Recent Pictures

Jonathan really enjoyed his Valentine party at school.

Jonathan and his Valentine.

A boyish Valentine's box for school.

The family at Marisa's performance of Seussical the Musical! She was the young sassy kangaroo.

Always the comedian!!!!!

She just loves to have her picture taken. And what cute pig tails!

Pinewood Derby winners, and the Den activity at the basketball game.

Calm before the Storm!!!! And just what is he trying to tell us with his finger like that!?!?!?

Visiting the park with Holly.

Dog Gone It!

Well, Holly got away today.........again! This makes 4 or 5 times now. I've really lost track. Richard and Alyssa were going to walk her, and she got out of her harness - yes, a HARNESS! We really should rename her Houdini! She ran all over the neighborhood - up and down the cross street mostly where a lot of kids were playing. Richard, Alyssa, and I chased her in the van and enticed her with treats. Let's just say that she now has the sweetest breath of any dog in the neighborhood because it took three breath treats to get her into the car! And, she took care of her walk herself.......she was tired after getting away, and she was quite happy to come home.

Two Fish and a Dog

Well, tonight we went and got two algae eaters for our fish tank - we got two because the tank is getting really nasty even though we've cleaned the water. The fish lady, as we called her, said our tank could handle two. When we dumped them in the tank, they immediately swam to the side of the "all you can eat feast" and dug in.

While we were at PetSmart we also got some things for Holly Berry. We got her a tag with her name and our number on it. We didn't put our address since the man at the store said, "If your dog is out, you're not usually home." Richard said he didn't want our address on it. It is a pretty gold bone tag, and Alyssa picked it out. We also bought her a bed, which she has already claimed as her own, a new toy, a harness, some flea/tick treatments, and a rawhide type bone.

We decided to try the harness first. Richard put it on her, and we thought we had it just the right fit. But, when he took her outside, she got away very quickly and took off running through the neighborhood (the picture of her in the yard shows her right before she got out of her harness). I got in the car and took off toward her........we eventually caught her and brought her back. The second attempt was much better, and she successfully walked down to the end of the street and back without any trouble.

When we gave her the bone (after the walk), she quickly grabbed it , ran to the back door with it, and demanded to be let outside. She ran all over the yard with it, put it down, and dared us to come get it. Richard tried to pick it up, but she grabbed it and continued running around. Since it was really late and very cold, Rich came inside and left her to have her fun. Very shortly, she had the bone hidden and was at the back door trying to get back in.

Holly

My mom is good friends with a lady who rescues pugs. She knows a trainer who comes to your house and trains not only the dog, but the family as well...........which is just what WE need. The kids are having a hard time understanding why we only feed Holly dog food, or why we don't let her sit and beg at the table, or many other things. So, we're going to email this guy and see if he can help us train her to do a few things, like walk on a leash without running off, stay in the house when the front door is opened, and not jump on visitors. We'll see how it goes. But, my mom is gifting us the cost of the trainer, so that's a plus! Go Nana! If Holly learns not to jump on her when she's over, she'll consider it money well spent! ;-)

The Holly-days

Christmas this year was good, but it is good to be home. We all relax better when we're home, though we did enjoy seeing our family. Santa brought Alyssa a "puppy" as she calls her, but it is actually a 1 year old dog who weighs about 50 lbs. Holly is a good dog, and she has made herself right at home here in Texas. And, we are learning about her as well. For instance, she will jump up and bark at you when she wants to go out and play, but she just stands by the backdoor when she wants to potty or bask in the sunshine. She LOVES the couches and prefers the ends. She does like to play with dog toys, but she prefers to shop for them on her own. For example, she found a pink plastic watering can in the backyard, and she claimed it for her very own. She runs all over the back yard with it and has a grand time. She also found a hand-me-down slipper in Alyssa's room that she never wears, and she has adopted that as her chew toy for inside. She loves both her new toys, and she never touches the dog toy that was purchased for her - go figure!

We've also changed our television habits since Holly has joined our home. We've found a show called, "It's Me or the Dog," and it is one of our favorites now. It's all about training dogs to be part of the family so everyone, including the dog, gets along. Sleeping is getting better. Holly sleeps with the kids, but it's harder for them to get to sleep. So, we will probably put the kids down first, let them get to sleep, and then let Holly go in when we go to bed. That worked better last night. She spent her first night in her crate because she seemed to like it better - she wouldn't sleep anywhere else - maybe she just needed something familiar. Holly definitely prefers Richard to anyone else. He's her main person, and the top dog of the family, I suppose. She does like to play with the kids, but she did scratch Alyssa in the face for no reason. She's got to learn to calm down a bit around Alyssa, but we're working on it.

The kids have been enjoying their gifts. We're trying to bring them out in stages so they can appreciate each one fully and really play with it before something else distracts them. So far, so good with that. We had a great time with my family yesterday, although it took forever to get to see them. Jonathan and Alyssa both had the throwing up stomach virus, so we had to wait until everyone was well for a full 24 hours before we could see my mom or my nieces. We wouldn't want to give them any Christmas germs! My mom gave everyone in the family hats with lights on them - from L.L. Bean. We can use them to go on walks when camping, or just to read in the car at night, I guess. They were funny - especially Tracy and Richard!

Richard's birthday was low key, but nice. We had pizza and wings (which I picked up since everyone had been sick), a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake (chocolate with choc. chip cookie dough), and cards/gift/video game time. It was a nice day, and we all relaxed. The kids had fun reminding him all day that he was 35!

Rich and I have been planning some things to do to the house, so we'll keep you posted as we get things done. Our first task is to declutter and purge all the junk. I've been cleaning all morning and sorting out all the holiday clutter as a starting point. I got almost all of it finished, but I need to get up now and get the rest done. So, I'll leave you with some photos. Enjoy!

Sleet, wonderful sleet!

Well, we're off for a sleet day! It has been a great day. I got a ton of laundry done while watching a cheesy Christmas feel-good movie, baked banana bread and snuck some chocolate chips into it, read a non-thought-provoking magazine a bit, and relaxed. Can't beat that!

The kids have been cleaning their rooms and playing, and Alyssa just informed me that Richard and I are invited to a tea party at 9:28 sharp! She has no concept of time yet, but she was sure that was after she would be done. Judging from her room this morning, it may take that long!

Jonathan is about to lose a tooth - his first top tooth to fall out. So, the Tooth Fairy has to prepare to make a stop over the holidays. Maybe she can get directions from Santa.

We're preparing for a new addition to our family. It's funny how more thought and consideration has gone into getting a dog than into whether or not to have kids. We knew we wanted kids, and they're portable! :-) Dogs, however, have to be taken to a kennel when you go on vacation, or special arrangements have to be made. It just seems like more of a hassle than kids, but maybe we're wrong...........we're hoping so. Richard and I were sitting on the couch the other night enjoying the tree lights and the fire in the fireplace, and all of a sudden it hit me.............we're going to have a dog during the time we will be visiting my brother's house for 3 days for Christmas. So, I turned to Rich and told him this. He promptly said, "Crap! I never thought of that!" And, now reality has set in.

Don't get me wrong.........we are excited. I think it will be fun to have a dog, but we will not be able to be as spontaneous as Richard truly is by nature. So, we'll see what Richard comes up with for the trip to Tracy's house. They are dog people, but Seiko is old and cranky. She may not want a new one around. We'll just have to see.