Disconnected!

I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with my New Year's resolution...a post a day for 2011.

I'm transitioning between jobs and had the opportunity to work very little this summer so that I could fully enjoy summer life with the kids. I wanted to spend as little time on the computer and really "disconnect" from screens. The result has been fantastic. We're swimming and hiking and playing with friends and just hanging out and it's been wonderful!

In an effort to "catch up" and recapture some of our summer memories, I am going to try to post a bit each day. I guess my blog will actually be going backwards for a while.

A Beautiful Sunset!

A Sunset with Friends!

Maya and Kai's cousin Kayleigh has been staying with us this week. For her final night with us, we decided to watch the sunset with friends. The kids played in the sand, jumped the waves, ran up and down the dunes many times, and just had a great time.

Just a note that there are no pictures of Kai today. He got to spend the night at his grandparents house with his younger cousins Ely and Evan. He was quite chuffed to be the "oldest" for once.

Max the Maniac!

In April, we started to notice that Hunter was becoming quite depressed without his beloved companion Benny. He hated to be left alone in the house, wanted to go everywhere with us, and just wasn't himself. We decided to take the plunge and welcome a yellow lab puppy into our family. The kids named him Max from the children's cartoon "Max and Ruby". He now has many nicknames including Max the Maniac, Mackers, Macaroni and Cheese, and the list goes on.

Wow how one forgets how much work a lab puppy is. Max is now 5 months old, is 50+ pounds, and is turning into such a great dog. He loves to be around us all the time and truely loves his brother Hunter. They play constantly. He's hiking, swimming, and just being the lovely crazy puppy that he is. Here are a couple of recent pictures of our Mackers.

Max the Pup!

Getting Max!

This morning we surprised Maya and kai. We had them look at a picture of some puppies on the computer and asked if they would like one. Need I say more? They screamed and jumped around the room in pure excitement and surprise.

We proceeded with our Earth day plans and left from the Earth day festival to "the middle of nowhere" in Illinois to pick up our new addition. We drove through rain and wind for what seemed to be hours before reaching our destination. Max was living on a farm...the only only house on a country mile block. He had been born into a litter of 5 yellow lab male puppies. How perfect...we specifically wanted a yellow male pup. Now was the hard part. There were 4 remaining puppies and the kids had the difficult job of choosing which one was going to join our family. Laurie (the dogs' owner) was wonderful and let us hang out in the barn for almost 2 hours playing with the puppies and trying our hardest to narrow down our choice to just one. Each dog had a different colored collar which helped a bit to figure out which dog was which.

They ended up choosing Max (the puppy with the red collar). He was the largest in the litter and right in the middle in terms of temperament...not too rambunctious, not too shy. He was a perfect mix of soft and cuddly and crazy puppy.

He did great on the long ride home. He fell asleep in my arms and stayed there for most of the trip.

When we arrived home, Hunter and Cheeks were the only unhappy ones. Hunter jumped on the couch and hid behind me like a big baby...I think he actually frothed (sp) at the mouth a couple of times paired with some pretty intense growls. Time will tell, but I'm sure they'll be friends soon. Hoping anyway.

By the way, Max is exactly 8 weeks old and still has his puppy blue eyes. What a cutie!!

It's April and 80 Degrees!

Today was absolutely beautiful! We got a true glimpse of summer as the temp. reached into the 80's. We decided the beach was a must. We headed to Beverly Shores where we had the beach completely to ourselves.

Kai built this amazing cascading waterfall/pond thing out of sand while Maya spent her time digging a huge hole to reach water. Hunter just ran wild and spent much of his time fetching stuff in the water.

It certainly felt strange being at the beach without Benson today. This was by far his favorite place to be and was the first time we ever had Hunter at the beach without Benny. We sure do miss him.

"

Macaroni and Cheese...Japaneese Style

One of the units studied in Kindergarten is Japan. How fitting that they are studying about this country during such a sad and trying time for all of those living in Japan. It has given her a new awareness and appreciation for this country.

Maya's Didi and Papa visited her class to share with the kids some Japaneese customs and all about everyday life. The kids learned about taking their shoes off before entering any house, dressing in Komono's, and eating with chopsticks to name a few.

Today during lunch, Maya declared that she would not be needing a fork for her mac and cheese, but rather a set of chopsticks.

Even though it took nearly 40 minutes, she finished every last bite using her chopsticks.

A Magic Show!

"Green Eggs and Ham" x 2

Maya has become quite the reader this year. Her favorite book to read is Green Eggs and Ham. Tonight, I found Maya and Kai sitting next to each other, each reading this book. It was just precious.

Happy Birthday Papa!

In Loving Memory!

