Marley and Me

 We recently said goodbye to our dog Biscuit. He was so sweet, and so great with the kids, but he grew to be much bigger than we expected. We have a very small yard, and most of the time he was locked up on the side of the house. It wasn't fair to him. We lucked out and found him a perfect new home. He went to a 35 acre ranch in Tehachapi. I know it sounds like one of those stories that people tell their kids when they have to put an animal down, but it's totally true! 

 

In happier news....

 

 

Meet Marley.

Marley is a (now) 4 month old, female, Bulldog mix that we adopted. She is so unbelievably sweet. She has the same temperament as Deuce.  She is mellow, quiet, and well behaved. And did I mention sweet? We adore her. She has quickly become our second little princess.

We call her "Little Miss Piggy" because she has some swine tendencies. She walks and grunts like a pig, and she Loves to roll in the mud. 

 

We are so happy that she is a part of our family!

Carter's 6th Birthday

 

My baby is...

 This year for Carter's birthday we invited some of his friends from school, to walk home with us for a little play date. We had a snack and then everyone got to decorate cupcakes. It was kind of chaotic, but a lot of fun.

 Meyanna!

 Cute Brody!

 Cammie hard at work.

 CHEEEESE!

 Of course a room full of 2, 4, and 6 year old kids could only be serious for so long.

 Carter had to get hugs from Meyanna.

 After dinner the birthday boy got to open gifts from his family.

Among other things, Grandma Lou and Grandpa Charlie sent him his very own cook book!

 Grandma B, Grandpa Art, Mom, and Dad, got him a Thomas the Train set.

 And then there was cake!

 A few days later we had dinner at Matt and Mandy's. They were unable to hang out on his birthday, so Auntie Mandy surprised Carter with a birthday cake for dessert.

The cake came with another surprise, trick candles. It was so funny to watch all of the kids freak out when the candles re-lit all by themselves. It was a fun little "mini" birthday party. Carter liked Mandy's cake better than the one that I bought for him from the store.

The Happy Birthday Boy!

Carter is our little sweetheart. He's thoughtful, smart, pouty, and creative.

When he grows up he wants to "Marry Meyanna, and be a Chef."

 

Happy Birthday Carter-man!

Weekend Visitors

One of our favorite little families, the Calandri's, came to visit us a couple of weekends ago.  Josh is one of Gregg's oldest friends, and we just adore him and his wife Jayme, not to mention their adorable kids Preston and Kadence. They live in Clovis so we don't get to hang out as much as we'd like, but when we do have a chance to get together it's always a good time!

 

Josh, Jayme, and Kadence

Preston loving on his sister.

After dinner all the kids lined up in front of the TV to watch Scooby Doo.

They were so cute, they did it all on their own.

The adults took advantage of the freedom to sit around the patio table out back, and chat (and laugh, and make fun of each other, and be silly, and, well you get the picture.)

There is only a three week age difference between Cammie and Kadence.

They love each other!



Goodnight girls! (Ya right.)

The next morning we all sat around lazily until we decided that we should probably feed the kids something. :)

We had a fabulous brunch at a near by Mexican restaurant. Then it was back to our house for more relaxing.

The boys played video games.

The girls played dress up.

Aw, two pretty princesses.

Make a silly face!

Cammie's "scary" face.

We got motivated again before they had to head back to Clovis, and took all the kids to the feed store. There's baby chickens, bunnies, and other cool stuff that the kids like to look at there. Jayme rides horses so she was in hog heaven.

The baby chicks were a hit with our little chicks.

The boys found the bunnies.



Josh bought everyone ice cream when we left.

It was the perfect way to finish our "sweet" visit with great friends!

;-)

First Day of School

 

Well, it's happened again. My kids have refused to stop growing up, and now Carter has started First Grade! ;-)

 

He was so excited to go back to school. He loves it. This year he gets to eat lunch at school so we bought him a lunch box, which according to him, is something he's always wanted. (Oh to be a child again.)

 

He loves his teacher and already has many new friends. His favorite part about being a First Grader is playing on the "big kids" playground. His favorite thing to do in class is Math and play with play dough. 

 

This year Carter is looking forward to"learning how to read better than anyone else."

 

My handsome little man!