Doggie Date

Reading up on dog etiquette and talking with a dog training expert, we decided on a plan for Splash and Cora to meet this past week. Both dogs on leashes, but both off territory, we met at the school bus stop around the corner from my house. They spied each other at the same time, but there was no barking. After a lot of sniffing; the look on Cora's face seemed to say that she got that he was all pup and she had a look of "Ok, kid, follow me" as we walked. After our short journey, the two relaxed over water and grass time on our front lawn. A couple more friendly walking treks are on our agenda and then it is off leash playtime in the fenced backyards. Crossing our fingers the friendship will continue easily like the first meeting.

South to North

We spent our morning at a neat client appreciation party titled: Willow's Wild Child Day where our friend Willow had a jumpy toy, cookie decorating, face painting, painting, and games all rolled into one neat outdoor location. The kids enjoyed wearing themselves out and eating sugar. It was nice to hang out with Willow and her other client friends at Fircrest Park; which we've never been to, but found to be really cool.

We came home to drop off Cora and change our clothes and then we were off to Qwest Field to take in a High School Football game. My husband's cousin's son is the starting Running Back of his team and he did a fab-u-lous job! Not only did Jorey get the ball frequently, he ran fast and had a great weave through the defense.

I don't know much about football; but I know when things are looking good and Jorey made things look good. He was so enthusiastic too, he really pumped up his team with the body slams and yells. It was truly fun to watch cousins in this environment. We wish Jorey all the best as he continues his football dreams.

My husband captured the game and took this great series of shots. There are 10 pictures total in this sequence that show Jorey running the ball; I just selected a handful to show that he is hard to stop. He was like the Energizer Bunny, he just kept going and going. He's white jersey #6 with the ball:



And he still was not done running before the final tackle!! And ... yes, they won the game!

It was a fun and busy day from South to North.

Can Of Corn

My husband had his Canon at the ball game tonight, taking pictures of the players and of us, enjoying the game. The man behind us was so kind to suggest that he take a family photo of us. Once taken, he asks if perhaps my husband could do the same of his family and then email him the photo. Of course my husband is willing to do this and stands up and enters the aisle to get a good shot.

All of a sudden, the crowd is going wild like something big is happening. I barely had a chance to look forward, when I notice every one is looking up with their hands in the air. I knew the ball was coming our way. Having a nice chunk of dollar in my mouth (aka: braces) I duck my head in my lap at the exact moment that my husband holds up his left hand, his right hand occupied by the camera, and catches the base ball.

He said it was like "A can of corn."

It was so effortless by my husband, whose back was not only towards the ball field, but his eye was peering through the camera! It was brilliant.

Here's the after photo of his great catch:

Here's the photo he was taking just before he caught the ball:

The kids were so excited about their daddy's big catch. It was very cool; well done, Babe!

New Blog

It was the beginning of the summer when my daughter said to me that she wanted to do a blog. After talking with her about what she wanted her blog to be about, she told me she wanted to write summaries about the books she reads, she wanted to give them a rating, and "post it out there." A budding book critic. I jumped all over her idea!

We set it up, I gave a quick mini tour of blog land do's and don'ts, and then she took off with great speed and has been keeping it up all on her own. Now that school is open she wanted to share her blog with her fourth grade teacher (whom she looped up with from 3rd to 4th), and she also gave me permission to post it here today: Banana's Book Blog.

While her grammar or her sentence structure may not be perfect, neither is mine nor a lot of folks. So I credit her on the fact that she is reading and she is writing and she enjoys it! That is awesome!

Feel free to give comments on her blog. She looks forward to those, just like the rest of us. :)

Finished Pottery

I picked up the kids' pottery pieces they made last week. I think they came out artistic and it is a nice reminder of our fun day with cousins. I had planned to stay today and paint something myself, but since the weather turned back to summer and it is beautiful outside, I wasn't feeling the inspiration to sit! I think I will save my creation for when the gloom returns and I can have a nice cup of caramel apple cider to sip on.




The pasta bowl hand painted by my daughter.











The dessert bowl hand painted by my son.

First Day of School

I had envisioned a calm morning and even woke up early to make it that way. Everything was going smoothly until about the last five minutes before go-time; in which it suddenly did a nose dive.

I had made the lunches, the kids had picked out their clothes, tied their own shoes, did their own hair; wow, this 2nd grade and 4th grade thing was working well. Cora would be joining us in the car because as soon as the kids were dropped off, we were headed for her Agility class. And that is when it went South.

The car I drive most frequently (aka: the car Cora does not get car sick in) decided to break it's hydraulic system to the hatch in the back that enabled me to load the car with her kennel. Why does the car always break when I touch it; never breaks when my husband touches it, just me. Always. If it is not going to turn over, it is because I'm at the wheel. If the power windows are going to glitch, it is because I tried to open the window. If the hydraulic system is going to conk out, it is because I tried to open the back door. Always me.

So anyway, there we are, Cora on a leash extremely hyper as she knows "work" is happening soon and she can't wait a second longer, the kids are waiting patiently for the traditional camera pose at the front door but are highly worried they are going to be late for their first day, I remembered that I forgot to write the standard note that my kids take the car home rather than the bus and so I need a pen and paper while my hands are already full, my neighbors are walking past with a their cheerful Hellos and small talk, so one must take the time to answer as not to be rude, and all the while we are trying to figure out the logistics for getting the kids and the dog to their classes.

Nothing like a few hoops of maneuvering to get the job done, but in the end we made it with five minutes to spare. But it was not pretty. It was not as peaceful as their first day of photos reflect. It was not the calm, serene, Ahhh, moment for the first day of school. (As far as the car, the fix will come another day, and we'll work around it until then. Grrr).

Labor Day

Our never ending quest to clean up and out our kid's playroom over the years has finally made the final shift. After family discussions, we have come to the agreement that one section of the playroom would be turned into a "dance floor."

Both of our children dance well. My daughter is the known dancer of our family, but my son is amazing in his own-right; he just does not show it off as often as he could. My husband has a few good moves in him too; one being caught on tape during our honeymoon that may sneak out on YouTube someday (kidding, Honey, relax). Me? No, I am not a dancer. Although I was enrolled in ballet as a youngster, there is a movie of me floating around my parent's house which shows me trying very hard to skip around our kitchen table as a first grader in my ballet uniform. I completely admit I was horrid; no coordination, it was bad! Although I am just a few years older now (ha) I don't feel like I use my rhythm well, so I would not consider myself a good dancer.

But that does not really matter, as our new playroom adventure will be a place where my daughter can practice her dance class assignments, a place where both kids can rock-n-roll to their favorite music, a place where friends and cousins can put on their elaborate plays and dance parties, or even a place to exercise.

Today we drove to the city to meet a man who rents dance floors as a prominent side business and sells his lightly used dance floors to people like us. A good selection of flooring squares to choose from, we selected our pieces and it was relatively easy install for my husband. To complete the look, we will hire for a floor to ceiling mirror to be installed on the short wall of the dance floor. Otherwise, it will remain pretty basic so there is room to move and improve.

The kids are loving their new dance section of the playroom. The other half of the room still remains host to some furniture and a few toys they have not outgrown.

In the end, this Labor Day was spent laboring in our house.