Casey

This sweet girl has adjusted to life in our home, but not without some work.  Little Casey is apparently a very shy dog and hesitant or nervous around new people, kids, or loud voices.  With lots of treats and patience, she has finally come to love (or at least tolerate) Ben and Alex but still gets nervous when they're running or loud.  And she generally doesn't like any other kids, but we're taking every opportunity to introduce her to new people and situations so she'll learn to be comfortable with strangers.  Hopefully.

The good news is that she's a good little dog, listens well, and has done great potty training.  Thank goodness because since this is my first time living with a dog, I needed one that would catch on quickly!  And now that she's learned she's supposed to play with the kids and take care of all the crumbs on the floor, she's doing her work quite nicely in the house.

Toys of any size work well for her!

 

Ben loves to cuddle with her on the couch and, depending on her mood, sometimes she enjoys it, too.

It's almost impossible to get a picture of her moving without a huge blur, but she's a great little fetcher.  It's hilarious watching her run with big toys or chew sticks in her mouth.

 A better shot of her face with me holding her still :)

Ben loves getting his kisses every morning!

Alex is generous with the toys.  I'm pretty sure she was sleeping but he felt the need to bring her everything "in case she was bored".

 

Little girl loves the sunlight.  She has learned to go to the back door and I'll take her out to potty, but on pretty days, she's already learned that a trip to the door will earn her some sunshine (but she doesn't like to be in the backyard alone).  Because of those false alarms, I now prefer the cold, overcast days because she does her business quickly and runs back in...no crying wolf!

Texas Weather

We've had some crazy weather this January...a little bit of everything from true winter to a taste of late spring.  On one of the warmer days, the kids enjoyed matching in their overalls.

 

We went to a nearby state park one Saturday to enjoy a pleasant afternoon and hike a bit.  Ben learned how to whittle a stick with his pocket knife.

Then just a few days later, winter was back in full force!  The high that day was just above freezing, but we drove past a fountain that had been on all night and found a miniature winter wonderland.

It was worth braving the cold to let the kids enjoy the ice for a few minutes.

We did have some indoor fun with the swimming angry bird balloon that santa brought at Christmas.

I think everyone loved it but the pets, who were terrified of the big red beast.

Back outside, the weather warmed up nicely again and the kids did some frog catching after a rainy day.

And then, back to winter.  The kids lucked out with a day off school because of sleet and freezing rain.  Not as much fun as snow, but they still enjoyed investigating everything that had frozen.

The best part?  A frozen trampoline that doubled as a skating rink.

It took some work, but they managed to break up the ice and make "snowballs".

And, since this is Texas, the next day we were back outside enjoying a gorgeous sunny day and wearing short sleeves.  But today, the kids are off school again for another "winter storm" that has brought a touch of rain and sleet.  No luck on the snow.

Happy New Year!

Where did the time go?  It seems we just started 2013 and now it's over.  It was a really happy, peaceful year for us...no big changes, other than Alex starting kindergarten, and no great issues for any of us.  We are grateful for God's providence and that everyone is healthy and happy and growing right along - we can't ask for anything more!

Here's a look back at how we wrapped up 2013.  Matt went hunting and the boys and I dropped Casey off with Grandma and drove up to Aunt Stacey's.  It didn't take the kids long to remember we still had gifts to exchange!

 

The boys each got a gift card from Uncle Jason and Aunt Stacey and I was shocked that they agreed to go in together to buy something a little more expensive, along with a few things they each really wanted.  After we'd assembled the new parking garage, Reid and Alex had lots of fun driving goldfish down the ramps.

Every time we visit now, the kids want to hike.  No matter that it was barely 40 degrees in the sun...they had a blast!

Apparently I really slacked in the picture department because I got no close ups of all the kids together.  We had a nice visit, though, and headed back on New Years Eve to pick up the puppy and get home to see Daddy.  On our way back from dinner, the kids noticed that our neighbors had sparklers and they were generous enough to share with us.

They also shared their little tanks...

Then the neighbors down the street shared their big sparklers...

