Vancouver BC, Aquarium

 During spring break, we took the four younger kids to the aquarium in Vancouver.  

Growing up in a relatively small city like Boise, Vancouver amazes me.  I love going to town, but I love going home to the country so much more.

 We got a kick out of the bubble.

Don't ask what Soren is doing.

 I know the kids loved seeing the sloth, penguins, beluga whale and dolphins.  My favorite was watching the otters.  They're huge.  I was so surprised!  

We had a great day as a family.  It was a prelude to what my life is becoming. Logan worked so he wasn't able to come.  It seems like that's always how it is most of the time now.  I don't like it one bit. It feels as though I'm always looking for someone. Maybe another day I will be able to drag Logan along.  I'm sure he would love the frog exhibit.

Dancing Dunows

 That's what is called an oxymoron.

Dancing

Dunow's

We all possess such grace and rhythm.  Olivia had her 2 grade music program a few weeks ago. She participated in the 3rd grade program because she's in a combined class.

 Their Music Teacher taught the children four folk dances.  The children then taught  their partner the dance.  So Anna, Soren and Troy all became Olivia's student/dance partner.

To say it was outrageously crazy is an understatement.  It was loud and disorganized, but the kids loved it.

 At one point in one of the dances, Anna had to skip down the center of the isle.

Anna 

can't

skip.

Look at those legs of hers!  She's like a running puppy.  I was so proud of her though.  She hopped, skidded, stumbled right along side her little sister.

 One of the best things about Troy is that he always gets involved with what ever his kids are doing.  Partly because he is still one himself.  He was most definitely the tallest person there.  All the kids are laughing at him.  

 He could barely make it under the bridge.

As you can see, I opted out of dancing due to my bunion hurting.  Good excuse?

Milo

Have I ever mentioned to anyone that I may be a little crazy?  OK, so everyone knows that I am.  I also have a huge soft spot for my furry kids.  So when Elliot wouldn't snap out of his depression, I knew it was time for us to get another dog.  I guess I was ready too.

Meet Milo.

He is a six month old Treeing Walker Hound.  We found him through craiglist from a wonderful family.  Milo turned out to be too much of a handful for this family.  Boy oh boy!  He is full of energy. It took a couple of hours for Elliot and Milo to really feel comfortable with each other.  Now they are inseparable.  

 Elliot photo bombing. 

The kids all fell in love with him.  He's so good with them.  At his old home there was a one year old, so he knew how to behave with kids.  My kids ruff house with him and he love it.

 His favorite thing right now besides sleeping on the couch is playing in the meadow.  Elliot will lay down in the grass and hide from him and then pounce.  So entertaining to watch.

 There is still a lot of training to do.  He is a hound dog through and through.  He gets a scent and goes.  I've had to high tail it through some cow pastures to bring him back home.  

When he crashes, he's out for the count, and boy can he snore.

He got fixed today.  When we picked him up he was howling.  Such a sorry sound!  I think he's not very happy with us right now.  

We seem to have gotten really lucky with our pets.  Milo fit right into our family from the get go.  From the very first he loved to walk down with us to pick up the kids from the bus stop. I know it was very emotional for the family to give him up.  They loved him very much.  I will keep you the family posted and up to date with how he is through the blog.  He loves it here.  Our family loves having him here.  

We love him even though he is a puppy and chewed up Logan's blankets, got into the garbage, puked in my van.  He fits right in!

Teasing Elliot

 Evenings at our house are CRAZY!  The kids come home from school and the house explodes.  Papers come at me from every direction.  On this particular night, we were all a little tired and ready to be done with homework.  Elliot was ready for us to be done too.  

Anna put some fairy wings on him and we all thought it was hysterical.  The poor thing.

Elliot decided to sit on Anna's lap.  She was trying to do her homework and kept pushing him away.  He decided to make it so she couldn't work.

A few things to point out in this picture.

I'm wearing green scrubs and I'm not a nurse.  They are the best thing to wear doing housework and gardening.  

I had just finished folding laundry and it was still on the table and hanging up.  Backpacks consume my house.

Izzie

Our sweet dear Izzie is gone.  I think I can finally talk about it without falling apart.

I think she was just about the best dog out there, except for the fact that she would run away.  Now I'm glad she did.  Izzie came alive when we moved to Washington.  She was in her element. The pond was her playground.  The ducks her toys, as much as I hated it.  To this day, I don't know how she would catch them.

Having dogs in our family, I know that we are going to go through the death process at some point with them.  It's so hard on my family, but the time we had with this loyal, quiet, reflective being.....

So worth it.

Look at her eyes.  She would look at you and know.

Know if we hurt.

Know if we were happy.

Know if we were scared.

We will miss you.