Our Australian Shepherd Sydney celebrated her twelfth birthday by rescuing a puppy! Wally, a 10-week old Aussie/Labrador Retriever mix came home from the shelter on December 4th. He is smart, happy and headstrong.
The girls are fine, fresh and fierce... 
Both got their braces off this year and both enjoyed a weeklong summer sleep-away camp in the mountains. We got them to join us for one of the local run-for-the-hungry benefits. And both were wonderful singing & dancing for a weekend crash course in musical theater put on by a traveling troop of talented kids (The Young Americans). They even helped Lesli when we got to host a couple of the kids for a week.
Savannah got a cell phone for her 13th birthday and was a good sport for the next week when there was no cell coverage on our mountain vacation (!!). She consoled herself on the trip with epic rafting…
mule rides…
chasing bears from our campsite…and horsing around with her sister.
She was unfazed when, in her 7th year of Hula dancing, she was asked to perform at the Japanese cultural center – even though she was the only blond in sight! She loves singing in the school choir and designing clothes – this year she created and helped sew her own Halloween costume.
Next year she’ll be in (gulp!) high school!
Charlotte celebrated her 10th birthday with a trip to Disneyland with family and friends.
She is very attentive to Sydney & Wally and was the most spirited member of her volleyball team coached by Lesli. She enjoyed the outdoorsy elements of our mountain vacation – she caught the biggest trout... 
...got attacked by a giant eagle...
...and was grateful for our room at Wawona Lodge after camping in the high-country of Yosemite. 
Her toughness was put to test in November when we joined Lesli’s folks at the Grand Canyon and rode mules from the rim to the bottom. It was a raw day and the narrow trail switchbacks were inches from 4,000-foot drops! 
Luckily she had an ornery mule that pushed oncoming hikers off the trail!
Lesli chaired the organizing committee for her 30th high school class reunion – a weekend affair in August. Crazy weather stymied her summer produce garden (it was the coldest summer on record, followed by the hottest day ever) but the winter garden is coming along nicely with lettuces, carrots, snap peas, broccoli, radishes and more.
We enjoyed her mother Margery’s 70th birthday party. Lesli's natural athleticism helped her win the tortilla toss trophy at the annual party of her high school musical theater teacher!
Our weekend ski trips with friends and with the girls continue to be winter highlights while Thanksgiving with her family in San Diego is a tradition we all enjoy.
Dan is at the perfect age where he can blame his A.D.D. on senility or vice-versa. 
For the 4th of July his sister Julie joined us laying underneath the palm trees in Palm Springs and a few weeks later his sister Linda visited LA with her 20-something kids Kendall & Harper and Harper’s fiancée Michelle. Recent business travel earned enough miles for Lesli and him to visit family friend Jerome in Amsterdam and a side-trip to Belgium, getting a generous dose of Van Goghs, tulips, chocolates and beer (not all at once!).
He was the culprit who planned our 2-day Canyon mule trip and overnight Phantom Ranch stay at the bottom. 
He saw his Atlanta Braves three times and loves to talk with his dad about sports, gardens and how to age gracefully (subject to interpretation!).
Our travels this year convince us that nothing comes close to the golden coast and though winter solstice looms, we wish you a sun-kissed 2011.
The Kendalls - Dan, Lesli, Savannah, Charlotte, Sydney & Wally
