Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The view from here

This has been the rainiest summer I can remember.  I try to look at the bright side, and I haven't had to water plants in a long time.  The grass is as green as it can be and everything is beautiful.  But, like most things, it has a downside, because we haven't been able to be outside as much as we would like.  With a new puppy, it's tricky.  We are mastering the art of taking her out under the umbrella.  

We had a great downpour today, and it's a really pleasant night.  I'm sitting on my new swing, and I have to say, it's pretty nice.  The upheaval of the flooring plus puppy is manageable, and I'm relaxed after all the furniture moving. (The refrigerator is in the office as I type.). I have wanted a porch swing for years, and between showers, I'm really enjoying it.  The living room was finished today, and we moved some furniture back in, and we are really happy with how it's turning out.  

So here are a couple of pictures of what I can see right now and one of the living room before we put the furniture back in.



The future

MK is a recent high school graduate. For all graduates, the next question is....what now?  Some students struggle with that. MK has not. She has known what she has wanted to do for years, and it's exciting to see her ready to pursue her dream.  

So she will begin cosmetology school next month.  She has never really enjoyed school, so it's a lot of fun to see how excited she is about it. It will take about a year - maybe less - and then she will be able to live out her dream.  

She did makeup for the girls in color guard, and some friends have asked her to do their hair as well.  Last night, she spent the night with a friend and "ombré'd" her hair.  Here it is!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Monday, July 22, 2013

Because a puppy didn't cause enough chaos....

Our house is 15 years old.  We have had the original carpet and linoleum since we've lived here. They're both in bad shape, and we are able to change them. We considered many different options and decided that tile was for us.  

A friend recommended an installer, and he came yesterday and ripped out some carpet and is now laying tile.  So, in addition to the chaos the puppy has given us, we are in a bit of upheaval with the flooring as well.  At least there is an end in sight, and we are really happy with the tile we've chosen. We are going with one tile throughout the entire house - every single area.  

So here are some pictures of the floors sans carpet and the upheaval it is causing.  




Friday, July 19, 2013

Today's obligatory dog photo of the day

Dog days

That's what our lives are about right now. We have a puppy, and she demands our attention.  She has slept through the last 3 nights, and that has been really nice.  She is a biting machine, though, and my arms are proof of it.  We are working on that.  We've read exhaustively about the breed, and German Shepherds are notorious biters, so we are working through it. 

She loves being outside.  Yesterday we all went in the pool, and we tried her out in it. She was never more affectionate!  She clung to MK, but she did well.  She was outside the whole time we were in the pool, and the she napped for a long time.  Maybe some more of that in the future!

The Big Man and MK continue to work, and T. Willy is a huge help while they're gone.  He is all about rules, and he has many rules for Emmy.  We are trying to explain that she needs to explore and doesn't have to be told "No," constantly. We are all learning.  



Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Puppy days

Having a puppy is like having a mobile baby with sharp teeth.  MK says it's a good thing she's cute.  We are documenting milestones.  She's getting good at sit and slept through the night.  She understands why we go outside so often, but we are still working on her understanding that it's only outside.  

T. Willy is still on the fence about her.  He loves having a dog; he just likes it when she's asleep.  We are enjoying being able to pick her up right now because we know it won't last long. 



Saturday, July 13, 2013

Puppy

It's been two full days, and we are learning our new normal. The puppy is fitting nicely into our family.  We all love her!  MK is certainly the most bonded with her, and T. Willy loves the idea of her, but he's still not 100% comfortable.  He loves to play outside with her, but he doesn't love all the jumping that she does when he is around. 

My sister in law and niece have met her, and we've had a great time playing with her.  My niece starts college next month - big things coming up!!!





Thursday, July 11, 2013

Anticipation...

Today was interesting.  It poured rain for hours!  T. Willy had to have tennis camp inside, but it seemed that he still had a fun time.  He isn't ready for Wimbledon yet, but he has learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence.  

I was looking for a place to make an I.D. tag.  I stopped one place while it was pouring about as hard as it seemed possible.  I just took my flip flops off and rolled up my jeans and walked about the parking lot in bare feet.  The water was up to my ankles. It was crazy.  

