Annie

On August 8th, we put Annie to sleep. Instead of mulling over the things leading up to the decision; I wanted to post some happy memories.

Ryan and I wanted a dog once we got a house (heck, we probably got the house because I wanted a dog so bad, who am I kidding?). We had considered a rescue dog (multiple breeds) but after several home visits, we weren't in love with any dog we saw. After looking at the Humane Society website for probably weeks on end; we made the trip to the Humane Society. (It was right after Ryan arrived home on a flight from MN; returning from Paul and Nicole's wedding).

We had looked at puppies but in one of the pens was an adorable spotted dog who was calmly sitting next to the fence, giving me the look. We had the staff bring a few dogs into the room to meet them. Annie came in and crawled up into my lap hugging me. I knew she was the one. They had told us she was about 2 years old but after getting to know her, we guessed she was younger (and our vet did too).

She spent the first week or two being the calm dog we saw at the pound. Then she quickly warmed up to us and her true personality came out. She was a lover (loved to put her paws on your leg), a tail wagger (happy tail injuries occurred from wagging her tail too much and too hard), and her barking (always at something, not just for fun).

Annie was a smart, energetic dog. We took her to dog school to teach her some basic manners. We quickly learned that she liked doing tricks. Ryan had her doing left and right hand shakes, turning around, laying down, and our favorite, playing dead after you shoot a "finger" gun at her and say "bang!". We usually had to take a second shot to kill that darn tail of hers. She also liked the obstacles at the dog park.

Annie's best bud was Bear. They had play dates in the yard and at the dog park. Timber, Bear's sister, wanted to be her friend but she just wouldn't warm up to her. I think she felt threatened by Bear and Timber living together. Girls. LOL! Rio and Scooter were her other pals. Scooter became Bear's replacement after Bear moved away. They loved to run wild with each other.

There were many parties, camping trips, and road trips that she went on. I remember sneaking Annie and Scooter into a hotel on the way back from MN. They were jumping across the beds in the hotel room. We thought for sure we would get kicked out.

When the kids were born, she would sneak little kisses and tuck her feet under to make sure she didn't scratch them. She liked to wake both kids up by sticking her nose in the crib and giving them a lick or a cold sniff. She never bothered their stuff (well, maybe 1 or 2 toys had a few bite marks). She loved the kids blowing bubbles. She would chase them and eat them-the bubbles, not the kids! She liked to climb up on the kid's outdoor slide/house and play with them. She was always concerned when they swam and kept a close eye on them.

Some of her favorite toys were her kong ball, any squeaker toy she could rip stuffing out of 5 minutes after given to her, chasing the laser and "killing" it when it was time for a treat-she never got it if it was on a human, and taking tops off of water bottles. She also liked to play catch with the one that looked like a dumbell or the chicken.

Although she and Jazzy didn't snuggle together, they had their own way of keeping an eye on each other and playing. Both would look for the other if one wasn't home.

She loved to snuggle in the bed with us and was a squirmy wormy, wiggling her way right up next to you. She liked elbow rubs to calm her down. At Christmas time, I will be able to decorate the bottom branches of the tree. I used to have to keep them "tail" free. I am sure I am missing many other memories or quirks that will come to mind after I publish this.Annie was a good dog. Annoying habits and all. Rest in peace Annie. We will miss you.

Miller's 6 Year Old Stats

After the whirlwind summer vacation, Miller had two appointments. His first was his 6 year old check up.

He weighed in at 53 lbs (I think they said 84th percentile).
His height was 49 inches (I believe that was the 94 or 96th percentile).

He's a healthy boy and the doctor said although he may not "listen" his hearing is fine.

Next up, the dentist. I mentioned earlier he had a bottom tooth come in behind his baby tooth. That baby tooth was in no hurry to loosen up or leave so we had to have it pulled. Since the adult tooth didn't have enough room, the dentist pulled the tooth to the side of it too.

Miller was a trooper! Minimal tears and no real fussing. I am sure it had to do with the Legos he got to pick out afterwards and the promise of some ice cream. I can happily report that bottom tooth is on the move and headed towards the open space.

Summer Recap - Part 4

2nd to last stop....Brainerd, MN.

Saturday we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Froyd and tried to leave. I said tried, because their dog Boots, has this insane desire to get in front of the car and isn't afraid of being hit. She also can run up to about 30 mph. Eventually, I got out at the end of the drive way, caught her and marched her back to the house.

We arrived at Paul and Nicole's house with the crew waiting in the driveway. Matt and Val were right behind us. It was time to get on the pontoon and head out for an afternoon of fun. We quickly changed into our suits and were off.