This morning, Benson's very big heart struggled. He passed away peacefully with Dominic and me lying beside him.

Less than 24 hours ago, I walked with Benny and Hunter through the woods of Chelberg farm, one of Benny's favorite places. He got to go on one last fantastic walk, ride in the car one last time, and just hang out with the family. We couln't have written a better ending for our wonderful friend and soul buddy. No suffering, no pain, and with loved ones by his side.

Today, our hearts feel empty and full. Empty from the great pain of our loss, yet full with with memories of 12 1/2 fantastic years of his presence. Benson was the most giving, unselfish, patient, and eternally happy being I have ever known. I will use my memories of him as an example of how I want to live my life. I am forever grateful to have known such a fantastic dog and companion.

This picture was taken at my parent's cottage, another of Benny's favorite places. I love how dirty he is from swimming and exploring through the woods. I like to think that whereever he is right now, he's swimming, running, chasing squirrels, and sitting on "his spot" on a great big fluffy couch.

Our tribute to Benny...

My heart is feeling heavy
As my eyes fill up with tears
Thinking about our Benny
And his 12 ½ amazing years.

I so wish he were here
For he would know the trick
He’d quietly lie beside me
And give my tears a gentle lick.

He always read our minds
And knew just how to act
Is it possible he understood emotions?
We think that’s a fact.

His irresistible smile
The sticks he’d love to fetch
He loved to play the piano
And snowballs he would catch.

To list his favorite things
Is very easy to do
Woods, walks, the beach to swim
And riding in the car to name a few.

He lay with us for for stories
He also loved to sing
He claimed “his spot” upon our couch
As if he were a king.

He loved his brother Hunter
And even tolerated cheeks
He used his bark to tattle
He certainly wasn’t meek.

Oh how much he taught us
He had a real knack
Tolerance and unconditional love
He always had our back.

Benson loved to live
He truly was our best friend
We love and miss him deeply
His legacy will never end!

Benny, you will forever have a place in our hearts. We love you booties!

Our First Taste of Spring!

Today felt just like spring. After school, we decided to take full advantage of a sunny warmish day and ride our bikes to Dairy Queen. Our little Dairy Queen that is the closest to our house just opened this month for the season.

As I was getting the bikes out of the garage, I needed to move our large extension ladder that was blocking access. As I was moving the ladder, I somehow hit something with the ladder and consequently, the ladder knocked me so hard in the eye I about passed out. It bled horribly and immediatly produced a swollen bump the size of a small egg on my eyebrow. After 10 minutes of stopping the bleeding and icing the swelling, I downed a couple of ibuprophen, donned my sunglasses, and rode my bike to dairy queen with the kids, just as I promised.

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have quite a shiner of a black eye.

"My Scrapbook For When I Go To College!"

Today, Maya spent the afternoon taking pictures around the house. When I asked her what she was doing, she replied "I'm taking pictures to make a scrapbook for when I go to college so I can remember my house and my family. Mommy, should I take a picture of my body so I remember how little I was?"

I'm just wondering, why is she thinking about college already? Can we just get through Kindergarten first!

Here are a few pictures courtesy of Maya. She felt it was important to include her dresser and desk. She also took pictures of Cheeks, Hunter, the living room, the vase of flowers on the kitchen table, and many additional shots of me, her brother, and herself. I can't wait to put these all together into a scrapbook. Absolutely priceless!

Nanny's Visit!

We are having a great time with Nanny. Today, we just hung out around the house. One of our smoke alarms was making a high pitch occasional beeping sound, alerting us of a low battery. After taking every single alarm apart one at a time, we were still hearing the beeping...which was making the dogs (especially Hunter) CRAZY!

After a trip to the store for 9V batteries, we finally realized it was our carbon monoxide alarm, which takes AA batteries that we already had on hand at home.

I have to say I have a lot of respect for my mother n law. Take a look of the photo of Maya and both dogs on the couch with her. I love the one where Hunter is actually sitting on top of her absolutely terrified of the beeping sound. What patience Nanny has!

Tomorrow we will celebrate Nanny's birthday with a trip to our local Indian restaurant followed by Annie the musical...can't wait!

The Snowman!

A Day In The Snow!

What does 45 degrees with snow on the ground mean? Great snowman making conditions. The kids, their friend Jordan, the dogs, and I put on our snow gear and walked to our neighborhood park where we spent the next two hours playing in the snow and on the playgound equipment. We all made a snowman together. Afterwards, Maya and Jordan worked dillengently on their walls for the snowball fight while Kai crafted a "trophy" out of snow. Benson even got involved in the snowball fight attempting to catch every snowball within reach.

Happy Valentine's Day!