My Kids & Me

Today was a day we hoped would never come, and it came so suddenly. At about 9am, Georgie started having seizures. Beth had to carry her to the car (pregnant and all) and take her to the emergency vet. She continued to have seizures for several hours and was howling in agony. At about 2:15pm, we had her put to sleep. It's been a rough day for us and the kids. Elizabeth was particularly close to Georgie. Her heart was broken as are the rest of ours. Georgie is irreplaceable. I can't imagine there having ever been a sweeter dog on this earth. To go from where she was as a puppy and how mistreated she was to become an angel to our family...we were truly blessed to have her as part of our family. We see signs of her everywhere in the house, everywhere we look. It's going to take me a long, long time to get over this. I miss her so, so much already. She was like a daughter to me. We know she's in a better place now, looking down on us from heaven. I can't wa

Baseball has started. Tonight was a scrimmage game and Saturday is opening day. Since all of his practices had been cancelled, this was Michael's first time on a field for a baseball game. We were so happy because he looked like he was genuinely enjoying himself. I was happy because, for the first time, I actually got to just sit and watch. He knew what he was doing, got on base twice and scored a run. He even got to slide, which he thought was really cool (Now Beth get to learn how to get baseball dirt out of pants, which is basically impossible). The boy's got a good swing and a good arm. And yes, I did teach him to be left-handed even though he does everything else right-handed. He even wears his hat a little crooked like lefties do. His Grandfathers will be proud. Michael at bat In the dugout The reason I called this post "Little Andy." The coach was really embarassed.

Right after I finished posting the bath pictures from this weekend I found these pictures on Beth's computer. They're from the first time the kids bathed together. Time really flies.

And then they slept...

On Valentine's Day, the kindergarten classes had weddings for the letters Q and U. Elizabeth was so excited to wear her wedding dress and Oscar was handsome as can be in his tie.

Sue brought George, Charlie and Audrey over for a visit today while she was in town visiting her friend.  We got to spend the whole day with them.  It was so great seeing everyone.  Oscar and Charlie were like long, lost buddies.  Michael and George hung out together on the playground, and all 4 of them played Star Wars together. Michael was so cute playing with Audrey.  He is so ready to be a big brother again.  Tonight when he went to bed he told me that he thinks Audrey looks like Ellie and Michael loved playing with Ellie the last time we were in PA. We can't wait for Sue and Dave to move down!  Here are all of the pictures .

To my friends in Vietnam, Happy Lunar New Year! 2008 - The Year of the Rat

What a great trip! I'm so happy I went. We have way too much fun together.

Super Bowl + Beer + Shots = 1 Drunk Michele The last day of trip included going to the bar across from the hotel for the Super Bowl and then some late night bowling. Certain folks, no names mentioned, were, let's say, a mess. It was quite entertaining. All of the evidence can be found here .

I hereby proclaim victory over alcohol poisoning.

The people in the bar call this the Witch Doctor, but after Dave had 3 of them the name changed. And then the aftermath.

Michele and I went to the Bellagio this morning to take some pictures of the Chinese New Year exhibit.

Saturday was our day to take in the whole city. We basically went from one end of the Strip all the way to the other. Stephanie (not our sister) wanted to go to Hard Rock Cafe, so we stopped there first. Then we parked at Paris, walked up to the Venetian, across the street to the Mirage, down to Caesar's, all the way down to NY NY, then back to Caesar's and finally to the Bellagio. The Venitian was better than I expected. I imagine it looked much like Venice; there were people getting Gondola rides, some Italian singers, etc. There was a replica of the Sistine Chapel too. We had the chance to take our time and really take in the architecture around Caesar's. I didn't realize there were so many statues. They probably had a replica of every statue from ancient Greece. From across the street, you could get a great view of the Coliseum. This picture was taken from inside Caesar's. On the way down to NY NY, we stopped and saw the water show at the Bellagio.

Friday we headed down to the Hoover Dam for a tour. We got to see the power plant, the tunnels, etc. We did not get to go all the way to the bottom, which was a bit disappointing, but overall it was a really interesting tour. Friday's pictures . This is a picture of the upper side of the dam. And the lower side. On the way back from the dam we stopped to get a quick look at Lake Meade. Lake Meade is the largest man-made lake and reservoir in the United States. We headed to the Strip again Friday night. We stopped in for a quick visit at the Luxor then headed over to the Voodoo Lounge in the Rio so Dave could get his Witch Doctor drink, which quickly became Ditch Woctors. We went to The Orleans for dinner so Tim could get the prime rib he's been craving. Overall a great day. And...no arguing!!! Can you believe it?

Thursday started with a quick stop at the Hoover Dam before heading to the Grand Canyon. We went out the the western rim. Everyone was in awe. We found out that it is 4000 feet down from where we were standing; it only looks like a couple hundred. It's quite incredible. Dave kept making Michele nervous by going right up to the very edge. At one point, we talked Dave out of jumping; he said something about a wife and 6 kids before making the attempt. Some neat pictures to give you a perspective. This is the gang on top of a point. The trip included a visit to the ranch on the property. Dave particularly liked getting in the jail cell. On the way back we stopped at the Hoover Dam again. It's really neat the way they light it up at night. The night ended with another trip to the Strip. This time we went into Excalibur, Tropicana, MGM and New York New York. So far, I've liked the New York New York casino the best. Here is the album .

After an eventful flight, we all arrived in Vegas about 11:15am. Just like the last time I was here, it took forever for my bag to get to baggage claim -- had to wait over an hour this time. Fortunately, we were able to check into the hotel early. Dave, Tim and I switched to a King Suite, which means Dave & I are sharing a bed. In an effort to minimize the possibility of Dave seeking a nighttime cuddle, I put a pillow buffer between us. The rooms are quite nice though. We're about 10 min from the Strip. We didn't end doing a heck of a lot Wed night, except for driving in circles. We went to the Strip and went into Paris and up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was really windy and cold up there, so we only stayed for about 20 min or so. We did get to see the Bellagio water show while we were up there; that is pretty cool. While inside Paris, Michele got hooked on the slots. If I have all the bad luck gambling, Michele has all the good luck. She seems to win every time. Fro