Busy February

Like the new look of my blog? I finally found the time to change the layout a bit. Boy, it's been a busy February here. My mom came to visit for a week and in that time we celebrated both her birthday and Hayden's birthday. Then the following weekend Gran and Gramps were here and we had Hayden's "puppy party." He's been looking forward to this party since before his 2nd birthday. We had the party at the treehouse playscape @ Glenview Baptist. A couple of his friends from MDO came as well as his cousin, Ellen. Everyone had a real good time.

During Mom's visit we painted the boys' room (in anticipation of putting them together in bunkbeds); volunteered twice in Carter's classroom (Valentine's party and 100 days party); had lunch at a local tea room; played putt-putt golf with the boys; and just generally enjoyed each other's company. Can't wait till she comes out again in May.

blowing out his 3 candles

puppy cake

friends!

golf with Grammy

Mom and me

Grammy and her boys

100 days of school activities

Happy 3-year birthday Hayden!

The big chill

Monday they were predicting some precip with cold temps and Carter's teacher mentioned they might cancel school on Tues. Sure enough, school was canceled even though it was 50 degrees and dry outside. Probably a good thing since it sleeted all Monday night and we awoke to negative temps and a sheet of thick ice covering everything. I thought we'd return to normal on Wed., but since temps never made it past the teens, the ice never melted. School was canceled Wed. and Thurs. Rolling blackouts. Lots of accidents. Mommy and boys going stir crazy. Heath came home early Thurs. afternoon so I could venture out on a much-needed trip to Target (and the dollar store). He was so sweet though--he drove the roads I'd be on just to make sure they were safe. :) And now they've canceled school for Friday.... Growing up in the mountains of NM, we only had school canceled on the extremely rare occasion-and never for more than 1 day.

On a funny note, my kids were overjoyed when I brought home a whoopie cushion from the dollar store. Carter had wanted to get one since he saw them in his fundraising brochure. Only boys......

Ginger

Well, I suppose it's time to blog about Ginger. I was hoping this was going to be a joyous post about our new doggie but things with her took an unfortunate turn in the 7 days she was with our family. (before I go on, she is still alive and well)

Ginger is the perfect dog in most every way. She's extremely obedient--very eager to please. She came to us knowing a lot of commands and was great walking on the leash. One of the most important things to us was that she would wait to be allowed out of an open door. She was gentle with the kids and craved affection. However, in the 7 days we had her, she exhibited some aggression that was unsettling. It only occurred when she had been sleeping and something startled her. She would growl, show her teeth, and/or start barking. We were taken back by this and contacted the rescue group. They put us in touch with an animal behavioralist who generously donated her time to us. After listening to our situation, she told us this would likely end in someone getting bit. Not because Ginger was an aggressive dog, but because of how she was raised as a puppy. She was neglected and basically had to always be on the lookout to make sure she got enough to survive and had to protect herself. The behavioralist says when she is startled from sleeping, she isn't aware she's in a secure, loving home. Rather, she reverts back to the behavior she knew to get by.

With proper training, she will learn to let go of these behaviors. But she would not be recommended to a home with children. It was so very hard to let her go. We cried and the kids were very sad. Ginger is with a temporary foster in DFW and the behavioralist is going to do a full evaluation of her. She will likely be transported back to Amarillo to her original foster parents and wait for a new home there. We will always have a place for her in our hearts.

Daddy with his dog the night she had to leave

The boys with Ginger

I love this picture of her--look at those long ears!

puppy love

Christmas, trip to NM, new doggie

Wow--we took 134 pictures from Christmas and the week following. I will post just a few as a snapshot of our celebrations. We spent Christmas Day here with the kids opening their Santa gifts and playing with their new toys. Gran and Gramps arrived late morning and shared a noon meal with us. Then we packed up and left at 5:00am for New Mexico. 1/2 way there in Amarillo we stopped to meet a German Shorthaired Pointer from the Texas GSP Rescue group (from whom we adopted Belle in 2006). This doggie's name is Kass. We fell in love with her and decided on Monday to adopt her. We picked her up in Amarillo on our way home to Fort Worth. We named her Ginger. (I'll elaborate more in a later post)

We spent 4 full days in Los Alamos. Some of the highlights: Christmas with my side of the family; Bandelier's new visitor center; an anniversary night at a B&B in Chimayo; Carter and Grammy going to see "Yogi Bear"; Daddy and Carter going to the Bradbury Science Museum; and 17" of snow! We did the road trip 12 hours each way instead of spending the night in Amarillo as we had in the past. It was very, very long. But we are thankful we got to go and are looking forward to my mom's visit here in early February for Hayden's birthday (3).

Ginger :)

Lego dune buggy

snow!

Hayden opening gifts @ Grammy's

siblings @ Christmas

Lego Wii controller!

Class parties, program, & Reindeer Run

Whoa! We have had a very busy 2 days here. Thursday I dropped Hayden off at MDO and then went to Carter's kindergarten class to help with their Christmas party. We decorated cookies and played Christmas bingo. 22 kindergarteners wore me out! The kids were adorable and it was so much fun to see Carter interact with his friends. Then I ran to pick up Hayden from MDO and back to kindergarten for the kindergarten musical program. Heath met us there and we all enjoyed it so much. The kids sang about 10 Christmas and Hanukah songs. Then it was back to the classroom to eat cookies and collect the goodie bags they had made. Finally, Friday morning at 8:30 was the "Reindeer Run" where the entire school (720 kids) ran around the perimeter of the school dressed in holiday attire. Families were welcome so Hayden and I joined Carter. It was fun but very, very cold. Hayden wasn't too thrilled. Home for some hot coffee afterward.

class party

musical program (Carter's in the middle of back row)

Carter & his friend Matthew

decorating cookies

The zoo and Santa

For some reason Carter has been asking to go to the zoo for about 2 weeks now; especially to see the snakes. He's becoming so interested in science lately--the other day he told me he wanted to be an astronomer, but not an astronaut. :) Anyway, Saturday morning was perfect weather for going to the zoo and just crisp enough that there was not too many people there. Great time! Then on Sunday, despite Mom being diagnosed with strep, we went to Cabela's to see Santa. Although we waited in line for over an hour, it was worth it. It was a much less commercialized Santa experience than going to the mall. And, pictures were free! The kids had a great time. Back to school and work tomorrow.

We want a Lego Wii remote and a "Stinky" for Christmas, Santa.

Mrs. Claus

Carrying the candy cane like a rifle (well, we were in Cabela's!)

cute picture--don't know why I can't get it to rotate

komodo dragon @ the Fort Worth zoo

Christmas Preparation

Today was the last warm fall day before a big cold front rolls in and drops our temperatures to winter weather. On a whim I decided to rake the leaves in the front yard and let the boys jump in them. Of course they had to throw their Hotwheels in the leaf piles too. Daddy put up the outdoor decorations and then after dinner we put up our Christmas tree and indoor decorations. The boys had a blast putting on the ornaments. Now the Christmas season begins! Time for baking cookies, seeing lights, and generally celebrating this happy time of year!

On Saturday we found ourselves in Dallas for another errand, so Heath suggested stopping by the Galleria to see their Christmas decorations. The kids loved the huge tree in the middle of the ice rink. There was also a magic/puppet show they enjoyed. Such fun!


Merry Christmas!


The tree at the Galleria

Our tree


Did the dinosaurs attend the Nativity?

playing in the leaves