On the Lighter Side

If you play Just Dance Kids for the Wii, your kids may pick the most unlikely song as their favorite dance.

They will dance to it over and over and over again.

You will sing the song in your sleep.

Behold. Kung Fu Fighting.

(For my Facebook Friends...you will need to go to my actual blog to view the video.)

Maggie

It's been a little over a week now that we lost our dog, Maggie.

10 years ago, when Dr. Dad and I bought our first house, it had a fenced in backyard, and we decided to do the whole Suburban Neighborhood thing right and get a dog.

I wanted a Sheltie, because I thought they were pretty. I didn't do any research, because I am impulsive like that. When I found out how much a puppy cost I was shocked. We decided to put the issue on the back-burner.

Not long after there was an ad in the paper. A woman was selling her year-old Sheltie because she didn't have time to care for her. We drove over and that was it. We had a dog.

I had a hard time bonding with her because she was never socialized, and she didn't like to be touched. She seemed pretty nervous around me...but she loved Dr. Dad. In time we grew to like one another, and she became a big part of our lives.

She was a very smart and loyal dog. When we were pregnant with Baby Girl we took her to a trainer and she learned so quickly. She made the move with us a few years ago; she went with us on short trips; she welcomed Baby Boy and made him laugh.

She never ran away, she stayed with us and guarded our yard (sometimes a little too well). She was very true to her breed, trying to "herd" us if we did things she didn't like, barking like crazy at anything (or anyone) she wasn't familiar with, running after cars, airplanes, geese or people that crossed in front of or over our property.

We found out she had cancer late last summer. We knew she had a limited time, but it's never easy to actually say goodbye.

She went the best possible way, in our home with all the people around her who loved her. It was fast and she was comfortable for most of the day.

I am surprised at how much I am still looking for her, expecting her to bark when I pull in the driveway; waiting for her to steal a snack from the kids; watching to make sure I don't step on her when I get up from a chair.

I'm sure we will get another dog soon. But for now we are dealing with the new quiet.

We were lucky to have her.

Secret Trips and Killer Whales

Although the sickness of '11 kept me from the original Florida trip I had planned, my Mom came up with the great idea of taking another trip; this time to surprise my sister.

Of course, leave it to my family to meet up with my California residing sister by waiting until she was in Florida and then flying in from Ohio.

We decided to add Baby Girl to the fun, and take her to Sea World. I have very fond memories of Sea World as a child. When it was still located in Aurora, Ohio, we were able to go at least once a summer, sometimes more than that.

To keep things in order, here was the plan:

1. We would be staying with my Mom's childhood friend who lives in Orlando and was willing to put up with our antics for the 4 days we would be there.

2. My sister's in laws were going to be in Florida and had a fantastic resort room that they were happy to entertain in, and were right across from Sea World.

3. My sister and her husband were coming in to Orlando from California to see the 8 family members that had come down to Florida and go to Disney.

4. I could not blog/facebook/email or talk to her about the trip, (which was killing me) because if she saw any of my posts the gig would be up.

5. We would be spending 2 days at Sea World and the rest of the time trying not to impose on various people when we needed to drive around Orlando and eat (seriously, these were some incredibly generous people!).

For a day or so we were convinced my sister had figured out what we were doing. We tried throwing her off the case by making phone calls and talking about how bad the weather was (while we were sitting by the pool) and putting Baby Girl on the phone who turned out to be an excellent story-teller (makes me worry about the future though, ha).

The look on her face when she walked in the room Saturday night and saw us standing there was well worth the whole trip! We had a great time.

The trip to Sea World was so fantastic. We really did need two days to get through the whole park. The shows were great, especially the dolphin show, which inspired us to do a behind the scenes tour with the dolphins. But that's another post...

The weather was perfect, and several times I had to remind myself it was still January and not the summer! Of course, I had no trouble remembering the month with the ice storm that hit Ohio immediately after we got home.

Our friends and family went above and beyond to make this a great trip

This is my Mom and her friend...it was so fun to hear them talk about their childhood together. I could really see why they were friends. A special thanks to her husband for putting up with the endless chatter of Baby Girl, who never misses an opportunity to entertain a captive audience.

Some of us were even able to go swimming...

I can't even begin to tell you the level of bribery and coaxing that went into getting Baby Girl on this water slide.

We were so happy to see my sister and brother in law...we had so much fun and it was so hard to leave.

I'm so lucky to have my family. Thanks Mom! Thanks Family! Happy Birthday Sis! Love You!