...and eventually it turned into a street party, Alex's favorite activity in the world, although he said that one was a Fireworks Street Party, the very best kind.  The kids brought out their chairs to watch the neighbors set off their big fireworks and Matt brought out the safety glasses.  Safety first!

Everyone bundled up and enjoyed the show together. I love our neighbors!  Did I mention we started at 7:30 and finished by 9pm?  Perfect for us to watch the Aggies' amazing comeback against Duke on DVR.

This little girl had to hang out alone inside but thankfully she wasn't bothered at all by the fireworks.  She is still very shy with strangers and not comfortable around the kids, unless she's checking under their chairs for crumbs.  She had better start warming up to two little boys in this house soon because I'm not going to be the only one entertaining her for the rest of her life!  But this sweet little face sure makes me smile.  And she's sure hard to get in a picture that's not blurry.  Puppies are busy!

This is my first dog and only real experience with a puppy so I'm learning a lot.  Thankfully, so is Casey.  Once I started giving her treats for doing her business outside, she sped up the process enormously and now I don't have to watch her like a hawk every second, waiting for her to pee all over our house.  Puppies are much more fun when they can be trusted in the house!  She has been a good little girl and a sweet companion to me.

Merry Christmas!

Ben and Alex woke up bright and early Christmas morning to see if Santa had come, and he had come indeed!

 

They loved going through their loot and opening gifts.  Ben was happy to get the Planes movie.

For whatever reason, Ben was dying to get overalls and he couldn't wait to open them and try them on.  Naturally, Alex asked for some, too (just a few days before Christmas) but he hasn't been quite as enthralled as Ben.

Even the birds got something new from Santa.

Alex tore into some Fun-dip and after he'd eaten the stick, he decided to dip peanut butter crackers in the rest of his blue sugar.  Hey, on Christmas, anything goes!

After breakfast, we drove to Grandma and Grandpa's for the biggest surprise - the boys met Casey, our new puppy!

Grandma and Grandpa had been so helpful to keep her for several days so we could make it a true Christmas surprise.

Ben was IN LOVE!

Alex was excited, too, but he was also ready to get on to other presents as well.

The boys were turning into pros at unwrapping gifts!

Then it was break time and back to the puppy.

This little girl will never lack love or attention at our house! 

Welcome to the family, Casey!

It was a wonderful Christmas to celebrate Christ and family and all the blessings we've been given.  It was also fun to drive home with one more warm body in the car to love.

Getting Excited

We had lots to do to get ready for Christmas this year and the boys loved every minute.  We baked and decorated cookies one afternoon and ate them all, so we got to make a second batch closer to Christmas.  That's called good planning.

 

I let the kids watch Christmas Vacation with me (although we fast forwarded a few parts..."Can't see the line, can you Russ?"...we'll wait a few more years on those scenes).  Ben thought the scene with Cousin Eddie dumping his sewage down the storm drain was so funny that he drew a picture of it later that night.  It says "sewer is full".

Bart the elf made daily appearances and kept a close eye on the boys.  Alex left a blankie out for him one night in case he got cold so of course Bart had to sleep there.

I loved this sweet gift Alex brought home from school!  It was a craft the class had made but the bag was the best part.

On the last day before winter break, the kids got to wear their pajamas.  Both guys were sporting my handiwork again in fabric they had chosen.

After school, we headed to Grammy and Grumpy's house for Christmas #1 and some good ole fashioned Christmas fun.

The kids didn't mind opening a few presents early!

Ben and Grumpy dove right into the snap circuits board, which was a really cool way to learn about electricity.

We all spent some time at the park enjoying some mild winter weather with the ducks.

The kids had fun in the trees and the grown ups had fun playing games after they'd gone to bed.  We had a great celebration, then said goodbye and headed home while they headed north to spend Christmas with Aunt Stacey and her family.  They are blessed with a baby-to-be but four hours in the car to come here was not appealing in the third trimester.

At home, the kids left out their cookies and milk.

These two crazy boys somehow went to sleep and dreamed of the excitement to come...