Spinning my wheels...

To and from Vacation Bible School,
to and from friends' houses,
to and from camps,
packing for scout camp,
house training the dog...
Really, who needs to do laundry? or go grocery shopping? or cook? or clean?
All of those things are over rated, right?

I'm not the most productive right now, but I'm just reminding myself that eventually it will all get done. Take a deep breath and enjoy the good stuff. And there's a lot of good stuff happening right now. :)

Happy Father's Day!

We spent Father's Day up at the lake with two of our favorite fathers, my husband and his dad. (My dad is vacationing at another slightly bigger lake, Lake Michigan.) We are very blessed by having these amazing men in our lives, and I thank God for them.

We got the boat cleaned and in the water last week. It's good to have lots of hands for this job!

Moxie supervised. I loved it that Great-Grandma called Moxie her Great-Granddog today! Here she is in one of her favorite spots yesterday, under Great-Grandma's chair.

Now that the boat is back in the water, my children and their Daddy got to do a lot of tubing together. I'd venture to say that this is exactly the way that my husband wanted to spend his Father's Day. I love you, Dave!

Congratulations...

to these two cutie-pies, Caroline and her friend, Audrey, on a FINE Disney on Broadway performance at their Christian Youth Theater camp. Caroline said that she is DEFINITELY signing up for next summer's camp. On our way home, we had to drive right into a huge thunderstorm. Right when we pulled into our driveway, the tornado siren went off. Dave and I grabbed the kids and the dog and headed into the basement. There wasn't an actual tornado, but wind gusts reached 75 mph, and trees and power line poles were blown over. That led all of the little ones in this house to be a little skittish for tonight's storm. We have one sleeping in our bed, one sleeping in the living room near us, two in their own beds, and one furry one at my feet. :)

Rain, rain, go away!

Moxie, AKA...

...my new excuse for why I don't get anything done or get anywhere on time. ;)

Puppies are a lot of work. I knew that before she joined our family, but now that she's been with us for a few days, I really, REALLY know it. But I am hopelessly in love with her. And I think that she loves me too. When I get up early in the morning with her, it doesn't matter if I am sitting, having a cup of tea, or if I'm doing the dishes at the sink, she curls up in a soft little bundle of fur at my feet. Its one of the hundreds of things that I love about Moxie. :)

Like all puppies do, Moxie is definitely exploring her new world with her mouth. She tries to put everything in her mouth, especially on our walks. So she's tried to sample mulch, leaves, flowers, dirt, sticks and lots and lots of grass. Henry reminds her several times a day that she should not eat the grass, that she is not a cow. The kids agree that she firmly believes she is one. So the kids came up with a new nickname for her...Moxie MOO.

So, what's this young man so excited about?!

Evan came outside with me to walk Moxie for the 103rd time today. ;) Under the bushes, he spotted...
THIS.

This frog was HUGE!

He asked me if I would get it for him. I said that Daddy was better at that kind of thing. (And truthfully, between you and me, I'm not such a fan of holding frogs.) I suggested that Evan run inside our house to ask Daddy to catch the frog for him.

So, I kept walking Moxie down the sidewalk. Suddenly I heard him yell, "Mom! MO-OM! I got him! ALL BY MYSELF!!!"

He did indeed. I was a little worried for the frog, as Evan had him firmly grasped along the middle. Perhaps a little too firmly for the frog's comfort and health.

I heartily congratulated him, and then suggested that he put the frog in a bucket. Caroline brought over a sandbucket, which was probably more comfortable for the frog, but maybe not as good for containment.

This bucket was better, but this frog was good. He hopped right out of this one too.

A deep wheelbarrow did the trick. We kept him for about an hour, and then decided that the frog probably had enough fun. Evan released him to the pond behind our house after a rather sad goodbye.

Farewell frog friend!

After all the rain...

...that we've had the past few days, we were treated to the perfect summer day. It was the perfect temperature, and again, there was mostly NO RAIN, so we got out to enjoy it.

Evan napped while I dropped Henry off to track camp and Caroline to drama camp. He's an ingenious little boy (at least I think so). Look at how he ensures that his head doesn't keep falling down as he sleeps.

The kids played basketball and hide-and-seek tag outside all afternoon with some friends. After dinner, Dave and Evan went out to cut the grass.

We mulched around some trees. We introduced Moxie to some neighbor dog friends, which the kids thought was the funniest thing ever. Fortunately the "friends" were very tolerant of our energetic and curious puppy. (This is our neighbor, Chet, of our "ditto house" adventures. We love him!)

Playing with her friends wore Moxie out, so she slept in the grass while the boys loved on her.

She is very secure in how we feel about her. ;)

A Day of Rest

After Moxie's big day yesterday, where the kids played with her non-stop...

and woke her up a lot when they were "just watching her" sleep...

Moxie was able to catch up a little more on her rest today. She's sleeping beautifully at night, as long as her cage is close to us, and that is a real blessing.

What more could a puppy want? Some play, some rest, and a lot of love...

make Moxie a happy puppy!

HERE SHE IS!!!!!

We met and brought home our sweet little puppy today!

Introducing...Moxie Lu Magoo Nosek!
Here's the kids meeting Moxie for the first time!

LOVE this picture...it's pure happiness! Tears were shooting straight out of my eyes!

Our hearts are melting!

Here's Moxie after a very tiring play session with the kids. :)

When the kids aren't playing with her, they are watching her sleep.

LOVE!!!