In the Dog House

Raider/Mater has snuck his way into all of our hearts. Karmin and Trevor were the biggest proponents of us getting a dog. I wanted a dog so the kids would work more (feeding it, etc). Lydia wanted a chihuahua. Piper, I'm pretty sure, wanted to be the dog. Grant went along for the ride. But when we went to get a dog we had a list of wants:
1...it had to be an exclusively outside dog (lots of allergies, and hairs and smells were not wanted inside the house)
2...it had to play
3...Trevor wanted to teach it to sit, and lay down
4...we wanted a female dog (we thought they were in general more gentle)
So instead we got a male dog who is so well trained that he sits and listens already. He is a boxer mix--which means that he has a hard time regulating his temperature, so being an exclusively outside dog--probably won't happen. But he does play!!
But back in the day when he first came, it broke Karmin's heart that he had to be outside all by himself all night long. So we set up tents for the kids. Well, they ended up all wanting to sleep with each other, so we found a bigger tent. It's pink and I don't know where it came from, but it slept all 4 of them perfectly. Once the meteor shower came around my Birthday they moved out to the trampoline. And whenever there is a thunder storm outside GRANT lets Raider come in to sleep with the kids. I don't know how this dog did it, but he has changed us all!

Silly Faces

Piper has an amazing way to make so many different faces. Maybe it is her eyes. They just have a way of drawing a person in because they are so big. But maybe it is her lips. She can contort those things into so many shapes. Smiling, frowning, being shy, asking questions...they always form a different shape depending on what she is feeling. But it all could be the hair. It is crazy hair that likes to do its own thing, and she really doesn't like to have it brushed...and she'll just take any clip or ponytail holder out. It could be her clothes...I don't get her dressed hardly anymore because she just takes her clothes off too. She loves not wearing clothes. As much as Lydia enjoyed putting on different outfits at this age, Piper enjoys just the opposite. Whatever it is this girl's nickname should be "Mischief." She keeps us on our toes---or sometimes I just close my eyes and plug my ears until I'm ready to deal with her shenanigans .

No that is not a black eye--it's paint. Yes. Yes, I am tired.

A Dog and His Ball

Raider loves his ball. Our kids wanted a dog that would play with them, and that is what they got. He kind of reminds me of Linus and his blanket in "Peanuts." His ball is just always there with him.

Infusion Time

Trev had his IV infusion today at the hospital. This infusion didn't go as smoothly as others have. They had a hard time accessing a vein, they had a new nurse, etc. It was a long day for all of them, but they all made it through. Trev was tired by the time he got home (I'm sure the Benadryl didn't help!). I think Ben and Trevor's favorite thing about the hospital visits is the cafeteria food. Crazy boys.

Getting out

So today my eyes were opened. We have had some landscapers up at the house to help with the sprinkler system, etc. Karmin has totally enjoyed hanging out with Mary--one of the landscapers--who is 22 and loves to give her tons of attention. I'm sure it helps Mary that Karmin loves to work so she gets a little helper for free. I was out putting sunscreen on Karmin and noticed that now Ben was over talking an ear off of one of the other landscapers. And I realized we were all bored and needed to get out more! So I pawned Ben off on another family and took the other kids to a beach that we had never been to before. I felt bad that we hadn't done much this summer, but I don't know how we could have done it any differently. I am so ready for Ben's cast to come off--more so than he is. (I think he is nervous about getting it off.) We found out that it won't come off until after Labor Day. And I can't wait.

Fishy, Fishy

We had an hour after Grant's parents took us out to dinner for my Birthday, so we headed over to the river to take the kids fishing before dark. The fish were biting and the kids loved it!
First of all take a look at this gem:

That's great. But after dinner...

This girl wasn't as thrilled about the fishing as everyone else...she just wanted in the water.

they got to have some fun!

Happy Birthday to Me

Grant wanted to take a picture of the kids and me on my Birthday. It took approx 48 pictures to get at least some of these (and maybe you'll see why we had to take so many):

Maybe if I give him a side hug, he'll calm down. 

 Well, there's always someone.