Teeth + Red Pandas + Shopping + Festival + Miss Hannigan = August

On their own, none of those things have a whole heck of a lot in common. But when you mesh them together it is what we accomplished in a few short days in early August. 

 She has become such a brave soul at the dentist and got another cavity free round of applause!

One of Ella's closest friends at school is Lil. She and Ella fit so well together and that girl's smile could light up a room. I gladly scooped her up for a day so that the girls could hang together.

We were delighted to check out the new red pandas at our zoo AND the new splash pad. Daddy-o even escaped from work to join us.

Our buddy Aubrey joined us mid-afternoon so that the girls could have fun with our zookeeper friend (another Aubry!). 

They learned all about training animals, big cats and red pandas.

School shopping is a rather predictable situation for us since Ella is in a uniform-wearing school. We still had fun getting a few new khaki, navy blue and red threads.

We fit in a festival so that Ella could gorge herself on an entire bag of cotton candy as all of our friends watched in amazement.

And then Roz came back from her long vacation...which meant two things: excitement about her return and trepidation about letting go of Miss Hannigan. That was the deal, you see. When they returned Miss H would be all set for her new life. So we did a lot more snuggling which didn't take much convincing for our kitten or our girl.

 Her 'last supper' with us. The tongue was an added bonus.

We did the transport crate free and wouldn't you know it but she didn't budge an inch from Ella's arms. It was like she knew.

Roz was so incredibly happy and so was Ella. She accepted the fact that if we couldn't keep her, having her at Roz's house was a really good alternative.

Thomas was bewildered. He searched for Miss Hannigan for several days.

Mavis, however, seemed to exhale a huge sigh of relief. I found this scene a few hours later. Mavis had earned her spot back!

Miss Hannigan has made her presence known at Roz's house and is having a blast with her big brother-dog, Henry. Even more than ever, we like going to their house. First order of business is always scooping up our foster girl and carting her around just like the good old days.

~H

Papa Retires, Sort of.

After countless years, my dad finally decided to semi-retire. Note that he has not fully retired! We had a wonderful celebration with him on his last day of full-time work at one of our favorite places. It was perfect.

We spent the rest of the weekend bumming around our little corner of the world for walks, the river, lunch and ice cream.

Forget the fact that I was exhausted by Sunday evening, there were three little girls who still had some energy. After all, the lawn needed to be watered a bit anyway!

Aubrey and Kayla moved in just one year ago and we love having them right next door - such great little peeps.

~H

Joey Turns One and Water Park Adventures.

It is hard not to play favorites with this little one-year old. You may recall how I first met him when he came into this crazy world. I don't care what anyone says, he knew I was there and he's been my snug ever since. His mama threw an awesome birthday party.

Including homemade root beer floats!

That evening we headed out to Larry's early gig at one of our favorite bars. Ava/Addie and Sophie and their grown ups joined us for pizza and live music.

Good old Sully treated the girls to ice cream at a place up the street. They even had the ice cream before dinner!

Later on in the week, we packed up two cars worth of kids and headed north to a water park. The weather was perfect. So was the park.

In other news, Thomas had a week of being quite sick. The vets are stumped as to why but after two trips to the vet, and a 24 hour stay with an IV, we are happy to report that he is back to ornery Thomas. Whew.

~H

That Time Mom and Dad Bought You a Keyboard.

It is true, we are the worst parents ever for buying our daughter an electronic keyboard in order for her to practice all of the good stuff Miss Gail is feeding her brain. More on that...

Our own little buddy Ava Kate turned seven and she had a great celebration in her own backyard. The kids were thrilled to be in the pool the entire evening. We parents were thrilled to just sit back, relax and enjoy catching up with one another. 

There was a pinata which always gives me heart failure that some unsuspecting child is going to take a bat to the head. I am happy to report that did NOT happen at Ava's party. But all her so-called friends bum-rushed the pile of loot. Ava's expression here pretty much says it all!

Hard to believe, I know, but Mama Heather snuggled up with Addy for ice cream and cake and managed to make it a selfie moment. :)

And so back to the piano.

After she completed a full year of music appreciation last year, we agreed it was time to step it up. She has never screamed from the rooftop that she must play any musical instrument. But she has shown the most interest in playing the piano, and by interest I mean she hasn't cried about it. One of my mama friends here in our neighborhood had slots available this summer so Katie and I moved quickly. Ella goes first and Roz's lesson immediately follows.

We are a few weeks in and I'm super proud of her. Getting her to practice is not for the faint of heart but the minute she sits down on the bench, she does wonderfully. I'm really impressed and I adore her teacher. She has mentioned to me on more than one occasion that this was all my idea.

In other news, Miss Hannigan reached her adoptable weight through our Humane Society. We took her in last week to have her micro-chipped and spayed. We have managed to grow a very healthy, happy, social, loving and down-right hysterical kitten. When Roz and her family return on Sunday, Miss Hannigan will be making the big move to her new home. We cannot wait to watch her with her new brother/dog Henry.

The weather lately has been perfect: warm, sunny and dry. There has been an awful lot of pool time because of it.

In another 30 days, this fun stuff will all be over. Sure, it will be replaced by other fun stuff but nothing beats running with your buds in the summertime. Nothing beats Mama Heather watching them all run together in the summertime either.

~H