"Better than Disneyland"

Steve had business in Vernal this week. So the kiddos and I tagged along. Piper actually had a countdown calendar to mark off the "days 'til Vernal" - she was so excited.

{For you out of staters... Vernal, UT is about 2-3 hours east of Salt Lake City, in the middle of no-where. It is a drilling/mining community famous for dinosaur bones and fossils. Not really a winter vacation destination - unless you are 5 yrs old, apparently.}

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Piper was really, really excited. I have no idea why, other than she was looking forward to swimming at the hotel pool. I kept reminding her that we weren't going to Disneyland, just Vernal. For one night (thank goodness).

Both kiddos immediately loved the hotel.

(I gave Max a quick haircut before we left. I swear I always think the clipper attachment is longer than it turns out to be! Oh well.)

A quick bite at Cafe Rio next door, and we were ready to swim.
Piper insisted that the bikini top goes on top of the rash guard!Max was a walking machine - he isn't quite a full-time walker, but he is oh.so.close!

And he loves the water!And so does she.


Then back to the room for some wrestling.And playing in closets.

{She didn't end up sleeping in the closet.}

The next day we swam some more, then headed to the famous Dinosaur Museum before driving home.

Again, Max was a walking maniac. Good thing we were the only ones there. We could let him loose.

Piper went straight to the gift shop. She got a butterfly shirt that only shows its colors in the sun.See the colors :)

When we got home, she talked to Grandma Sharron on the phone and exclaimed, "We just spent the whole day in Vernal. We got to swim twice, eat at Cafe Rio twice, I got a butterfly shirt, we went to the dinosaur museum. It was the best vacation ever." A little while later she burst into tears and meltdown mode on her bed because we only stayed one night in Vernal. Guess there's no rush to get back to Disneyland anytime soon.

Zoei (2002 - 2011)

Well, Zoei {the dog, not the cousin}, declined much more quickly than we anticipated. The brain tumor took over quickly. Within a few short days, she started bumping into more walls, falling over, falling on the stairs. She cut her leg a couple times coming in the house.

So we had her put down on Tuesday.

It was hard. But it was good and bad. We'll miss her. But won't miss the dog dirt and vet bills. And she was looking so sad and confused. Piper is pretty sure Jesus is feeding her and Grandpa is taking her for walks now - too bad Grandpa wasn't that fond of dogs - I'm not sure she'll get walked that often ;)

I started this blog with the URL "twodogsandafish". We were fish free for a while. Then Piper started asking for another pet. We told her we weren't getting any more pets until the dogs died, thinking it would be years and years from now. We modified that rule over the past month to "only fish pets". Well, Maddie, the bulldog, died a few years ago. Then we got Georgia, the bulldog puppy, who we had to find a new home for after she started attacking Zoei. Now Zoei is gone. It's the first time in over 7 years we haven't had a dog or two. So we went to the pet store and got a few new fish for Piper. Our URL should now be "no dogs and 5 fish". Time for a new blog title again, too. Dang.

We'll miss you, Zoei!

Zoe

Piper's cousin, Zoe, came over last week to play.

She claims she's not a "girlie" girl.

But you should have seen these two with the doll house. I wish I would have recorded some of their conversation. It was a riot.

Fresh Air

During the brief break from 30 degree weather earlier this week, we headed to the zoo for some fresh air (although it was kind of stinky).

Picture overload:

Piper was impressed by this heart-shaped spot on the giraffe's neck.

I warned him about getting a sliver in his tongue...

Despite the 50+ degree day, there was still snow and ice in the fountain.Good times!

Sad News from the Vet

After thinking Zoei (our 9 yr old, deaf boxer) had a stroke a week or so ago, we decided to take her to the vet, as she is acting more and more strange.

The diagnosis - she has a brain tumor. A chest x-ray revealed several more tumors have spread around her heart and lungs. So now we play the waiting game, deciding when her quality of life is not what we want it to be. The vet said she most likely won't be in any pain, but may get disoriented and more confused, and may begin having seizures or have another stroke.

But at the moment, she is just a little off - slips on the tile floor, tilts to one side, bumps into walls, can't get on the bed any longer {not really upset about that one}, is afraid of the doggy door... etc.

For now, Max will continue to tease her with his food, and we'll pardon her stinky dog breath. Piper wanted me to write, "I'm sorry Zoei. And I love you very much. This is Piper."

Playdate

**Update - for you locals (SLC, UT area) who missed the playgroup... join the new yahoo group by clicking HERE or email Jodi for an 'invite' at jodi2spain (at) comcast (dot) net

I think we are trying to schedule playgroups for the first and third Tuesday each month {today was Thursday, I know} and mom's night outs every other month or so...

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We finally had relief from snotty noses this week and were able to go to a playdate! {click for bigger pictures}

{Daisy is crying because Max bit her, then pulled her hair!}

Love this picture of Max and Jaxson!