Summer Stuff

I have some random summer photos that I thought I'd just share in one post. They're all from this week.

A couple of days ago was laundry day. It started pretty early...you can see Casey eating breakfast in the background of the photo. So, this was first thing in the morning.

They've been putting their folded clothes away for me for some time now, but folding the clothes themselves has just happened recently. Logan says he "loves" folding clothes, although on this particular day he was not as enthusiastic about doing it all by himself. Ethan has been less thrilled with this new responsibility, but on this day he was fine with it...since I said boys who fold their laundry get their iPad time. Funny how that works. Either way, it got folded and put away and I didn't have to do it! 

As much time as we've spent outside already this summer, this is summer too...movies and popcorn! 

Wherever there is popcorn, there is Duke hoping for a bite.

They were watching the second Harry Potter movie this time. 

During the Quiddich match, the movie became interactive. They paused the show and went upstairs for their broomsticks.

Then they flew around the living room chasing their golden snitch. Love it. 

Meanwhile in my office...Duke was getting cozy with his mini me. Logan had left his stuffed puppy in my office and on a whim I put it in Duke's bed. He came over and sniffed it...and licked it. Then he circled around his bed once and laid down right beside it. 

This morning, just as the boys were headed outside, they asked for popsicles. Why not? They are a couple of crazies, though...

They've tried the grape and orange flavors. So far, Ethan likes all of them, but grape best. And Logan only likes orange! Crazy kid. 

I don't know what was making Logan laugh (probably something Ethan said), but they sure are cute. Right after this, they had an argument...and then went on to play outside together for almost 3 hours. 

I've pretty much left them to their own devices this summer. I've always insisted that they find things for themselves to do...I am not a cruise director for their free time. They are used to it (and really good at it) because it's always been that way. Even when they were babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Sometimes I plan fun activities or outings, and we have a rough schedule (that includes reading, chores, and yes...iPad time), but mostly they just find things to do.

Two Boys, Their Dog, and a Wagon

On Memorial Day, two days ago, I took the boys out in our neighborhood just before sunset to get some photos of them with Duke. It's been a long time since I've done that with more than just a snap or two with my iPhone. And it's been raining a lot, so when the evening was looking nice, I jumped at the chance to take the three of them out for photos.

Duke kept wanting to jump out of the the wagon and look around. I tried to get the boys to hold on to him, but I still found myself putting him back in time and time again. The boys thought it was hilarious, which worked to my advantage. I actually love this shot after he'd just escaped...

Ethan wanted a photo with just him and Duke, so I obliged, of course. I really love this photo. It captures Duke's sweet face and Ethan being sweet to him. He loves his puppy. 

Logan wanted to do the same and he's always really playful with Duke. They're like two puppies getting into mischief when they play. 

I had them in their red, white, and blue flag shirts because I thought they complemented the all-American look we had going...with the wagon and the dog. Also, it was Memorial Day, so it was perfect. I took the opportunity to take a few photos of just the boys. 

They desperately wanted me to pull them in the wagon. But they are a smidge heavier than they were when they were little and I used to pull them all over the neighborhood. But, I had them each take a turn anyway and I got a bit of a workout! 

Logan looks so serious! He was tasked with making sure he held on to the leash really well...look how many times he had it wrapped around his hand. Sweet boy!

I don't know what made them laugh here, but I love their smiles! I kept telling them to take off their shoes...because they were crocs. I envisioned them being barefoot in the photos so I didn't care which shoes they wore out there. But they kept putting them back on! And in this set, I didn't notice they had them on (again!) until I went to edit these! Ugh!

This puppy better know how lucky he is...he is truly loved.

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

Since I have had zero time to edit any of the photos I have from October (and my clients photos are getting done first anyway), I will give another brief update on these crazy, crazy weeks in our household. (All the photos in this post are iphone photos...all I have time for right now!)

We finished picking out all of the selections and making changes to our new house and progress is being made. Here's the master bathroom selections (I have since changed the mirror frame, but the travertine and marble are the same). 

This photo shows the wood floors, the island stain (rest of cabinets will be white), the quartz countertops in the kitchen, and the subway backsplash tile (which will be laid in a herringbone pattern!).

Of course, there have been a few things that will need to be fixed too (that's just how it works). But for the most part, the finish-out is beginning to come together. Here are a few iPhone photos of the progress. In this first photo, we're starting to get a feel for the look of the house.

And here it is all bricked and stoned, with the rest of the concrete poured. Yipee!

Progress is being made on selling our house too. It sold to the first couple who looked at it before it officially went on the market. We had several people wanting to put in offers the first two days, but we took the first one since it was full price, no contingency, and could close in two weeks. Hooray! Since the contract was signed, we've had the inspection and appraisal and we will be closing this week. Whew.

