Sammy

On October 6, 2008 we were forced to put down our beloved and wonderful dog, Sammy. She was with us for 12 years, from the time she was 6 weeks old. I found some of her puppy pics the other day, and one of these days I'm going to scan them in and upload them here.

Morgan's first recital

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Morgan volunteered to play piano at the end of the year talent show at the school. I was so surprised and excited to go to see her perform! The school made a schedule change without telling us and we missed it. I almost cried on the phone with the school secretary. She must have sensed how upset I was because she talked the music teacher into doing it again so we could watch. I was so grateful!

Singing Happy Birthday

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Dad and Jake with the water balloons

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Dad can't help himself.

Balloon Toss

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Morgan and her friend doing a balloon toss at Morgan's 9th bday party.

4th and 9th Birthday party

We combined birthday parties this year to save some effort and money. We didn't have a lot of people, but the weather was gorgeous after several days of rain and we got to enjoy the pool. We did a water balloon toss and a corn husking contest. One of Morgan's friends was really good at tying off the water balloons and she and Morgan spent an hour just making balloons while every one else kept popping them!!

Mike made a couple of nice cakes; one for Jake with a spiderman toy on top and one for Morgan with pixies on top. He did a really nice job and the kids enjoyed the toys once the cake was gone. We even had Jake licking the frosting off of his toy! lol

Everyone was sunburt and exhausted after the party, but it was such great fun, that's all we cared about. Will post pics soon.

Three years later....!!

I wish I kept up this blog...but here I am again. It's time to teach Morgan how to blog and I remembered this family journal. The perfect place. I look forward to see what comes next. :)

Back to the wild for you little Paint Turtle 

Exploring my new home....... 

Saying goodbye 

Yeah baby! 

Mike & Jakey 

Lauren 

Morgan throws.... 

Off she goes! 

The Retriever retrieves! 

Our little paradise 

Morgan, Lauren, Turtle 

Close up of turtle 

Turtle turtle turtle

Mike - you get to write about this one.......

Lauren wet and wormy 

Lauren with worm 

Mogan soaked 

J in charge 

Look Mom! One hand! 

whoops....I'm getting there.... 

I'm winnin Mom! 

Fun with the hose

Time to wash the dog....and the sidewalk.... and the driveway....oh wait....the kids are getting a bath too! They're soaked!!!

And while we were at it, we pulled out Morgan's old walker toy and Jacob had a blast!

Mike's "Mini Me" 

Say ahhhh 

Hamming it up.... 

Lauren gets into her food..... 

Morgan feeding Jacob 

Madely & Morgan 

Lauren & Don 

Madelyn & Don 

Madelyn visits

Last week Mike's mom, Madelyn, and her beau, Don, came by on their way home from Florida. They only stayed a couple of days but it was great to see them.

A big day

Yesterday was a very special day for Lauren. This morning when Mike tried to get her dressed for the day, she complained about her pants being too small. He explained to her that the pants weren't made to be worn with pull-ups. Sooo she went into her room, grabbed a pair of panties out of her drawer, and brought them to Mike to put on her. He happily complied with her wishes, and she went all morning without an accident.

When they met me for lunch, Lauren eagerly showed me her panties....two or three times...and expressed her glee at wearing them. Before they left for home, I brought her to a bathroom on campus so she wouldn't wet her pants on the way. As I pulled her pants down, she said, "Mommy, this is not my potty." I said, "I know hunny, but you get to use it anyway." As each tinkle hit the water, she gave me the biggest, brightest grin on earth - wish I had a picutre of it - and when she was done she insisted on washing her OWN hands...thank you very much!

I am very proud of Lauren today and her potty training progress, and I know she is proud of herself as she told me. Here's to you Lauren

....for family, prosperity, and Lauren's future humiliation! lol

Mom's Birthday

My 35th birthday was one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time!

The first thing Mike said to me when I woke up was "happy birthday." And when the girls came in to wake us up, he asked them to sing to me. Lauren became upset because she didn't know the song so she and I cuddled for a while and enjoyed our morning together.

We went church with a friend of mine from work, Lisa, and her husband, Steve. The pastor (also Steve), was loud and passionate in his speech. Early into the sermon, Morgan turned to me and said, "Why does that man talk so mean?" I said, "He's not talking mean, honey, he's just excited." We attended a reception to meet the pastor after the service.....and found him to be a very nice person. I turned to him and said softly, "Morgan thinks you were talking mean." He looked at me kind of hurt for a moment, then he turned to Morgan, leaned down to her level and said, "I wasn't talking mean sweetie, I just get excited about God and get loud. Do you understand?" Morgan smiled and nodded her head. I was impressed with that, and with the children's program there....we will be returning!

After church Lisa and Steve treated us to lunch at Pizza Hut. They gave us a beautiful photo frame and took a family portrait on their digital camera to print for the frame. We had a great time getting to know each other better, and Lauren, much to my surprise, warmed right up to them...she tends to be pretty shy lately. She especially loved it when Steve was the "pizza monster" and pretended to eat her food.

We went home and had a long delicious nap, and then Mike took the kids to the store to get my cake. It was great to have a few hours of solitude, and when they returned, they had a good old time decorating the cake and conspiring to surprise me with the cake and gifts. This time Lauren knew the song and came prancing into the room hopping and excited to sing to me...which they all did. I tried to get her to help me blow out the candles, but the flame made her nervous and she didnt do it.

So, as you can see, it was a great birthday thanks to Mike and I had a wonderful time enjoying my family.

Jacob w Easter Bunny 

Jacob rolling tongue 

Jacob on couch 

Morgan 5 going on 20! 

Lauren w umbrella 

Morgan w umbrella