We had another birthday this past week.  Leavi turned 10! He had his party at the Jay Lively Ice Skate Center.  There were about 15 kids and there was a lot of activity!

He had a cake on his actual birthday that I made here at home for him.  The M&M Special…

And he had a Safeway Bakery cake for his party. This is the Wall-E version.

There was lots of skating before cake, ice cream and gift time.

The Birthday Boy and me!

I finally feel that Star is doing good.  It is hard sometimes when she is not there in the morning to ask to go out and I miss her “Thank yous” after dinner.  But she is happy where she is and I am very glad to have had her as my friend.

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Two weekends ago my daughter and her boyfriend came to stay for the weekend.  They brought Leavi home - which was very good for me because I missed him so much!  Also, her boyfriend, Jesse, constructed the duck foundation so that it will NEVER fall over.  Nicole and I did our best, but he and Jessica dug a ditch, filled it with concrete, set in rebar, drilled holes in the railroad ties and reset the railroad ties. 

AWESOME!

Now, I am hoping to get them back to do the framing part for the netting!  They did a great job!  And it was, of course, very nice for me to have them here

They, also, brought a new friend for us.  His name is Archie and he is about 4 months old now.  Jessica rescued him as a very small baby from under the dumpster at her apt.  He was filthy, had swollen shut eyes and sores on him.  He has been a delight to watch play with his own tail, jump into boxes and just get to know the other cats - they, on the other hand, were NOT pleased by him at all!  It has been a week and now they will tolerate him… he just can’t touch them!  He makes me think of a black Siamese… his face is narrow and his tail fans like a bottlebrush when he is scared.

Archie and Brandy…. he kept sneeking closer and closer to her til he touched her… then she growled and spitted at him - he was gone in a flash!

We, Luke and I, got the burn pit cleaned - all of the ceramic, metal and tree limbs that have been dumped there whenever we don’t know what to do with the item… kind of like a junk drawer.  He and I cut the tree limbs into kindling and Luke got it all stacked.  The only thing left there is a stack of pine needles.

And, last but not least, we have had a birthday.  My mother-in-law, who lives with us, turned 86 last Monday.  I took her to have her hair done and then the boys and I took her to dinner.  When we got home, we gave her the flowers and had cake.

Happy Birthday!!

That is all for today.  Next post is about some “guests” that we have!

I had lots of happy stuff to post about this week but this post needs to come first.

One day 11 years ago, I met a pitbull named Star.  She was 2 yrs old, had some puppies and her owners were trying to find her a new home… lucky me!   I got her home, she took off after my cat - through the window!- went under the fence and was gone.  I looked and looked for her and then I had to go to work.  When I got home that night she was sitting on my porch waiting for me.   Soon after, a HUGE dog came over the fence and we got puppies!  Four of them lived, 3 died during birth because they were all so very big.  Star was an excellent mother.  She was patient, kind and loving with my boys, too.  She never bit or snapped at any human - if she wanted you to leave her alone, she hit you with her head.  Every night after her dinner, she came and found me to thank me with a smile on her face and a wagging tail.  She loved every one.  The past several months she has had troubles breathing at times, did not want her dinner, could not jump on the couch to “her” spot and could not get on the bed to sleep with me.  The past 3 weeks she had lost a lot of weight.  And the last 3 days she did not eat…. just follow me around the yard, smile and wag her tail.  I took her to the vet last Wednesday.  She had golf size tumors in her stomach and the prognosis was very bad.  I decided to try and give her the same love and dignity that she gave to everyone.  The vet and I decided to let her go.  I will go back to get her ashes and my family and I will take her to Keyhole Sink (an old Indian hunting ground) and spread her ashes.  We were very blessed to have had her in our lives for 11 yrs.  She showed us love, patience, kindness and acceptance. She was always a very happy dog…… she wagged her tail at me til the end and I will always remember her big smile.

Our family has been blessed with many friends and well-wishers. A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you!

The boys had soccer games on Saturday.  I am thankful that their games are on the same street in Flagstaff about a mile from each other.  It makes trying to get to games a lot easier.  Last year they were on the same team (age difference of 2 and half yrs puts them on diff teams this year) and the year before they were on diff teams and it was very hard to get them to the games on time and be able to stay and watch each of the games.

Luke

Leavi

And we did some weedeating.  We did the half acre that the horses don’t have of our entire acre.  We picked up tons of rocks that we will use in the duck/wash project.

This is a view taken from the horse fence

 This is a view from the street

A weed flower that was too pretty to cut down

I remember a day when Life in the Fast Lane was fun!  But I guess as one gets older the meaning of things change along with the meaning of life.  Tonight, as I was driving home from Flagstaff, the boys got into an argument in the back seats (I drive a van)…. it ended with them flinging a bottle of water through the car while I was doing 79mpr down the fast lane.  The water soaked me and the front dashboard and windshield in about 2 seconds flat!  I pulled off at the truck stop, made them dry everything while I screamed at them.  It is lucky that the good ol’ sheriff didn’t come and get us!  When DID the fast lane change its meaning for me?  I must be getting old!

