Maggie

I've thought about writing this for a long time, but just haven't had the heart to do it.  But I thought it time to honor our good friend.  I know some people are not dog lovers but we are.  Larry and I both grew up with dogs and we have one of our own now and she is part of our family in a big way.

While Larry's parents were in Sweden for 18 months we got to have their dog Maggie come live with us.  She was 11 years old and we hoped she would live to see our Grandma and Grandpa when they came home.  They left her knowing that might not happen but that she would be greatly loved by our kids while they were gone.

She started going down hill a few months before they were going to be home and finally 1 week, YES, just 1 week before they came home in June she got really sick and couldn't hang on any longer.  That last week of her life I cried everyday and pleaded with her to just keep going a little longer, but it wasn't meant to be. Poor girl didn't eat the last few days and finally gave it one last try and her body couldn't handle it.  I came home and found her very sick, all over the house, which was gross and I knew she had met her last day.

I called the vet and we brought both dogs in.  Sunny needed to say goodbye to her friend she'd know all her life so she came along and not one person questioned why we had her there!  T came with me after dropping off the girls at a friends house and Larry and R met us there after R's game.

Just a side note: R walked into the vet's office and showed me a baseball.  I thought he got the game ball but he said it was his home run ball!  I had missed his home run as I was trying to get A to dance, call the vet and clean up the mess at home.

We got to spend some time with Maggie at the vet's and held her and loved her while the vet gave her the shot to stop her heart and finally let her poor old sick body rest.  Many, many tears were shed that night by all of us.

Maggie and Sunny were good friends.  First picture is T's bed and that's what he got to sleep with every night.  Good thing he loved it!

Maggie loved T sooooo much!  She followed him every where and would even wait patiently while he was in the shower. After she got tired of standing, because she couldn't stand very long, she would lay on the bathroom floor and wait for him to get out.

Here are the last couple of pictures at the vet's office.  Sunny just laid right next to her good friend.

Maggie is a special dog, so kind, so friendly, so loving.  The kids liked to try and take her bone away and see her growl.  But we knew she would never hurt them, she loved them all so much.  Grandma told T  that he gave her the best 18 months of her life while she was with us.  I hope that's true.

We LOVE and miss you Mags.  Rest in peace sweet girl!!!

Summer/Fall Fun

(Finally we have some working internet connections! Our service for the last (long) while has been horrible.  Long story but we now have a working desk top computer so I feel confident about getting on, trying to do something and not getting kicked off.  So..... I  have so much to post about.  Nothing out of the ordinary, just stuff we have been doing.  And it goes way back to June.)

First we will start with a few things that T has done.  This last summer he had fun at Scout Camp.

And after having so much fun with Cross Country last fall he tried Track and Field in the spring.  He was awesome.  He got several ribbons and his favorite races to run were the 50 meter, 100 meter and the half mile.

This fall he did Cross Country again, because he decided that although he had lots of fun with Track and Field he really prefers the distance running and not being on a track.  So he again loved it and got some more ribbons.  And Herriman took home the trophy at the district meet again.  Go Mustangs!

Lastly, at the end of last school year he planted a cabbage plant at school.  We put it in our garden and this is what we ended up with.

This winter he's taking a little break to work on school and some conditioning camps and be ready for spring again!  He just brought home his report card and has done awesome at school as usual!  We love you T!!!

Two Front Teeth

A's front teeth are gone.  She can now sing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!"

Luckily the tooth fairy didn't have a very busy night so the next morning she found a little something under her pillow, both times (which means the tooth fairy was totally on the ball).

Here's the first one gone.

Second one gone.

First Week Finished

My littlest beauty has finished her first week of pre-school!!!  She is going to the same place R, T and A went.  I can't believe all my kids were able to have Ms. LaDawn as their teacher.

L was excited but a little nervous and when I picked her up after her first day, she happily exclaimed, "And I didn't cry!"  She was so proud of herself.  And I was so proud of her!  She goes 2 days a week for a couple of hours.

Little sister, can't believe how much you have grown!

First Day of School (for 2 of them)

Last Thursday the 25th of July was the first day of school for T and A.  Not sure exactly why they started on a Thursday, but they did.  Sometimes life is a little silly and in my own opinion that was one of those times. Anyway..... here they are starting 4th grade and 2nd grade.


A- 2nd grade

T- 4th grade

Although we would have loved another month of summer, here we go into another great year!

Teenager!

A crazy thing happened the other day, the 23rd to be exact....... We got a teenager! 13 years before we were blessed with this:

13 years later:

I would say, "I can't believe I'm old enough to have a teenager" but since I will be 40 years old next year, I guess I am old enough to have one, I just can't believe I really do!  

After opening some gifts we went to lunch and a movie with a couple of friends.

Later that night we invited Grandma, Grandpa and Grandpa B over for cake, ice cream and fireworks.

We LOVE our baby boy so much!  We are so proud of who he is and who he is becoming.  Happy Birthday R!  We are grateful for everything you bring to our lives.

A Little Bit.....

.....of what we've been doing.  Summer is almost over for T and A since they start school again next week, so I thought I should FINALLY post the end of the school year activities.  Here's the end of 3rd grade for T and 1st for A.

 End of year program and awards for A.  I didn't get a picture with her teacher, but she was great. A loved her and had a wonderful year!

 End of year awards for T. His teacher this year was fabulous!  She was perfect for him and he loved her.  He will be the first to say he didn't love school (he never does - would rather be playing with friends of course) but he really did like Mrs. Mino.  She challenged him when he needed to be challenged and loved him when he needed some extra love.  She will always have a special place in my heart for the respect and love she showed him and the responsibility she tried to teach him.

Dance festival for both.

R had a kind of uneventful end of the year, but he proudly finished his first year of Jr. High with a 4.0 GPA! He really did have a great year.  I'm so proud of him for everything he is and does!

A couple days after school ended for R, T and A we got to meet Grandma and Grandpa at the airport when they came home from spending 18 months serving the people of Sweden.  We were soooooo excited to see them.

That was a great start to our summer.  We have had lots of fun and still have lots to post about.  Hopefully I can get us up to date quick.