Dog-Walking

I got this idea from a Better Homes magazine. In a section, a woman had written that she wanted to spend more time with her daughter doing something meaningful. So, they went to an animal shelter once a week to pet kittens and cats, in order to help keep them socialized, and therefore, easier to adopt. Immediately, I thought it would be a great idea for us to do the same. What a fun way to volunteer in the community with my girls, and have fun while doing it.  

We did it for about 4 weeks straight. We pet the cats and kittens. We walked 2 or 3 dogs each visit we made.  Both got super attached to this dog in particular, named Apache. He was an older dog, who needed to be neutered. Every week I had to be strong and say, "No, we are not adopting, we are just volunteering, and having fun, too!" On our third week, as we went to the normal cage to get Apache to walk him, we were unable to find him anywhere. We found out that he had been moved to another shelter in Montana, where they hoped he would be adopted. I was not prepared for the storm that followed. Natalia was literally heart broken. She sobbed. For an hour. Unconsolable. She still talks about him and how she hopes he found a good home. 

In spite of her broken heart, she agreed to go back the following week.  We found another spunky dude, called Mikey, who was fun to walk. However, I could see that Tory was really taken with him (and frankly, so was I). Natalia, however, remained sure that no dog was as good as Apache had been ("'cause he was so gentle, and didn't pull me or jump on me").  Unfortunately, the following week, both girls were unenthusiastic about returning to the shelter. So, I have pushed the pause button on this activity for now, and hope to push the play button again in the near future.

Daddy-Daughter Dance

For three years now, Tory has had no interest in going on a daddy/daughter dance usually held at the TRAC; this year, however, her school put on a dance and she was all ready for that experience.

Natalia and our neighbor, Olivia, ready to see her off!

Happy with her "Balloony".

Daddy and his girls

The picture taken at the dance

Walla Walla

It seems like we come to Walla Walla a lot! I guess we just like it so much! :) Love the old buildings. Love the fountains, statues, and parks. The girls have actually asked to come here simply for the ice cream. This time around we discovered a neat little thrift store where we scored some great items. We also finally tried out the Olive restaurant and really enjoyed the relaxed, open atmosphere.

Natalia was positive she still fit in these chairs.....

Ok, and back home, I snapped this picture of Tory going in to school with a friend; and the fact that she was holding Natalia's hand made my heart ache a little....

Dad's B-day!

Natalia and Tory were being SOOO goofy with Dad tonight! It was hilarious! I don't remember how it got started, but they kept bugging each other back and forth about who had the stinkiest feet. "Your feet are stinky!" HA, HA, HA!! "What?? MY feet? NO! YOUR feet are stinky!" HA, HA, HA! 

Oh.... Happy Birthday, Dad! :)

Maybe because she knew we were going to celebrate Dad's birthday, I'm not sure, but Natalia was adamant about wanting to celebrate her doll's birthday.  Boy, did I get a kick out of that! I used to do that for my dolls when I was little (ok, all the way up to about 10 years old), and it would drive my older sister CRAZY! I wanted to invite all the neighbors, I would make a cake (ok, maybe Mom made it for me), I would gather all my other dolls around the table, and make everyone sing Happy Birthday. That was when my sister would lose it. "But, she is not even REAL!! Why are we singing to a DOLL?!" What?? She did not just say that my doll was not real, did she? My poor doll was going to sob her little heart out, now! And so it would go. Mom would sympathize with me and ask my sister to please, humor me, and just sing the song already, so we could have some cake! My sister has never let me forget how I made her sing Happy Birthday to my doll in front of all our neighbors.

SO, just to commemorate these beautiful memories, I sent my lovely sister a text, inviting her to please come, and to invite all of her friends to the birthday party my daughter was having for her doll. ;) I think she was never so happy to be so far away..... hee, hee! Love you, Kelly! 

Abraham and Date Days ....

Tory and Natalia have always wanted a brother.... and this is as close as it gets! :) If you have ever heard of a mentoring program, we totally recommend it! The one here is called Ignite Ministries and they have matched Abraham up with Edwin. He is in 5th grade, and we get to have him over every other weekend. So far, we have played hide and seek (a .... LOT), Thomas the train, discovered the new carrousel in town, introduced him to the glories of a playplace, such as is found at Carl's Jr. or McDonalds, and climbed Badger Mt.  He loves to play outside at parks, as well as art.  Tory and Natalia are overjoyed!

I am also throwing in some random pictures I have taken of Natalia and my "date" times together. Here she is with a beautifully frosted leaf.

Hanging out at the mall....

Lunching at Old Country Buffet

Snow!

Ok, so compared to all the snow they are getting on the east coast, it might be unfair to call this a snowfall, but it's all we got, so we got as much out of it as we could. Even though it was so thin, Edwin had to pull them down the hill....

Snow Fun

Tory wanted to make a snow fort.... with an inch of snow. I told her I had always wanted to make a snow fort, too, and have a good ol' snow fight, just like in the cartoons, but obviously had never been able to as a kid. So, we took on the challenge together!  I quickly began to regret my rash decision, after rolling every inch of snow available in my yard.... leaving no snow to actually throw at each other, which was a good thing, since we were only able to build half of one fort. But we had fun! :) (P.S. based on the pictures, I know my daughter would point out that, in fact, there was still quite a lot of snow left, but I would still argue otherwise)

New Year!

Here are a couple pictures of us at First Night, which is a family-friendly event to celebrate the new year.  Tory sang a few songs from the Toys! show she had done earlier that month, and any outing is made an instant success if there is face painting involved!