Timber!

We had some massive straight line winds come through recently and it decided to cause some pretty hefty damage to our trees. When we looked out the window the morning after the storm, I was shocked to see that a tree (a huge tree) decided to lose one half of it's massive size by falling down. On its way down, it took out half of another one of our trees and landed on our rabbit enclosure. Thankfully, Pickles the bunny was in her other safer home. It was a tree slated to be trimmed for winter by the electric company and, thank goodness, they agreed to clean it up for us for no charge. The tree company that did it had it cleaned up and chipped within ten minutes. Ten minutes! It would have taken me two weeks to do that. Crazy!

The picture doesn't do it justice.

The Last Pumpkin Patch

I'm sad. Well...kind of. This year is Evie's final year of Pre-K. Unlike her brother and sister, she got the pleasure of going to Pre-K twice. After getting talked into it by the teachers at the school, I couldn't be happier it turned out this way. She loves school. Way more than her siblings, I might add. We used to go to the pumpkin patch with Alex and Abby during their Pre-K years and was happy that Evie's teacher convinced the school to let them go as well. This year, however, is the final year for our days at the pumpkin patch for school. I'm kind of bummin'. This year, it fell on the same day as Alex's fifth grade rocket launch. Luckily, Josh had the day off and got to fill those shoes for me while I went with Evie. 

She had so much fun even though it was cold that morning. I was watching her run around and could still see Abby and Alex running around in my mind. It's heart wrenching to realize how far they've come and how fast it is all happening. My babies are babies anymore. We had a great time though, and that's what counts. I'll miss going to the pumpkin patch with tiny ones. Good times.

She loves riding the bus - no car seat.

Me and my baby girl. Boy was that sun bright!

Alex's 11th Birthday

My oldest baby just turned eleven. Alex is just two short years from becoming a teenager and that terrifies me when I start thinking about it. This year we had more people over than usual. Alex begged and begged me to let him invite a couple of friends and so a few days before the party, I finally caved. He had two specific friends in mind and both of them got to come. He asked me for a Halo cake somewhere around summer-time. He's been really into that game for awhile so I wasn't surprised. I was hesitant to have to design this one as I really am clueless about that game. Luckily, Google didn't disappoint in finding an easy helmet to recreate. The big black things on the sides are some kind of gun from the game. Apparently I nailed it as he knew what they were when he saw the finished cake. To me, the look like the silhouette of Wolverin's claws. But whatever.

He really doesn't have much these days that he is into as far as toys. I can see the days of action figures and gallons of new toys slowly coming to an end. Nerf and Halo. That was pretty much it. But he wanted to be surprised for his present from us. So I got creative and decided to give him something we've been working towards for some time now. I found a really nice pocket knife with a cool shark on it. I let him open packages of soap and wood before the knife to totally confuse him. I think he thought it was because he stinks or something. He was super excited to see we upgraded him to a pocket knife. We will be learning how to use it safely by carving soap.

It was fun even though the day was supposed to be super rainy. It didn't rain during the party at least. We grilled hot dogs and all the kids ate and had a blast. I'm glad I let him have a couple of friends over. It kept them very distracted. And this year we had extras as Jeremy moved back home with his kiddos. Jake couldn't make it because his family was all sick. Tis the season. But Abby was happy that Audrina got to come with Nikki. It was a good day. Alex has grown into quite the fun kid. Other than his temper (genetics, I think), he doesn't seem to get into much trouble. He's a great student, kind kid, and loves his imagination. I'm super proud of the guy he's growing into. And he's not too far from outgrowing his mama. I figure he'll be taller than me by 14. But who knows? Happy Birthday Alex! We love you!

We had equal amounts of boys and girls.

Left to right: Wesley, Alex, Zach, Matthew, and Chase.

 

Jasmine

Eleven years ago this past May 22 in 2006, a tiny kitten and her brother and sister were fighting for their lives in the cruel world that is known as the country. Being a barn cat was what they were going to know and all their mama had ever known. But that all changed when their mama died and I took them in. I never thought that I would have seen eleven years with any of them. That's how horribly off they were. My vet is always telling me that those kittens, in all rights, should have died. She said that she doesn't believe anyone would have gotten this far but me. And try, I did.

July 24th of this year, the fight had to end for our beloved Jasmine. From the very beginning of her life, she was a fighter at heart. She was the ruler of our roost and put every single cat in their place. She was the alpha and all who crossed her, knew it. She started out tiny and helpless, but she fought like a tiger until the very end of her life...and I fought right beside her. When we lost Penny a year before this, I was certain that Jasmine would have been the first to leave us. But she proved us all wrong. She was diagnosed with the same condition as her sister - hyperthyroidism. When once upon a time, she was one of the fattest cats in the house, she began to throw up daily for years.Then she began to get bowel issues which made her stinky all the time. We loved her anyways and Josh called her Stinky. Had I known the signs earlier, I would have given her a better chance, but I just couldn't have guessed. She lost weight despite her ravenous appetite and I didn't understand it.

