Eli

I am very sad to say that unexpectedly, we had to put our other dog, Eli, to sleep in November. He was completely fine until one day he started bleeding from his nose. Then a couple of days later he started bleeding from his eye, ear and mouth. By the time the vet came over a couple of days later, he was very, very sick. We found out that he had mouth cancer. I was hoping that we could continue to baby him a bit and keep him around for Christmas- he seemed happy enough, loads of tail wagging going on, but he stopped eating and drinking. I attempted to force him to drink water for a couple of days, but then decided that putting him to sleep was the best option. So sad. I still can't believe that both of our dogs got sick so close to each other.

Loads of Catching Up to Do- Halloween

Due to technical problems, a camera that wouldn't stay charged long enough to download pictures, we were having trouble with the blog. Bob got one of his Christmas presants early- a new camera. It is nothing special, but I am sure it will take the rough handling we tend to do with our cameras.

Well, On Halloween, Lia was a princess, Garrett was a SWAT police officer, and poor Caelan was supposed to be a witch, but instead was sick in bed with the flu.

New House

It is official! We are now living in our new house. It is huge- at 2700 square feet (plus full basement), compared to the 1300 square foot house with no basement that we were living in before. The kids all have their own rooms, and we even have a guest bedroom. There are three functioning bathrooms, and we have a 4th bathroom ready to be finished. The house was a foreclosure, so there is much work to be done, but in the last week I have taken care of quite a few issues. We have internet and tv. The electrical system no longer is hazardous. We have clean carpet, a serviced boiler and are considering whether it is worth it to put in central air- I say no. We will have a brand new front porch completed tomorrow. The kids rooms are painted. We have a new fridge, washer and dryer. Whew! Hopefully I can manage to sort through more boxes and get the playroom and clothes organized and put away in time for Christmas...

Many Changes

Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted. So many changes. First, Bob got a new job. I admit that with an urging from me, we decided to look into moving a little closer to my family. Having three kids made me finally admit that I needed a little bit of help and though we had several close friends in Bay City, I really was hoping that the kids could be closer to at least one side of the family. So in early August, Bob resigned, and we moved to Detroit! He had to start the new job right away, so I packed up our house and found renters to move in. We found a house that we liked at the end of August but probably wont close on it until the end of next week. We are currently staying at my Grandpa's house, which my brother Patrick is waiting patiently for us to move out of, so he can move in.

So the kids are in a new school, Garrett is in a "Young 5's" Kindergarten. Basically it follows the kindergarten curriculum, but is designed for those younger kids. He will have the option to move on to first grade or repeat kindergarten. It has been WONDERFUL for him, I see a huge difference in his interest in school and fine motor skills and all of the things I was worried about. I am still pretty sure that he will be in kindergarten next year. He is playing soccer with his two cousins and is taking a "Pony" class at the school district's farm.

Caelan is in third grade at a new school, I am thrilled with the opportunities that she has there and beyond thrilled with the cultural diversity of the building. In fact her new best friend was adopted from China! We have been a bit slow in signing up for new activities as she sort of needs to accomplish one new thing at a time, but will be starting dance next week and will hopefully do indoor soccer this winter.

Lia is going to a Chinese Immersion preschool two days a week. It is a full day program (which I admit I was not sure if she could handle) and her morning is spent in the Chinese class, where they only speak Mandarin, and the afternoon is a traditional American preschool. Lia LOVES it, and after the initial week or two of adjusting to going there- crabby when she gets home is a major understatement- she is doing great. There have never been tears when I drop her off and I am just so pleased.

Once we move in to our new place, I will have pictures of the first day of school and the house and everything else. I can't wait. Our house in Bay City was awfully small for all of us, but in the new house, the kids will have their own rooms, plus we will have a guest bedroom. The house has 4 bathrooms!! It is double the size and we will also have a basement. Yahoo! Oh, and I plan to never, ever move again...

Kali

I got Kali in May of 1997 shortly after I finished my student teaching. I was living in Hamtramck with Kate. She was a very hyper puppy and Kate and I always joke about sitting on the couch with our feet on the table while she ran circles, jumping over our legs like they were hurdles. A little over a year later, Bob and I moved to Alaska, and Kali made the drive up there with Bob. She has probably been to more National Parks than me! She was in her glory while we lived in Alaska, she loved the snow, Bob often brought her with him while he went skiing or snowshoeing. She even camped for 2 months with us that first summer we lived up there, going all the way from Dillingham to Coldfeet, and down to Juneau. She was a great dog. Sadly, on Friday we noticed that her tail was bleeding, and eventually realized that it was no bug bite or cut like we originally thought, but a very large growth (probably a tumor, according to the vet). After discussing our options with the vet I decided that it was time to let her go, and on Tuesday, after 12 years with her, we put her to sleep. I am terribly sad about this, but know that we really didn't have another option. Goodbye, sweet Kali-girl.

Virginia

Bob and I used to travel quite a bit before Caelan was born. Most of you know that we lived in Alaska for a while, and every break we had was spent going somewhere. This changed quite a bit once we had kids. We managed to squeeze in a few trips when Caelan was a baby, she has always been a very easy going kid. But the arrival of Garrett put a major crimp in our ability to go anywhere. He is very active and has a difficult time adjusting to new situations, and Bob and I both find it stressful at times to go anywhere with him. I am still surprised that we brought him to China. Lia is sort of unpredictable, but in general enjoys going to new places, and as long as she has her "cozy blanket" and an unlimited supply of milk for her bottle, she is pretty content.

We used to camp and backpack quite a bit and both of us have been to several National Parks. We decided that this summer would be a good time to start the tradition that we had hoped to continue when the kids were babies of going to a new National Park every summer. Neither of us had been to Shenandoah National Park before and it seemed a manageable drive so it was decided to go there.

The first day we drove 8 hours to New Stanton, Pennsylvania, where we stayed at a hotel, swam, and went to dinner. The next day, we drove a short distance to Idlewild Amusement Park. The kids loved the rides, until I brought Garrett on "The Spider." He was terrified and everybody at the park knew it.

After the park, we went to Bedford, PA, to rest up before making our final drive to Virginia.

W arrived in Shenandoah on Sunday and stayed at a hotel in Luray, VA for three nights. The first day in the park, we went on a hike up to Mary's Rock. Bob and I took turns carrying Lia in the Ergo, but both Caelan and Garrett did the 3 mile hike with ease. Garrett came down looking like an accident victim with all of his cuts and bruises, but it didn't phase him at all.

The next day, we went to the Luray Caverns, swam in the afternoon while Lia took a nap and then went for another hike in the evening, with a man that Bob works with, Greg, who also was visiting the park. On the way back to the hotel we saw a mama bear with three cubs close to the road.

Tuesday morning, another hike was planned with Greg, but Garrett insisted that he "wasn't going to go hiking for the rest of his life." By this time he realized how cut up he was- and he was just really crabby, so I decided to stay at the hotel with Garrett and Lia. Bob and Caelan left and we went put-put golfing and swimming.




Garrett felt better later in the afternoon, so we did make it for another hike, up to Little Stony Man. Hiking on cliffs and mountain sides was a bit nerve-wracking for both of us, especially with Garrett bouncing up the hill and us trying to keep up with him the whole time, but we did it.

We left on Wednesday and made it all the way back to Michigan, and stayed with my mom at their cottage. It was a great trip and I am amazed at how well they did in the car. Where should we go next summer?