Fun Day at the Zoo

We enjoyed a beautiful Saturday at the zoo this past weekend. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to enjoy seeing all the animals. The Kansas City Zoo offered free entrace and rides for teachers & their families, so we took advantage of the great offer. Brandon & I hadn't been to the zoo for years and Luke's first trip to KC's zoo. I must say none of us were disappointed. We had a wonderful time.

Fall is Here...

For some reason or another I am having a really hard time adjusting to the idea that fall is here. The fact that I'm starting to see my breath as I walk into work in the mornings is starting to drive home the inevitable...summer is really over. Normally, I love fall. I love when the air gets crisp & you start smelling wood smoke as you're out walking along. Not so much this year...I'm dreading what's to come - cold, dreary, drab, and did I mention cold? - winter. I'm not ready to trade in my capris, shorts, t-shirts, and sandals for sweaters, turtlenecks, long pants, and *gasp* shoes that require me to also wear some type of sock. Sorry for the complaints...I'll try to look at the bright side - gorgeous leaves turning into a rainbow of colors and the promise of a snug evening cuddled up by the fire with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa. I'm just not quite ready for it yet!

Luke Funnies

I just wanted to make sure I wrote a few of these funnies Luke has shared recently.

After a weekend with my parents:
Luke, "Dad, I have something I need to tell you."
Brandon, "What is it buddy?"
Luke, "Grandpa Ron's battery van only has one leg left. It's in bad shape. It still has 4 wheels, but only one leg. That's bad."
-----We later find out Grandpa told Luke that his battery delivery van was "on its last leg". :)

Talking about Brandon's parents:
Luke, "Grandma Patti and Grandpa Fred always stop by on Saturday nights. Then they always go see a movie at 8/7 central."

Watching Tom & Jerry swordfight & hearing "En Guard!"
Luke tries to repeat, but says, "I'm Guard!" & pretends to sword fight.
Me, "No, Luke...En guard"
Luke, "No Mom, I'm guard!"

I just love the way the 4-year old mind works! Okay - 3 posts in one day...I think I'm done. :)

Fun with Cousins!

One of Luke's favorite things is to spend time with his cousins. We spent time at the pool with Brady & Cooper in August. Luke got to spend the night with them 2 weeks ago, which was a huge treat for him (thank you Aunt Krissy!). He is still telling me things 2 weeks later that he did with Brady and Cooper or things Aunt Krissy told him. Such as "Mom, your dad's birthday is before yours. Yep, that's what Aunt Krissy says." We also got to spend a little time with his newest cousin, Ellie, last night. She visited for a couple hours while her mom and dad took a class nearby. We are so thrilled to have a little girl cousin as part of the family now and you'll see from the pictures how cute and sweet our little Ellie is! Luke felt like pretty big stuff next to her.

Enjoying a snack between swimming

Brady thinks something is hilarious. :)

Cooper being his sweet, laid back self

Look how much bigger I am than Ellie!

All ready for bed

Ginger Update

Ginger has now been home for almost 2 weeks and is continuing to improve. One of her liver values is still fairly high, however, her kidneys are nearly back to normal & she is acting more & more like herself again. Every day she seems to act a little bit better & a little bit stronger. After seeing her unable to even stand up for a short period of time, we are grateful to have her feeling this well again. Below is her "room" she had in the doggie ICU at her hospital. In this picture she was down to only 1 tube, her catheter, but you can see on the leg that's not bandaged, the lovely shave job she got. Her fur is growing back, but it's still pretty obvious that she had shaved legs for awhile. :) Thanks again to everyone who prayed for her. She still has a little ways to go, but she's definitely on the mend & improving every day!

Ginger - shortly before heading home from the hospital

Enjoying a little ice cream (doggie variety, of course!) now that her appetite is returning.