During the last couple of weeks we've had a few setbacks too...not only of the house variety. First, our puppy, Duke, swallowed an acorn whole...and it got lodged in his intestine. I took him to the vet at the end of an entire day of vomiting. He could not even keep water down, poor thing. They did emergency surgery that night and he stayed over night and all the next day before he was "discharged" to us with a stomach lined with staples. Today, he got his staples out after 10 days of wearing a cone.

Here he is when I took him to the vet...obviously not feeling well.

And here he is when I picked him up the morning after his surgery. We had to put the cone on at home. The pink bandage is where they had the IV. Such a pitiful puppy face.

As if all this wasn't enough crazy, Ethan got strep last week and missed the entire week of school. So I had him home sick with me all week. He was not too happy about having his throat swabbed (this was his first time ever).

Back home, lounging on the couch with Duke. Ethan really perked up after taking antibiotics, but he still had to stay home for a couple of days since he was contagious. You can really see Duke's stomach staples in this photo...even if you can't see his face.

As I've been trying to keep my head above water, Casey and I slipped away this past weekend to the lake house...just the two of us. Believe it or not, that is the first time we've done that. We actually couldn't believe it, which is what prompted the quick trip in the first place. After all the stress we've been dealing with, a couple of days without responsibility or schedule was just what we needed.

On the way out west to the lake house, we went through Ft. Worth and stopped at Lonesome Dove Western Bistro for dinner. That will not be the last time we do that...it was fantastic. The iphone photos of our food are terrible, but I have to include the one of our appetizer sampler. I could probably just eat their appetizers, but then we'd miss out on their entrees!

At the lake house, we basically just slept, watched TV and movies, ate, read books, and generally relaxed. It was perfect.

Also very important...we made brownies...and didn't have to share!

During this season of our lives, Casey and I have been so blessed to have a support system...family, friends, the boys' teachers, etc. who had our backs. We have been reminded just how much we have to be thankful for...just in time for Thanksgiving NEXT WEEK! (Yikes.)

Bring on the turkey. And the pie. And the packing!

Duke

So, it's true. We got a dog. For those of you that know me (and Casey), this is a surprising development. We are not dog people. But, we have a dog now. To sum it all up...it's for the children. Basically, I want the boys to experience having a pet and Ethan adores animals of all kinds. So, I've been entertaining the idea for about a year now and had decided that we should not get a dog. Then, for some reason, I started thinking about it again this summer and now here we are.

The story of how we actually came home with Duke is kinda fast and crazy. We got home from a weekend at the lake house with some dear friends on Sunday afternoon. Somehow, on Monday morning, I ended up looking for Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dogs that needed rescue on PetFinder. I had been doing some research on dog breeds for a while (casually), and I decided that a Cavalier would probably fit our family pretty well.

I really liked the idea of rescuing a dog, but I wasn't sure if I'd find what would work for us, but I looked anyway. I was not opposed to the idea of a middle-aged dog, by the way. I was looking at everything. But, on this particular Monday, three adorable Cavalier puppies popped up...and they were rescued. I could not believe it. And one of them was named Duke...a name that Casey and I had tossed around if we were to ever get a dog...a male one, obviously, (which I wasn't sure I wanted).

So, I quickly emailed the link to Casey at work to see what he thought. I just knew he'd shoot the idea down and that would be the end of it. But, as fate would have it, he emailed back that I should contact the shelter immediately. So I did. And that turned out to be a good thing because those puppies were listed that day and were already a hot ticket. It's very rare to find Cavalier puppies at a shelter.

After communicating with the ex-vetrinarian foster mom and the shelter owner, we arranged to go see the puppies that evening. We didn't say anything to the boys just yet. But I scratched around the house gathering the cash that we would need to pay for the adoption just in case we decided to go through with it. I came up $5 short. When Casey walked in from work, I asked him how much cash he had on hand. He had exactly $5. I couldn't believe it.

So we set off to go look at some puppies. I was more and more convinced that we'd be bringing one home. When we got to the house and saw the three puppies (all male from the same litter, 12 weeks old) we were sold. And the boys were too. We picked up our Duke and knew he was ours. Ethan and Logan could not believe that we were taking a puppy home. Frankly, I couldn't either.

So now, Duke has been with us for about a month and I'm still in shock. There are days when I ask myself what in the world I was thinking. My three year old is now potty trained and I have just a little more freedom and then we go and get a dog. Sigh.

But as far as dogs go, Duke is super sweet and a really good puppy. I think he might actually be weaseling his way into my heart slowly.

The boys, however, don't need any convincing. They love their Duke. And the feeling is mutual.

(Duke is about 14 weeks old in these photos.)