Bitter Sweet

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard" - so true! The past two years we were blessed to have an amazing teacher in Kynzley's life! Yesterday, we said our farewells to the school year, to first grade and to an incredible lady who has taught Kynzley so much the last two years. It was a bitter sweet day - we are excited for summer, but sad to leave our comfort zone.

When Kynzley entered kindergarten she was placed in what is called a 'looping' classroom. She stayed with the same teacher and same students through kindergarten as well as first grade. There are many benefits to this and each parent has their reason as to why they want their child placed in this style of class. We couldn't have asked for a better situation for our family and for Kynzley! Not only did she make great and close friends, the parents became close as well.
The kiddos were so lucky!!! Their teacher, Mrs. Antony, not only cared for them as a class, but each of them as individuals. Each one of the students were (are still!) loved!!!! The last couple of weeks have been difficult knowing this day was coming. The school district has great teachers and great students and we know Kynzley will continue to strive as the years go on, it was just sad knowing that "our family" that we have had the last two years will all be separated.

The last week of school was filled with lots of fun activities! The kids enjoyed a couple local parks and an ice cream party in their classroom. It was fun to be able to capture some of the last memories with the kids!

Miss J! She was their student teacher in kindergarten :-)

Last day selfie 

Lots of tears :(

 

 

 

To cheer things up a bit, we took the boat out after school to welcome summer! We had a ton of fun tubing and swimming!

 



Happy Birthday, Brutus!

The beast turned one!!! It's hard to imagine that he is only one because of his size, but it's true :-) Just like anyone else in the family we made sure his day was special and he was spoiled!
He started his day with a nice pedicure followed by a trip around his favorite pet store. We ended the day with a happy birthday tune, a pup-cake, some new goodies and a family walk. At one year old he weighed in at 135lbs.

Brutus is a great dog and has been a great addition to our family! We could not imagine not having him around. He has a lot of similarities to Cody, but is also very different at the same time. He loves to be close, but doesn't feel the need to constantly cuddle. He LOVES to lean on people and sit on your lap. Unlike Cody, Brutus LOVES to play fetch. That is one thing we could never get Cody to do. Brutus will play fetch all day long! He loves to be in the water, too!

Fun Brutus facts:
- He is allowed on one couch and follows that rule amazingly well!
- More independent than Cody was. He will eat and drink on his own without us having to be in the same room standing next to him.
- Sleeps on a pillow next to our bed
- He enjoys his nightly alone time with us in the basement. The kids commandeer the basement majority of the day, so when they go to bed at night Brutus will run up and down the steps until we get the hint that he wants us to follow him. We'll go to the basement with him and all he wants to do is lay on the floor and be pet - alone, in the quiet!
- Has his own pool in the backyard
- Knows how to get to Nana and Papa's house without us. Since we don't live far from Nana and Papa we tend not to use a leash when walking to their house. Brutus and the kids will race there, Brutus usually ahead, and he'll wait in their front lawn until the rest of us arrive.
- He loves his nightly walks
- Loves playing with other dogs
- Great at pushing Kynzley's buttons! Examples: if she's cuddled up on the couch under a blanket, he'll pull the blanket off of her
- Brutus and Benton have an 'understanding'. All Benton has to do is look at Brutus and Brutus knows Benton means business
- If you come to our door and ring the doorbell, don't worry you wont be run over by a huge dog. Knocks and doorbells faze Brutus none! When someone would come to the door when we had Cody we would have to answer a different door so that Cody wouldn't dart out of the house or run the poor people over. When someone comes to the door with Brutus around he doesn't move until they are literally in the house talking or walking around. Don't worry, though, if you are a fly or a bug stuck in a closed window at night he will be the toughest dog in town!!!
- Brutus goes with us places as often as allowed.
- He loves to eat rocks - we were hoping he would grow out of it, but sadly hasn't yet.

 The day we brought Brutus home

August 2016

 

May 2017

 



 Typical Morning

 

 Taco Movie night, everyone is involved :)

 

We have this discussion with him almost every time he comes in from outside. No, you cannot bring in the stick. Usually there is a standoff and eventually we win!

 

 Brutus and nana

 



 

 The neighbor pup! The two figured out a way to play

 

Birthday weigh in

 

 

 

Happy Den matek

Mother's Day 2017 is in the books and written down with great words to remind me of what a wonderful day it was! It wasn't the exact day I was expecting, but it turned out awesome! The amazing weather helped out too :-)

Francis was scheduled to hop on a plane and travel to Rome Sunday morning so we knew our plans had to start somewhat early to fit in some family time before he jetted off. I was told that Kynzley had everything planned - she was so excited for Mother's Day, it was so cute!
My morning started off with some extra rest in bed, followed by a great breakfast picked out by the kids and then lots of excitement while I opened some very thoughtful gifts. This year my gifts were a little different than they have been in the past. Kynzley is at the age where she is starting to understand my likes and dislikes and gets very excited to pick things out! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE (love, love, love) homemade gifts, but I struggle with finding places to place them (or hide them (eek!)). When I opened my gifts this time it was great to see the enjoyment of Kynz's face knowing that I was going to be able to use everything she (and Benton) picked out. We both have a love with Bath and Body Works and that's where she headed. I'm so excited to use my bath bomb, lotion, amazing smelling candle and soothing lip gloss!

After gifts it was somewhat of a rush to get daddy out of the door and headed to the airport. The kids and I planned to do a nice afternoon hike at the marsh to look for frogs and turtles and enjoy an nice dinner followed by an ice cream treat (dinner and treat all of Kynzley's idea!). While getting ready for our day I was informed that because of passport issues and certain countries rules, Francis was unable to fly out and would be coming home to enjoy the day with us!!!
We all enjoyed the marsh ..... somewhat. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm! Unfortunately, it seemed to be too much for Kynzley. Some days we feel like we are completely out of the woods and then boom she seems to get hit, this weekend the warm weather really took a toll on her. I think she enjoyed our hike and all the fun animals we saw, but we had to take a lot of breaks and she was feeling awful by the time we got back to the car. Poor girl!

I am beyond blessed to be the mother of Kynzley and Benton!!! I am thankful everyday that they are mine! Yes, they make me feel special on Mother's Day, but in reality they make me feel special everyday!

 Nothing like the deliciousness of pure sugar for breakfast!

 

 

 

Happy Den matek

2017

 

 



 

Other fun weekend adventures:

 I took the kiddos flower shopping Saturday, they were so excited to plan their own goodies in their own pots!

 

 Ta da!! Kynzley added little fairies to her pots :)