Puppy Crazy

It’s puppy mania around here right now.   We just found out that the litter we’re getting our puppy from was born on the 4th of July.  Nina and Lyla are super excited. 

(This picture isn’t of our puppy, but it’s one that recently came from the breeder.  We’re getting a Vizsla, so this is what she’ll look like.)

Lyla was the first one up this morning, so she was the first kid to get the news that the puppies were born.  She is already thinking ahead.  She was asking if we were going to get a boy or a girl puppy, but before I could answer, she remembered that we were getting a girl.  Then she followed up with, “It has to be a girl because girls lay babies…” (ok, not really, but she gets the idea) “…and we need Cayenne to have babies so we can also keep one of her puppies.”  (Again, not really going to happen – one puppy at a time.)

Nina woke up next and got the news and was so so excited.  It’s going to be a long seven weeks while we wait for the puppy to be ready to leave the litter.  For the past several months, Nina has been completely absorbed in a series of chapter books from Ellen Miles that’s called the Puppy Place Series.  Since the spring, she has read 30 Puppy Place books.  She actually just finished the last one in print this morning.  If you click on the link above, she’s read every single book except for Mocha and Molly (which aren’t released in print yet).  She definitely has had puppy on the brain and has been learning a lot about dogs in the process from all her reading.

So, it’s all very exciting for the kids now that they know their puppy is born and doing well. 

July 4, 2013

Since the girls and I were back from Hartfield on the 4th, we joined up with Mark and our neighbors for a cookout to celebrate the holiday.  Our neighborhood had done a large fireworks show a few days prior to the 4th, so we had some small fireworks for the kids, some great food, and a good time to hang out and enjoy the day.

   

July Visit to Hartfield

It was a girls’ trip to Hartfield.  Me and my girls arrived on Monday, and Shen and her girls arrived the same day.  Mouse and Pops were already there, so Pops was the lone male in the bunch until Garland arrived on Wednesday.  When we arrived on Monday afternoon, the weather was pretty cloudy, and it looked a little too suspect to get out on the boat, so Mouse offered to hang with the girls while Shen and I got in an exercise walk.  When we returned, this is what we found – what happens when Mouse is left in charge (she was equally as muddy)!

   

On Tuesday, the weather was clear and sunny, so we got out on the boat before lunch.  All the girls were so happy to be on the water and were ready for dancing on the boat, swimming, eating lunch out on the water, and trying out the Relaxation Station.

  

The Relaxation Station proved to be only slightly relaxing.  With adults, it would be very relaxing.  With kids, it’s kind of crazy!  They were sliding off the side head first, splashing, climbing, etc.  It may not have been exactly relaxing, but it definitely was fun!

We spent the next morning taking the girls fishing.  We didn’t catch anything, and the only fish even remotely part of our experience were the Goldfish that were being consumed, but thankfully fun on the boat again followed fishing.

   

This time, tubing was the main attraction.  The current in the water was a little too strong for swimming, so the girls took turns tubing for the afternoon and had a great time.  Apparently, it was the day for crazy antics in the tube.

 

These girls are made for speed.  They kept screaming, “Faster, Poppy!” and did a great job hanging on despite some choppy waters.

   

After watching the two “big girls” have their turns, Lyla was ready to go. 

We knew we were in trouble when she started out like this…

After about two minutes of watching her go crazy in the tube, I put on my life vest and put down my camera – preparing at any point to jump over the side of the moving boat to go in after Lyla.  She came so close to flying out of the tube on quite a few occasions.  She was jumping, riding with no hands, riding backwards, and trying to get her feet in the air (all while going at top speed).

Amazingly, she didn’t fly out of the tube, and I didn’t have to jump in after her, but she had a great time!!

By the morning of the 4th, it was time for us to hit the road.  We really enjoyed our time at the river house, but we were getting an early start back to spend the day with Mark and enjoy a cookout with our neighbors.  As always, Hartfield was great for time with family and some more fun memories. I’m sure we’ll be back again soon!

Virginia Cavalry SoccerFest

This weekend is the SoccerFest hosted by the Virginia Cavalry.  Since Mark was going to be busy there all weekend, we joined in the fun of some of the festivities.

When Mark arrived at the SoccerFest this morning, he was surprised with this.  We definitely had a good laugh at it, and the girls were excited to try to score on their dad!!!

   

There was a lot of activity going on at the SoccerFest, and they got cute face and arm painting, bounced in the bounce houses, got some fun free stuff, and enjoyed the sunny day at the soccer park.  It’s great to see all the momentum the team is gaining as they prepare to play next year.  It’s exciting to see it all come about!

    

    

Gone to the Birds!

In the daily battle of Husband vs. the birds, the birds are winning. Case in point.  This morning, husband walks in sweaty from the gym muttering…

Husband: Oh, those birds don’t know who they’re dealing with

Wife: Maybe they do and that’s part of their fun

Husband: Well, they haven’t seen it all yet

Husband exits to the garage where there is much sounds of hammering, sawing, and wood clanking.  Not sure yet if the birds (or I for that matter) should be worried…

Then, I exit to see this monstrosity…

Mind you, this is for a blueberry bush that is about three feet tall.  When I questioned the husband about the necessity of it to be large enough to encompass an entire tree, the husband’s response was, “It’s for years to come.”  Great…just the answer I was hoping for. 

And that’s just the battle with the birds in the back of the house.  There is a whole other war going on with birds in the front of the house.  For my own sanity, I won’t document that at this point. As Lyla says, “Mom, Daddy is a little coo-coo with the birds.” So, if my next post is a picture of Mark in a straight jacket getting hauled off to the loony bin, don’t say I didn’t warn ya! 

Father’s Day 2013

I’m lucky enough to have two great fathers in my life to celebrate – Mark and my dad.  We started out the day at church, then after lunch Mark had some man-time fishing, then we headed out to my parents’ house for the evening. 

Shenley and Garland were back in NC to wrap up things with their move, but the Williams girls were there, and we got the chance to celebrate the dads with a nice dinner.

As usual, the girls enjoyed the time hanging with their cousins.  Nina and Lyla are very very happy that the Williams girls will be in VA for good now. 

      

Poor Layne – we asked if we could see “Sat” (her cat) to take a funny picture for her of Sat doing something silly.  She handed Sat over but then had this sad little look.  It didn’t last long though.  We put some sunglasses on Sat and showed her the picture, and all was happy again!

I feel very blessed to be a part of a wonderful family and have wonderful dads to celebrate today. I know a lot of kids don’t grow up in a home with a father who is really present in their lives, but we were fortunate enough to have that, and I’m so thankful for my dad and thankful to be married to a man who is engaged with his kids and present in their lives also. Happy Father’s Day!