Well, Christmas Day was a blast. The little ones were definitely all aglow when they saw what Santa left under the tree. We, left out some homemade cookies and milk in front of the fireplace for Santa. The big kids got some nice gifts as well, most of which they opened on Christmas Eve (no fair). Alexandra got a huge bottle of Chanel Chance, Yankee Candles, Footie PJs, Charlie Brown Christmas hardcover special edition book, and a lot of clothes, plus she is getting new tires for her Rav 4. Ray got new tires for his car (boy were they hard to wrap), lots of clothes, leather gloves, and other stuff. Michael got a ton of clothes, hats, gloves, DJ Hero set with the turntable for PS3, some video games for the whole family for the wii, the dance ones that are great for exercise. Ethan loved the workbench with real working tool sounds and effects, they both loved their Bruder trucks, Zhu Zhu pets were another hit with the kids and dogs alike. Believe it or not the little ones got so wrapped up in the presents they opened we still have wrapped presents under the tree which they open everyday. The other big hit was their acoustic guitars and Singamajigs. Ethan got the Tag Junior reader and books and he really likes that. Santa brought Mommy a new speedlight for her camera, an extra camera battery, and this neat camera lens travel mug that looks just like a camera lens, bracelet and necklace. Daddy got a Dallas Cowboys throw, Superman PJs (lol), the new Jimi Hendrix box set (West Coast Seattle Boy), new sweat pants, a mousepad of a favorite picture of him and the little guys, and things I cannot even remember. Santa also stuffed all of our stockings with goodies as well. Later in the evening we had a great dinner with a delicious beef roast with organic carrots and fingerling potatoes, a roasted turkey breast, and lots of sweet goodies for dessert. Later in the evening our cousins stopped by to visit with their two kids. It was a very long but very blessed day to spend with family and enjoy the greatest gifts of all, each other and love.
Tag Archives: Family
Fall is here!!!
Well, it is officially Fall. I have to admit we actually are having a pretty nice one this year. Albeit only the 8th of October and that all can change in a day or less. I am going to try to remain hopeful that we will have a true Fall this year. The weather has been very mild, still taking walks, although it is getting dark much earlier and I dread changing the clocks because that will mean it will be dark even earlier. I really hate that part.
Alexandra is still working in Potsdam but will be home next month!!! We miss her and she misses us! Ray had a meeting with the Navy recruiter and all went well, he took Michael with him because Michael wants to join as soon as he graduates this year. Ethan and Luke are having a good time as usual. Ethan is a great big brother to Luke. He tries to teach him the right way to eat with his utensils, play basketball and other things. He is always encouraging with a “Good Job Luke” even when he is less than successful in shooting a basket. Of course they still have their moments of bickering but it is better for the most part. Ethan is understanding that Luke is getting very wise and the idea of giving him a rock or a stick in trade for something like a tractor is not going to cut it anymore. He is also pretty receptive if Luke cries, he will say “Come on Luke, stop crying.” So for the most part he is a loving brother but there is still the occasional body tackle.
Jimi and I are very busy with the laser business and it is very time-consuming but we are so grateful for the opportunity we have to do something like this. Jimi had his birthday on September 15th. I made him a yellow cake with my signature dark chocolate buttercream icing and it was delicious!!!
I am missing the garden as it is past its season. I loved going out and having the inspiration for a zucchini, eggplant, tomato pasta right there in front of me. Oh well that is the chain of life and we will start planning for next year. I hope the winter is not too bad in terms of ice. Ice is the worst, no one can drive on it no matter if you have 8 wheel drive. I have a good start on Luke’s birthday presents, and not too bad of a start on both little one’s Christmas presents. I even have some stuff for Alexandra already.
