Hobbs

This blog is for Hobbs. He has been a loyal dog to our family. He is messy, slobbery and has a problem with gas. Sometimes it is bad enough to clear a room. He is also a big chicken. When you hear the phrase "scared of his own shadow" you can think of Hobbs. Yesterday there as something on the floor that he wanted to eat. (Cats are messy too!) He was standing just in the right light, that the drool hanging down from his jaw, that cast a shadow. Every time he moved it would swing back and forth and the shadow would naturally move. He tried to look away from it, but it seemed to follow him. After about 5 minutes of trying to get to the food with the shadow getting in his way, he back slowly away. I had a good laugh watching our big chicken.

That being said he has been perfect for our family. We have had many laughs at his expense. Camille loves him and he can do no wrong in her eyes. Lately he has been slowing down quite a bit from arthiritis in his hips and various growths around his body. At the age of ten we are not sure how much longer he will be with us. I have stated many times, he is our last dog. I will stick with it, unless Paul breaks down and looks into Camilles brown eyes. He has a hard time telling his only girl "no". I will have to have a practice session with him.

BUSY BUSY

February has been crazy. Paul came home from Bahrain for a couple of weeks and we went skiing. Actually the kids and he did, I sat home and played with the fire. I was scared that I would mess up my knees skiing, which would put me behind for training for my Triathalon in May. They had a great time and I did too. I like to play with matches!!

Seminary is going great! I am exhausted though, trying to read a whole book in four days and trying to teach is. The kids know more than me sometimes.

I am stealing an idea from my friend Laurie. She is starting to put things on her page that she is grateful for. So my first one is ladders, stools, and chairs that I can stand on. I have decided to changes things in my house and the first thing to go, is a bunch of greenery on top of our book shelves. Also a whole bunch of wooden animals that Paul has collected over the years with his travels around the world. (Sorry Paul, they are being banished with the rest of your strange african masks up in the attic. Maybe you can build a shelf for them in the shed! )

So, the ladder came in handy that day...

I am also thankful for locks, so that I can lock up the computer room after about 9:00 at night! Not that any of my kids would even consider going on after I am asleep.

Spencer is busy doing lots of band activities. He drives the "cool" mini van everyday to school so I don't have to drive him back and forth. HAHA! How many of you would have been grateful to drive a mini van at that age?

Eric is Eric. He has recently started asking when he could get a job, and since I found out that he could at 15, I will work on that. It would be good for him. He starts driving in April, I will call all of you so that you can stay home that day!

Camille is busy doing anything that is movement. Every weekend she wants to go skating. She is in an acrobatics class and is doing very well. She is more flexible than I ever was!

Military MOM muscles (MMM)

Well, if I had a digital camera, (hint to Paul), I would have taken a picture of me dismanteling the water bed in Eric's room. It took me two days to tug and pull to get the mattress off the frame and onto a sheet and then drag it out into the hall, where I let Spencer help me drag down the stairs and out to the garage. (Yes, Laurie Miller, I know this is a run on sentence!) After all that hard work I logged it in as a workout at the YMCA on fit linxx. Since there wasn't a category for that kind of a work out, I logged it out as 'rowing'.
Seminary has been slim pickings for attendance this week with attendance. We studied the Book of Judges. I have always liked the story of Deborah and how she and another lady named Jael, nailed two mens heads to the ground with a tent stake. Actually in the first story the knock his head off first!! Does that mean I am morbid? GOOOO Deborah!!! I also think that it is funny in a couple of chapters later that a man doesn't want to go down in history with people knowing he was killed by a "woman", so he asks someone else to do it. ( I thought Laurie would like this feminist remark!)
And since I want to leave this on a positive note, I will say that none of the three animals peed in MY house today!! (That excludes the three that walk on two legs!)

Weren't they adorable!!! I wish I could go back!!!

Here I am after my first 5 miler. Not too bad, I only have about 18 weeks to go until the big raced day. Camille made it into jazz band. She will be on the piano and is most likely to only 6th grader in the band. She has listened to Spencer the last several years with the trombone and was really torn about being in the orchestra and the band. She chose orchestra and is excelling with the Violin. Now she gets to have both by doing jazz band. It will be two days a week before school and very excited!!

This is a typical image of Camille every night at dinner ! The girl likes to laugh and it is so contagious that eventually we all end up laughing.

"Here is proof that Eric did once know how to smile!!!"