Right after Penny passed, I promised Alex, who was her favorite human (she chose him), that I would do everything in my power to keep her alive and happy. Things got worse for her, but no matter how many times she went downhill, she fought twice as hard to come back. Our vet kept saying, "she may be skinny, but she's super happy and her quality of life is still high." In May, just days before her birthday, I was certain it was her time, but once again, she said no - not yet. At her end, she was being fed up to ten times a day, a special diet I had to mix up each time, and cooked chicken breast for snacks. Medicine consistently and all the accidents she had from her failing bowels, finally were catching up with her. She got down to barely four pounds and was a ghost of her former self and I knew that the trip to the vet that day would not end well. The kids were broken - again. I feel like my kids have a broken heart consistently once a year. It hurts.

In all the times I took Jasmine to the vet, I came back ever the hero with her in my arms and a happy group of kids. This time, even I knew that I couldn't help her further. I started crying the instant our vet walked in the room. I knew...she knew...Jasmine knew. The hardest part was that when I had my moment with her to say goodbye, she began purring and rubbing on me. She had been so sick for the past three days that she barely wanted to walk let alone purr, so this broke my already shattering heart. I think she may have been telling me goodbye. She fell asleep in my arms and I let her go. The vet said it was instantaneous. But the hole she leaves in my heart will take years to mend.

Alex was broken. Abby was broken. Evie was broken. Josh was broken. The queen joined her sister in Heaven and left behind one of the luckiest families in the whole world. We got to be her humans for eleven years and we will miss her always and forever. She also left behind a confused brother who looked for her for weeks. I don't care how much I had to fight for her...I will cherish her always. Rest easy Jasmine baby...we love you always.

That's Jasmine on the far right.

Jasmine again on the far right.

Jasmine and her boy. She loved to lick mayo off his finger every day. He hasn't eaten an egg sandwich since she left us.

Yeah. She always had the wonky eye. I think it gave her character and made her even more special.

Me pregnant with Alex in Jasmine's teenage years. Sweetie.

The old gal loved her special place on the couch.

August 2017

August was pretty good, but to be honest, in hind sight, I really wish it would have lasted longer. I always find myself counting down to the days when school will start again as August starts, but then as soon as the crazy of school is here, I miss summer. Maybe next year I'll learn my lesson and enjoy it more without constantly telling myself it needs to end quicker. Maybe...

We tried to fit in as many things off of our summer bucket list during August that we could. The kids wanted to go to the zoo and my brother Jeremy was here with his family so what better time than then to have a zoo trip? We also fit in more fishing and a few trips to get shaved ice. Golly...I miss summer now.

Our newest kittens are fitting in lovely. And destroying everything...

Me and two of my three 'boys'. Jack and Luke.

Zoo trip with all the cousins.

Our annual family photo at the orangutan statue.

Kittens still being crazy.

Good fishing at our local city pond.

A rare selfie with the hubby.

A rare moment of kids getting along...all at the same time.

The local shaved ice place is fantabulous! How we haven't known about all these years is very disappointing.

July 2017 pt. 1 - Fishing and a bit more

July was actually filled with quite a bit of things to do. Even though the kids seem to like to say "mom, we never do anything!", they are quite wrong. We actually spent a good amount of time going fishing with Grandma - my mom. I actually used my license this year for a change. July was fun...and busy.

I had to throw this one in there. Leia looks at Josh in a way that isn't natural for a cat. She has always been jealous of me, I think.

We went to go see my nieces, Linsey and Kate, in their community theater's play. It was really well done. This year was "Annie". They did great! Linsey was part of the Warbuck's staff and Kate was an orphan.

Alex spent every lunch feeding his baby Jasmine mayonnaise. It's been a tradition since he was little. Unfortunately, this was the last summer with her (to be a later post).

This heron was watching us fish at a local pond. Abby took some pictures of it. But the best part was that we took a fish we caught and threw it to it. It caught it and ate it in one gulp. It was awesome!

Fishing with Grandma.

Abby hates fishing. But she does love using a net and catching things close to the shore. This was her prized catch of the evening.

Alex, on the other hand, is quite the little fisherman. He loves it! And he caught a bass...all on his own.

Every day was spent with a popsicle. Most days they jumped on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath it.

We planted mammoth sunflowers and marigolds. The mammoth flowers reached a height of barely my shoulders. Our soil is poisoned...ugh...

Josh hates fishing too, but I did talk him into (or dragged him) to go walk around the pond after shaved ice with the kids.

Another fishing trip with Grandma at a lake near by us. The girls hunted for treasures and minnows while we attempted to catch fish.

I'm not good at selfies still. But I tried to document my part in the summer.

Fisherman Alex.

This would have been more fun if there weren't a horde of evil bumblebees trying to kill me because of my bright blue shirt.

One of my favorite pictures of the summer.