Heaven has another Puppy Angel

This weekend was a mix of emotions, it was Daddy's birthday and the weather was great so we spent a LOT of time playing outside, but it was pretty sad too...

On Friday Mama and Daddy picked me up from school and I knew something was up because they wanted to talk to me alone.  They explained that Jake was getting old and his body wasn't feeling very good.  They didn't know what exactly the problem was, but over the years he has gotten grumpier and Mama and Daddy said that it was time for him to go to Heaven to be with Papa Bob. 

As you can imagine, I was NOT happy one bit, and neither were Mama and Daddy.  Mama and Daddy got Jake and Bella almost 11 years ago when they were tiny puppies.  They were always trouble makers, but they were also very good dogs.  Jake has been my buddy since the day I came home from the hospital.  Mama and I cried A LOT, and then we decided that it would be our job to give him the best day ever.

The first thing on the list was to go for a car ride up to PetSmart to get some yummy treats and dog food.  Jake LOVES going for car rides and hanging his head out the window!

After PetSmart we went to A&W for dinner where Jake and Bella got to eat the ice cream out of Mama's root beer float.  A&W was one of Papa Bob's favorite places to eat.

When we got home we gave them both a LOT of treats, then decided to take them Jake for a walk.  He doesn't walk very well on a leash, but it was still fun.

That night, Mama and Daddy agreed that we could have a sleepover with Jake, he didn't stay in our room all night, but it was fun falling asleep with him there.

That night Mama made popcorn and shared it with him one last time.

The next day Daddy and I were outside working on the landscaping and Jake decided he wanted to dig in the dirt.  He didn't get in any trouble, but it did mean that we had to give him one more bath.

After some more treats, some howling at the neighbors, another walk, lots of hugs, kisses, and chin scratches, it was time to bring him to say goodbye.  He had so many treats that morning that he didn't want to eat even one more.  Ellen and I got to feed the last treats to a cute little puppy named Scarlett who was in the waiting room.  It was the hardest thing I have ever done, but Mama said that I was very brave, and that the reason we are so sad is because we loved him so much.  It helps to know that Jake is in heaven with Papa Bob and that we will get to see him again.  I wanted to buy some balloons and send them to Heaven so he would know that we are always thinking of him.

Ellen and Maren don't really understand what happened, but I know they were sad too.  I think Bella is pretty sad as well, she doesn't seem to want to eat as much, and certainly isn't as playful.  We made sure to give her a lot of extra love this weekend, and some treats too.  She even got a piece of Daddy's birthday cake, she licks the frosting off first before eating the cake, just like Ellen!!

We will miss Jake very much.

Linden



All I want for Summer is my Two Front Teeth!

Hey Everybody!  Ellen Here!

We had a pretty funny week not too long ago...Maren got her two front teeth...

And Linden lost them!!

It has been a bit of a problem...Maren has taken to biting anybody who gets their finger too close to her...and Linden is bummed because she can't eat Corn on the Cob!

As for me, I am not biting anybody, and enjoying all the yummy food that summer brings!

Have a great night!
Ellen

Soccer!

After a long and snowy Spring it is finally time for soccer to start!!  

This year is super fun, Daddy is one of my coaches, and I got to be number 8 which is the same number that my Cousin Tyler wore!!

We have a really fun team this year, and Daddy and Coach Linda are teaching us a lot of new moves.

I think my favorite position to play is goalie, but I like that Linda and Daddy are teaching us about offense and defense too.

I love that I have a lot of friends on my team, but it is also fun getting to play against my friends too.  This is my best friend Avery, we both agreed before the game that no matter who won we would still be best friends.

We have a couple more weeks left due to the snow delaying the start of the season.  I can't wait for practice tomorrow night!
Linden

Will the Snow Ever End?

Here we are, April 17th, and we are sledding.  Listen, I love sledding just as much as everyone else, but this is getting crazy!!!

The best part was that it is so warm out that we didn't have to be all bundled up, we could be outside and enjoy it!

Here's hoping that this snow melts soon and we can enjoy the spring!
Linden

A Trip to Mankato

Did you know that Mama had another birthday?  She likes to say that her birthday is the most important day of the year, but I know better, Jesus's birthday is the most important day of the year...and no, that does not make Mama's birthday the second most important day of the year (though she always tries to convince me of that when we have this conversation...and we have this conversation a LOT!) 

