Introducing.....

The house sure was quiet without Bailey here.....so we went to a shelter and rescued the cutest little (okay, not really little) dog that they had. Meet Riley. She is a Spanador (spaniel/labrador mix) that is all black. The vet is guessing that she is about 4 months old and we got a clean bill of health from him yesterday.

The kids are loving her. Riley is a lover! She is already sitting, laying down, rolling over and Chip has even gotten her to shake a couple of times. She wants to be good and you can see in her face that she does not like to be told NO. It makes her cower when you say it to her.

Please feel free to stop over and see her....no more dog jumping on you or yipping your ears off....she is quiet and docile and beautiful. And Clif is going to move the electric fence so that she cannot go on the driveway...that makes me feel better!

Heartbroken

Well, it is official. Bailey is gone. Today at noon, I went to get her from outside and she let me pick her up. That was the 1st time in 3 days that anyone was allowed to do that. When I brought her inside, she just flopped like a pile of rags on the floor. It was horrible.

I called Clif to let him know that I thought this was the end. Within a couple of minutes, Bailey died right in front of me and the kids. Kate was a mess. Chip was trying so hard to stay cool. I was bawling, and Drew just is too little to understand. My friend Jessica came over right away since I had to call her because we were meeting her for lunch. Then I relied on another friend, Wes and Angie, and asked them to take the kids for a little bit. Clif came home from work and had a few minutes with her. I cannot believe how hard it is for me to see him upset...it ripped my heart out.

We ate a quiet lunch and then went out to dig her a grave in the backyard. It was a lot of work to get that done, but we kept on going. Clif was trying so hard to be strong, but when he had to carry Bailey to the grave and actually put her in, he lost it. Chip was home at that time and he too had a really hard time....once the grave was filled in, it seemed to be a little better.

Drew is just not getting it at all. He told me that he thought Bailey was faking and I should just "wack her" and she will stop, when Angie suggested that they make crosses to put on her grave, he wanted to know if someone would mistake it for a buried treasure, and then he asked to see where she was buried so that he could dig her up later if he wanted....because of that, we have not shown him the exact spot. Hopefully this was just his normal jabber and he will never attempt that....YUCK!

Anyway, tonight, all seems well. Everyone seems to have accepted that she is gone and even started to talk about maybe getting new dog someday.........we will have to see.

Bailey :(...and the rest of the family

Well, I have to admit that I am the cause of the sad face above. On Sunday, I was running to the store for some last minute lunch items, and I ran over Bailey, our dog. I do not know where hit her, other than on her back half, but she is not looking too hot.We took her right to the vet who said that nothing was broken, but gave us the names of 3 animal hospitals to consider if there was internal injuries. Clif and I have no intention of spending that kind of money on the dog, but I sure feel bad about what happened. I was a total mess after it happened and while we were at the vet. She made it throught the night, and is still able to walk some. She seems VERY stiff and sore. We cannot get her to eat anything and water is hard for her to keep down. I have been giving her a few tablespoons at a time every 30 minutes, and she can usually keep that down. She has gone outside a couple of times today and goes to her favorite part of the yard, but has not peed or pooped since yesterday morning. I am hoping that she is still just really sore....it makes me think about when I had a baby and had to poop and how much that hurts when you are so sore.....hoping that tomorrow is better. She is definitely walking better today and her gums look pinker (which the vet said was a good sign). Now the kids....we need to get back to school schedule. No one seems to be getting enough sleep to make it through the day. Drew is whining non stop and refusing to eat anything that I cook. Chip is spending his day torturing Drew so that he whines and cries more, and Kate has made the good decision to stay out of it all. At least one of them is making good choices today. I am stressed about the dog, especially since it was my fault, and they are not helping! AAARRGGHH!

Nothing New

Well, Wednesday night and all is well.....
Clif got home from a 3 day trip to Indiana last night. It was nice to get a good night's sleep since he was here. The kids did pretty well while he was gone, but we were all anxious to be able to get out since it was so rainy. I went to Kroger all by myself for a couple of hours and that was a great break for me.

Tonight, we went to the driving range in anticipation of the annual Farno Open, the one and only time that I golf throughout the year. I actually feel OK about it this year since I have been able to get on the range 2 times for a little practice. I am still no good, but hopefully I can get the ball off the tee....that is all I ask for as I stand there and line up so carefully, but really am just praying to make some contact.

The weekend will be a busy one again. Clif and Jane and Emily and the kids will be here tomorrow night. We have sitters coming to the house about 8 AM Saturday so that we can tee off by 8:30. If the weather is nice, we will be going to the lake house for fishing, yard games, and boat and jet ski rides. If the weather is crappy (like they are forecasting), we will be having everyone here because there is simply more room to move around. Keep your fingers crossed for a nice afternoon becasue everyone really looks forward to the afternoon at the lake.

On the plus side, my house is in pretty good shape. I have been cleaning a little at a time for the last 2 days and things are in good order. Only a few last minute things for tomorrow and we will be ready for all of the company to arrive.

Here's hoping for a good weather weekend!

A New Week

We are back after our weekend in Cincinnati with Farnos and without kids! We had a great night at the Reds game where they won 4-0 and the game was followed by awesome fireworks that lasted for about 20 minutes. After the game, we went back to the hotel to the bar where we shared a few rounds of VERY expensive drinks with Angie and Wes. Some of us have very little tolerance and paid for the drinks pretty quickly! On Saturday, we walked to Newport, KY and found a little place called Mokka where we ate what might be the best breakfast we have ever had...it was excellent and very fairly priced.

