The Final Frontier, Part II

Two years ago, I wrote a post called The Final Frontier. You can read it here, if you want.

It was about Macy and her first time riding the Patriot at Worlds of Fun. Today, we entered that Final Frontier again. Kaylin was finally tall enough to ride it also.

Bobby didn't get to go with us, so it was just me and the girls. The line was crazy long, longer than we would normally wait. (That's the beauty of season passes--if the line is too line, you skip it, and don't feel like you are wasting your money.) She was super excited, but getting nervous too. Macy was jabbering to her, telling her every detail and giving her advice.

Once we were buckled, she was good to go and grinning from ear to ear. She started out holding my hand, but decided she wanted to hold onto the handle. And true to fashion, just like her sister, she LOVED it and was so happy. Both of our girls are roller coaster crazies. We've got to take them up to Cedar Point in Sandusky soon.

When we got ready to leave the park, we circled back by again, but the line was even longer. So we ate a funnel cake and came home. Good day.

Not so Wordless Wednesday

First of all, this new Blogger format is funky. Took me a second to figure out how to post!

We are slowly adjusting to life without Kobe. Or I should say, I am adjusting. I think this hit me the hardest.

A friend, my sister and I took 9 4th graders camping this weekend for Girl Scouts. After the men set up the tents, they left it and it was all us. I was so proud of the girls--they took turns cleaning and cooking, and basically doing everything. The first night it got down to 32 degrees, and it was FREEZING. Saturday was chilly to start, but was a beautiful day. Kaylin was there with her troop, and I got to watch her do the zipline. She was awesome! Saturday night we got to look through super expensive and super high tech telescopes at Saturn, Jupiter and the Chinese space station. Saturday night was very windy, and the three girls in my tent and I were up from about 2-4, listening to the wind, watching it knock the sides of the tent over and having to push it back up. Of the 9 girls that went, only 3 or 4 had any experience camping. The girls did great, and I was proud of them.

The girls were in a musical at church Sunday night. Macy was one of the main parts, and Kaylin had a solo. When we started going to church there, there were 2 girls, including Macy, and 4 boys in the choir. Sunday night, there were about 25 kids on stage! Love our church, and love that there are so many opportunities for the girls.

Monday at school, I tripped UP the stairs, banged my knee and shin on the concrete step, and broke the glass bowl I was carrying--shattered all over the stairs just as the kids were coming back from lunch. Good times. Then that night, I tripped down the stairs to the garage. Kaylin was in front of me,and I shoved her out of the way to avoid falling on her. More damage to the knee. It's to the point now that I took the elevator today at school to avoid falling down the stairs.

Macy's been a little under the weather yesterday and today. She probably could have gone back today if we'd forced it, but she enjoyed a day of hanging out on the couch with Grandpa and Grandma instead.

19 days of school left, and I have SO much to cram in during that time. Then summer...oh, summer...lazy, lazy, lazy days of summer ahead.

Our Kobe

Yesterday we had to put our sweet Kobe, our wild dingo, the wild comache, our Kobers, to sleep. It was a very hard decision, but one that was necessary. She was 12, and suffering. She was down to 45 pounds, from 90, and her back legs were hardly working. Tuesday night she couldn't even move them, and laid in the same spot for 15 hours.  I slept with her on the floor that night. I just couldn't leave her alone. Periodically she'd wake me by licking my hand. Wednesday morning she was a little better, but Bobby and I decided it was time. We knew this was coming, but I have to admit I didn't expect it to be this hard.

We picked up the girls early from school and went to the vet. I was in the room with her, and will admit I openly sobbed while they put her to sleep. The vet and the vet tech were super nice to this blubbery  woman who couldn't form a sentence. After, they released her to us and we buried her at the winery. All four of us took turns digging the hole, and the girls found a plastic flower to put on top of her grave. We will get a stone to mark the spot sometime soon.

