Pictures of pets

Our house is still full of pets.  They've all adapted to having the house to themselves all day since I'm back at my office and the kids are in school. The dogs still love a trip to the field and the cats still try to sneak outside unless it's super cold.  Last month, Reina and I had to take both cats and one of the dogs to the vet for their annual appointment.  That trip was as chaotic as it sounds.  But they are all as cute as ever and we humans fight over who gets to sit next to the snuggly dog when it's cold in the evening.  

Reina would love to help me with chores but she's stuck on the sofa until Coco decides to change venues. 

Charlie loves to snuggle even if he's snuggling the back of my neck.  

Coco helping me with my latest sewing project.  So helpful!  

A tale of three pets at the vet. Pet 1 -  Coco preferred to sit on my shoulder facing the wall and (I can only assume) imagine herself in an alternative location.  

Pet 2 insisted on sitting in my lap in the waiting room and darting for the door anytime it looked like the appointment might be wrapping up.  

Pet 3 sat on the examining table and purred.  

Trigger helping me have a lazy Sunday.

 

Kids at Water World and pet pics

It's been a super weird week but I'm saving that story for another post.  In the meantime, a few weeks ago we took the little monsters, the big monsters, the grandparents, and some friends to Water World for our Official Last Fun Event of the summer.  Well not the Last Fun Event, but maybe the last fun event in Denver?  Anyway, we piled everyone into the car and headed south.  The little monster cousins hadn't been to WW before and none of us had been there since the summer of 2019 because of Covid so we had a great time!  

E talking to his juice box - or talking to me to say 'stop taking my picture'

Where did this grown up girl come from?  

E is not a huge fan of the water and the fact that he walked in up to his knees was very big news. 

Reina and the lazy river 

I didn't get any pictures of Will, or at least any pictures that I'm allowed to post but he was there too and he did a great job with his younger cousins.  He sat in the little wave pool with them and even convinced E to go on a giant inner tube on the "Journey to the Center of the Earth" complete with dinosaurs and lava.  E announced to everyone after the ride that Aunt Lucy had ruined his life by encouraging him to go.  Oh well, I had a nice run as Cool Aunt Lucy but all good things come to an end. 

We recently bought Will a new bed to match is taller physique and a new bed meant new bedding which resulted in a weeks-long search for the perfect comforter and sheet set.  One night while perusing TJ Maxx and sending 10 (TEN!!) pictures to Will of navy and white comforters in all shades and patterns, I stumbled across this welcome mat that had to come with me. I left without a comforter too but later that weekend, Glenn and Will went shopping and came back with the manliest of manly bedding in the form of black and dark gray and I'm just happy that he found one that he likes.  

Since I'm back at the office, the pets and I don't get to hang out like we used to.  We still find time to go to the F I E L D (can't say it out loud where they can hear you) on the weekends.  

A happy bunch post run at their favorite place.

I came upstairs on one particularly hot evening last week to find Coco sleeping in our sink.  While it was a nice cool place to nap, it was also convenient for reminding me that she'd like a refreshing drink 
directly from the tap.  

A rare sighting, a tuxedo cat and a tuxedo dog sharing the same bed.  Soxy still doesn't prefer the dogs be in her direct orbit but for some reason she tolerated it yesterday. 

 

This week in pictures

This post will not contain any pictures of Will playing basketball because he hasn't been psyched for me to bring my camera to the games.  Tomorrow morning I'm getting up super early to drive to Nebraska to watch him play so he's not going to get a say about me bringing my camera along.  Back to the week.  Will had three games this week and his team went 2-1.  Will got to play in each game and even scored some baskets. 

Reina is eating a snack right next to me right now and delaying going to bed.  That's a daily occurrence for her.  She is counting down the days til her birthday (5!) and going to dance classes.  Next week she's going to try school volleyball and I'm probably more excited than she is.  

Will had a lot of homework this week. One of his projects was to write a timeline of his life with it broken down into eras, periods, etc.  He was supposed to find add some pictures for each section so of course we got on this very blog and found some good illustrations. Like this beachy fellow.  

I think this is 2010ish.  It might also be the last time he was shirtless in public.  

