Spring Frolicking

Goodbye, Sweet Lucy

Lucy puppy, October 1995

Today we said goodbye to our sweet dog, Lucy. A mere 6 weeks from her 15th birthday (105 to you and me!), we had to make the hardest yet most humane decision and bring an end to her pain.

Lucy was the runt of a motherless litter found on the side of the road in Montgomery County, Indiana. When Scott and I went to the county shelter to adopt our first "baby," I took one look at that little puppy, with that odd combination of Corgi and German Shepard and those silly Yoda-like ears and said "Mine!"

Scott named her Lucy for the express purpose that, if and when she had an accident in the house, he could use his Ricky Ricardo accent and say, "Luuucy, you got some 'splainin to do!"

We knew right away that Lucy was smart. I mean really smart. We had a Christmas bell on our front door when we were house training her and if she really needed to go out, she would jump up and hit the bell with her nose to get our attention. We did NOT teach her that, she just figured it out!

Another example: I (unwittingly) taught her to pee at the snap of my fingers. Standing out in the very, very cold Indiana winter, I would encourage Lucy to take care of business as quickly as possible, so I would take her out, snap my fingers and say, " Lucy, pee!" After a few days, all I had to do was snap. But that wasn't the really smart part. The really smart part was that if she knew that we were going to take her for a car ride and I snapped for her to pee, she would do her "fake squat." I am not kidding. She would pretend to pee so she could get in the car faster. Then we would call her on it and she would relent and actually go. She was a riot.

And she was sweet. Even though she was far from a lap dog, she was very friendly, loved to have her ears and belly scratched and was generally a very sweet-natured dog. More than one friend has told us that they were not really dog people but they really loved our Lucy.

Lucy spent her first 7 years as an "only child" and reveled in it. She loved to ride in the car, romp in the mountains on weekend trips to our cabin and play with her best friend, my Mom's golden retriever, Jenny.

She was fast and could turn on a dime. She would wait in our front yard for the neighborhood kids to come home from school and play "catch me if you can" with them. No one ever caught her and the kids could not wait to see her every day.

But alas, the day came when her peaceful world was rocked by the cries and coos of her red-headed human little sister. Although she definitely received a whole lot less attention, she fell in love with Eliza Grace and, as you can see, became the doting big sister:
And just about the time Lucy got used to one little person running around, along came another one, even louder and sillier than the one before. She tolerated their noise, enjoyed all of the crumbs that hit the floor, and even allowed quite a few kisses on the lips: We could not have asked for a better pet and we have been so blessed to have her as part of our family for such a long and healthy time.

We love you, Lucy, and we know that you are romping and playing with your best friend Jenny in that big, grassy field in the sky!

Four Year Old Honesty

Act 1:

Scene: Lazy Daze Park @ Bond Park, Cary, NC. I am pushing Will on one of those tall swings where you can go really high...
Will, very loudly giggling: "Mommy, it tickles, it tickles (giggle, giggle)"

Me: " I know! It tickles your tummy when you go so high, doesn't it?"

Will, again very loudly: "No, Mommy! It tickles my pen!$"

Oh, my, I think I actually felt the rush of wind as all the other parental heads whipped around at this announcement...and thankfully laughed with my embarrassment.

Act 2:
Scene: Walking back to our car, Lazy Daze Park @ Bond Park, Cary NC

Me: "Will, sweetie, we need to talk about sharing some things just with Mommy quietly in her ear....

Easter 2010

It has been a beautiful day to celebrate God's greatest gift of grace, love and mercy!

Our handsome little man...(who was not particularly thrilled about having his picture taken):

And our beautiful little lady... (who is always ready to pose for the camera):

Giddy Up!

Eliza Grace was so excited that the last week of track out was finally here, as this was the week she would attend a 3-day horseback riding camp.

Prior to this camp, Eliza Grace's equestrian experience amounted to a couple of trainer led pony rides, so my expectations for camp were simple ones. We hoped that she would become comfortable around ponies/horses, learn the basics about caring for/feeding/grooming the animals and a little bit about the equipment and how to use it.

We were more than very pleasantly surprised that Eliza Grace learned all the above and much more. To say she is comfortable in a barn and around horses is an understatement. The first couple of days she got to ride English saddle, side saddle and bare back. She watched the farrier shoe a horse and the large animal vet treat a horse with a sore in his mouth. She listened and learned well and when I went to watch her ride at the end of the third day, I was very impressed.

She was very comfortable with the small pony, could get her pony to walk and trot, she could steer him (and weave in and out of poles), and was learning to post. Of course, she had a wonderful teacher and the sweetest of animals on which to learn, so I know that helped immensely!