Last Wednesday night my step-son graduated from high school.  Our boys stayed here - one in camp and the other with a great friend who, also, fed my animals.  We left here at 9am and drove through some pretty lousy weather to Benson - about 320 miles from home.  The wind blew so hard that I was getting hit by tumbleweeds and the wheel wells were whistling - while my mother in law cleared her throat about every 2 miles.  The motel was horrible - Days Inn in Benson.  The window was leaky so the wind howled and whislted into the room.  Most of the amenities were missing - no microwave, no iron.  And the outside doors would not open with our keys, so we had to walk from the main entrance down to the end of the hall.  Not so bad for me but my 85 yr old mother in law was with us - so one of us (my husband, usually) had to go through the front and go down to open the outside door to let her in close to the room.  We all chipped in and got Larry a laptop for his grad gift-

Larry’s mother had dinner fixed, so after I was hugged by her several times, we sat down to eat.  (I think I should digresss a bit here -I do not care for Larry’s mom.  I tried to 8 yrs ago when I first met her but after accusing my husband of being a child molester and I was unfit in an open child custody hearing, having no personal hygiene and not allowing Larry to grow up, I changed my open mind about her- so having her want to hug on me was not very pleasant for me. But for Larry, I sucked up) Then Larry got dressed for the ceremony and put his gown on-

Then we all got into my car and drove to the high school for the ceremonies.  We sat in the bleachers - packed tighter than sardines in the heat for 90 minutes.  Larry did good and looked good.  I had many memories of my oldest at her ceremonies - high school and college - and of my own, waaaayyy back in 1972.  So many fresh faces and ideas of the world.  So many doubts and goals in life.  I digress, again…. Here is Larry singing in the choir during the ceremony

Then it was finally Larry’s turn (by now my bottom was screaming at me to get off of it!)

YEAH LARRY!!

My husband’s sister showed up from Escondido, CA about 15 minutes before the ceremony started. (She and I got off to a bad start yrs ago cuz she thought that I was going to marry her brother and then take all of his money and possesions - but I let that go out of respect for great husband).  Two yrs ago, this same public school teacher called great husband/dad “a piece of worthess shit” (quote) in front of our boys.  After the ceremonies we went back to Larry’s for cake and then went to our room at the motel.  The wind had died enough so that the wind had stopped howling through the window - thankfully!  The next morning we all (except husband’ sister - too special to get up early, you know) went to breakfast.  I was showered, again, with hugs from the ex.  The drive home was rainy on and off, snowy near home, windy and lots of road construction - and I had the entertainment of the throat clearing on the way home. 

The whole trip was not near as bad as I had feared.  I was glad that I got to be there for Larry.  I am glad to be home, in my comfy bed, hugging my animals and my kids.  I have spent the rest of last week catching up with the kids, animals and sleeping!  Thank you!! Nicole for all that you did so that I was able to see Larry graduate

I hope that all mothers have a GREAT, lazy, loving and relaxing day today! 

Here is what Great Husband wished for me across the miles (he won’t be home until next week) - Tulips, Daisies, Iris and, my favorite - Lilies!

He sent some to his mom, too -

Last Friday was “Safety Fair 2008″ at my boys school.  There were so many things to see, do and watch.  The mounted Sheriff was there, along with the drug sniffing dog.  There was a trailer where the kids could shoot b-b guns provided by the Arizona Game and Fish.  There was a bike safety station that gave the kids who needed a bike helmet.  The cafeteria had all sorts of demonstrations - one of the tables was fingerprinting the kids for free.  An emergency helicopter landed in the baseball field and let the kids get inside while telling about all of the features.  There were ambulances, fire trucks, a police car - with sirens blaring, the police tactile unit, a bomb deploying robot and just for fun, an air filled jumping room.

The helicopter beginning its landing and the start of a major dust cloud to the right

Full blown dust cloud as the helicopter lands

Helicopter tour

Luke behind the Police Tactile shield

The Arizona Game and Fish b-b shooting trailer

The Tactile vehicles and mounted Sheriff

McGruff the Crime Dog, Luke and Safety Pup

Last night out elementary school had a fundraiser for the fifth graders to go to Space Camp down in Phoenix later this month.  They sold tickets for a speghetti dinner that was not bad.  Previous speghetti dinner fundraisers had the most detestable sauce I have ever tasted!  It even had some meat in it!

There was a man playing the guitar and singing country music.  During one of the songs a very pretty (and very nicely dressed) young lady asked my son to dance with her.  Here are the priceless pics  - nothing like watching your children grow into real people. (sorry for the quality of the pics… they were taken with my cell phone on the sly by a good friend of mine- thanks Nicole, so that my son would not suspect his pic was being taken)

My son and a friend of his entered the first Guitar Hero III Tournament in Flagstaff this year.  Az Music Pro was one of the the sponsors. We arrived at 9:30 in the morning and did not leave until 6pm.  It was a long day for me since there was no sitting.  Luke was one of the first to sign up for the event last month.  When the formal bracket page was made, he got missed.  So, instead of being one of the first to compete, he was the last one.  But it was fun watching the other contestants, being outside in the great weather, and visiting with new and old friends.  The contestants and most parents were all very friendly and had great sportsmanship.  The crowd was very colorful!  Almost every style was represented - rockers, punk, straight, gay, young and old.  It was great to be part of such a melting pot.

Backwards Shirt Day?

Great Hair Day!

Awesome mural on the bike store that is across the street

Let the Games Begin!!

Luke did pretty good for his first tournament.  He made it through the first 3 rounds.  Then he went to the loser round and came in 6th, I think…. the results have not been posted at the gamers site and we just could not stay any longer…. we were hungry, tired and sunburned.  Leavi stayed busy in the music store all day.  The staff in AZ Music Pro was great!

At the end of the day, the boys chatted with the organizer, Jeremy Credo, for a few moments.  Jeremy has been working on getting his website, flag-gamers, started and having tournaments in the Flagstaff area.  You can sign up at his site to be able to network with other gamers.

We had a great day! Then we got pizza and went home…………………….