Puppy Reunion

When Lucy left her family to come live with us, she left 2 of her remaining sisters - 2 of the 9 siblings she was born with. A few days after we brought Lucy home, one of our ministers at church went down to see about getting one of the other puppies. He and his wife (one of the kids' teachers at school) came home with both Zoe and Payton! We laughed so hard at the turn of events. But, we were so excited for Lucy to be able to visit and play with her sisters again. So, we set a play date for Friday afternoon after school.
Lucy rested up all day long! Mom let her hang out in the back yard most of the day. She loves to lay in the sunshine. She would come in the house and get a drink then stand at the back door waiting to go out again.


She would get up and move as the sun and shadows crept across the patio and grass.





She didn't want to come in. On she slept - almost all day long! Which was good considering . . .





I'm not really sure, but it seemed like they recognized each other as soon as Zoe and Payton got to the front door. They shook and wiggled and were hardly still for almost 2 solid hours! Mom caught a split second of no motion as the 3 looked at each other.




Lucy (left), Payton (center) and Zoe (right) ran all over the back yard. They ran, jumped, "bit", "scratched", barked, chased, wrestled and nuzzled almost non-stop.


Hmm, sounds like the neighborhood dogs are worked up about the extra dogs on the block!

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Payton, Lucy & Zoe (mid-air - got several shots of her like that . . .) You can kind of tell here that Lucy is much smaller than her sisters. Being the "runt" was one of the things that attracted us to her. Zoe and Payton are going to be HUGE! They have grown so much in the 2 weeks since we saw them last. It made us realize how much Lucy has grown, too! Lucy held her own with all the rough and tumble play, though!

Payton & Lucy got a little tangled up in the rope they were chasing around the backyard.

Looks kind of like a stand-off . . .

It was a good thing she had rested most of the day, because poor Lucy was wiped out the next morning. Dad got up at the regular 6am for her morning business. She went right out, peed and pooped and went right back in to her crate. Record time. No fuss. She didn't even want breakfast, which is TOTALLY unlike her. It was 9am before she even touched the food in her dish! She stretched and yawned and slept most of the day on Saturday! I think her little muscles were probably sore as well! Sometimes fun can wear you out!!

Loving Lucy

Upon instructions from Dad to sit down at the computer and "blog", here goes!!!


K confirmed that Lucy has a comfy bed. He likes getting in with her and hanging out . . .








A boy and his dog . . . well, kind of . . . This is Lucy's regular resting spot . . .


Anybody recognize this boy and his dog?? He actually had hair 33 years ago!






Lucy went on a ride through the country with us. Her buddy fell asleep, but kept a tight grip on his little friend.










K conveniently had to stay home from school two days last week. If it hadn't been for the fever, I'd have wondered at his intentions! Actually he had strep, so he rested quite a bit with his little shadow.

Still sick. Still hanging out with Lucy.







Lucy found a comfy spot curled up next to G on the sofa. G didn't even know she was there until she woke up.






Lucy got to go to S's last soccer game. It was chilly, but Dad kept her warm and toasty.

Lucky Lucy

Well, we "bit the bullet" (actually, that's a whole other story, so you'll have to e-mail me to get the scoop on that . . .).

We finally bought a dog. Not just any dog, mind you. This is 8 years in the making! Dad has wanted a boxer and to the kids frustration has turned down many a dog opportunity looking for just the right boxer. I do believe "picky-ness" has paid off and Lucy is it.

We drove down south last night to take a look at 3 remaining puppies from a 10-pup litter of full-blood boxers. (poor mom!) They were born July 31st, so they'll be 3 months old next week. Aunt was here when Dad decided to make the trip so she went with us. We actually didn't tell the kids where we were going and they had no idea what we were doing until we walked into the house where the puppies were. You could see light bulbs beginning to turn on in their heads. That was fun!


The puppy on the left is the one Dad was thinking we would get. They had nicknamed her "Zoe" and she was stocky and full of energy. Very full! Mom was more inclined to the "runt" of the litter that was smaller and calmer. The owner (lady in pink) is holding that one - nicknamed "Daisy". She definitely wasn't as filled out and Dad was leary of that because she didn't look as healthy. Although, the owners/breeders had a fantastic place and the mom dog, Zora, was all dolled up with Halloween neck decor when we drove up. We felt great about the owners, the household, the breeding and everything. A little more watching of the puppies at their home, a little more watching the kids with the puppies . . . and the little one had it. Dad decided the "runt" was it. "Daisy" had a new home.