It was beautiful. I forgot how much I love boat rides. We went across the lake and stopped in a little cove to grab some pizza we ordered. After lunch, we found a sand bar and jumped in. I knew if there was any chance of Miller getting in, I had to go first. It. Was. Freezing. I lied through my chattering teeth but he knew better. Ryan tossed him in. Miller's recap probably would include his tears nearly freezing to his face as he tried to get back in the boat. Honestly, after you numbed up, it wasn't too bad. I won't need a lake swim for a few more years though. I am good. :) Mason thought it was great. In fact, he jumped back in before we docked for one last swim.

Matt fried us up a wonderful walleye dinner. Always a great feast. He and Val hosted us. We joke but it was like staying at a bed and breakfast. Thanks guys! The Manecke's spent the night so we could partake in some adult beverages around the campfire while the children slept. The kids also got along well and played hard. The next morning, we had a great breakfast. We spent some time picking up and then headed back to the Manecke's for an afternoon of kids playing.

I didn't get any pictures as my phone was usually stuck in my purse somewhere other than with me. We said our goodbyes and went back to the Bahl's to settle in for the night. Monday morning we got up, cleaned up our mess, and headed to Minneapolis for our last day of vacation.

We stopped at Adagio's for lunch. Good food. If in the New Brighton area, swing in. Michele gave the kids a tour of the kitchen and showed them how a pizza is made. We met Emily at our hotel and headed to Choo Choo Bob's Train Store. Mason was in heaven.

We had some ice cream and decided to take a trolley ride near Em's old house on Lake Harriet. Epic fail. Neither she nor I read the website correctly and we arrived during the 2 hour window they had no rides. We tried to kill some time but meltdowns were starting. We decided it was best to head back to the hotel and let them swim.

While they got showered and pj's on, Em and I ran to get food. We chowed down in the hotel room and said goodbye. We didn't sleep well (we ended up in a smoking room!) and were anxious about getting up and to the airport on time. We had a much better flight home.

A giant thank you goes out to Jon Polich, who took the time to bring us to the West Palm airport and pick us up in Ft. Lauderdale upon our return. A shout-out to Matt Rumpfeldt who was brave enough to care for Jazzy even after he set off the house alarm and the police arrived. To my parents who drove half way to pick up Annie, take care of her, and return her. To our many hosts (Sheryl and Ryan Daniels, Grandma and Grandpa Froyd, Great Grandma Donna, Paul and Nicole Manecke, Matt and Val Bahl). And of course to our friends and family who were able to take time to join us for food, drinks, chit chat, and adventure.

It was a great vacation that hopefully the kids will remember (or at least they think they will due to pictures).

Summer Recap - Part 3

Next stop, Bemidji, MN.

We were busy beavers in Bemidji. It's easier to list this bullet style and toss in a gazillion pics. If you are friends with Erik, he was the honorary photographer and posted a ton of pics on Facebook.

• Monday arrival: HOT day in Bemidji. We hung out at the house. The boys started the exploration of the barn, chicken coop, and of course tractors and the 4-wheeler. Ryan asked Erik to pick up some Michelob Golden Light Draft...we ended up with Milwaukee's Best Premium from the grocery store. Ah...I know what to get Erik for Christmas. :) We shot some pool in the basement to keep cool. Well, I randomly knocked a white ball around and sometimes I got lucky and a solid or a stripe went in. I did have a nice two for one shot that I will remember because it was pure luck and will never happen again in my lifetime.
• Tuesday: met Great Grandma Donna and Aunt Sheralyn for lunch. Then we met Uncle Tony, Aunt Mary, Uncle Steven and Aunt Ann for some Dave's pizza. Yum! The kids had time in between to continue exploring toys from Erik and Sean's rooms and lots of outside time with Grandpa Marshall. Erik also kept the kids busy (or was it they kept him busy?)
• Wednesday: trip to Lake Itasca State Park. We had a nice picnic, did a little exploring but mainly focused on the headwaters. The water was super high so the kids had to wade across the river and couldn't walk on the infamous rocks. Mason was extra whiny since his routine was off. He was tired and naps were NOT happening on our trip. I would have liked to have stayed longer but knew it was worth getting out before the complete meltdown started. Ryan and I stopped by the Eagles to say hi to Brad and meet his girlfriend. Then we met the family for dinner at Great Grandma's. We had the whole crew (Sheralyn and Mike, Sean, Erik, G&G Froyd and us). The kids drove the "tractor" (riding lawn mower). I am pretty sure it was a toss up of who had the most fun-Great Grandma or the kids! We also took a stop over at Sean's to check out his video games and hang in the hammock.
• Thursday: met Aunt Mary Jo and Uncle Terry at their house for lunch. We dug some worms for fishing before heading to their house. Mason was interested in tossing the minnows into the river over actual fishing. Miller was content to play with his toys and socialize with us ladies (just like his mother as a kid.) That night Ryan and I had a date night. Giovanni's pizza and then off to Keg n Cork and Brigid's for some drinks. We met Sean and Ricky P. Later in the evening we met up with Brad. The kids were angels for G&G Froyd. They ate dinner, took baths, and watched The Lego Movie (had popcorn too). I am pretty sure they were happy for alone/down time because this seemed to be the only easy night they went down.
• Friday: the boys went fishing while I ran into town. We had fresh fresh crappies/sunnies for lunch (supplemented by leftovers). Spent the day hanging out and then headed into town for dinner with Sean. We then stopped by Great Grandma's for one last hurrah.