During the day, we went and finished all of the paper work on the new camper we bought while Wes and Angie hung around at the Levee. We checked into and checked around the Bed and Breakfast that we were staying at. The B&B was pretty disappointing overall :(. The bedroom was very small and we ended up having to share a bathroom on the floor with someone else which made it feel more like we were guests in someone's house rather than staying at a motel/hotel.....oh well, I wanted to try something different and we can cross that off of our bucket list of things to do.

For dinner, we met Farno's at the Levee again and ate at Mitchell's Fish Market which was very good. It started to rain after dinner so we took advantage of a covered carriage. It was a really nice way to spend some of the night while it was raining....a romantic covered carrige, the patter of rain, and the clop of the horse's hoove were very relaxing...I would highly recommend it as a way to pass the evening.

Clif and I got some Graeter's Ice Cream and then spent the night at the B&B. Breakfast there was OK, but nothing fabulous.....

Then we headed home and met up with Clif and Jane and reclaimed our kids at an exit at Vandalia.....I think they were ready to get them out of the car.....I sure missed them, but not the constant bickering.....

Overall, we had a nice, long, and relaxing weekend. It is so nice to get away....the week is busy. Clif is in Indiana for 3 days, Chip has football camp M,T,W from 5-7 and Th, F from 3-5. It looks like it is going to be rainy too....good for the ground....not good for Jenny when she is stuck in the house!!!!

AHHHH! A Free Evening!

Tonight, our calendar is blank.....that is almost unreal at this house. We have one more T-ball game for Drew next Tuesday and then ALL BALL IS DONE FOR THE YEAR! I have to say that this season seemed to go faster than the past few, but it is still nice to have evenings free.

Drew had a game on Tuesday night...another tie...that is how all of the TBall games end. It is funny to me that it does not bother them at all....oh how they will change in the next couple of years. On the sports page, we got Chip his football cleats....I am sure it is only the very beginning of the purchases that will need to be made to have the kids participate. I am glad that he is going to give football a try...especially now that we heard that Breakaway, where he played indoor soccer, has closed so soccer might be done. :(

Clif and I are getting away this weekend. We are headed to Toledo on Thursday and will bring the kids to Grandma and Grandpa Perryman's which they are SO excited about. Chip has already requested a dinner and golf.....We will then head to Cincinnati for the rest of the weekend. We are going to a Reds game, and the rest of the weekend is a surprise for Clif so I will tell you about it next time I post.

Keep your fingers crossed that we have good weather in Cincy...it was looking great, but is going downhill as the weekend is getting closer......

Perfect Sunday!

We had another busy day here. Clif went for a 10 mile run! CRAZY!! But wow for him. I stayed here and made breakfast for the kids. Then Clif and Chip went with the Boy Scouts and helped to set up flags for a Field of Honor in Wapakoneta. There were probably 1500 flags that are "sponsored" by families to honor veterans or members of the service. They helped set up about 1/2 of them.

While they were gone, I decided to go for a walk/run and went 5 miles. I think I ran about 2 3/4 of them.....it was a great morning.

Chip had his ball tournament in Russia. It was not pretty. Minster got run-ruled 14-2 in the 4th inning.....ouch!

We decided to get some Mexican for supper and then we all went to the pool for 2 hours. It was great in the water, but COLD when we got out. We had some big accomplishments. Kate dove off the high dive and Drew was jumping in off the low dive. For Drew, this was quite an accomplishment since only 1 month ago we could hardly get him to jump in off the edge into water he can stand in. He is so funny though....he will not jump in unless he is wearing goggles....not so sure what they do for him, but I think they are like Dumbo's magic feather...they are simply for his confidence. His smile after the 1st jump was priceless!

Onto another week!!!!

Lazy Saturday

Here we are on Saturday afternoon just lounging around for the afternoon. Clif and I started our morning with a walk together to Earl's Pavillion at Lake Loramie. It was an ugly, overcast morning. Not long after we got home, it started to rain, and rain, and rain! Kate and I had to work at the recycling building from 11-1, but were able to leave at 12:15 because of the downpouring rain. Kate has spent the rest of today, and part of yesterday, on the couch feeling bad. I think she might have some allergies that are acting up. She is really congested and complaining of headaches. As long as I keep her drugged up, she seems to be fine.

Chip was able to get a little bit of playing time in during their tournament game last night, albeit because his friend Sam got pulled when he got hurt. Sam is fine, and Chip was really excited to get some time on the field. Russia reported over 2 inches of rain so all the games for today were cancelled. That could make for a LONG day at the ballpark tomorrow if they try to do all of the games then, which they probably will.

RIght now the sun is shining and it is looking better and better outside. We are planning on 5PM mass and then going to take any interested kids to the new LaPiazza in New Bremen....hope they all like it!

Friday July 10

We have had another nice afternoon at the pool. Chip hung out with Sam this afternoon and is now resting up for his tournament game tonight. We are having all of the local scoutmasters and their wives over for a campfire this evening. We are doing a chili dump where everyone makes a batch of their favorite chili and we dump it all into one big pot which we will heat up on the fire. Then for dessert, we will be sharing Leon's Famous Rhubarb/Raspberry cobbler. He won 1st place at scout camp with it last week and everyone loves it.

Chip is headed to Russia to watch/cheer his team to victory in an 8 PM game. He is the 3rd alternate on the team. The first 2 alternates will be playing tonight and tomorrow and if they make it to Sunday, Chip will be playing then. Keep your fingers crossed that he gets to play!

Other than that, we are starting off another standard busy weekend. The weather seems hit or miss for the next couple of days.....