The kids were THRILLED about their new little puppy. The ride home entailed naming agreements and looking for a PetSmart somewhere along the way to stop and get supplies. It was like bringing a new baby home from the hospital with no baby gear! We had to get everything on the way home!

The kids had already been picking names and had somewhat agreed on a boy name and a girl name several months ago. After batting around several other names, they actually agreed on their original girl name of "Lucy". Her official name for her AKC papers is "Lady Lucy" - in honor of Dad's boxer "Lady" that he had when he was a boy. Lucy even has a lot of resemblance to Lady.

After she used her big brown "puppy dog eyes" on Dad at the pet store (I've NEVER seen that work on him with any of the children!!), we got home and tried to get Lucy all settled in. We had succeeded at avoiding any accidents along the way and we tried to get her to go outside to potty since it was bedtime for everyone, but she was so on edge that it took a LONG time for her to produce anything in the backyard.





So much for the new toys we bought last night on the way home. If only we'd known that an old dish towel would be the favorite source of entertainment in the back yard . . .









This boy has NEVER sat still for a picture to be taken. Today he couldn't have it taken enough! We got at least 15 shots like this! If only we'd known that all it would take would be a dog in the picture!







A boy and his dog . . . Poor Lucy hasn't been left alone for 24 hours. Well, I take that back. We did have to leave her in her "house" in the kitchen twice today while we went to soccer and volleyball games. She was so worn out, she slept the entire time we were gone!


Lucy wouldn't lay down last night to sleep once we got everyone settled. Dad remembered

when he brought one of his puppies home when he was a little boy (Domino). He had to sleep right beside the box with the puppy and put his hand in the box all night long. Every time he took his hand out, Domino would start whining. Lucy didn't do any whining - in fact she hadn't even made a peep until her paw got caught in the door just a while ago on her way outside. But, we found a willing little boy who wanted to sleep next to his new buddy and so with pillow and sleeping bag in hand he made his bed next to Lucy for the night. Lucy laid right down and went to sleep. Dad got up a couple of times just to make sure we didn't have any accidents during the night, but other than that it was an unexpectedly peaceful sleep for everyone.


Dad says we may have a new member for the "Digging Club" . . .

The Digging Club

"K, look, there's Madeline. Are you still playing with her at recess?"

"No, she's not in the digging club."

"The what?"

"The digging club."

I proceeded to ask what the digging club was. Duh!! It's a group that digs at recess. It appears they are treasure hunting after lunch and increasing the "holes" all over the dry cracked playground dirt. I asked who all was in the digging club. He listed 3 or 4 boys. I asked who came up with the digging club. He did. I asked if he was the leader of the digging club. He said he guessed he was because if they weren't having the club one day he got to say it was cancelled.

"So, why isn't Madeline in the digging club?"

"Because she doesn't want to get all dirty."

The digging club . . .

Handyman Honey

As much as we've searched on occasion for new bedroom furniture, we finally at least bought a new mattress this summer. We were SO close to getting a whole room full of new furniture, but at the last minute Dad promised he'd build the headboard I'd been keeping a picture of for a long time. It came from one of those home improvement magazines or maybe a Southern Living, but it was tucked way away at the bottom of my "good idea" file and pulled out every so often as a reminder that I liked the idea. So, now we're at the end of summer and after at least a dozen trips to ALL the local Home Depots and Lowes, we finally found and bought the materials for the project. I say "we" - I just got to take the picture out for the occasional neighbor who happened over to take a look at what was going on in the garage. (They know something's going on because we ALWAYS park our cars in the garage and they've been out in the driveway for a week!)

So, with the help of our next door neighbor (he had the miter saw and crown moulding experience . . .) the headboard is finally a reality! Here are some highlights:



Superman "super"vises the beginning construction of the headboard from doors and a variety of wood trims. We spent a lot of time trying to decide on what kind of doors we wanted to use. We contemplated using something "old" but never could find anything that would work. We finally found that using hinged closet doors (hinges off, of course) would work and actually create the perfect horizontal dimension without having to trim anything off the edges.


Johnny came over to help, loan tools and give advice on working with the moulding. He had just finished some trim work at his house, so he had some idea of how to figure out the angles on the corners.


