Riley getting her puppy

This is my first attempt at posting youtube video (thanks for the tips Shelly). Oh and I have no idea why it put April 11, 2009 in there because I did not put the date on and it's wrong. Oh well, at this point I don't care.

Our new family member

Well, it seems like Riley has been saving for and talking about her future puppy forever, but she is finally here. Riley was so excited.

Although she looks quite large when Riley is holding her, she is only three pounds and you can tell when she is next to Maggie that she is just a pipsqueek.

So far it has been a long exciting day filled with howling, whining, peeing, pooping and me running around cleaning it up. I will be thrilled when she is housebroken and crate trained. Riley is really taking good care of her though and is over the moon. I heard her tell Zachary earlier that she "needs to pinch herself because she must be dreaming". LOL!

Saying good-bye

Uncle Sylvester, Riley and I at his 75th birthday party-Nov. 2006

This week I had to say good-bye to one of my favorite people in this world. My Uncle Sylvester passed away and he will be sorely missed by many. I have looked up to and counted on my Uncle my entire life and I'm still just a bit shocked that he is truly gone. We celebrated his life yesterday, as he wished, and it was great sharing memories and old photos and seeing friends and family we had not seen in years. I know Uncle Sylvester was looking down on us and smiling and wishing he could be with us. He always said that he has been on borrowed time since he should have died all those years ago when he lost his leg in the Korean war. He never took one of those days for granted and he always made sure everyone knew that he loved them. I'm going to try to honor his example and remember to live each day to the fullest and frequently tell my loved ones what they mean to me. We love you Uncle Sylvester and will see you again someday!

Differences between boys and girls

The kids both needed spring/summer clothes so this weekend we headed to the mall for some clothes shopping. Zachary, being a 13 yr old boy, grumbled, complained and did NOT want to go clothes shopping. I caved on this point simply because I did not want the grumbling and complaining along for the shopping trip. Riley on the other hand, being a 9 year old girl, bounced happily out to the car jabbering about clothes, etc.
Once we got to the outlet mall we headed straight for our favorite store, Gymboree. Riley was like a little fashion model trying on everything I picked out for her and happily modeling it for me. In the end we had to narrow down our purchase because I just could not afford to buy all the outfits and accessories that she loved.
Then to tackle the clothes for the growing boy. I went to Kohl's found shorts on sale for 50% off, bought four different styles/colors and $54 later I am done. I got home, showed Zachary his new shorts. He barely glanced at them grumbled something that I suspect was "cool" and went back to doing his own thing.
Girls may be more expensive, but they are much more fun to dress up!