SUPER SUNDAY!

Besides being Super Bowl Sunday......it is a beautiful day outside! It's been a while since it's been this nice, so I sent Owen and the dog outside for some fresh air! They had a blast together, and Lyla stayed with him the entire time! Owen dressed up in his full army gear, and introduced Lyla to his forts. She was more interested in chasing everything that moved with the wind, and then came inside and is still sleeping! I think he wore her out! Scott and Owen have gone down to the pond to see if the fish are biting. I still haven't even gotten out of my nightgown, I think I'll just hang around in it all day! I hope everyone has a great and relaxing Super Bowl Sunday!!

GO STEELERS!!!!

SURPRISE!!!!

The big 40 surprise party was definitely a surprise, and turned out perfect! Thanks to everyone for helping, and especially to Saun and Yvette for hosting!! The entire night was entertaining, and we all had a great time! Scott never had a clue until we pulled up in the driveway and he saw all the cars! He hates surprises, but quickly forgave me:) It was great having everyone together, and I'm sure there will be many stories from last night for years to come:)

See you all at the next 40..............Saun......your next!!

NEW BEGININGS

Well, I never would have guessed that we would have another puppy this soon, but you never know what life will bring you:) Our neighbors dog had puppies back in December and they were 6 weeks old this week. Kayla brought one home last night, and I guess we're keeping her:) She is a heeler/beagle mix (I had never heard of a heeler before), but apparently they're some type of herding breed. She seems very sweet, playful, and hasn't even had an accident in the house yet.......yet:) She's really good about going potty outside (I think partly because we take her every 30 minutes or so). She cried most of the night in her box in the garage....it was the first night she had been separated from her 10........yes 10.....brothers and sisters! When she is bigger, she will be an outside dog, just like Shelby was. I'm having to be puppy referee between Owen and Kayla.......they are both being puppy hogs! I have designated Owen as her play-time friend, and Kayla as her nap-time friend. I'm sure the newness will wear off soon (as soon as the first poop needs to be cleaned up). I hope Shelby is looking down on us, and will watch out for her:) Oh.................Owen has named her Lyla:)

FAMILY HISTORY

My dad sent me these photos today, so I thought they were cool to share:) The one on the top left is my mom, taken sometime in the 60's. The top right is my dad. The bottom right is my grandmother on my father's side (the Italian side) and the one on the bottom left is my father, aunt and grandfather, taken on vacation in Florida in 1969. Great pictures dad...thanks for sharing:)

FAMILY TIME

We have certainly had an emotional up and down weekend. The loss of Shelby on Friday was hard, but the gathering of family on Saturday night for Scott's birthday was perfect:) Thanks everyone for coming....we even got to have Lori "join in" on speaker phone...that was hilarious! I think we should do that for all family gatherings.....then you can always say you were "there":) The flowers Jenny brought were so thoughtful.....thank you:)

Here are a few photos from the evening. The scope will forever be an "inside" family joke....leave it to mom! And I'm thankful that Scott was able to blow out ALL those candles in one breath.....yes.....40 would have probably had the fire department out here!!

Owen got the stomach flu on Friday night and spent that entire night and all day Saturday throwing up:( He stayed in his pj's all day, and only ate a small handful of grapes and drank orange soda. Here is the orange soda theory........

I couldn't get him to eat or drink anything, and when I finally did, he agreed to orange soda....which he said after throwing it up, "hey, that didn't taste so bad coming through my nose".......eeewwww.....but at least he was drinking SOMETHING!!

We weren't sure if he would feel well enough for his wrestling tournament today, but he surprised us all by waking up feeling fine! So we headed up to Chantilly, and he ended up having a pretty awesome day. He was able to get 2 pins, and lost one match by points. YEA OWEN!!! It makes me so happy to see him proud of himself after a good match. On the flip side, it breaks my heart to see his disappointment when he losses:( At least he hasn't cried yet, that seems to be pretty common in his age group....so sad to see:( He doesn't have another tournament for 3 weeks. They're having one next Saturday, but that's the day after Scott's big surprise party, and I KNOW we aren't going to make that one

(it starts at 8:00 in the morning)!!

This was the best picture I got of his win.........yes....that's really him behind the arms!!


HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!!!!

IN MEMORY OF SHELBY

SHELBY- 11/05-1/09

Our family is in mourning tonight for our sweet dog Shelby. It's even hard for me not to break down while writing this, but I wanted everyone to know what happened before they get here tomorrow. Today was such a beautiful day. I was on my way home from getting Owen off the bus. Kayla and Scott were outside enjoying the beautiful weather and saw it all happen. As I pulled around the driveway, Shelby got underneath my car, and I ran her over. As soon as it happened, we all knew she was gone. I laid on the gravel next to her as she took her final breaths, and tried to say, "I'm sorry" as many times as I could. Scott, Kayla and Owen were all hysterical while I just sat there crying, making sure she knew she wasn't alone in her final moments. She passed quickly, and Scott buried her on the property. She was the perfect dog for us, and she will forever be a part of our family. Owen has barely stopped crying all night. It was extremely traumatic for him to watch her die, there was allot of blood, but everything happened so quickly, I couldn't shield him from seeing it. I had a long talk with him about death, and explained that she's in heaven now with Jasper, our 16 year old cat that died last year. I feel such guilt, and I've gone over every "what if" scenario in my head. Owen put it this way....he said "loosing something so young is really so terrible". That completely broke my heart. I always pictured the two of them growing up together, and maybe someday, when he was in college, having to tell him she died of old age. We all realized tonight that this weekend was the 3 year anniversary of bringing her home. She was a whole 1.5 pounds. We will remember her as a loyal part of our family,

and will miss her terribly.

BIRTHDAY COBBLER!

Here are a few photos from last night. Notice Scott getting "caught" trying to get into his cobbler early! He ended up eating half the pan last night! That was after his pork roast, mashed potatoes, corn on the cobb and broccoli! If I ate like him, I would surely be 300lbs in no time:) The kids got him a "best dad" coupon book, which was really funny. I asked if there was a "promise to clean my room" coupon.....no such luck. I can't wait to hire a housekeeper, I know why mom starts with "M"........MAID:) Have a great week everyone!!!