much luck with the character breakfasts. The key was to get to the rides the the slowest/longest lines fast/early, and then slowly pick off the other things we wanted to see slowly. Also get fast passes on the hard rides as soon as you can, and use them when other things are too crowded. (You have to wait until the start time, but Cast Member policy is to allow them to be used for the rest of the day after the start time.) Mouse ears are better gotten in the park, in the front of MK one of the stores will sew your children's names on the hat. Don't forget to get the birthday buttons from City Hall at MK or Guest Services at the other parks. You children will have everyone wishing the a happy birthday. Have a great time!:001_smile:

My ds9 and I are working through Level 1 at lightening speed. He likes the program. The combination of manipulating the letters and using the CD to listen to the correct sounds is making a big difference. He has been in private and public school, and thinks he is a terrible speller. This program is improving his confidence. I just ordered the rest of the Levels. I forgot to buy the magnets :crying: so I guess I'll have to go to the office supply store and buy a magnet sheet and cut them myself.