Sox

Not long after we got married, Andy started talking about getting a dog.  I grew up with dogs on our farm and was ambivalent (at best) about dogs.  I'm was fine with them if they didn't come in the house and they didn't bother me.  So...not much of a dog person!  Living in Phoenix, an outside dog was not an option.  I thought we could get a little dog that didn't shed.  Andy was thinking a big dog.  I remember saying something about how he could get a big dog if he could find one that didn't shed.  Next thing I knew, he was sending me pictures of Goldendoodles and Labradoodles.  They were SO cute and didn't really shed.  We settled on a red Goldendoodle and Andy named her Sox.  He is a White Sox fan and she had a white foot.

Sox was such a good dog.  She was so gentle with all three of our kids.  She let them climb all over her and she never seemed to mind.  She and I walked many miles together over the years.  And she walked a lot of miles with my Mom, Drew and Kayley in Phoenix.  She never met a stranger and was very excited (sometimes a little too) whenever anyone came to the house.

Kayley is an animal lover and she and Sox became pretty close over the last few years.  Kayley was always willing to pet Sox and took Sox on walks as soon as she got home from school each day.

But, in the end, Sox was Andy's dog.  She was never more than 5 feet away from him when Andy was home.  She followed Andy everywhere and Andy loved it.

We found out Sox had a large tumor on her spleen a few days before Christmas.  She had her spleen removed and the test results came back showing cancer.  Our vet said she may make it a few days to two months.  We were devastated.  She was getting old (12), but we had no idea she had cancer so it was all very sudden and shocking.  We both agreed we didn't want her to suffer and that when the time came, we would take away her pain.  That day came on January 24th.  It was heartbreaking, but you take comforting knowing she lived a good life and she made our life better by being in it.

Happy Birthday, Drew!!

Drew turned 11 in January.  I say this every year and I'll say it again, it seems like just yesterday I was holding my little baby Drew in my arms!  The days can be long, but the years are so short!

Drew continues to make us proud in everything he does.  He is smart like his mom (hey, its my blog so I get to say what I want), has developed a sense of humor like his dad and uncles (this is good and bad), is very patient with his siblings (definitely did not get patience from me) and most important, he is kind.  He is just a nice kid and I couldn't be more proud of anything about him than that.  And I almost forgot - the kid loves sports!  I love watching him play - baseball, football and basketball are the sports he plays competitively, but after snowboarding in our backyard this winter, we may have a Red Gerard or Shaun White on our hands!

Christmas 2017

We hosted my parents and Matt and Janelle for Christmas this year.  Our house was full with 6 adults, 3 kids, and 4 dogs!  Other than my parents getting the flu, we had a great time!

Annual movie day with Uncle Matt to
see a Star Wars movie

Our little elf, Ryan

Ready to get started

Future engineer

Nintendo Switch controller

Nintendo Switch

Slime time

Ryan wants to be a bus driver when he
grows up so this was his favorite present! 

Echo dot from Grandma and Grandpa

Kayley and Sox

Cars

Sox and the puppies

After everyone left our house, we loaded up the van and headed to Omaha to see Andy's side of the family.  Omaha was fun as always and we enjoyed bringing Sanders to his new home with Mitch and Kate.  I have always considered myself to not really be a dog person (or into any animals really), but I grew pretty attached to Sanders when he was here so it was kind of hard to leave him.  The kids had fun playing with their cousins and especially enjoyed karaoke night!

Omaha bound with 3 kids and 2 dogs

Ryan testing out Sanders's kennel

Fitz was just the right size for Ryan

Kayley singing

Jackson's turn

Mitch and Andy warming up

Ryan was a little shy

The big boys are enjoying themselves

Sing it!

Drew and Kate did a duet

Just missing Grandpa in this picture

Fitz

Meet the newest member of our family, Fitz!  

Fitz is an F1B Goldendoodle, which means one of his parents is a Goldendoodle and one is a Poodle so he is 75% poodle.  Fitz's brother, Sanders, went to Andy's brother Mitch so we got to have both puppies for 10 days before Christmas.  The kids were in heaven.  Sox was not as impressed, but she tolerated the puppies well!

Sanders

Kayley and Fitz

Ryan and Fitz

Puppies playing

Tired puppy!

Poor Sox

Who doesn't sleep this way?

Kayley and Sanders, Ryan and Fitz, Andy and Sox

Butch

We lost Andy's dad, Butch, after a long battle with cancer on November 21st.  While we knew the cancer was terminal, he had been doing so well that it was a shock that he went downhill so quickly the week before he died.  

His death was hard on everyone, but Kayley took it especially hard.  I hate that my kids never got to meet their Grandma Florence and now lost Grandpa Butch when they were so young.  I lost my grandpa when I was Ryan's age and I don't have any memories of him.  I hate to think that Ryan won't remember Butch.  I have a lot of pictures, but it isn't the same.  Our kids have learned a lot about death and dying these past few months.  You want to shield them from that for as long as you can so it has been tough.