Michigan Pictures For You

Wrong Color

Here is a collage of Adalin... the only interesting picture that happens to be on my mom's laptop... has really nothing to so with this particular post, but it's cute anyway. She has grown up so much, my goodness. Soon, Kira will be watering flowers, eating yogurt by herself, playing in the mud and drinking out of the kiddy pool. I wanted to give you all something to look at. Now what's been going on...

I offered to paint my mom's living room this week. My little sister's graduation party is here Saturday, so there is a deadline here. I have spackled, sanded, spackled again, sanded again, vacuumed the black lab hair and dust, taped the floor, painted all of the trim, and painted a second coat on the trim... this list gives me more credit than my work is worth, because this is only the beginning. We still have a lot to do. My mom went and got the paint this morning, and has now changed her mind and doesn't like the color. Hmmmmm... what to do? I like the color actually, it's kinda a light green, a little yellowish... hard to describe, but it's a cute color. If my mom can't stand it, then I will buy the paint from her and use it in my house. She just doesn't like the color with her couches, which are a darker sage green... The paint is a happy color. I know! It's like a light pea soup color. Just a caution when painting... if you are going to need 2 gallons of paint to paint a room, only buy one at a time... so if you don't like the color, you aren't stuck with that much paint. Yes, my mom bought two gallons, big mistake. She better be hoping that I buy them off of her! I need some pictures on here of our trip. My apologies. I just don't have any b/c I'm not on my computer. Boring blog until next week. I will gank my mom camera and do some uploading tomorrow, or the next day, or maybe the next.

Enjoying the Beach

We had a good day with my Dad's family at Lake Michigan Saturday. Even though it was cloudy and eventually rained later on, it was a good time. I didn't have the guts to change into my swim suit because it was a little chilly. Adalin and my sister, Lauren, did get in the water though. They had fun. Adalin was scared of the waves at first, but got used to them after a few minutes. She played in the sand ALL DAY, and had so much fun! She was so cute. She didn't get a nap, which I predicted, and fell asleep in the car at 5 pm. My dad's family is so wonderful. My Aunt Kena flew all the way in from Texas to be there, which made the day even better and, of course, more flavorful. That's what Aunt Kena does! It was a great day. I am so lucky to see them all again this Saturday at Alyse's graduation Party. This picture isn't all that great, I need to get some more off of my dad's other computer. I just wanted to make everyone jealous of me, since, even though the weather was el crapo, I did get to see beautiful Lake MI, listen to waves and sit in the sand for a day! Will post lata!!

Michigan

Monday morning the girls, my mom, and I left for Michigan. We left in a hurry... we were expecting to leave on Thursday, but my BFF's little brother, Kyle, passed away Sunday night and I needed to be here for her and her family. It's so sad, I'm so sad that this happened. Kaileen is doing well though, as well as circumstances will permit, I guess. Love you Kaileen. They had a Mass at St. Sebastian's church yesterday afternoon for Kyle. It was a wonderful service. Kyle's best friend, James, gave an amazing talk about Kyle and his entire experience being friends with Kyle for so long. The kids were pretty good during the service... they could have been better. Kira pooped and it leaked out on my skirt. That was fun. Most everyone went to Chelli's Chili afterwards, and that was fun. Lauren, my sister, babysat while Alyse, my other sister, and I went and visited a little bit. The Chelli's experience wasn't quite worth the parking ticket that I found on my windshield afterwards. By the way, parking tickets aren't like $20 anymore, try 3 1/2 times that much (and only half of that if I pay it within 3 days). Still, it really stinks. I do still have a few connections with the city though. Maybe I can hook up with my old boss, he's a cop and would probably take care of it for me, if he still works here.
So, Adam is all alone with the doggies at our house. He has finals next week, so it isn't so bad for him for us to be gone because he will have plenty of study time. The dogs are keeping him company too. He will be driving here the 24th though, which I am so excited about. I miss him so much, too much. He is my everything, I love him. I miss him A LOT. Life just isn't the same without him. Alyse's graduation party Saturday the 25th. I am really glad that he will be here with the fam for that. We will be headed back to the MO the next Tuesday. Adam is bringing the two dogs too, that will be fun for everyone. :)

Crazy days...