None the less, this year Mama's birthday was on Easter Sunday so we headed to Mankato on Saturday to hang out and do some shopping.  When we got to the mall we learned that one of the stores was having an Easter event so we headed over.  There was a pretty girl dressed up as Belle...

Their hair salon was doing hair and hair chalk....

And their makeup counter was doing face paint!  Aren't we cute bunnies?

Because it was Mama's birthday we got to do a bunch of fun things.  Mama and Daddy wanted to upgrade their phones so while Daddy was working with the store to get everything setup Mama let me and Ellen ride on the animals!

Ellen picked the cow, and I picked the lion.  We wanted to go all over the place, but it was REALLY busy so we just stuck in one area so we didn't accidentally run into anything (I knew what I was doing, but Ellen was a crazy driver!!)

The most exciting part of the day was when Mama asked Ellen if she wanted to get her ears pierced and Ellen said Yes!!!  Mama was pretty surprised because Ellen had never wanted to do it, but she changed her mind and was such a big girl. 

The girl who did it was really nice and Ellen kept calling her, "the nice lady", like, "The nice lady told me that I can't take out my earrings until Daddy's birthday."  Right away after she got it done she was NOT happy that it hurt, but she was so excited and proud to have pretties in her ears just like me and Mama.  She was also happy that she got to hug their special bear and pick out a sucker.

Of course, no trip to Mankato would be complete without a ride on the carousel.  Ellen wanted to ride the rabbit because she had a bunny nose on.

The cat is always my favorite.

As usual, Maren hung out with Mama and was as cute as can be. 

I think Mama had a pretty good birthday eve!
Linden

Camping Adventure

We came home from school the other day and Mama said that she had a fun idea...we were going to camp, inside!!  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but Mama had a plan so I knew it was going to be great!

We started out having a picnic on the floor, corn dogs and green beans!! 

After supper Daddy helped us pitch the tent.  Bella and Kitten love tents so they made themselves comfortable as soon as it was setup!

Of course, camping wouldn't be complete without playing some games.  I really love to make up new games and Daddy is really good at playing them.

Next it was craft time.  I don't know how marshmallows and toothpicks are a camping craft, but we sure had a great time building all sorts of silly things!

And then there were s'mores!!!!!!!  We didn't have a real campfire, so I am not sure how Mama made these, but they were delicious!  I can't wait until we can build a real campfire and do some roasting.

Speaking of campfires, Mama even made sure we had one of those!  We had to search around the house to find the paper logs, and then I helped Mama build it, we even used a flashlight to make it look like it was glowing.

For bedtime I got to read Curious George Goes Camping to Ellen using our flashlights!  Reading with a flashlight makes reading even more fun.

We sure had a great time, and even got to sleep in the tent overnight.

Hopefully soon we will get to go camping outside for real!
Linden

Ski Bunnies

From Easter Bunnies to Ski Bunnies!!

It isn't often that we still have lots of snow and cold weather on April 7th, so Mama decided that we needed to take advantage of it and go skiing!  Luckily Auntie Wendy and Auntie Missy were able to watch Maren so both Mama and Daddy could hit the slopes with us.

We had to start out on the little carpet to make sure that we remembered what we were doing, but it didn't take long before we were on the big slope!

Mama asked Auntie Wendy if she could watch Maren for an hour or two thinking that we wouldn't last long, but the weather was amazing and we were having so much fun that Mama asked if we could stay out longer!

The best surprise of the day was when my best friend Hannah showed up!!!

Mama said that Hannah and I could go off and take a couple runs on our own.  Turns out, Ellen was NOT okay with that!  She was not happy and wanted to go find us as soon as possible.  Meanwhile, Hannah and I were off and she was teaching me how to race!!!  Not only did she take me on my first Blue Square run, but she also took me through the racing gates.  I may have fallen half way down, but even the best fall.

After a few runs we caught back up with Mama, Daddy, and Ellen.  Ellen was happy to be skiing with us, but she was insistent that she needed to go on the big hill with Hannah too.

One of the many reasons I love Hannah is that she is so kind and nice to everyone.  Not only did she take Ellen up the big hill, but she also took both of us on the chair lift!  I can do the chairlift by myself, but Ellen is so little so somebody has to pick her up in order to get on an off.

It was a pretty great day.  Maren had fun with her Aunties, and we all had a great time enjoying the great outdoors!

We had so much fun that we didn't last long on the way home before we both crashed.

Have a great night!
Linden