Missouri 2009

We are back from our trip! It was fantastic! The kids did great on the LONG two days drive there and two days drive back. When we got there we stayed with Aunt Patt, Uncle Terry, and cousins Gina and Sydney. They live down the street from my grandparents, Granny and Gramps.

While there we went to Columbia and did some shopping and went to the Youzeum. We also spent a day on the lake swimming and boating! It was the first time the kids have ever been to the lake - Alex did not even know what to think of the sand on the beach. They had a blast on the boat and going "superfast" in the tube.

Among some other firsts - seeing and catching fireflies, seeing bats at Granny and Gramps' house (they have about 15 of them that you can watch fly out to hunt every night), going to Shakespeare's Pizza, playing in an ambulance at the Youzeum, and playing fooseball.


It is always sad to leave everyone at the end but it was a great trip. Here are pictures!

Father's Day 2009

We celebrated Father's Day today because we are heading out to Missouri tomorrow morning. Daddy was pretty spoiled! It's a tradition to get him a new electric griddle every year because he makes breakfast every single weekend without fail and they get pretty worn out after a year of constant use!

So he got his new griddle, and also a new razor (MY desperately needed gift to him). He also tries to make differently shaped pancakes all of the time so Aurora picked out some pancake molds from Williams and Sonoma, and a new spatula. He then made an awesome breakfast and did a great job using the molds for the first time. It was a nice morning!

As I said earlier, Grandma S and I head out with the kids in the morning for our trip, so I probably won't be posting again until we get back in a week.

R.I.P. Ratatouille

Last night we noticed that Ratatouille was breathing very heavily, lethargic, has discharge from her nose, and some other symptoms. I did some online research and determined that she was most likely in the terminal stages of mycoplasmosis, an apparently common respiratory disease in rats. The interesting part is the primary symptom that a rat is going to get this disease is frequent sneezing - and Ratatouille has sneezed often since we got her. We thought she just did it when she was excited. Now I wish I had looked into it more.

Anyway I tried to keep her comfortable and do some things we found online to help - nebulizer treatment, chocolate, etc. This morning there was no improvement. So I packed her up, dropped the kids off at Grandma's, and headed to the vet. Unfortunately, Ratatouille had already passed away by the time I got there.

I tried to prepare Aurora. When we bought her rats I warned her that they do not live very long. Last night while we were trying to help Ratatouille, I explained to her that she was sick, that they don't really have good medicine for rats, and it was possible she would die.

When Aurora came home this evening I gave her the news. She was shocked at first, and then cried some, and then asked questions - if she went to Heaven, where is her body, etc. Then she asked if she could hold her other rat. Within the hour she was playing and laughing. I wish I were still so resilient! And I pray that Remy (the other rat) does not come down with it!

Ratatouille was a very cool and smart rat, and we will all miss her.

Preparations...

This coming Sunday, Grandma S and I are taking the kids on a road trip - to Missouri! We are driving up there for a week to visit my grandparents (Granny and Gramps) and my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. It's a sixteen hour drive, so we are planning on stopping in OKC halfway and getting a hotel room. Aurora LOVES staying at hotels so she is super excited! She is also excited about staying with her cousins in Missouri (they are teenage girls and Aurora thinks she is sooo grown-up when she is around them).

Our last road trip with the kids did not go too well...we drove with them to Alabama last year. Three days in the car with kids is just TOO much...especially with an 18 month old that has no patience and refuses to sleep in the car!

But Alex is a year older now, and a *little* more patient! We have a DVD system in the Jeep, Mom and I picked up some new movies and activities, and she is super patient...so hopefully it will go well.

Anyway we spent this weekend getting ready. We had hair appts on Saturday...


Then on Sunday I took Aurora for her first pedicure!

Excited!
Amazed at all the colors to chose from...
I picked my color!
Pretty toes!

And then the kids "supervised" (aka pretended to sleep) in the laundry baskets while I cleaned house and did laundry.


Come on Sunday!

Swim Lessons!

The kids started summer swimming lessons yesterday at the local aquatics center. This was Aurora's second time and Alex's first. They had a blast! Aurora was in the beginner class by herself and Alex was in the parent and tot class with me. Our first session was just getting used to the water. Alex had no problem there! Several of the other little ones were frightened and crying, poor things! Alex was all over the place and wanted to go deeper. I got him to float and to kick his legs. That boy is a fish! Aurora did great too - they had them playing games in the water and she was having lots of fun. We have class every Saturday morning through the end of July.

Waiting for the instructors

Listening to the rules

Family

I got some great family photos over the graduation and birthday weekends, and thought I would use them to explain who everyone is!

This is Grandma and Grandpa K. They are Josh's parents.


This is Grandma and Grandpa S. They are my parents.


This is a three generations picture we took before Aurora's graduation.


This is Auntie Charissa, Josh's sister.


This is Uncle Joe and Aunt Detra, Josh's brother and sister-in-law. This picture is very old (Dec. 2006) because they are in the military and we do not see them very often. Look how tiny Alex and Aurora are! They have been stationed in Germany but have recently moved to Florida! We plan to visit them next year.


This is Uncle Derrek, my brother. This is the most recent picture I have because, well...he doesn't come around much! He also just moved to CA a few months ago.


This is my best friend in the whole world, Megan! People often ask if we are sisters, and she might as well be! We definitely consider her family!





So there you go! Stay tuned for a few weeks from now; my mom and I are driving to Missouri with the kids and I'll come back with pictures of my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins!!