Puppy Love

Frick

Our hearts have been heavy since losing our Rogue, but things are brightening. At the end of the month, we'll be welcoming two dogs into our family. We wanted a pair of dogs, one for each boy. We'd assumed it would be an easy process to rescue two dogs, but the selection in local shelters seemed a bit terrier heavy. We waited, and waited...and even discussed buying dogs from a breeder.

We'd had such a good experience rescuing Rogue, we were really committed to rescuing again. The boys agreed, so we decided to wait for the right animals to come along.

When I saw a pair of Great Pyranees on Petfinder, I thought they were too cute to pass up. Frick & Frack charmed Jeff too, so we investigated the breed and decided to apply for them. They are in Texas now, making their way to us soon.

Frack



But the boys have decided they don't like their names, which I think are cute. But Bayley has a point, they're only good names when you say them together. Plus, he was concerned people might think he's cussing when he tells them his dog's name.


We have some options for those who care to weigh in ::

Stryker & Blaze
Fritz & Max
Samson & Bandit
Fennway & Calloway (Fenn & Cal)
Sabre & Parry
Baron & Ranger
Deschutes & Cascade (Shooter & Cade)

Gilbert Ranch

Hayden's cub scout den attended camp at Gilbert Ranch where they got to do the usual camp stuff - archery, hiking, BB guns - plus wild west stuff like panning for gold, using a washboard, and riding horses.

His den attended with the other Webelos 1 den in Pack 566, so it was double the friends. Hayden is already trying to talk them all into joining Bayley's troop when they cross over.


When Hayden & Jeff packed up for camp, Hayden wasn't so sure about riding a horse. But when it came time, he decided to go for it. And he had fun!

Happy Birthday Hayden!

Turning nine is a big deal. Such a big deal it took forever for Hayden to decide what kind of birthday party he wanted. He settled on a Beyblade party. (Beyblades are...tops. Really expensive tops.)

Now, there is no Beyblade store I can con into taking in a dozen boys for a party, so we had to figure it out for ourselves. Thank goodness for Pinterest. I found some ideas and set up a Beyblade tournament for the boys.

They had a great time...and then they ran upstairs to play the Beyblade game on Wii. OK...I'd allowed for a longer party, thinking I could send the kids outside to burn off the sugar I was going to feed them. It rained! How rude.

 Hayden's party was before his birthday this year, which meant he got two cakes. The Costco flag cake...and the candy cake. Kit Kat, m&m's and cake. Sugar explosion!

Happy Birthday Bayley!

Bayley was really looking forward to all the superhero movies coming out for summer, so much so that he thought it would be fun to have a movie theater birthday party. Since I knew Hayden was having an at-home party, I jumped at the chance to have smoeone else do the clean-up.

The strangest part of the party... was that I didn't get to go! And it was wicked cool. The Avengers 3D run was over the day before the party to make room for a newer release...but the theater offered to have the party before the box office opened so that the kids could see the movie in 3D in a PRIVATE SHOWING. Yes, these boys were rock stars with their own theater. So cool!

I wanted to go for the private theater aspect, but Jeff actually wanted to see the movie, (and really didn't want to take Grace to swimming lessons) he won that coin toss. Which is why...there are no pictures. Suffice it to say, it was fantastic and still talked about.

His party was two weeks early, so by the time his big day rolled around he was ready for cake. Chocolate peanut butter cake. Thank goodness Hayden has turned into quite the bakers helper. It was quite the order!

For breakfast on his big day we went to IHOP where the boys managed to down two of the largest breakfasts the place makes. It was...boy vs. food! No surprise they weren't interested in lunch.

For dinner he opted for Red Robin, and lucky for us Aunt Christina & Natalie were free. Grace and Natalie are getting to be great friends...probably because they share the same love of fruit. Everyone else in the place is all about the fries, and these two are eating grapes from home.

Bayley was in such a good mood, he let them put the balloon ears on him and sing - which the girls appreciated. I think he was still happy about the Skylanders & Pokemon game.

Rogue the Wonder Dawg

"I guess you don't really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease." - Joe Garagiola

My eyes are heavy as I type this, saddened by the loss of our sweet pooch. A few months ago we learned what we thought was the arthritis of old age was a tumor.

Pain meds and prednisone bought us six weeks of having our puppy back in fine form, and then he slipped back. The tumor had grown.

Because the boys hadn't had a chance to say goodbye, we opted for another, stronger, course of steroids. Every day of the last two weeks has been a blessing. Seeing Rogue gain his energy and strength for a while, as well as having our private time to tell him what he meant to us.

