Playing at The Domain

Logan and I went up to The Domain shopping mall/mixed use development today to return a shirt to a store. We happened upon a frozen yogurt shop and several playscapes, so our errand turned into an afternoon.

Sneaky Grandaddy

Stealing Logan's hat at Hat Creek last night. She went from all smiles to full-on tears immediately. She was hangry.

"Valentime's" Day

No, that's not a typo. Larkin says Valentime's, and I didn't have the heart to correct her yet. What time is it? Valentime!

_Frog and Toad_ with Grandaddy

Larkin's wrapping up her first _Frog and Toad_ book assigned for homework. She's pretty excited to have made it through the readers and into chapter books. Go Larkin go!

Afternoon at the Library

Logan had a birthday party to attend this afternoon, so Larkin and I went to the new library again to explore the floors we didn't get to last time. We also ran into an old classmate from the UTCDC--Willem. We had a good time checking out the views and playing with Willem and his big sister Jean.

And the last time we saw Willem--

Lounging after school

And cracking up at _Puss in Boots_

A Week Ago

I forgot to post about our adventure last Friday night. Larkin had three friends over for a sleepover, which she was excited about all week. Not too long into the sleepover, before I even got home from work, Larkin fell while doing the obstacle course she and her friends had created in the backyard and hit her jaw hard on the seesaw. Her teeth cut the inside of her mouth deeply enough that we were worried she would need a stitch. So I left the guests with Marvin and Logan and took Larkin to Urgent Care. We waited there for an hour only to see the P.A. for two minutes before she told us she couldn't do the kind of suture required inside the mouth at that clinic and that she would take Larkin to the ER if she were her daughter. So to the ER we went. Another hour and a half later, we saw the doc who said he didn't want to do a suture because it would require sedation. So we just had to go home and hope it healed without infection...inside the mouth...full of bacteria. Ick. Poor Larkin was in pain but was also pretty sad that her sleepover involved her getting back home at 9:45 pm.
Thankfully, we are one week out, and her mouth is looking much better. She did look like she had been punched in the face for a few days but now just has a small, circular cut inside her mouth. Whew.

A Sad Day

With heavy hearts, we have come to the day when we have to put our little buddy Snoball down. He has had cancer for a few months, and the meds we were giving him to keep him comfortable just aren't working anymore. He is struggling to breathe, and it feels selfish of us to prolong his suffering only to prevent ours. So we fed him steak last night while we held him on our laps on the couch, his favorite place to be. We made the decision to tell the girls what was happening so that they could say their goodbyes. You can imagine that for Larkin especially, who wept when we got rid of an old shower curtain and the busted sofa mattress, the news was devastating. We are not sure how we are going to get her into her classroom this morning. It is interesting to watch Logan process the information. She cried but then, as she was going to bed, began talking and laughing sweetly about all the things she loves about Snoball. The four year old seems to be the most adept among us at grieving healthfully. Here is a photo of our good dog in his healthier days. We will miss him.

New Tap Shoes

Logan is just a little pleased.

Ice Cream with M.A. and Maggie

M.A. has been here all week, saving me time and again. Her visits are the only times all our laundry is done, fridge and freezer are stocked, and dishes washed nightly. Such luxury!
Meanwhile, Larkin's buddy Maggie is sleeping over tonight. We did the usual Hat Creek/Sweet Ritual Combo, with a stop at Toy Joy thrown in for good measure (which, dangerously, has opened in the same shopping center as the ice cream shop).

River's Birthday Party

At a massive, packed trampoline park. I was exhausted just standing there.

New Dance Class

Logan LOOOOOOVED every second of this class at an actual dance school as opposed to the ymca. Tap, ballet, and tumbling all in one hour on Saturday mornings. Perfect.

Queen Sandy