After she finished riding, she led the pony back to his stall, helped to remove his saddle, etc., brushed him down a bit, fed him a couple of carrots for being such a good boy and then led him out to the paddock like it was something she had been doing for years.

"I love you, Rumor"
Heading to the paddock to chill out

"Come'on, Rumor...we're going this way"

It was like she was born to do this. Which is really cool...and has our bank account shivering :)

Major kudos to Ms. Chelly, a most excellent teacher and to Rumor, the gentlest of ponies.

We have committed to letting her attend a week-long camp this summer and will discuss actual lessons at some point in the near future.

Here is a little bit of Eliza Grace (and Rumor and Ms. Chelly) live in action:

The Flip

Getting some height...

And some momentum...

Here's the wind up....

Up and over...

The eagle has landed...

Holy Static, Bat Girl!

A Visit With Miss Kim!

I had a wonderful surprise call yesterday from our former nanny. Miss Kim (or Kimmie or Mimi as she is known around here) was in Raleigh for a conference and we arranged to have dinner with her.

The last time we had seen Miss Kim was when she came to Blowing Rock to spend a day playing with us at Tweetsie Railroad back in June, 2008.

Needless-to-say, the kids and I had a blast going to downtown Raleigh - or as Will called it "the big, big city where all buildings are all stuck together." I can only imagine what he will say the first time he sees New York City :)

We had a fun dinner at O'Charley's and Will found out that he really, really loves their "super yummy 'east rolls."

Unfortunately, I only had my i-Phone camera with me and the sun had gone down so the pictures we got were dark and blurry...but still cute!

We love and miss you, Miss Kim!!

The Anatomy of Lasagna...

...also known as "teach your munchkin how to make dinner at a young age so she can start pulling her weight around here."

Step one: brown some delicious sausage

Or ground beef...

Hey, get your paws out of there!

I told you it was hot! Tsk, Tsk, they never listen

Mix red sauce with meat of choice.

No, I do not make my own sauce.

I am primarily of Irish decent.

Potato and whiskey flavored sauce would not taste right in lasagna.

Although I am sure I can find someone who would disagree with that last sentence...case in point, Scott would disagree.

I ONLY use Barilla Marinara.

Let the mini-Chef deal with cracking the eggs

Mix beaten eggs together with Ricotta,
Mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses

As Alton Brown says, "Now we build."

First in the dish: plain sauce

Then the pasta sheets.

I do make my own pasta.

Wow, I typed that with a straight face.

OK, OK, I use Barilla Lasagna sheets, of course.

Then add meat sauce, Mozzarella, pasta sheets,
cheese mixture, meat sauce...

Hmm, getting tired are we?
We have two more layers to go, sister, so get a move on.

Are we done yet?

Ready to bake

Mangi!

Buono!

Continuing the Pop Art Conversation

While discussing Eliza Grace's recent foray into Pop Art, she asked if I had ever created anything that would be considered Pop Art.

As the answer to that one would be a big, fat NO, I decided to give it a try.

Not bad, if I do say so myself. Of course, it always helps to have a fabulous subject for ones art! Seriously thinking about having this printed and framed.

Pop Art Love

I love Eliza Grace's latest creation from art class at school this week. They are studying Pop Art.
As I recall, my elementary school art classes, waaaay back in the 1970's, consisted of making shapes out of play-doh and drawing stick figures - neither of which I did well!

Are You Ready For Some Commercials, uh, I Mean Football?

While we are not typically big watchers of sports on television, the Super Bowl is our yearly exception. Especially since our beloved Indianapolis Colts are in it again!

Yes, the five very loooonnnngggg, very cold winters - that often begin in late SEPTEMBER - living in Indiana converted me from the Redskins. When you do not see the sun for months at time you begin to cling to just about anything.

But I digress.

Getting into the spirit of things, I wanted to get some Colts shirts for the kids. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a single store in a 20 mile radius that had any Colts clothing - aside from the specialty sports shops that actually believe that someone would be crazy enough to fork over $75 for a child's size logo jersey. I am not that crazy.

So, I decided to stir up what little creative juices I have and have made my own shirts for the 5 kiddies that will be with us for the big game. Total cost for five t-shirts and fabric paint: $9.56.

The 3 boys shirts have a solid Colts horseshoe on the front and look pretty good, but I really like how the girls shirts came out with this sort of feathered, tie-dyed look. For someone who is not craft oriented and often lacks patience, I am proud of how they all turned out!

Looking forward to the game, the commercials, the 10 pounds of chicken wings that Scott will deep fry and getting pics of the kids wearing my hard work :)

Go Colts!

Here comes the sun...

..and I say it's alright.

"To Appreciate the Beauty of a Snow Flake...

...you have to stand out in the cold."