Some memories of Kobe:

• She is named Kobe after Kobe Bryant. When we picked her up, all we had were Sports Illustrated's in the Jeep. I read off names, and Kobe is what stuck. 
• That first night, we thought we were SO smart, and didn't need a crate. We had her in a cardboard box in the kitchen, and she clawed and whined all night. The next day we bought a crate.
• I taught her to sit, lay down, roll over, give High-5, shake, and play dead. All for a treat.
• 4th of July in 2001, I broke my toe on the concrete step in the basement. I cried on the couch as Bobby popped it back into place for me, and she was sitting next to me licking my tears.
• When I was pregnant with Macy, I was on bed-rest for 4 weeks. I did nothing but read for that time, and Kobe laid next to me in bed every day. I would read to her and talk to her when I got bored. 
• She didn't bat an eye when we brought the girls home. She wasn't really protective of them, like some dogs are, but loved playing with them. She especially loved when they had friends over.
• Once time we took her camping at Smithville Lake with the girls. She was swimming out in the lake, and her ears were basically underwater. She couldn't hear Bobby calling for her to come back, and he had to swim out to get her.
• Another time, before the girls, we took her canoeing with Jesse and Melissa. She had a blast riding in the canoe and jumping around in the water. That night, our tent flooded, Bobby and I slept in the car, but she was so tired she slept in the water-filled tent. 
• She never learned to walk on a leash without pulling, something I am sad about. At 90 pounds, I could never take her on a walk without my shoulder being dislocated. 
• The older she got, the more she got into the trash, or wanted to eat our food. We always had to send her outside when eating. The girls weren't very diligent about this, and she was constantly getting their food, or eating their Easter candy.
• They say dogs are color blind....she knew the color red, because of red shock collar we'd used briefly when she was little, and she FREAKED out when we bought her a red collar. 
• She rarely barked. 
• Twice at our old house, she got out of the fence while we were gone. When we returned, she was sitting on the front porch waiting for us.
• She was the sweetest, the most playful, the most loving dog. 

I know to some people, my parents included, she was just a dog. Yes, she was just a dog. But she was OUR dog, and was a part of our family for 12 years. . The house seems empty tonight without her, and I keep looking for her, expecting her to walk to the top of the stairs.

We love you, Kobe. Have fun in doggie heaven with Maggie, Rocky, Tubby, Jack, Shawna, and Nova. Get into all the trashcans you can find, dig under the couch cushions, and run around chasing rabbits.

Greetings from Seattle

This morning bright and early, we began our spring journalism trip to Seattle. It's been a long day, for sure, but a good one. No travel difficulties, which is nice after the fiasco in Anaheim last year. I began my seafood diet--everytime we come to the West Coast, I live primarily on seafood because it's fresh.

Today lunch was an awesome clam chowder soup overlooking Puget Sound, then we toured the Seattle Aquarium and watched them feed an octopus, then dinner was grilled shrimp at Hard Rock Cafe.

The kids and other teacher and I are exhausted and will be an early night.  Tomorrow is a busy day again.

Sunday night ramblings

Here's my Sunday night ramblings:

1.Yesterday I had an all-day Girl Scout camping training. It wasn't terrible, but there is no reason it should have gone from 9am-7:30 pm. Seriously. I learned how to tie knots, build a fire, and cook several meals over the fire. Probably could have done that in 4 hours. I had a good friend there for company, and we entertained ourselves by making fun of the other participants. Not the nicest, I know, but whatever gets you through the day.

2. I've seen The Hunger Games twice over the last week--one with my girlfriends, and once with 60 high school seniors on a field trip. Loved the movie, but of course, I loved the book 1000% more. The movie left out some key things, but I was okay with it--gotta make some changes or it would be 8 hours long.

3. I love my girls just the way they are--all their quirks, weirdness makes them who they are, and I wouldn't want them to change for anything.

4. It's HOT in our house. We still haven't turned on the air. I'm sweating just sitting here.

5. I've been doing a pretty good job of working out the last two weeks, along with keeping my calories down and not drinking much pop. I've learned I can't cut caffeine out altogether, so I just try to limit it. Really nothing to show for it yet.

6. Our church is planning something pretty cool for the community in December, as a way to reach out to the needy in the community. I'm pretty excited to be a part of it from the beginning.

7. There is a light at the end of the tunnel....