Dad was concerned about the stain at first, but as he got more coats on and began the top coat he began to feel better about the color choice. And we have PLENTY of stain left over for the unfinished furniture pieces we need to go looking for now (oh, joy!). Since the bed is so high and the headboard is really tall, we need some large nightstands and an oversized chest to finish filling out the room. We are SO SLOW at finding and deciding on what we want!
I tried getting a close up of the headboard on here, but every time I uploaded it, it showed up sideways! No idea!

(Ignore the mismatched lamps, night tables and navy table cover!)

We almost have the kids "trained" enough to feel brave enough to get out the beautiful crocheted bedspread Mawmaw made for us. In the mean time, we found something we both could agree on to serve its purpose as a comforter. Not what we had in mind, but it works for now. Soon the crocheted heirloom will come out of its safe box in the closet!

Well, now Dad feels like he can take on the whole house - crown moulding everywhere! Of course, that would mean another few trips back to Home Depot because there are LOTS of great tools he needs to buy!
Sounds like a good excuse for power tools to me!?! :-)

Back to School!! (or OFF to school . . .)

A strange thing happened today. We walked into school with children and walked out without any of them. That has never happened before. The "baby" has started Kindergarten . . . We had talked about it. We had prepared for it. We knew it was coming. It was such an empty feeling. The pit of my stomach was queasy for several hours. It was not the emotion I had prepared myself for. No tears, just queasy emptiness. I came home and puttered around the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast . . .

Then, I went to the church for a staff meeting, out to lunch with the staff and then off to the grocery store where I strolled the aisles not looking at the time or worrying about how much the babysitter was costing me and how much I'd better hurry and get back! Queasy was gone! Empty was still there, though.

I'm very excited about the school year - as we usually are every year. But, after a year of struggling with school work, teacher conflict and so much testing last year, I'm expecting much improvement this year. We're already excited about the teachers everyone has and that makes a huge difference when you feel good about that!
A left for her first day of middle school at 7:15 this morning. Dad took her by himself so we wouldn't have any more extra bodies up there than necessary and the other 3 could finish breakfast and get dressed for their first day of school. Dad got back home and pronounced that "THAT was a scary place". NOT what Mom wanted to hear! He was referring to the packed hallways and chaos as everyone tried to once again figure out their locker combinations and find their first classroom. We had practiced her locker combination over and over the day we picked up her schedule. Dad hadn't been there, so he got to see the lay of the land this morning. He wasn't impressed!


After Dad got back from the middle school, the other 3 were ready to go and lined up for their traditional pictures out front.
G - kinder
S - 4th gr
K - 1st gr



G was excited about her first day of kindergarten and her teacher, who is a lefty like she is!








K got the teacher Mom REALLY was hoping and praying for this summer. Mom had heard great things about her last year - that she's a sweet Christian lady and her husband (a youth minister?) comes up to help her in class sometimes. Her smile each morning is going to make K's year! And she said she was in trouble when she was a kid because she would finish her work and start getting in to things she shouldn't! Sounds like a perfect match of understanding!







S gets to be the big sister this year at school. I think she's excited about it. She has one of A's teachers from 4th grade and lots of kids from her previous classes in her class AGAIN this year. Several of them have been together for 3 or 4 years now!

Hey, Mom got in the picture! (See the shadow in the bottom left corner . . .)

Walking into school . . .

G and one of her friends from church. It was so sweet, when G sat down, her little friend right away started sharing her blocks with her so they could make something together. G looks like such a big girl!! Too big!!

K and Dad find his locker and get all his backpack stuff put away. This is his first year with a locker and he's already figured out that he can fit himself in there. His teacher was standing nearby and she made a note to herself that they would have to have a class discussion about that the first day . . . ! :-)

Superman loses a tooth!

Superman followed his predecessors (sisters) by having a permanent tooth show itself before a baby tooth would fall out. Although the baby tooth was loose, it just wouldn't budge from its happy little spot in his mouth. His sisters had to have dental intervention to get some of their solid little baby teeth out of their mouths. After much writhing and gnashing of teeth (literally!) the not-so-brave Superman finally was free of his first baby tooth and kept an eye out all night (or as long as he could) for the mysterious "tooth fairy". She succeeded once again to blithely deliver her goods and brave little Superman thought twice about being not-so-brave concerning loose teeth!