Because Will had two games back to back this week (the third game was actually on Saturday), he ran into a bit of a pickle when he didn't have another dressy outfit for school.  The basketball team dresses up on home game days,  Will has one go-to outfit. This is the point of the story where I feel like I should mention that I offered last weekend to take him shopping for some extras but I was politely turned down.  So Wednesday night, after his game and after everybody got fed, I zipped over to Target to get some extras. I did have to text him some pictures and call at one point to get sizes but I didn't do too badly and nothing has to be returned.  And yes, those our jeans.  That's what passes as dress pants around here.  

I had a pretty busy week at work.  This was the view from my computer's camera during one of my zoom calls this week.  The dogs and I are just one giant pack now and where one of us is, the rest of us have to be. 

Furthermore, the feline members of the family still like to have a few minutes of fresh air everyday, even when it's crazy cold.  With my new office location, they can't just pop in the window because there's a screen. Try explaining that to a yowling cat. 

"Go to the back door!  I can't let you in right here!" 

Glenn's hand continues to heal. All of the stitches are out and the skin is healthy.  He's still working with the OT to get flexibility and movement back but he's a determined guy.  

That's our week.  I've got to go set the alarm for insanely early.  Go basketball!  

Another week of 2021

We're still chugging along.  Will had his first basketball game last week and it was a lot of fun to watch.  He's playing on the A team this year and he got a few rebounds, a couple of steals and he took one shot that almost went in.  If his parents could've willed that ball into basket, they would have.  He has more games this week.  Attendance is limited to two visitors per player and we miss getting to see more  friends and all of the little siblings running around the games but I'm thankful that we get to watch in person. 

#43 on the court, #1 in our hearts

Reina was under the weather this weekend and stayed home today. I think she just has a bad cold but these times call for a more strict approach to germ isolation.  So I had a co-worker at home today.  Other than fighting about her needing to take a nap, we had a nice day.  She got some schoolwork completed and I had a productive workday.  

Reina had a special tutor while she did some school from home. 

Speaking of work, I finally bit the bullet and moved my desk off of the dining room table and into the guest room.  I guess it takes me about 9 months to adjust to a new reality, even it's only temporary.  It's nice to have the dining room back to normal, and by 'normal' I mean its currently covered in homework and unopened mail and cats.  My new office space also offers more privacy and another place for the pets to sleep peacefully while I labor away.  

Glenn's hand is still healing.  He's been making progress with the occupational therapist and starting to get more movement back.  We go back to the surgeon on Friday for more suture removal. 

We keep chugging along. 

Post-Holiday weekend

I'm at the stage of Christmas break where I'm not quite sure what day of the week it is but I do get to sort-of sleep in tomorrow because I'm taking the day off and that's all I know.  Oh and Wyoming plays in a bowl game tomorrow so it must be Monday.  Reina asked me how many more days of vacation she had left and she still has six.  SIX DAYS! 

Our weekend was a hodgepodge of fun activities and chores and winter-y weather.  On Saturday, Glenn went duck hunting, Will had batting practice and I baked a bunch of cookies for church.  The weather was frightful so it was a nice day to stay in.  Reina beat me in several games of Trouble - her new favorite. 

On Sunday, the weather cleared up a little bit and Will and I headed down to Denver for the last Broncos game of the season.  We (mostly) took Glenn's advice and bundled up in snowpants and carhartts so we stayed warm.  Will decided to forego his snowboots and his feet got pretty cold.  He's going to love that memorialized that little tidbit on the blog.  The Broncos won, we had fun. 

Obligatory mom/son selfie

 Today, we made hamburger out of the moose, elk and antelope that Glenn and Will shot this hunting season.  It was a long day of meat grinding but we got it all done.  It's nice to start the new year off with a freezer full of meat ready for dinner. 

Glenn had a little stalker checking out his handiwork.  

