Baxter's First Bath

Washed, blow dryed and brushed. He's not spoiled or anything.

Daily December - Foundation (Video)

Two weekends ago Kevin and I moved my scrapbook table from the guest bedroom into the closet of the guest bedroom. That closet is huge. If I had unlimited budget I would convert half of that closet into a full bath and keep the other half as the walk-in closet, but I digress.

I'm excited to have a dedicated space to scrap! I built the foundation of the pages for my 8x8 album with one page being white with a number for the date of the month and the opposite page being a matching colored cardstock to coordinate with the number. If you are looking for the numbers I got them at Elle's Studio a few years ago - these must be the 2010 version and are super cute!

It took about two hours to assemble this base. Ali says the key is having this assembled prior to December. and after putting together the foundation I can see how that can be key.

Daily December - Album Foundation from Cara on Vimeo.

I know a few friends who are planning to join/do in some way - whether scrapping or online. There are about 200 other scrappers who have posted a link to their foundations on their blogs if you'd like to check that out.

You can keep up to date on all of Ali's Daily December posts here.

Carter's 4th Birthday Party

We held Carter's 4th birthday party about a week before his actual birthday. I thought this might work out better with the Thanksgiving holiday. Having a child around a holiday is not ideal for party planning. We had it at a local community center with indoor pool. His choice. Can you tell the theme?

(Un)happy Halloween

This Halloween definitely wasn't one of my happiest. Thank you so much to our best friends Sam and Candi for feeding our kids and taking them trick or treating. Otherwise they wouldn't have gotten to go.

Here are pics from our trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Can you tell it was cold? 

Welcome to the family, Baxter

Wow, has it really been over two weeks since I posted!? Lots going on - prepare for daily updates!

I've been browsing Wayside Waifs and local animal shelters for a new dog over the last few weeks. I finally decided I really wanted a true Golden Retriever. We had one when I was growing up. His name was Chapter and he was such a great dog (other than jumping fences). After looking at the classifieds online I called a man near Emporia KS who had bred his Golden and had three males left. On Sunday we drove to "look" and of course picked one out.

The man told me the littlest one was the "smart one." He came right over to me and sat down, almost as if he picked me. Carter started to hug one and it coward so I immediately ruled that one out. We picked the runt and took him inside to get another shot. The man's wife said "oh we're going to miss him." I felt good about my choice. Then she said "he's the ornery one. he dug a hole under the fence and got out one day." oh great, maybe I should have picked that other one, ha.

The road trip was a little farther than I expected. 3 hours there and 3 hours back. Thank god for XM radio and DVD players in the car.

We've named him Baxter and he is super sweet. The first day we had him he was the sleepiest dog I've ever met. He has been gaining confidence in his surroundings more and more each day. He is already going to the front door when he needs to go out and only had two accidents. I think that is pretty great considering he has not been an inside dog at all until now.

He's three months. His paws and ears are huge. He's going to be bigger than Tassie. He super soft and fuzzy. The kids are constantly playing with him when they're up. He has a love for chewing socks - he can pick them out of a huge pile of laundry.

Welcome to the family, Baxter!

Sonar. July 2000 - October 31 2010

From Anna
This  is  Sonar, I like't him but now he's dead. And im sad. I like't it wheen he was com. And he's loveuboul to. I relly relly miss him. Sonar was a good dog. He was varry helpful to us.We miss him a lot . I like't to play owtside with him. He is black as you can see.

From Carter
I really really miss him.

In no particular order...

Kevin named him for his big ears.

He had a favorite spot on the couch.

When Kevin was away I would let him sleep in the bed.

When it snowed he looked like he had dandruff. He used the snow as an excuse to just poop on the deck.

At night he always slept under the bed. Tassie learned this from him.

He had horrible teeth and would chew rawhide until his gums would bleed.

Anna would cover him with a blanket to make sure he was cozy.

Always that spot on the couch, unless he finally got squeezed out.

He didn't mind when the kids covered him up.

They were always loving on him in the morning.

He didn't mind.

Carter has always loved dogs.

When he was a young whipper snapper and my running buddy at our house in Prairie Village.

A big teddy bear, good for cuddling up for a nap.

He would run down our long hallway at our first house and jump over the foot of the bed. We joked he needed a cape.

Also good for warming cold toes.

Even early on Anna would try to give Sonar her food.

Driving by PetSmart one day I stopped and looked at the puppies. He was the last of his litter and there weren't any parents so I really wasn't sure what kind of dog he was or how big he would get. They had named him "Sweetie." Little did I know, that name really fit.

He rode on my lap as I drove out to my grandma's immediately after picking him up. He slept. It was Thanksgiving weekend and Kevin was out of town. Boy was he mad when he found out I adopted a dog without him. He was mine from the beginning.

He lived at the apartment with me in Lenexa. It was on the first floor and he liked to sit on the porch and watch the world go by. If he started to bark I hushed him, afraid the neighbors would complain. I think this is where he learned to "talk" without making any noise. If you've met him you know. He was snap his mouth but nothing would come out. He was talking to you.

Instead of buying him toys I would pick up pieces of his food and flick them across the kitchen floor. When he got older he would take one piece of food from his bowl into the other room and flip it around for a few minutes until he finally ate it and then went to eat his dinner. I think this was from playing with his food pieces as a puppy.

He would climb the fence in Prairie Village to chase the squirrels. He was my running buddy for a long time.

As he got older he liked to stay outside more. He had an invisible fence collar. Sometimes the battery would die and I wouldn't know it. He would go on an adventure. One time to the retirement community nearby where some old ladies were taking good care of him. Another time to Ryan's steakhouse nearby where someone found him in the parking lot.

He was always in the driveway when I would bring the kids home from school. He was always happy to see me. I was always annoyed that he was under foot as I was carrying in a million bags.

He would get into any trash can. I would have to put a chair upside down on top of it to keep him out. He loved kleenex, preferably used. When he got frustrated he would pee on the carpet upstairs. When I gated that he would pee on the carpet going downstairs.

He was my first "baby." He was 10 years old. I am glad he didn't suffer, but sad I didn't have more time to say goodbye or for the kids to say goodbye. I'm glad he was in my arms to close his eyes.

We love you Sonar. Peace be with you.