Mason decided he liked driving the 4-wheeler more than the tractor because it was faster. Miller liked driving the blazer in the field. Mason did a lot of tinkering with Grandpa. Grandma kept us fed with lots of homemade cookies and a rhubarb cake for me. I even made banana bread while there. We certainly didn't go hungry on this vacation.

Pics...so many to choose from...here are just a sample.

Both kids were busy the whole time and had a blast. After this long week of fun, we headed to Brainerd. 

Summer Recap - Part 2

We headed to Minnesota for our summer vacation.

We started off with a little chaos with our flights being cancelled, rebooked, late arrival, etc. but we made it. This was Mason's first flight and he did awesome. Miller did too but he's flown before and I expected him to be good. He was a trooper in helping carry extra stuff since Mason had to be carried when we got in so late.

First stop, Minneapolis, MN. Saturday we got up ("The sun is shining. It's wake up time!" proclaims Mason, in a very dark hotel room, at 6am, after only being in bed for about 3.5 hours). We begrudgingly got our day started fueled by the excitement of meeting Emily and Tom at the Mall of America. Lego store, here we come!

Talk about heaven for Miller, Ryan and Tom. Mason found a small train ($4.99) which was much better than the large train ($100+ I think) and was satisfied with that reward. Miller picked out a Star Wars related one and Ryan picked out the Ghostbuster car. We purchased those after our afternoon of riding rides in the Nickelodeon park.

The park was great. There were plenty of rides we could all enjoy, it was covered, and air conditioned. The lines were relatively short, which helped too. Too much to describe but here are a few pics. These are the "tame" ones. We did some cool roller coasters, log chute, and some "brain" one that had Miller and I dizzy and laughing for hours afterwards.

After the park we headed to Sheryl and Ryan's. Miller had a blast playing with Emily and Erika. Mason was content to watch some Frozen and on Sunday...Sheryl pulled out the best part of his vacation; she let him watch The Polar Express (4 times!).

Sunday was bbq time at the Daniels house. Penny and her family, Michele and Bill, Bridget and her family, and Emily and Tom all came for an afternoon of fun. The kids played water balloons and kept themselves busy all afternoon. We commented on how wonderful it was to let them play; no injuries, no fighting, and how well they got along with the age differences. It was so much fun to catch up with everyone. The weather was gorgeous. Great way to kick off our vacation. (I think Michele has the good group pics of us...I only had these taken from the deck).

Next stop....Bemidji.

Summer Recap - Part 1

I can't believe summer is just about over and it's time for school to begin. I had good intentions to blog more frequently but like many other good intentions, this one was set to the side.

Last entry, Miller had just wrapped up kindergarten and we were celebrating his 6th birthday. Summer camp started the following week. He has been to water parks, plays, bounce houses, parks, and tours of different businesses. Not to mention they have been cooking and doing zumba too. Camp was fun and honestly, I wish I got to do some of the fun activities he did.

In the second week of summer camp, Miller lost his first tooth!

Fast forward to the second to the last week of summer camp, and he had to have 2 bottom teeth pulled. His bottom tooth came in behind his baby tooth (nice little shark tooth as we called it) so the dentist had to make some room. Miller was a trooper. We are hoping the slightly loose top tooth holds out a little longer or he will really want teeth for Christmas this year.

Mason moved up to the Butterfly room this summer. His age level is split into the older (6 months) kids and the youngers (darn Sept birthday!). They got quite a few extra registrations this summer so he got to hang with his older friends. He had waterplay at school, which he likes. They usually have popsicles but this weirdo doesn't like them or ice cream. He must take after his mom and prefer pickles, olives, and beef jerky. They also installed a soccer field and for the summer, the activity was free. Way to get them excited and hooked...

Mason mastered his potty training (proven during our summer vacation when we thought the disrupted routine would surely result in at least a night time accident - and it didn't!). He also started riding a bike with training wheels. I am sure those will be off sooner than later. He also mastered swimming (jumps in, swims, can even do a little treading water). I wouldn't trust him alone quite yet but it's amazing how quickly he learned this.

I don't have any new exciting updates for myself. I haven't mastered any new skills and the majority of any free time I have is with these monkeys. Next update-our summer vacation.