Sick days and snow days

We've had a wild week at the Pauley household.  (How many times have I started a blog post with that sentence?)  Last Wednesday as I was getting ready to head to Laramie for a presentation, I had a call from the school nurse.  Reina had a sore throat and wanted to come home. I zipped over to pick her up, took her home, went to Laramie, gave my presentation and drove home in the snow.  Glenn was keeping an eye on her.  She didn't have a fever so I thought maybe she was just having an off day.  About 10:30 pm, she barfed.  I thought "well maybe it's just the pain medicine I gave her that upset her stomach."  And then she barfed again and again and again until 8:00 a.m.  She's usually very stoic about being sick but this one hit her hard.  I would doze off only to be woken up by "MOM I NEED YOU I BARFED" many times. I should clarify, I'm happy to be there for her and I know these days won't last forever but boy did we both need some sleep when morning came.  Long story short, she had all of the symptoms of influenza or strep but she'd just had the flu shot and the strep test was negative and she slowly started to feel better.  So far, no one else in the house has caught it and we are hoping it stays that way. 

The day after Reina came home sick, Glenn had to endure one of those events that happens when you turn 50.  The big colonoscopy. I think it's safe to say that the days leading up to the test were harder on him than the actual procedure.  As someone who likes multiple fruits and veggies every day, being on a low fiber diet was tough.  The last 24-hours when he could only drink clear broth were even more brutal.  I knew he was hungry when he picked giant burgers for dinner the night after his colonoscopy.  He's happy to report that all of the tests came back normal and his dr (supposedly) told him that Glenn had the cleanest, most magnificent colon he'd ever seen. 

Yesterday, the weather took a turn and we started to get quite a bit of snow.  As I was driving home from work, I had a call from the school - this time with the automated news that classes were canceled for today.  There was much rejoicing from the younger members of the household who know get a 6-day break for Thanksgiving.  Just when I was wondering how I would juggle my work day and their extra day off, I received a text saying that State Offices were also closed.  I didn't necessary 'rejoice' but I was happy to not burn a vacation day.  Glenn was already sleep so he didn't find out the exciting news until 6 a.m. 

We had a fun snow day.  Glenn and I did some extra chores.  Reina played with a girl next door.  Will ventured outside for some fun in the snow and we all watched a movie.  It was a nice relaxing way to kick off this fun week. 

We built a Lego gingerbread house for Christmas decorations this year.  I mostly put it together but Will helped with the tricky parts.  At one point, I couldn't figure out where a piece was supposed to go and Will took a look at it and told me in a serious voice, "wow Mom, these really are big boy Legos." 

The snow out our front door this morning.  

The dogs' idea of a perfect snow day

Soxy's too 

Out big kid laying face down in a snow drift.  He wanted to jump off of that shed but Glenn put the kibosh on that before I even heard of the plans.  Phew.  

That time Vicky and I took two cats to the vet

How was your Monday?  Did you take two cats (who aren't best friends yet) to the vet?  No?  Well then your day wasn't nearly as entertaining as mine.  Coco was due for her annual check-up and Soxy hadn't been to our vet yet so it made sense to schedule them at the same time.  Once I realized the logistics were going to be tough, my amazing sis volunteered to come along and help wrangle cats.  

We dropped R off at school and we headed out.  Vicky took a great video of two cats howling in the backseat and we had that as our musical accompaniment as we drove across town.  I kept Soxy in the cardboard carrier we had leftover from Coco's previous visits and let Coco sit on laps or seats as she saw fit.  Soxy kept peering through the wholes in the cardboard with her eye and it was a little freaky - like a pirate cat or something.  

Okay.  Yes I do recognize that this is one whole post devoted to a visit to the vet but really, it's one of the more entertaining moments we've had and it was really fun to go with Vicky who is still fighting her battle with breast cancer but is feeling good enough to accompany cats that she is not legally responsible for to the doctor.  What's more fun than that?!  

So thrilled.  So very very thrilled. 

Once inside the exam room, I let both cats out while we waited to see the vet.  Soxy was brave and explored the room. 

Love this picture - she looks like she's getting ready to read her file on the computer.  

I didn't know she could stand on her hind legs to check out the shelf.  

 Meanwhile, Coco was not in the mood for exploring. 

Still not thrilled.

Both cats got up to date on their shots and both had a clean bill of health.  I took both dogs to the vet last week and they need a supplement for their joints and one of them (Tootsie cough cough) needs a little diet.  But not the kitties.  They are fluffy and healthy and I'm hoping that their shared traumatic experience will help them be better friends.  Or at least to stop fighting in the middle of the night.