A glimpse in my Saturday

I realized the other day I haven't been blogging as much as I wanted to, so I thought I'd just give a quick update and sample of a Saturday in the life of me.

Yesterday was a busy day.  Jake would tell you they are ALL busy.  But this time I managed to capture it in photos.

Our morning started with Jake planning to take our new puppy, Yawkey to the vet.  So that means he had to take my car and leave me with his mini coop (which is a stick).  I took the kids to Exploration Place where we met our friends the Pates.  Their daughter, Holly has type 1 diabetes.  We were a part of her team walking 2 miles to raise money for a cure.  The kids did a good job walking the 2 miles, except for the complaining the last half mile. :)

Our Holly's Hooligans

We finished the walk at 11:00 and drove through Wendy's to get a quick lunch and headed to the North YMCA.  Allison had a 12:00 soccer game and Owen had one at 1:00.  We made there with just enough time to eat our food, get geared up and get to the fields.  We look so ready for soccer!

My soccer studs.

Allison made her first soccer goal!

Going for my "mom of the year" award, I just remembered that Allison was having her team pictures after the game.  YEP!  That's my baby in her team pic with a giant green butterfly on her face!!!

The Baby Jays

Jake met us at the games, I went to volunteer at church at 3:00 then went home to get ready for my date night.  We went to dinner with the Carpenters and then to see the Zac Brown Band.  It was a long, but really FUN night.

Shawn, Jake, me and Erin waiting for the show to start.

Yawkey

Yawkey

For the last week, we've been walking around with a hole in our hearts.  We would have moments when we would think we needed to walk Nick, hear him or need to check his water.  He was a part of our daily life.  But within the last 48 hours, we've fixed that!  Jake contacted a breeder who had a 10 month old chocolate lab male.  They gave him their phone number to call and set up a visitation.  I called yesterday afternoon and talked to the owner.  She said this dog in particular was living with a trainer (literally 5 minutes from our house) and that we could stop by and see him.  By 3, I had called and set up a "meet and greet" for 5:30.  There was some excitement building in the car as we made our way there.  This dog is amazing!  He's still got some puppy energy, but no more puppy teeth.  He's been crate/leash/hunting & field trained.  The kids loved him!  Jake LOVED him.  I love him too!!!  So we wrote them a check and brought him home.

We weren't exactly ready for this new member of our family.  But we did our best.  He was extremely nervous and wouldn't come in the house for about 2 hours.  He would just run around the back yard.  Finally, I wore him down and he warmed up to me and came inside.  Yawkey (I picked the name) soon explored his new home and made himself relax with "mom and dad".  It was so nice to have this new source of love in our home.  We will ALWAYS miss Nick.  But we will be busy with Yawkey too!

Hanging with dad, first night

Furry Family

This is our first child, Nick.  We got him for our first Christmas together (1998).  He was one of a liter that was left at the shelter.  Before we were a couple, after Nick came along we became a family.  Daily walks (sometimes 2) became a normal routine.

He turned 14 last December.  We've been told by several people how amazing he both look and acted for a dog his age.  My secret, is that it was because of all the love he got.

We had to say "Good Night" to our booga for the last time this afternoon.  It has been hard, but it was the best thing.  It's amazing how you don't really miss something, until it's gone.  The house feels a little quiet.  But our memories echo in our hearts.  We love you, Nick.