I was glad it finally stopped raining, because today was D-day.  D as in dog!  Meet Emerald, or Emmy, as she is known to us.  She is a doll, and MK is amazing with her.  T. Willy is so happy, but he's not quite sure what to do with her yet. He will figure it out soon enough. 

So that's been our day. MK is taking the night shift, but I told her I'd help out if she needed it.  I'd better get some sleep in case she takes me up on it.  Good night!





Wednesday, July 10, 2013

What a day!

The good news is that we registered MK for cosmetology school. She is so excited!!!!  Ty had a good day at tennis camp despite a rainy start.  

Now for the rest of the day.  We have a 2001 Dodge Durango.  It isn't new, but I love it.  It had been out of commission for a while because one of the windows wasn't working.  We just didn't have time to go to the shop to get it fixed.   It's fixed now, and we took it to register MK for school. Unfortunately, when we were nearly there, smoke started coming out of the engine.  The first place we could turn off was a Taco Bell, so we pulled off and ended up spending a couple of hours there.  Since so much smoke (which I think was really steam) was coming from our car, we attracted a good bit of attention.  Several people offered help, and we easily deduced that my radiator hose had cracked.  It was easy because it was completely separated.  So the Big Man left work, and he took care of us in pouring rain at times.  

We were able to get MK registered, so she was happy.  Then we headed home.

More smoke and the temperature gauge was reading high.  So we stopped again and called the Big Man.  This time we called AAA and had the car towed.  The Big Man picked us up, and we will find out what's wrong tomorrow.  We even made it home in time for MK to keep her obligation to watch kids at church.    

So enjoy the pictures.  I'm so happy that we were able to smile. I'm also happy that the first place to turn off was a Taco Bell and not a post office. We were entertained and fed and safe.  An employee even brought us an umbrella in the rain!



Summer Fun

We don't live on a street full of kids T. Willy's age.  In order for him to play with other kids, we have to make plans, and his friends aren't always home during the day.  So we tried to find some things for him to do to keep him busy.  This week it's tennis camp.  

This was his idea.  He did not want to go to fishing camp, but he ended up having a ball.  But tennis camp is what he really wanted to do.  So far it's going well. He's learning a lot and building confidence.  

Last week was so rainy.  It wasn't terrible because it's green everywhere!  Grass and plants and flowers are lush (as lush as they get with our sandy soil,) and I haven't had to water in awhile.  However, it is bright and sunny today.  This makes for a lot of necessary water breaks.  

And our countdown to puppy is almost at an end.  The seller called yesterday, and we are set to pick her up on Thursday.  We are "puppy proofing" when we get home from camp tonight. We still have a few things to get for her, and I'm sure we will need plenty more.  I am prepared to feel like we have a new baby in the house for awhile.  Sleep is what I'll miss most. 


Saturday, July 06, 2013

Improv Night

There is a coffee shop in town that hosts an "Improv Night" once a month.  One of my theatre students told us about it, and a group of kids went, so MK, T. Willy and I joined them last night.  It was so much fun!   My students did us proud, and even T. Willy joined it.  He was fearless!   MK just watched, but she seemed to enjoy herself.  Even the Big Man was able to come for a little while after work.  It was family friendly and just a really fun different thing to do on a Friday night.  

Thursday, July 04, 2013

Happy Birthday, America!

It's been a fun day, although it's rained all day.  We ate a bunch and watched movies, and that's been about it.  The Big Man was home, and we don't get a lot of holidays with him, so that made it a fun day.  

MK had to work, so she dressed up for the holiday, and here is a picture of that. 

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Beach Day

T. Willy and I took a trip to the beach today.  We swam and jumped waves and dug in the sand.   It was a great time.  

And now that T is a little older, he isn't using his swingset quite as much as he used to.  So the Big Man had an idea, and we made it happen today. I've always wanted a porch swing, but our porch isn't big enough for one.  So, his idea was to take the swings off the swingset and replace it with a porch swing. I love it. 

 So here are some pictures.