Today he seemed fine, until after lunch when he started throwing up. At first I wrote it off as his overzealous consumption of Grace's hot dog bits. But after his second spell, I knew something was off. Though he didn't complain, he couldn't seem to get comfortable, unable to decide if he wanted to be inside or out.

Eventually he came in, having more trouble with walking than usual. Within the hour his breathing was laboured. We thought this might be it, so made an appointment with the vet. The boys each took some time alone with him, and Jeff left work. But after I helped him up one last time, he went and laid by his favorite chair. And as I held him, he rose above us.

Jeff was saddened that he didn't make it home in time, but glad that we were able to give Rogue a peaceful, loving goodbye.

We will miss you, black dog. We will miss the way you introduced yourself to the neighbors (through the fence), the way you thought the blankies I gave you were food, how you loved the smell of baby so much you were able to predict my labor. The way you'd jump for ice cubes, burrow your nose in baby carseats, and dance with us in the kitchen. How you would bark like crazy at the doorbell, and then check the pockets of whomever was at the door for treats. No, I won't have to yell for you to shut your beak, chase you back in the house when you wander to the neighbors, or wonder if Grace ate her dinner or if you helped. But I will miss every moment I don't have the opportunity now.

Thank you for teaching us how amazing it is to be loved by a dog. Forever.

Luau!

The boys and I talk about going to Hawaii all the time. One day, we'll make it there. But to keep our daydreams sparkling we attended a luau hosted by our gym. Okay, so we went because there was a drawing for a free trip to Hawaii and we were sure we'd be the ones saying Aloha.

The weather was in true Oregon June form. That is...it was sprinkling. We sat in wet seats, but for the most part we were dry. The kids got to try kahlua pork snadwiches, coconut rice, pineapple coleslaw...and weren't impressed. Neither was I, but I assured them food at an actual luau is much better.

The entertainment was lots of fun. For the last month they've been offering hula lessons, and making it particularly easy for the kids to take the lessons. They had them during date night, and if the kids were in the play room during lesson time, they'd take them out for you.

The dancer did a traditional performance, then had the kids (and a few brave adults) show off their newly acquired skills. So cute!

Then it was time for what we sat in the rain for - the fire dancer! My kids love fire, but they're very cautious about it. Probably all those lectures about our fire pit. The idea that someone would play with fire, dance with fire...well, that they had to see.

It was great, but not something I'll be putting on my list to try! I'd catch something on fire!

Yellow Belts!

The boys had their first belt test for Taekwondo...and got their yellow belts. They've been taking classes for a while, but never had much interest in testing.

The process was really impressive. All the kids in their group went through different moves together, each group sitting down as those ranked higher moved on.


As part of the process, each kid got to attempt to break a board. I'll admit...I envisioned bleeding and broken bones. But no one bled! No one whined. These kids just put their feet and fists and elbows through the boards as if they were styrofoam. It was awesome.

I enjoyed watching the kids go through the process and looking ahead to what is in the cards for Bayley and Hayden. It was amazing what some of these kiddos could do. The finale of board breaking was a stunt that was truly movie worthy. The boy jumped over three other boys to kick through a board. AMAZEBALLS!

The other kids were so excited for it, there was competition over who would crouch down and be leapt over!

The boys were so excited to get new belts. Hayden immediately declared we needed to do something to celebrate, while Bayley was more understated - "I'm glad I got a new belt. I was bored of the white one."

New Tradition

The boys are following in their fathers' footsteps. No, they aren't infatuated with accounting, college football, microbrews, or golf. This time...it's fire.

At the end of the school year they both came home with lost of papers - mostly workbooks and the like. I went through them to put together summer worksheet packets...but that still left a lot of...opportunity.

The boys decided to torch it. Yes, they sent their school year up in flames. Anyone who has known Jeff for any length of time...thinks he deserves it. But me? What about me?

Last Day Of Preschool

Grace had such a great time at preschool this year. She mastered her numbers and colors. and made lots of new friends.

Next year we'll work on letters, writing our name, and using the potty by ourselves.

Over the summer we're going to focus on holding a crayon and learning to use scissors.

The baby-girlfriends decided that they are big-girlfriends now. Which was equal parts adorable and bittersweet. They are our babies, and they are growing up.


Afterwards, the girls gave Miss Renee and Miss Shelly flowers, and then had a pizza picnic lunch. Or tried to, until Grace decided she wanted to go home. So we smuggled her friends home for a playdate.

3rd Grade Performance

At the boys' school, the kids start learning the recorder in the 3rd grade. They also learn about music in different parts of the world. (Yes, the music curriculum there is made of awsome.) At the end of the year, they show off their stuffs to the parents.

Hayden was Peer Gynt...which meant he got to be chased around my his friends, and then got to sqaure off against the king (his friend Owen). It was quite the laugh.