Water Stand

Jack has been begging me for days to do a water stand outside our house. He decided it would be a good way to make money and a lot easier than making lemonade. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't have that. He decided to charge 50 cents for a cup and set up the little stand all by himself.

Thankfully, our sweet neighbor bought two cups and Ty bought another so Jack made $1.50. I'm afraid this is going to be a regular occurrence now...

Disneyland

On Thursday night, we told the kids to get their sandals on because we were going to go for a little family drive. We turned on a movie and started heading to California. After an hour or so, they started asking lots of questions and Ty and I tried our best to avoid them. Jack finally asked if we could "pretty please" stay in a hotel that night and we let him think the trip to California was all his idea. When the kids woke up in the hotel room on Friday morning, we told them again that we were going for a little drive. When we saw the the exit for Ball Rd, though, the game was over. Jack yelled out "Hey! That's the exit we took to go to Disneyland when I was four! Are we going to Disneyland?!" We were pretty proud of ourselves that we were able to keep our little trip a secret for that long.

Audrey and Elliot's favorite ride - the Carousel.

Jack loved the Toy Story ride Midway Mania.

Audrey talked Aurora's ear off. One thing she said was, "I'm a princess and this is my Prince Elliot. I scare away all the dragons like this - ROAR!" Suddenly, I noticed a bunch of employees that had been in the back on break coming into the room and watching Audrey. They all laughed hysterically at her and told me to please let her stay there as long as she wanted.

We had a great (and exhausting) 12-hour day in Disneyland and can't wait to go again!

Newport Beach

After a long day at Disneyland, we decided to spend a relaxing day watching TV in the hotel and going to the beach. The weather was a freezing 75 degrees and breezy, so we didn't last very long, but we had a good time.

I love this picture - after feeling the temperature of the water, Jack goes running back to the dry sand and Audrey heads for the waves.

Ty bought some corn from a local and we had a good laugh thinking about Nacho Libre:

"Get that corn outta my face!"

"We will let you win!"

Summer Days

Summer is almost over! Jack already got a letter in the mail from his new school with a list of school supplies and his class assignment. I can't believe it. We've enjoyed our vacations and also all the time we've had to just relax at home and do nothing.

 We dog-sat this little guy and all fell in love.

Lowe's Build-and-Grow. It's a little frightening handing all three of your children a hammer, but they managed just fine. Good thing for safety googles!

My tree climber is getting braver and better everyday.

 

Evidence that Jack is a mini-me. Every morning he writes a list of what he wants to do that day. He will also write down things he's already done, just so he can cross something off (my favorite: "wake up").

The twins enjoying green smoothie popsicles.

Oh yeah. Ty sold my car and bought this. I guess I drive a truck now.

Fourth of July

There is nothing like spending the Fourth of July in a small town. We went to Page last year and loved it so much that we thought we better do it again this year. The kids loved the flags all over town and the big parade.

After the parade, we went to the lake to play in the water and do a little kayaking. Ty and I took the twins with us and Jack paddled with Papa. 

 The rest of the weekend was spent napping, reading, relaxing, biking, canning, and eating. Nobody wanted to leave.

Jack got to take a spin in the orange bug with Aunt Les, too!

Lizard-catching

We had cousins over for dinner last weekend and Uncle Ty thought it would be cool to show off his lizard-catching skills. We have some big lizards living in our backyard and one of them was hanging out on the ceiling of our patio. Ty got out his fishing rod and somehow tied a knot that was able to catch the little guy. The kids all loved petting him.

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

Today our sweet black lab Link passed away. Ty raised him (with a lot of help from his parents!) for Guide Dogs for the Blind for 14 months. Link was taught to go to the bathroom on command, not eat human food, and walk on your left side at whatever speed you walked. 

Ty and his parents attended Link's graduation from Guide Dogs in San Rafael, CA. Link guided for a man in Oklahoma for 10 years. About 3 years ago, we got a call from Guide Dogs that Link was retiring. They asked if we wanted him back and of course we said yes.

When we picked Link up from the airport, we weren't sure if he would remember Ty. Link walked out of the kennel and walked right past Ty. Then, a few seconds later, he turned around and came back to sniff him. Link immediately rolled on his back and wagged his tail.

Link loved to play tug-o-war, splash in the water, and lay down in the highest traffic areas of the house. He learned not to drool or bark, but in his nearly 15 years of life, we never could stop him from putting his paw on your arm.

Link had a large tumor on one of his front legs. The surgery left him in a cast for four weeks and we changed his bandages a couple times per day and massaged a swollen paw until it looked normal again. Since then Link became our baby, especially when we thought Jack was going to be our only child. He kept me company while Ty was gone to Pinetop for three months. I always felt like I could sleep alone at night if I knew Link was in the room with me.

Ty's parents were just as close to Link. They raised him with Ty and were "home" while we lived in Virginia and Gilbert. Lois said when Link walked in the house after being gone for 10 years, he walked right into Ty's old room. Link kept them company and their empty nest covered in black hair.

Link had some funny mannerisms. Despite being such an obedient dog, he insited on laying on my quilt projects. I'd get him in trouble and kick him out of the room, but the second I left it unattended, he'd go do it again. It's like he thought my fabric was his own special little bed.

Jack and Link always had a little bit of a rivalry. The first morning after we got Link, Jack woke up and slowly opened his door. Link went to greet him and Jack quickly shut his door and shouted, "I'll stay in here!" One time in Page, Jack woke us up at about 2 am and said, "Link took my pillow!" Sure enough, Link had snuggled up to where Jack was sleeping on the ground and had taken over the pillow and most of the blankets.

Ty says that I'm ruined for any future pets. Link was my only experience and he never barked. He just quietly followed me around the house all day. As he got older, he slept more and one loop around the block was enough of a walk. Fetch was always two throws of a frisbee followed by a three-hour nap. Those naps sometimes gave us a scare. Link would go three, four, sometimes five seconds between breaths. We would watch him and think "it finally happened" and then he'd take a deep breath!

Despite being old, he turned into a puppy at 6 am and 5 pm everyday when he knew it was time to be fed. Link was also a master at getting you to scratch his ears. He would come up and put his head on your knee and hold still until you started scratching him.

Link was always ok with kids playing with him. I think he was tackled by all three of our children. Elliot and Audrey loved talking to Link and they always thought he needed more dog friends. We constantly caught them putting little toys by Link's head so he would have someone to play with.

Link's final moments were quiet and peaceful. Ty was the first person to hold him when he got off the plane in Las Vegas almost 15 years ago and, true to form, Link died with Ty scratching his ears with one hand and and holding Link's paw with the other.

We love you, Link!