Gretna Days, Thomas the Train & Niobrara

We have had a busy couple of weeks. Gretna Days was fun and the kids really enjoyed the parade. Hannah did not cry when the loud fire trucks drove by and she quickly got the hang of picking up the candy that the floats threw. She talked about it days later. It was REALLY hot that day!

Grandma took Will to see Thomas the Train at the Freemont railroad. He was really excited to have his special day with just grandma. They had lunch, took a 30 minute ride on Thomas and played all of the games etc in the tents. He also got a very expensive balloon. Grandma forgot the camera at home so ened up buying a disposable one when she got there. I do not have the pictures of the train yet but I am working on it. I posted one of the two of them after they got home. Will was very tired and not into being photogentic.

We went camping this past weekend in Niobrara to visit great-grandma. She looked great and enjoyed seeing the kids. We visited a few times for short visits since her air was not on and it was 92 outside. Darren was sweating!! Hannah threw up EVERYWHERE about 5 minutes before we arrived in Niobrara. She then did it again in the camper and had diahrrea the remainder of the weekend. She didn't act unhappy and wanted me to hold her like usual. The boys went fishing with Darren. Will was done after about 30 minutes but Jack was mad he didn't get to go longer. We also went to the pool at the state park and to the river. Some people riding horses through the campsite asked if the kids wanted a ride and Will and Jack took adavantage of it. The horses names were Lucky and Flame! Hannah of course would have no part of it! Will cries every time we leave to go home after camping begging to stay longer. He would be very content living in the camper.

Water, Water and more Water

The kids LOVE to swim and beg to go swimming from the minute they roll out of bed in the morning. Hannah could spend hours just sitting in her little pool filling all of the buckets with water. Of course that would never happen because she is too busy getting soaked by Jack and Will.

Dad took Jack and Will to the local Gretna pool over the weekend and from what I could gather, they had fun. I guess Will was cold and wanted to leave and Jack wanted to stay. Will is always cold even though it was 93 degrees outside. They were back within an hour.

The boys also went to work with dad on Saturday morning to pick up the warehouse. Will was so excited that he wanted to sleep in his clothes. He had the morning all planned out including a stop to get doughnuts. All 3 of them wore their red Contractors t-shirts. I was about to get up just before they left to snap a couple of pictures but I was just too tired and rolled back over for another hour of sleep before Sleeping Beauty woke me.

She heard Will talking about doughnuts the night before and was upset that dad left her so I took her to get a doughnut. That made her day. I tried to talk Darren into taking all 3 but that was not going to happen. Jack got to drive the golf cart and lord knows what else. From the short video on Darren' phone that he showed me, I am glad I wasn't there. He was driving very fast and Will was next to him holding on. They are going to give me a heart attack.

I am getting Jack's 7 year pictures taken next week and maybe Hannah's taken just because. Jack has always been our photogenic one but we will see now that he is getting older and growing out that hair. I hope they are cute with his lack of teeth. He is getting so big. I was looking through pictures the other night and he has grown up so fast. He doesn't want even hugs anymore so I have to wrestle him to get one. Where does the time go? I hope he remembers all of the fun times I have tried to create for him over the summers and special times that we have together. Lately we have been taking walks later at night when Will and Hannah go to bed. It is nice to just be with him. Even though he doesn't really say much, I know that he enjoys it.

I almost forgot to mention 4th of July. We had a really busy weekend spending time with friends and family. The first 2 pictures above are of my niece and Jack and Hannah. Will was not cooperating!

Sam & Shelby

This week as been a tough week with a lot of tears. We took Sam and Shelby to the vet a little over a week ago to see how they were doing since they were finding it harder and harder to get up. The vet almost immediately told us that they were definitely in pain and took blood to see what else was going on. He called Tuesday to tell us that Shelby was in liver failure and that he wasn't sure what was wrong with Sam but he wasn't far behind. He said that they had yet to lose their winter coats and that was the 1st sign that something was wrong. He told us that it was obvious that they have lived a great life but it was time to make some decisions.

We knew over the weekend after seeing the vet that Saturday, that the time was drawing near so we took a lot of pictures with the dogs and the kids.

I had told Jack and Will that they were very sick but we did not tell them that they had died until July 1st when Darren had taken them in. It was one of the saddest days of my life and Darren's. They have been with us so long and were a part of so much in our lives. We knew that when they were in pain that it was only fair to them to let go so as hard as it was, we know that they are pain free now in heaven and running like they did when they were young.

When we told the boys, Will cried and asked us to go get them back from heaven. He asked when he gets old if he will go to heaven too and be with them. He asked a ton of questions and in the end just kept telling us how much he missed them and wanted to see them. He said that he didn't like it that they died and that he wanted them back. He asked how far heaven was and why people and dogs are buried in a cemetery if they go to heaven. He asked how they got to heaven. All of this from a 3 year old that just knows that his dogs are gone and he misses them. So hard to explain when you yourself are so sad. We just hope they we brought them as much happiness and they brought to us.