Shortcake,
Keep in mind though a Point & Shoot camera may have the range you want and some nice bells and whistles, once you buy it, it can't be upgraded. What you have is what you have. Also be careful when the say 12x. Sometimes they mean 12 times 50mm (considered normal eye view) which would give you 600mm and sometimes they mean 12 times the wide angle of the camera. If its 28mm, then your longest focal length is 12x28mm=336mm. Also avoid Digital Zoom. Optical Zoom is what matters, digital just blows up pixels.

With a DSLR, you can always get bigger, faster lenses, flashes, macro lenses, etc. DSLRs are much more flexible and allow you to grow as a photographer. The down side is your gear will be more expensive and WON'T fit on you pocket.

FYI: I have a D2H & D100.