Twitch

Wednesday, August 19, we had to put our beloved Twitch to rest. He had an aggressive mouth tumor that couldn't be operated on and the vet recommended we put him down. He lived 16 years which is pretty rare for a lab. We all loved Twitch. He was an awesome dog. 

He loved retrieving ducks and he loved swimming. He also loved chasing chickens we discovered when we visited my sister's house in Bakersfield a while back. At 14 years old, he ran back and forth all day chasing those chickens. He could barely walk for a couple days after that. But Twitch's greatest love was by far Dan. We were thankful that Dan could be in the room with him in his final minutes.

Twitchy, we will miss you!

and also fire

Last week the weather cooled way down. I'm sweating as I write this because it went way back up.

But when it was cooler out, the middles and I took a walk to a near-by park. And then to another nearby park. This one may have been taped off. Rebels. I brought hand sanitizer. Or as the kids ALL call it "hansatizer."

There's less than 3 years between them though their height difference suggests otherwise. The top of Winter's head now comes to my mouth when she stands next to me. And Addie just reached 40 pounds last week. 

One of Winter's favorite things to do with poor Otter is to make her jump up onto things and pose for pics.

I took everyone park-hopping a few days later (with lots of hansatizer). These days our daily activities heavily depend on the weather. It's been a fun game looking for parks that aren't taped off. There's lots if you look for them.

Nobody wears clothes in the house anymore, including Dan. I'm the only one who is appropriately dressed at all times. If someone knocks on the door, I'm definitely the one to answer. 

Favorite quote of the week from my rice-loving girl.

Me: (after dinner) Mya can you put the rice in a container please?

Mya: I gotcher container right here! (pointing to her belly and wiggling)

The other day I asked Mya if she could french braid my hair. I showed her how much it had grown since I got it cut back in February. Her eyes got big and she was like, "UMMM YESSS PLEEEEASE!!!" And the rest is history. French braids for me from now on. 

She's been begging me to grow my hair out for years so she could start doing cute hairstyles on it. Everytime I've come home with a new short haircut she's rolled her eyes and walked away. It finally grew out thanks to Covid and she's happy to say the least.

These two. I never have a good caption for these adorable pics. But they're too cute to leave out. 

Not sure why Winter fell asleep with pants on her head. Maybe they were playing a game. Maybe she wanted to be like rapunzel... Maybe she just wanted to get her hair out of her face..

                                  

Covid officially pushed my eyes over the edge to where I can't read things unless I stick my arms out two feet away from my face. And since I'm reading books now (because of the lack of good TV) my arms get tired holding them away from my face. So... READERS!. I've always wanted glasses. I think they are a fabulous accessory and I think they automatically make people look smarter.

I knew I was ready for readers when I went to give Mya Benadryl and couldn't see the directions. So I just handed the bottle to her and told her to read the directions and take the recommended dose. She's almost 11. Pretty much an adult. 

Swimming at our new favorite pool. The church pool. So much for getting exercise. Lazy bums.

Our wonderful cousins stopped by for a visit. I should stop torturing the kids by taking pics in the sun. Next time.

Yesterday I was in my bedroom with my shudders wide open overlooking our street and the blue sky above it when I got a text from my neighbor friend who was in Big Bear vacationing. "I heard there's a fire!" she texted. So I walked across the hall and looked out the kids' bedroom window and saw this. The kids were playing downstairs and didn't notice either. We're in our own little world these days.

Addie: (starting to freak out) What if the fire gets too close and heats up our house and kills the dogs?!

Angus: (puts his hands on her shoulders) It's OKAY Addie. If the dogs die, we can just go to the pet store and get new ones!

I'm running out of energy these days. I think my body and mind are already surrendering to the imminent exhaustion about to be caused by online-schooling 4 children. I've had no desire to make myself things for lunch and dinner. This stuff has been a nice little meal in a container. It's been around for years. These days I like it on toasted bread. Back when I put effort into my lunch, I would add lettuce and tomato and make a nice little sandwich. But you really don't need to add a thing. It's delicious. 

Happy smokey Friday if you're in SoCal!

buds for life

Last week we finally took a trip down to the beach to visit our beloved Higerds. It's been many months since these little friends have spent time together. They all missed each other so much. They were literally dreaming about hanging out. It was a sweet visit.

The size difference between these two besties is fantastic. 

(Addie's older and Rosie gives her hand-me-downs)

Angus cried on the way home. He feels his feelings.

Camp IDRAFOJE was not canceled like I assumed it would be earlier this summer. The girls were overjoyed to say the least.

And Dan and I snuck away recently for a beach date. Always lovely.

The outnumbered ones in the house 😊

The pizza oven project is coming along nicely...

And Mya learned how to french braid. 👍

I've run out of shows to watch and was resorting to bad TV and decided to take up reading again. I'm an off and on reader depending on the season. I read this book and it was so good. It's so poetic and beautifully written and also an easy read. Hard to do both. I couldn't stop reading it. I recommend. 

I listen to Dax Shepherd's podcast, "Armchair Expert." I think I mentioned that before. I love it if I'm into the guest he's interviewing. I recommend it if you don't mind F-bombs here and there. The last one I listened to and really liked was Alanis Morisette's interview. I used to be obsessed with her so it was cool to get to know her a little bit. That's why I like the podcast. It's really long, probably around 2 hours per guest so you really get to know a bit about them. A while back, he interviewed Alicia Keys and talked about her book and definitely sold me on it. 

I listened to it on audible because I wanted to hear her read it. She plays piano and sings a little bit as well. It was really good. The first half was better than the last half in my opinion. Probably because the first half is her story growing up and the second half is all about things she discovered about herself as an adult. But all around, still really good. I recommend.

Happy Wednesday!