Well, after a few days of cleaning up puppy accidents, it's finally Sunday, always a more restful day than the rest of the week's. Although Yukon isn't house trained (and we don't expect him to be since he is only 9 weeks old), we are truly loving having him around. He is a wonderful little dog so far. He and Isis are getting along wonderfully. Isis is no longer chasing cars incessantly around the house all day out of boredom, but instead the doggies are playing, eating, and sleeping every hour of every day. I have been asked, "are you crazy?" for getting another dog... hmmm, well, it has actually made my life a little less stressful. I would much rather deal with 2 pee accidents per day than a hyperactive, crazy, idiotic, car-chasing Basenji racing throughout my house, chasing cars for 6 hours a day. Isis is a wonderful dog, don't get me wrong. We loved her, but she was very bored and that made her a little crazy. Yukon is keeping her company, and it has been awesome. I am so happy that this all worked out.
Adalin woke up this morning with a fever. She has had a runny nose and a little cough for a few days. I had to bring her home from church early today. We came home and Adalin layed on the couch and fell asleep, slept for 4 hours, woke up, and the fever's gone and she is perky as ever. Who knows what that was all about.
My mom arrived this morning (drove through the night, what an adventurous, independent. wonderful woman) to pick me and the girlies up. We will be headed to MI on Thursday for an Allen family reunion (18th) and my little sister's graduation party (25th). Adam will drive next Friday for the graduation party, and then we will comeback home the next Tuesday. I am really excited to visit again. I will have a lot to do there, the top of my list is to visit the Connelly's. My BF, Kaileen's, brother Kyle has Rhabdomyosarcoma and is taking his body over fast. It's so sad. I love them so much.
Well, there's the news.

Our new pup, Yukon!

We picked up our new puppy today from Columbia. He is a male Weimaraner, about 9 weeks old. It is almost amazing that such a beautiful dog could even be found at a shelter. There is a really good chance that he is purebred too, which we like. :) Here are some not so good pictures... Adalin was a little ragged-looking by the time we drove to Columbia and back. Oh, and by the way, we named him Yukon, Yuke for short.

That's a first!

Kira's first taste of rice cereal! She has been so interested lately in food that we just had to give it a shot! I really wanted to nurse her exclusively for at least 5 or 6 months but she was just so ready. She got the hang of it pretty quickly and actually swallowed some down. As soon as I picked her up though, she chucked it all back up. :( I guess her tummy will get used to it! Here are some pics:

Gettin' ready...

Whoa, that stuff looks cool!







This is fun!

Adalin "helping"

Frodo?

We got him! It was quite interesting how it all played out. Friday the shelter called us and told us that we didn't qualify because Isis wasn't spayed yet, Saturday Adam called back and spoke to the adoption manager and asked her to clarify and got her to bend the rules a bit for us, and Yesterday they called us and told us that we were picked! We felt all along that if this was the right dog for us then it would work out, and it did! Isis did get spayed yesterday morning and is a little lethargic today. I feel bad for her. I am sure she doesn't feel very good. We are trying to give her a lot of love and affection. We don't want her to feel replaced tomorrow when we bring the new pup home. I am sure that she will be fine. I want to name him Frodo. Hehe.
It is HOT here. it is in the 90's with full humidity, yuck! Adalin and I are about to fill up her pool in the back and go for a dip. Peace!

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs...

Our search for a new little canine is still underway. Isis has been driving us crazy with all her energy, so we seem to think that getting her a friend will calm her down a bit, or at least give her something to think of. We have been spending a lot of time this past week looking at puppies online and calling a lot of shelters around the area. We are most likely going to get a dog from a shelter because 1. we can't afford one from a breeder and 2. because we want to "save" a little pup. We found a little male Reimaraner pup that we have fallen in love with... but he is on a most wanted list where the shelter is placing him in the home that is the best fit for him and his needs. We hope we get picked... if not, we will keep looking. I should say, though, Adam will keep looking since he is the one deciding on what pup we get. Since I chose Isis (our female Basenji), and we have two daughters, and a female cat, Ad wants a male dog, and it's his turn to pick.

Pics of the girls

Christina Dixon did such a wonderful job with these pics. I just have to share them!

An irresistable face...















Cute little feet...















There's nothing more peaceful than a sleeping baby...



Bubble girl...

Pure...

Happy...

With lots of character...

Back to School

Well... Here we are, back at school for another grueling year. I am actually quite excited to be back in the swing of things; back on my own schedule, carting the girls around to Wally-World, Home Depot, the gym, etc. The summer break was wonderful. Over the summer, Adalin learned how to jump and actually get her feet off the floor, hold still when I do her hair, how to ask "why" a million times over, and how to nurse her baby dolls, hehehe. Kira rolled over (front to back), put her hands together, giggles, imitates us sticking our tongues out at her, and squeals with delight. Ad and I loved the much needed time that we spent together, but we weren't used to so much of it. We, of course, didn't get as much done around our house than we wanted to. I figured we wouldn't. I wanted to get the entire house finally painted and done with. We did paint the other downstairs bathroom though. It's a Terra Cotta color and I like it now a lot more than I did when I brought home the paint. It's fun. I am getting into the exercise classes offered here at the school gym... spinning and kick-boxing. It is so fun! I don't know why on earth I didn't do the classes all last year. I am glad that I have started up though.

I am going to be headed to MI for a family reunion and Alyse's graduation party in the middle of August. I always love going back home. I will be driving with the two girls though. We will see how that goes. Luckily, Aunt Roxane lives in Chicago, the half way point.

Life is crazy. Chasing Adalin around and keeping Kira happy consumes most, if not all, of my time everyday. In between fits, crying spells, and activities I try to keep my house clean, do the laundry, weed the excessive amount of gardens that we planted (I love it though), and cook hot meals. Crazy, yes, but wonderful and rewarding.