Time for a Haircut

Seeing that Deklan's haircut did not go so well last time, I have been putting off taking him again. However, now that it is long enough for a mohawk, we're going tomorrow.

Love at First Sight

Less than a month ago I posted 

about the jack-rabbit living in our yard and how that would be our only pet until I have both boys potty trained. Little did I know I would be eating those words less than two weeks later.

When my family from Kentucky was visiting here recently we went to the mall to see the movie, "UP", and while there we stopped in the pet store. As we were looking at the puppies Vince noticed an Italian Greyhound and his exact words were, "I'm in love." About a minute later he said, "Her name should be Sophie."

I have never seen Vince react to anything in such a way, which actually made me consider taking her home. We held her quickly, asked a few questions, and left the store before we made an impulsive decision.

As soon as we got home we did loads of research on the breed of dog and the pet store.  

I do realize that buying from a pet store and not a breeder is highly looked down upon. However, we learned she came from a state-regulated breeder in Missouri and not a puppy mill. We even were given all of the the UABR (United All Breed Registration) numbers going back to her great-grandparents.

As far as the breed goes, we found out that Italian Greyhounds make wonderful family pets, are great with other animals, love plenty of affection, and do not shed much. Best of all, she'll only get to 10 pounds once she's full grown. This is a great compromise for Vince and I because he likes large "manly" dogs and I like lap dogs. Well, Italian Greyhounds are lap dogs that are still "manly".

We took this decision very seriously and prayed about it for almost a week. We also visited her 3 times. The first time that we took her into a room to play with her we sat down on the ground and she walked over to me and plopped right down onto my lap. I think she knew I was the one who needed convincing!

The night before my 3rd visit with her I had a dream that right before the boys and I went to see her a mom with 3 boys came in and asked to hold her.  It was one of the boys' birthday and he picked Sophie as his present. We were devastated to watch the dog we loved being purchased by another family.

The next day when I took the boys in to see her a mom and two boys came in and they seemed interested in her too. While Grafton, Deklan, and I were playing with her in a room the two boys were watching us through the window and I heard the mom asking questions about her and then she was looking in a dog book. When we left the store Grafton said to me, "Mom we don't like those other dogs in there, we only like Sophie."

This was the event that finally led us to our decision. I was so concerned my dream would come true that I texted Vince and said, "I want the dog, go buy her today!" We weren't ready for her yet because we had not purchased any doggy items. As a result, Vince put down a deposit so that they would hold her for up to two weeks.

The next evening when we went to pick her up I told the sales lady I was worried that the mom with the two boys was going to buy her and that finally made my decision. She told me they hadn't been back, but just that morning a couple had come in who had been looking for an Italian Greyhound. They were very disappointed she was sold because Sophie was the first Italian Greyhound that has been in the store since they opened almost two years ago.

Sophie has been home with us for one week now and we are so thankful she is part of our family. I really believe this was meant to be.

She's extremely cuddly, great with the boys, and a true companion. Right now the difficult part is house-breaking her. Once that part's over, I don't think we'll have anything to complain about.

I'm glad that our boys have a great dog to grow up with. I can't wait for all of the memories we'll make with her!

RIDE:WELL BIKE TOUR

Over the course of the past weekend our church was a stop for the RIDE:WELL BIKE TOUR. This is a group of 19 college-age men and women who are bike riding from San Diego to Baltimore in two months to raise money to build wells in Africa. During this stop of their tour our church raised $30,400, which will cover the cost of almost 10 wells.

Vince and I were asked to be a host family for two of the riders and we gladly took them into our home.  I was relieved to find out they were not picky eaters and they seemed to enjoy the meals we prepared. 

I hope they left feeling rested and ready to go on to the next leg of their tour.

To find out more about this great cause visit ridewellbiketour.org.

Too Cute for Words

Out and About

My siblings have visited our state 3 times now, but we had never taken them downtown, which gave Vince the great idea to spend the day there. Instead of driving all of that way, we decided to take the light-rail.