Jimi and I and the little boys had a nice outing at local horse farm a couple of weeks ago. We went on a tractor pulled hay ride the boys just loved. They also had their first pony ride which was a huge hit. Luke is starting to talk more in sentences and is such a character, he loves saying things like, “Look, see the tractor!” He is really developing his personality. Ethan is having a great time as usual and enjoying playing sports and with his tractors and trucks. He loves phonics DVDs and I am going to start working on some preschool reading, phonics and math with him. He likes counting things but is that any wonder?
The boys are monkeys for Halloween, in fact the Halloween photo cards just came in the mail today and they are so cute. I hope it is a nice day on Halloween and not a deep freeze. I think Ethan will get a real kick out of it this year. Last year Jimi and I took them out shopping in their costumes, they were still too little to really understand. This year I know Ethan will have a blast.
Well, I better sign off for now as I have a thousand and one things to do. Hope everyone is having a wonderful, blessed Autumn!!! God Bless!!!
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Summer Fun!!!
I know, I know!!! I have not been a very good blogger of late. Blame it on the Summer. We have been having a wonderful summer and the weather has been great. Let me get you up to date on what we have been doing. Sylvia and I are still doing our walks and becoming even more ambitious. The other week we took our longest walk ever!!! It was getting dark and we saw a black bear on our way home which made us walk very fast!!! We literally walked from my lake to another and back again, we did not clock it but it was easy over 6 miles. It was all very good until the bear, then as we sang our way home in the dark we had a few scares.
We have also made a couple of trips to the Old Cochecton Train Station. One time with just Jimi and I and then two little babes and another with the entire family. We had a great time on both occasions. We also got some great pics that will make great prints on my new gallery wall I am creating in the family room. I could not believe how much fun even the biggest boys had at the tracks, throwing rocks and goofing around. Good family fun!!!
After the family train trip, Alexandra and I got to head off on a girls’ night out. She was home for the weekend before moving up to Potsdam for a new position in the political arena. She will be there until the end of November so we had to do some major shopping and then a nice dinner at Cracker Barrel in Binghamton for some good southern comfort food to ease the fears of relocation. She will do fine though and she knows it and we are all so proud of her.
Throw in there the lake picnic of which Jimi is the new vice president of the Lake Owners’ Association, swimming, walking, dog issues, gardening, oh what a garden we have!!!
Well let me post some pictures of some of the things mentioned and I will try to visit my blog on a more regular basis. Enjoy the Summer while it lasts!!!
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Please Don’t Eat The Daises…err Cornflowers!
We have been Bulldog owners since 2008 and we have learned a lot along the way. We have learned they will eat almost anything. This includes much more than food items. It includes cedar porch spindles that I will add have to be hand milled now at $15.00 a piece because we have run through all the extras we had when we built the house. It also encompasses the weather-stripping of storm doors and that would most likely result in a trip to the vet because the dog had trouble passing the strip, not that I speak from experience or anything. Obviously the kid’s toys, balls, shoes, UPS packages, and whatever else you would like to add can be included. When first dealing with this it was a bit frustrating but I guess that is why God made American Bulldogs so darn cute and lovable because even with all this we would not trade them.
Last September I was in the yard with Ethan and Mack our 1.5 year old American Bulldog. Loyal and true are two great words to describe him I was taking photographs of them in front of a huge patch of Black Eyed Susans. Well after a few shots Mack decided to take a taste and I could not resist a few pics. You see by now I was used to it. So he does a little pruning here and there, it’s not a big deal. It also made for some darn cute pictures but when a few short days later we lost our majestic buddy to a severe diaphragmatic hernia it really put everything in perspective. One of the last things I told my husband as he spent the last few minutes of Mack’s life with him was that I forgave him for everything he had ever eaten which was spoken through my tears. His death ripped our hearts out and we could not imagine our lives without him.
Since his death we have added two American Bulldogs to our lives and I have to say have had our share of eaten items. So the other day when after planting most of my new perennials I could not find my purple Cornflowers, I was a bit perplexed until I saw the container and the identification strip leading me to conclude that one of my dears had indeed ingested my lovely Cornflowers. I had a moment or two of anger, but when I realized it was Echinacea and probably good for their immune system and that I could replace the flowers but never the dogs it put it all in perspective.
