Meet Coco

So we got a cat.  Well, a little, fluffy, tiny, baby kitten to be exact.  After much discussion and negotiations, we've named her Coco.  We picked her up on Wednesday and she's already found a place in our hearts and in our family.  It's no coincidence that Coco rhymes with loco, she's a little crazy ball of fur.  

How did we get here?  Why did we get a cat?  Well, Glenn and I have been talking about it for a few months.  Reina loves kitties and has wanted a cat for as long as she could say "cat."  For a while we thought that Tootsie and Trigger would try to eat any other animals at our house and that stopped us.  I'm technically allergic but my allergy shots have been helping with everything else.  So we kept talking about it and thinking about it and then Aunt Vicky found some kittens who needed a home, we went and visited and the rest is history.  

Much, much to say about all of this including a video of when Reina met Coco, a list of other names we considered and how the dogs are doing.  Coming soon.

Scenes from a tball game

Reina's t-ball season ended a few weeks ago.  Tball was lost a little in the shuffle of baseball, but Reina had fun playing and we enjoyed watching her run around the bases.  For her last game, the team played on an actual baseball field and she seemed to like getting to run around like a big kid.  I remembered to take the fancy camera and got some fun pictures of my almost first-grader. 

First base!

What do you mean it's not snack time yet? 

Yes, pink kitty comes to tball games too, naturally. 

"helping" sister warm up for the game. 

Tball game or fashion runway?  Tough call. 

I tried to talk her into a ponytail but what do I know. 

Reina's teammates were 5-8, with quite a few little 5 yr olds running around. 

Hey batter batter...

Look at that swing! 

Photo shoot and other sights of summer

Last week, we participated in a photo shoot for the Game & Fish.  They were taking pictures for their upcoming online catalog and needed people to model all of their G&F wear and naturally they thought of us.  Or Glenn volunteered us.  We had a free night so we headed outside of town to model away.  The official pictures will be online later this year but here's my version. 

Reina meditating.  Yah, I don't know why either.  

Reina modeling clothes and an unnamed juice pouch, unless they want to want to buy this picture from me for their ad campaign?  Hey a model has to stay hydrated. 

One willing model and one not so willing.  

There's a smile! 

Reina was supposed to be gazing on to the horizon but she decided to turn and get a closer look at her dad's pores.  

In my quest to be a world renowned wildlife photographer, here are a few shots of Banjo and the gang out our backyard.

Banjo!  Or another buck, I really can't tell at this point.  

Glenn had to restrain me from jumping over the fence to go snuggle these babies.  Not that they would've appreciated it.  We think she might have triplets because there was a third one not too far behind - on the edge of the frame actually.  They are already getting big.  

Will's baseball season ended a few weekends ago when they lost in the tournament.  It was a fun year again and Will did really great.  He was a reliable hitter and played some good defense.  We sure had fun watching him play.

I thought I'd get an action shot of him sliding into home but he didn't need to this time.  About halfway through the season he figured out sliding and he never ended a game with a clean pair of pants after that.  

Hanging out on second.  The league he'll play in next year allows stealing bases and leading off.  This year, he had to stay put.  

Getting some advice from the third base coach.  

Reina and I are home again today while we wait for her antibiotics to kick in and keep her from infecting the rest of the summer program participants.  Will's feeling good and opted to go bowling with the summer program kids this morning.  Fingers crossed that he (and the rest of us) remain strep free.

Strep

Reina and I are hanging out today because she has strep.  In July.  I know.  When I asked the doctor the chances of Will catching it, she just smiled.  Stay tuned.  It's Frontier Days week so all in all, not a bad time to be stuck at home.  Reina was fine until yesterday morning when she mentioned her throat hurt when she woke up.  By mid-morning, she had a fever that continued to climb.  She even asked if she could rest after church which sent off giant warning bells.  Reina never asks to rest. I took her to the doctor this morning where she tested positive for strep but she's already feeling a little better.  Her throat still really hurts but not enough to stop her from talking and asking me questions.  Here's a sample from today:

"Mom, when Malificient is being evil, does she wear shoes?"

"Mom, when you were 16, did you get to wear a bra?"

"Why do people die in Africa?"

"If I brought a man home who needed a place to live, would you let him stay with us?"

I'm exhausted.

Fourth of July Weekend

It's Sunday night, about 9:15 and our glorious holiday weekend is coming to a close.  We all had Friday off and it's just been a really nice weekend.  We didn't have any ambitious travel plans, we don't like camping this weekend with 3/4's of the population who also have the same idea, baseball takes the holiday weekend off, so it was just us and a long list of 'maybe-we-should-work-on's...." at our disposal.  Friday was a mix of regular chores and a bunch of garden stuff.  Okay, that sentence was just as boring to type as it was to read.  Will and Glenn did go see Jurassic World (have I written about how I took Will a few weeks ago but covered his eyes during the scary parts? Glenn didn't do the same thing.)  While the boys went to the movies, Reina and I finally rented Annie - the version that came out last year.  She's been listening to the soundtrack for months so she was prepared for a sing-along.  It's almost more fun to watch HER watch movies like that.  She's all in.  

On Saturday morning, Glenn and I ran a long run to get ready for a race that we have coming up at the beginning of August.  By the time we were done with that, the dogs were exhausted but the kiddos were already whining about nothing to do.  They've been wanting to do a lemonade stand so that's what I suggested and it actually kept them busy the rest of the morning.  They made $4 before they even poured a glass of lemonade thanks to our nice neighbors.  I think the key to a successful business is to be stunningly attractive.  

The morning's total haul was about $15.00.  Not bad considering many of the products were consumed by the sellers.  Teamwork! 

Saturday afternoon we headed over to Aunt Vicky and Uncle Matt's house for what is becoming our Fourth of July tradition.  Their house is just a few blocks from the city's fireworks show so we get great seats without all the parking headaches, and the food is amazing too.  

And have I mentioned the company?  It's delightful! 

Baby Cousin is getting so big!  That's a nerf dart in her sweet little hands.  She wants to join in the big kid fun. 

A rare moment of sitting still (for Reina).

Friends and a camouflaged Reina.

 Earlier in the day, Glenn and the kids drove out to the fireworks stand and bought a bag of stuff that may or may not be legal to shoot off in town.  Our Fourth of July philosophy is to carefully straddle the line of "wow!!" and "let's not get a fine..." I can safely say that we made through it another year without anyone getting a citation but it was darn close. 

Giant pink sword that shoots out sparklers at an alarming rate?  Yes please!

There is a price to pay.

Giant gray sword ditto ditto ditto!

We're saving this one for graduation.  It's a Harry Potter style duel with Grandma.  Of course it is! 

Oh goodness.  Events that precede a trip to the ER with Dad casually watching in the background. And Mom taking the picture.  But luckily no one had to go to the ER. 

After last night's festivities, we all came home exhausted and went to sleep.  Will woke me up a few hours later with a bad stomachache and he and I were up for a couple of hours.  I think it was a combination of too much sun and too many treats and he's on the mend today.  The late night hangout did put a damper on our Sunday plans, as did an afternoon of rain, but some of us made it to church, took a quick trip to the library and got caught up on chores.  Oh and we watched soccer - jumping on the bandwagon.  It was a great weekend.