June Pictures

Our June has been so busy! We had our trip to Oregon, Jenn's birthday, Michelle's visit, Father's Day, and 2 birthday parties...and we're not even done with the month yet! Michelle came out the weekend of the 14th and 15th. It was so good to see Joey. He's gotten so big and he sits up and crawls. Tyler just ADORED his cousin and Lucy thought he was funny. Tyler loved patting Joey's head and touching his toes. Lucy just wanted to make sure he didn't take her blanket and she was infatuated with his bottles and pacifier.

Then we celebrated Father's Day! We didn't do anything especially exciting, but the kids worked on their bikes in the garage with Daddy and that was kind of cute. Little Miss Lucy also tried a new hairstyle this month and it made her instantly sassy. Little Miss Sassy Pants is what we have on our hands now! But, pigtails are too cute, so we deal with sass. At Aria's party on the 22nd we put Matea, Bailey, and Lucy in the same monkey shirts and tried to take their picture. Of course we did it at the end of the party and that was a task! But, we got some silly pictures out of it. I guess we should enjoy the chaos...in a few years they'll be posing for these and asking if they can wear make-up!

It's A Girl!

It's a girl! This weekend we got a new puppy. Her name is Bluebelle, but we'll just call her Blue. We weren't sure if it was time for another dog, but things just worked out and we ended up with this little sweetheart. Well, sweetheart with a knack for chewing! The last time we raised puppies we didn't have children and our full attention could be given to them...this time we have some other "pets" to pay attention to! Tyler and Lucy are quite taken with Blue and really adore playing with her. Tyler says he loves her best and she's in his friend circle now.

Lucy, on the other hand, might feel differently...

Our Oregon Dunes Trip

On May 31st we embarked on a journey to Coos Bay, Oregon. We left at 4:45 in the morning, thinking the kids would stay asleep in the car for a few hours...but they SO did not do that. They did fairly well for that long of a drive, though. Lucy just needed her nigh'-nigh' (blanket), some juice, and a few cat naps. Tyler was happy watching his new Land Before Time movie over and over and over again. We arrived safe and sound (finally!)and got settled in the awesome cabin. Seriously...awesome cabin.

We spent our days letting the kids play in the yard (when it wasn't raining) while the guys rode the quads, eating fish and chips (seriously...3 times), visiting beaches, and enjoying being away from "real" life. It was a pretty relaxing trip...if you can call being around 2 grown men with toys, 2 three year olds, and 2 one year olds relaxing. :) Oregon really is a beautiful state and I would love to go back again...but maybe next time I could click my heels three times and just be there. I'm so not good in the car...

In Loving Memory...

On May 30th we lost a precious member of our family...Big Belle. It was such a devastating day for us. She didn't eat 2 meals (which was a sure sign that something was wrong because she ATE everything ALL THE TIME). By the time the vet was able to do surgery too much damage to her insides had already been done. A few weeks prior she had eaten a popsicle stick on a quest to eat a popsicle that one of the kids had been licking. It worried me, but I kind of forgot about it since she is a horse and eats everything. Um...she had 3 rocks in her stomach when they went in to do the surgery and thought that was what they were taking out.

Unfortunately, Big Belle didn't make it after the surgery. I was able to spend some time with her and tell her how much I loved her. I played with her amazing ears and she shed tears with me...I kid you not. I've never lost a pet before, so this was a very emotional experience for me. I told Tyler and he got VERY upset and then he wanted to draw some pictures to express himself. He drew a picture of Big Belle and said, "This is so that she will always be here with us." I will treasure that picture forever. Now he is very matter-of-fact about the whole thing and just realizes that we have one dog now. He wants Jesus to take care of his Big Belle for him.

Just before this happened Lucy had gotten used to feeding Big Belle in the mornings. She was becoming such a pro at walking her bowl over to the carpet and setting it down for her. Sometimes she would try and take a piece or two, but Belle never got upset with her. For being such a hound dog for food she was very good with Lucy and patiently waited for the bowl to be set down before she vacuumed up her food. Lucy is missing her morning "duties".