So, let them eat the Cornflowers, having since went to the local nursery and buying two more. I realize my flower beds will never be Martha Stewart worthy. I realize there will be trampled flowers and such but that’s why I love perennials because they come back stronger every year and exactly what we need here. So my flower beds will never be perfect, they will never be photographed in some famous garden magazine. You know what though, that’s fine with us as we are far from perfect nor are our lives. We embrace the perfectly imperfect lives we live and try to go with the flow and where it takes us. We would rather have the chaos our teenagers, toddlers, and pets bring to our lives then to live in a pristine world with no fun. We are so thankful for the joy that chaos brings into our lives. So if you eat the Cornflowers could you try to leave a few? If you can’t…well, we understand.
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Our Bulldog Drama
Well, it has been a few weeks since my last post and a lot has happened. When we started out looking for a female, I had sent an email to the breeder we got Diesel from. She did not respond which was strange since we correspond a lot with updates and photos. Anyway, a couple of weeks before we were supposed to pick up our new puppy she wrote me. She told me that she did not know of any breeders but that they searched on the internet at a site called Puppyfind.com and found Diesel’s dad in PA and Mom in VA. Well there are many bulldog breeders in PA so I just asked non nonchalantly if our new puppy’s breeders name rang a bell. Hubby got home soon after I sent the email and we went for a drive with the kids. Well, I got home to an email that it was the same breeder of Diesel’s dad.
To make a long story very short, Diesel and the new puppy are closely related. The new pups father is Diesel’s grandfather, no wonder she looked so similar to our Diesel. Our hearts were broken because we already loved the pup even though we never met her. We knew we could not breed them and that was what our intention was so we had to look for another female. After much searching we found more related dogs even way out in the mid west. We finally found our new princess Delilah. She has a totally different look than Diesel, much more Johnson but she is the sweetest little thing and a few days later we were able to travel to Allentown during Jimi’s vacation and pick her up. We are so happy with her and know this is meant to be and that their pups will be a great hybrid of the Johnson Scott types.
It was so great to be able to pick her up on Jimi’s vacation and I was thrilled that I was finally able to go to a “Tuesday Morning” store that was also in Allentown. It was a beautiful day for a drive and the weather was sunny and warm. Luke had a few rough spots because it seems all of his teeth have decided to make their debut at the same time. Poor baby but he was still a trooper. We were able to meet both parents and the remaining siblings but we still picked the one we had chosen over the internet.
So I guess it is as they say, “Alls well that ends well.” At least we can hope and pray it is so.
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A Tale of Chickens and Bulldogs!
I have always been an animal person, always had a dog growing up along with an array kittens, bunnies, hamsters, fish and more through the years. Secretly I longed to live on a farm with a huge barn filled with horses, goats, lambs and chickens. We live in the country now. Farms are all around us. Urban farming is something that is very trendy now and people even in the city are raising chickens and growing gardens. Well, after a lot of research I told my husband I wanted to get a chicken coop and run built and get about 8 hens. I wanted brown, blue/green and white eggs. I wanted the satisfaction of going into our hen house and collecting our organic, free range eggs. I longed for my kids to experience that. Unfortunately, my husband was not as enthused, maybe because he takes care of all of “our” animals. He looked and looked for cons on the topic but could not find enough. So he made me a deal, we would get a female American Bulldog puppy and he would commit to one litter with our male American Bulldog Puppy. Enough said, and I was off and running to find the perfect female pup. I found her and fast, her name at the breeder is Ariel but we are going to be naming her something else. She is 4 weeks old and adorable, we can take her home at 8 weeks. If you ever want a great family dog, look no further than the American Bulldog. This will be our third and we love the breed so so much. I cannot imagine our lives without at least one of these “gentle giants” sharing it with us. So from chickens we get bulldogs, almost sounds like, “With Six You Get Egg Roll.”
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