One More Try...

Okay, so we (well, Zach) decided to give this dog thing one more try. Zach and Tyler were both ready for a new dog to help heal their hearts over the tragic losses of Belle and Bleu. Jenn, on the other hand, was not so sure if she could ever love another dog again. (Yeah, a bit dramatic...I know!) On Sunday we decided to go see some dogs that were 11 weeks old and try to find a new family member. We drove to Sheridan (just past Lincoln) and saw these HUGE puppies running around and being CRAZY! We picked a little girl (not so little...she's the same size as Bleu was and she's 4 weeks YOUNGER) and brought her home to meet the kids. The reception went over fairly well, but based on how she looks and her size I'm not sure if Tyler and Lucy knew that it was a new dog or if they thought we just brought Bleu back home. Tyler is calling her the correct name, but Lucy still calls her Bleu every time she sees her and then corrects herself after we say the name. She's a love of a dog and she's fitting in nicely, so hopefully this new addition will be in our lives for a long, long time.

We decided to name her B.B. in honor of Belle and Bleu.

Tyler's Birthday Party

We had Tyler's birthday party in our backyard on August 9th. We've done parks and we did Funtastic last year, but this year we wanted to keep it close to home. And avoid Zach having to barbecue! He gets so hot and sweaty and nobody needs to see that. We decided it would be fun to get this waterslide and just let the kids go wild for a few hours...and boy did they go wild. From the looks of the kids faces in these pictures it would appear that they had a good time. Especially Aria! I don't think she stopped going down that slide from the moment she got there until the moment the party ended. She loves that thing!

Tyler's theme this year was dinosaurs. He's REALLY, REALLY into them! Safeway made a really neat (and yummy) cake and it looked spectacular...before Mommy dropped it anyways. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa (the cake experts that they are) came over and saved the day...and Mommy's sanity. But, Tyler blew out four candles on the cake and then got excited to open his presents. He would tell you it was the BEST DAY EVER! And I sure hope it was...until next year.

We thought Tyler might be ready for a big boy bike, so that's what he got for his birthday present from Mom & Dad. And boy was he ready! He hopped right on and rode all over the house on his new bike. He's a pro already....well, minus a few spills here and there. He rode all the way to Grandma Karla's house last night!

Lucy was NOT excited for Tyler to get his bike, though. She started crying and screaming, "Mine, mine!" It was the first time she's thrown a legitimate fit. She really wanted that bike and wasn't going to relent until someone told her it was for her. And Tyler certainly wasn't going to tell her that. She told Bobo that he needed to share. Silly girl!

Happy Birthday Tyler James!

Tyler turns 4! Mommy is having such a hard time with that age for some reason. But, let's be honest, I think Mommy has a hard time every year Tyler gets older. On his actual birthday we had doctor's appointments for both kids (hence the bandaid showing in the picture...shots, ick!) and we had pictures done. We also went to John's Incredible Pizza for some lunch and some games. We tried to make the day special for the little guy, so I hope he had a good time (well, other than the shots).

Another Sad Day

Rest in Peace Bleubelle

We love you with all our hearts

It was only a month and a half ago that I was announcing the new addition to our family. And now, sadly, I have to post that she has gone to heaven. Our little Bleu contracted a disease called HOD that is very serious in Weimeraners and she couldn't cope with the pain it was causing. Our poor little puppy was suffering and needed to be on a morphine drip. Zach and I couldn't handle knowing that she was in so much pain and we made the difficult decision to put her to sleep. Our family is in so much pain and our hearts our broken. We pray that Bleu will know how much we loved her.

We hope she's up in heaven running around with her big (and bossy) sister Belle.

Dillon's Beach

On July 31st the Guthmiller Family took their first camping trip as a group of 4. It was Lucy's first time sleeping in a tent and in a bed that wasn't a crib. We were a little apprehensive to how the whole thing would go, but seeing as how there was NO extra room in the car for her Pack and Play we had to make it work. The kids made it work alright...somehow they ended up in Mom & Dad's sleeping bag in the middle of the night all three nights. Oh well...at least we were warm.

Ah, look at the lovebirds! Tyler and Aria are just the sweetest things EVER! Brooke asked them to pose and this is what Tyler did. You've gotta love that. He tells me he's going to marry her someday. If only he knew what that meant.

Lucy loved wearing her Elmo shades and playing on the beach. She had a really, really good time on the trip and thoroughly enjoyed getting FILTHY. She embraced the dirt. I think she embraced the junk food too. She was asking for chips for breakfast. I'm sure she's ready to go camping again soon.

We'll consider our first camping trip as a family of four quite a success!

July Fun

We broke out the tunnel for the kids to play in and I decided to get some cute photos of my silly squids. They were having so much fun chasing each other and "racing" through the tunnel. Tyler is very into racing these days and always has to win. Lucy has picked up on this and if she does something first (you know, once in a blue moon) she will say, "I win!" And don't you know that makes Tyler so mad!

I've been trying a new thing for breakfast...banana smoothies. Lucy has tried to help me make these on a few occasions...one time she pushed the button on the blender when the lid was off, other times she drops the banana into the blender after she's had a bite, but her recent helping hand has to do with dishing up the frozen yogurt. She wants to "help you Mommy" and scoop the yogurt. But, as you can see, it's going in the wrong place! She enjoys her morning treat while I enjoy mine.

I think we have an architect or a backyard landscaper on our hands. He built the house (with a tiny bit of help from Dad) and then all the other structures are his backyards. He's very into having backyards. Tyler is doing so well at building things and puzzles and making silly faces. Actually, he's an expert in those.

Our Family Photo

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Fireworks Spectacular!

Happy Fourth of July!

Every year we watch fireworks at the Cameron Park Fireworks Spectacular. They put on a really good show and we get to watch from a prime location. Tyler has always really enjoyed the show and couldn't stop asking, "When is it starting Mom?!" Lucy was too young to know what was going on last year, so I was interested to see what her reaction would be. From the first boom to the last (well, with the exception of when he got a neon bracelet) Tyler was enthralled with the show.

Lucy was a bit jumpy when the first fireworks went of, so that's why I had to cover her ears. (You can see Tyler clapping in the background of this picture.) Lucy did stare at the fireworks in awe, though.

Well, until she fell asleep that is!