Thursday, April 22, 2010

Gotcha Day


Four years ago today Andrew joined our family. Wow! Its hard to imagine he even has a Gotcha Day. He fit perfectly into our family from day one.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Birthday Gifts


This year in lieu of birthday gifts, the kids asked their party guests to bring items for the Stark County Humane Society. Thanks to everyone's generosity we delivered a car full of pet supplies today.

5 Bags Of Dog Food
2 Bags Of Cat Food
27 Cans Of Dog Food
31 Cans Of Cat Food
1 Dog Collar
8 Cat Toys
22 Dog Toys
2 Packages of Cat Treats
13 Packages of Dog Treats
2 Bags of Kitty Litter
4 Bleach
2 Paper Towel Rolls
1 Hose
6 Pet Food Bowls
1 Package of Cat Pan Liners
1 Dish Soap


We spent a few hours walking and playing with dozens of dogs and cats. I am not sure who was more excited the kids or the dogs. There are dozens of great animals of all ages, sizes and temperaments just waiting for adoption. Sydney was ready to take them all home and cried as we pulled away.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Sydney's 8th Birthday


Since Andrew & Sydney both celebrate birthdays within 10 days of each other we decided to go with a joint party this year. Sydney, Andrew and 25 of their closest friends joined us a Pump It Up.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Andrew Turns 5


Happy Birthday Andrew!!

Andrew started the day with his favorite thing, school!! Grandma Franny & I attended as the special helpers of the day. Andrew was tickled with all the extra perks of being the special person of the day; line leader, making a birthday crown and selecting the snack. Cheeseballs of course!

Unfortunately I had to travel to Indiana that afternoon for Red Cross Military Service training. But, Grandma & Matt keep the party going in my absence. :)

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Shark Tooth Hunt


Our first shark tooth search was a bust. Venice Beach is supposed to be famous for its abundance of shark teeth. Unfortunately, we didn't find a single one. Dejected we headed home. Later in the week we met a family at dinner who is vacationing in Manasota Beach a few miles south of Venice. They had found dozens just sitting in their beach chairs. Determined to find some we packed up the car again and made the hour trek down to Manasota Key. The island was perfect and the beach was great. We plopped our stuff down and within minutes had our first tooth. They are fossilized and come in black, brown, or gray, depending on the minerals in the soil in which they have been buried. They range in size from one eighth inch to about 1 inch. We heard stories of larger 3 plus inch teeth being pulled from the sand but I didn't see any.

While we were rummaging around in Matt's grandparents storage closet we uncovered a shelling basket. Basically a sifter on a stick. But, it was a big help. We took turns wading in and dredging the break water. Then we dumped out the contents and meticulously searched for the teeth. We averaged 1-2 teeth per basket. After a few hours in the sun we called it quits and left with 174 teeth.

The trip was a success! I would say it was probably the most fun I have seen my kids have at the beach.