Colorado Vacation (train chapter)

We took the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad trip today. We drove the 20 miles down to Durango and rode the old steam engine the 45 miles up to Silverton. The kids did really great on the 3 ½ hour trip up the mountain. The two little ones both fell asleep for a short time after giving in to the gentle rocking of the rail cars. They sell a little history/tour book for $10 and it was definitely a good thing to have on hand as we climbed through the mountains into the area we’d just driven from.


K's looking out the (open) window at the river WAY down below the cliff we're riding slowing along . . .





This is the High Line where the train rides on a ledge 400 feet above the Animas River. Hmm, tight curve, squeeling wheels, 400 feet straight down . . . and kids looking out wide open windows to see the view! Whew!


Shortly before we arrived in Silverton, the kids started getting whiney and asking when we would finally get to eat. Our cuddly little S “Bear” even raised her grizzly little head. (S “Bear” was a nickname she got as a newborn since she was so round and cuddly. Hungry bears are NOT cuddly, though!) We arrived in Silverton and headed over to the recommended Brown Bear Café (quite a coincidence . . .) for lunch and then had a bit of time to wander around the historical town before heading back to the train for the ride home.





A fed and happy "Bear" sticks her head out the window for Dad to take a picture. He almost deleted it because it was blurry, but it looked strange to Mom so we kept it. After we uploaded it to the computer and got a better look it was freaky! (Did I just use that word . . ??) Dad said he couldn't look at it because it made him dizzy. Mom thought it looked kind of neat!




This is a cool spot along the tracks where they clear sediment in the boiler. We're crossing the High Bridge with the Animas River below.
We were anticipating a shorter ride home, but a derailment problem with the train ahead of us (thank goodness it wasn’t us!) made the trip 45 minutes longer than expected. The natives were getting restless! We learned some new things about railroading, though with the difficulties and stops.

Colorado Vacation (chapter 3)

(ugh! I deleted the picture AGAIN!!) After a full day of mountain driving, stopping for tons of pictures, and touring Silverton, Ouray and Ridgway, we rested up back at the condo and then headed out to go fishing. Between the kids’ short attention spans and the empty hooks, we spent less than an hour at Haviland Lake and headed on to Durango Mountain Resort to see what activities they had open. It was an almost empty resort area, but we were able to play 18 holes of putt-putt for free. We abandoned the idea of teams and keeping score and just played to have fun and finish. It was so nice and such pretty scenery. There were some annoying unsupervised kids playing around and we had to watch for some of their stray balls and eventually their clubs that went flying through the air. Dad was about to go looking for some parents, but they ran off and we were finally at peace with playing by ourselves.

Another fun picture in the beautiful scenery at Durango Mountain Resort near the putt-putt area.

A - 11
G - 5
S - 9
K - almost 7


Mom and Dad posing for a picture the same as they did almost 15 years ago - only there was lots of snow then!







Mom and G on the chairlift. G hadn't let go of Mom's arm just yet, but she was soon comfortable and sitting by herself and telling Mom she didn't need to hold her any more. Little did G know, but Mom DID need to hold on to her!!





We got to the top of the mountain on the chairlifts and were set to walk around and explore. Unfortunately, (or fortunately as the storms were rolling in) we were immediately attacked by massive mosquitoes and decided to head right back down to the bottom. Seeing us taking pictures of the kids, a nice ranger at the top of the mountain asked if we wanted him to take a family picture, so we finally got everyone in at the same time.


After we got back to the bottom of the chairlifts, the storms were clearing out and the kids ended up talking Dad into a ride on the alpine slides. (Mom was shocked!) We all got to ride (G with Mom since she wasn't 6 yet) and got back in line for the chairlifts so we could go halfway up to where the slide started. The kids had a blast! (and so did Dad!) Given time and money, we probably would have done that many more times. We saw a grandma and grandpa racing each other down the slide at least twice in our two chairlifts up the mountain!

After lunch, we rested for a while then headed out to Lime Creek for an “easy” hike (so the map indicated). What it didn’t show was that the drive there was exceptionally difficult – 3 ½ miles of the absolute worst rocky road. We were about a mile away from out destination and we could go absolutely no further. So, we turned around and carefully treaded our way back to the main road. The kids were disappointed in the hike outcome and we headed back around the corner to the condo. Just before crossing the bridge, we turned down a side road beside the Animas River to see what we could find. We parked just off the road and walked a ways into the wooded area and headed down toward the water. It was a perfect “hike” for the kids. They waded through the rushing water and K went for a slippery “swim”. The slide and the hike were the highlights of the day.