July 28, 2008
Tara and her cousins
Tara loves her teenage girl cousins. She was hanging out with them last weekend. They painted her nails, taught her some songs she shouldn't be singing, made her laugh.
Caroline and Meagan, you're awesome!
July 23, 2008
July 21, 2008
Summertime
The puppy is a sweet little guy, Tara has been swimming a lot and Austin has really gotten into tennis. That's pretty much our summer so far.
As for John and me, we actually got out to a lobster fest/beach party on Saturday night and had a blast.
OK, photos of the puppy will be posted soon. As soon as we get a new camera...
July 17, 2008
The pup
Our new puppy seemed just as excited to see Austin and Tara as they were to see him. He is smaller than we thought he would be, which is cool because he and our cat are sort of nose-to-nose--for now. He is a yellow labrador and will grow to be about 60 pounds, we're told. His paws are really big! And he's awkward when climbing onto the porch.
I have to admit, not being a dog person, that little guy is real cute. And he has a nice temperament, not crazy and hyper. Neighbors gathered in front of our house yesterday evening and watched him sniff around in the grass and go from person to person, soaking up all the attention.
I think he slept through the night and woke up dry. Gosh it sounds like I'm talking about a baby. The boys in the house decided to name him Salem. It seems to fit. After running, jumping and playing, he passed out quickly for a three-hour nap. While he was sleeping, the cat poked through the cage at his ears. This could get interesting.
And so far, only one "accident" in the house, that I know of...
July 14, 2008
From chaos to crazy
Indeed. It is with mixed emotions that I say this: our house is about to change. We are getting a puppy this week. The kids are so thrilled they can barely stand it. John is reading books on how to train a dog and teach it to hunt, though I don't recall him ever hunting. I'm not a dog person. I like cats. But I have finally given in to the begging and pleading and the promises to do everything. We pick up our yellow labrador puppy on Wednesday.
The "crate" for sleeping is ready and planted smack dab in the family room next to the television. I'm told this is what you do with puppies at night, as they will cry and whine much of their first few nights. Something to look forward to. I am also told they chew. A lot. On everything. And they pee, a lot. Did I say I'm not a dog person?
Austin started this. It was his birthday a few weeks ago, and we were in the car and he looked at me with his puppy-brown eyes and said, "I only want one thing for my birthday. Just one thing." I figured it was a video game. "A puppy," he said. "I'll do everything for it." He's 13 so you figure maybe this is the year for some responsibility. How about a turtle?
John and the children have agreed to do all that needs to be done for a dog on a daily basis. And while y'all may be laughing, I'm really going to stick to my convictions that I will not take on the caregiver duties for a dog. I'm going to be sure they each have their own pooper scoopers. I think that Tara will be the most vigilant at that, actually. I may pat the puppy on the head, or maybe teach it to run with me outside, or maybe throw a ball around with it sometimes. Maybe I will grow to be more of a dog person. The little thing IS awfully cute...
Up to a point. And when I'm pointing at doggy-doo, somebody in my house better be running to pick it up. Wish us luck.
July 09, 2008
A natural?
So John signed Tara up for gymnastics classes this summer (yes, it's true) and the first one-hour class was Monday afternoon while I was at work. There were four girls in the class. John says he watched them do some stretches but then went off to work on his laptop.
When the class was over, the teacher chased John down to talk with him about Tara. She said she couldn't believe that Tara did not have previous gymnastics training. She couldn't believe that this was her first class ever. She said Tara has an incredible ability and that if she likes gymnastics, she will go very far. She told Tara that she might be doing gymnastics on TV someday (!) The teacher said she was from Romania where she competed and she knows talent when she sees it. She was almost apologetic that Tara was in the basic class for young, new students. She said Tara has the perfect body type and is a natural.
This cracks us up. So she is a natural in soccer AND gymnastics?
When asked what she liked best about the class, Tara said: "Jumping in the ball pit!"
