Dog Day

In honor of National Dog Day, I am doing a post about the dogs. Let's be honest.  For as cute and loyal as they are, they don't get as much love as the little humans.  Although, Tripper is just so freakin' adorable that he has really helped me step up my Instagram game.

Speaking of Tripper, he is continuing to get bigger each day.  Now he isn't really getting taller as much as he is just filling out.  His body is finally catching up with his head and paws.

Tripper also LOVES to swim.  We can't keep him out of the water when we're at the lake. The kids don't know what to do much of the time because they're not used to a dog that wants to swim with them and not just retrieve toys.  Granted, Tripper swims so much that he passes out really hard.  So, the trick is to get him to want to take a nap before we leave so he'll go in the house and dry off before we get in the car to come home.

It still surprises me just how much Stella has slowed down this year.  I know part of it is the comparison with the super-active puppy, but I still think she's getting less active. She doesn't want to swim as much as she used to.  I think it's because her arthritis is getting pretty bad.  Don't even think about touching her legs for the couple of days after she's been swimming a lot.  So, she has taken to lounging a lot more than she is playing these days.

Even is she's slowing down, Stella is still my first baby girl.  Her shiny black coat is speckled with white hairs all over her body now.  She still loves to snuggle and be petted too.  I'd say she's doing pretty well for 11 years old (that's 77 in Dog years!).

Happy National Dog Day to my two playful pups!  And, I can't forget to mention the pup that first made me a dog mom.  Jackson...it's been almost a year since you left us and we still miss you so much.  Tripper reminds us a lot of you, but no dog could ever replace you.

Time to Breathe

It is interesting to hear the mixed reactions I've heard from parents over the past week regarding the return of the schoolyear.  The ones who have been at home all or part of the summer with their kids are relieved.  The ones who have kids in sports are apprehensive.  The ones who are really involved themselves in school activities are stressed out.  For me, the return of the schoolyear is a very mixed bag.  My week night evenings are much fuller than in the summer.  BUT, I am actually home on the weekends and can get things done then instead of trying to cram it all in during the week.  We are so blessed to spend so much time with our family swimming, boating, and having fun during the summer.  But, when this time of year comes, part of me is bit excited for all of the fun that awaits right here in our home community.  

So, for the part of me that is sad to see the lake weekends come to an end for this year, here are a few of my favorite moments (that were captured on camera) from this summer's lake times.

For some reason a lot of my favorite moments involve Barrett sleeping...I think it's because he just falls asleep in the most random places and positions.

Paddle boarding is seriously one of my favorite activities to do at the lake.  One of my life goals is to become a paddle board yoga instructor when I retire.  Any time I go out on the board, Fletcher always wants to come along for a ride too.  By the end of the summer, he was comfortable with me standing and he'd just sit on the board and stick is hands and feet in the water at will. 

If Fletcher liked boats before, this summer has only deepened his love of boats.  And his Papa Pat.  Every lego guy with a hat is Papa Pat, and Papa Pat drives all of the big boats. 

A photographic summary of the summer wouldn't be complete without a photo of the drive home.  While at the lake, Tripper would always swim until he could barely keep his head above water.  Then, on the drive home, he'd inevitably find is way into Audrey's lap. She liked to complain about it in the moment, but I think she mostly likes it.  

Back to School

The kids went back to school this week...well, the two that go to school that is.  Audrey started 4th grade and Barrett started 1st.  This year felt very easy breezy compared to last year when Barrett was entering kindergarten.  They both know the routine and there isn't much to figure out. Barrett even has the same teacher Audrey had in first grade, so we only have 1 teacher to get to know too!  It's more of just getting back into the school routine.

The first step in any good school routine is lots of first day pictures.  Audrey gives me a hard time for taking so many pictures.  I want to remember what my kids were like at this point in their lives though, and the first day of school is a perfect opportunity to go all out paparazzi on them.

First, we had the crazy photo that I feel shows the true emotions of a brother/sister relationship.  Please note that the umbrella isn't just a prop; it rained all day so Audrey had the umbrella to keep them dry at the bus stop.

Fletcher wanted in on the action too.  When I was leaving to take the older kids to school, Fletcher had a meltdown.  I think he believed he was going too.

Now, when we got to school, I managed to get the teacher's to participate in the photos as well.  Barrett was getting a bit camera shy at that point, but Ms. Koch still managed to make him smile.

And the final tradition is the picture by the Westchester sign.  We actually got this after dinner, when the rain had finally stopped.  Barrett is standing in the middle because it was too muddy for him to stand to the side.  And, heaven forbid he stand right next to his sister!

All in all, I'd say we had a successful photo...I mean first day of school!