Once we got there we stopped for a quick picture. Deklan's the only one missing because he was at my in-laws' house napping.

It was quite toasty outside, so we were excited to cool down with ice cream!

The best part of our day was feeding the birds pieces of our ice cream cones.

On Wednesday Grafton and I took our family to the airport. We had enough time to get at drink and enjoy our last few moments together.

On the way home Grafton started crying and said, "Mom, I miss our friends from the airport." 

I know exactly what he means.

A Few Highlights

Over the last few days I have finally taken some pictures of our visit with our family!

On Friday my Dad, Grafton and I made a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and fresh fruit for everyone.

Later that evening we swam, sat around the fire pit and made smores, and stayed up late playing a hilarious game called Telephone Pictionary.

On Saturday we went to the movies and saw Up in 3D and then walked around the mall and had dinner.

This was the first time I've had all 5 of my siblings in the same picture.  My sister Hannah (on the far left) is from my mom and Step-Dad.  My sister Rachel (to the left of me) and I share the same parents, and the three siblings to my right (Arianah, Caleb, and Nicholas) are from my Dad and former Step-Mom.

It's hard to believe there's only two full days left of their visit.  We have a busy day planned tomorrow and are going to make the most of the time we have left.

I'm So Excited I Feel Like A Kid

My Dad and two Brothers and Sister will be arriving in about 10 hours from now!  After all of the meal planning, grocery shopping, washing of bed linens and house cleaning, pretty much all that's left to do is wait.

The boys and I are heading to Mom's Group in an hour, so that will help the day go by more quickly.

The time cannot pass soon enough!

Wiped Out

My absolute favorite part of summer is swimming! Lately, Grafton and I have been swimming in our pool 4-5 times per week. Vince & Deklan join us too, just not that often.

I am ecstatic that my kiddos love the water as much as I do!

The problem is that by dinner time they are exhausted from all of that sun and water. 

In case you're wondering, that's a hot dog in Grafton's hand.  After an afternoon of over 3 hours in the pool & jacuzzi, we grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner. Grafton hadn't eaten much of his food, but I told him he needed to finish his hot dog to get dessert. He was working on finishing it as I washed the dishes.  Suddenly he was quiet and that is how I found him!

Our Rabbit Named Jack

We do not have any pets living inside of our house right now. Grafton and Vince would love to have a dog, but my rule is, "No house-breaking until I'm done potty-training". So, it doesn't look like we'll be adding any pets to our home anytime soon.

However, a jack-rabbit has adopted our yard as his home! We started noticing him over a month ago in the mornings and evenings when he'd eat the grass in our backyard (he also ate all of the purple flowers off one of my bushes). After a few weeks of this we decided he was around to stay and named him Jack.

We've tried leaving him treats such as carrots and alfalfa, but he only sniffs them and moves on. I guess he prefers the natural foliage growing in our yard.

We hope he stays our backyard pet for a long time!

It's Not Getting Older That I Mind, It's Looking Older That Scares Me

This year marks the 10 year anniversary of my High School Graduation. In the last few months I've met up with a few friends from high school and connected with several more through Facebook.  I have noticed that we don't look all that different than we did in High School.

A couple of months ago I watched a cheesy reality show called "High School Reunion" that featured the class of 1988.  Although many of the classmates are still attractive, I noticed that they look very different and much older than they did 20 years ago.

This made me realize that I may age significantly more in the next 10 years than I did in the last 10. YIKES!!!!

I know aging is inevitable, but I feel compelled to combat the physical signs of it.  As a result, I was browsing through Macy's today and impulsively spent some birthday money that I had been saving to purchase clothes on this...

The sales lady assured me that it will decrease the creases between my eyebrows and remove some of the sun damage on my forehead.  My skin is also supposed to feel refreshed and radiant.  

I guess I'm either a sucker for buying into this, or very wise for taking care of my skin now. :0)