Congrats to Miss Sadie - HS Graduate!

When I think of our sweet Sadie, she will always be "Little Sadie" to me, even though she has just graduated from high school.  This picture is the first thing comes to mind when I think of her.

This picture was taken at Nana and Bumpa's lake cabin.  Right before it was snapped, Sadie and I spotted a Daddy Long Legs spider, climbing on one of the fern leaves.  We went to investigate it.  Little Sadie said to me, "We have to be careful with it.  We don't want to break its legs!"   Those sweet little words are forever engrained in my memories.    Her giant kind heart and endearing innocence will always be one of her strengths.  And now, Miss Sadie is 18 years old and has just graduated high school.  The older I get, the more I find myself saying, "time flies by so very quickly".

To celebrate this marvelous young lady, we drove up north to her open house.  It was a lovely day, as the rain had subsided and it was a bit chilly (no chance of melting in the hot sun this day!).

Here's our sweet little Jango, being such a good traveler in the back seat.  He has what would be Connor's seat.  Unfortunately, Connor couldn't go with us, as he had to work that day.  :-(   Bummer.

And here's Little Mr. Ramsey giving Bailey Love a little snuggle when we arrived at Nana and Bumpa's house, just prior to leaving for the open house.  

When we arrived, there were so many fun things to see, yummy things to eat, and wonderful people to chat with.   

There were delightful mason jars on the tables, with markers and little black squares of paper for all to write on - specifically memories, advice, or just a general note.   Ramsey wrote his dear cousin a little note... it referenced her smarts and her "pretty smile".  :-)

And, we couldn't leave without getting pictures with Miss Sadie.  :-)

To our beautiful, kind-hearted, sweet, intelligent, and amazing Miss Sadie.... God bless you on your life's journey.  May your wings be wide and graceful and take you anywhere you wish to go.  Find the goodness in every day and enjoy the small things, for some of the small things can be the most meaningful.   We love you, sweet girl.

"Make Hay"

 Not just because fishing is relaxing and fun, but the food supply right now is plentiful!  The old adage "make hay while the sun shines" is definitely pertinent to our dock-fishing exploits.

The bluegill, crappies, and perch are still biting.  The walleye have moved out to cooler waters.  

Ramsey is the "designated passer of fish".  He happily takes the fish out of the bucket and gives them to Connor to fillet.  They chat about if it's a girl fish or a boy fish, what it ate recently, and which species it is.

Then, what's a night like in our household without some some commotion by Jango and Ramsey?!?!?

First Goal

Ramsey's very last soccer game was on Monday (blue jersies today).  It was a warm day with a slight bit of wind... perfect climate for watching on the sidelines and for playing, albeit having the sun in our eyes.

As mentioned in a prior post, this was Ramsey's very first season of soccer (due to a multitude of reasons ).  Ramsey had not yet made an actual goal during a game - only during scrimmaging in practice against his teammates.

Ramsey's soccer team truly has two "star" players, who are seasoned and have obviously played for a few years.  They are hustlers and confident in their abilities - and rightly so.   I believe that they make the other boys better players.

During this final game, it was obvious that his teammates were determined that Ramsey would have his first soccer goal during an actual game.   The head coach was in on this too, as she kept Ramsey in the game when normally he would have gotten a break (I will note that she has been a great coach and all of the kids have had equal playing time, no matter their abilities).   

And, today, Ramsey was really hustling and getting after the ball.  He didn't shy away or act lacadaisical, when at other times he might have.  Ramsey's teammates kept telling him to "go down by the goal" or "get down the field", letting him know they would pass to him or set him up to score.

And, they did.  They passed the ball and Ramsey kicked it towards the goal.... and the whole sideline cheered for him!  But... no goal.  A defensive player nabbed the ball before it went into the net.   I thought Ramsey might get upset.  He only pumped his arms down once, with a "Doh!".  Then, he rallied and kept going!

And again, the next blue possession, the boys passed Ramsey the ball and he dribbled it to the goal, while people on the sidelines cheered his name.  But... no goal again (bounced off the goal post).   The sideline fans (to include parents from the other team) let out the saddened  "ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh's." 

During the next possession, Ramsey's teammates were at it again.... passing Ramsey the ball so he could dribble it a bit and then try for his first goal.  And... once again.... the sideline parents and fans cheered, "Go Ramsey!!!".  And, finally.... he did it.  He got his very first goal ever in a soccer game!

The crowd... literally.... went... WILD!  And, this Momma's eyes welled up with such gladness and joy for her little boy, whose arms were thrown up in the air, waving and pumping with excitement and pride!    Daddy was at a different part of the field with Jango, who was busy chewing on grass and soaking in the sunlight.  Daddy was so happy and proud too!  (He won't say if he was tearing up or not. ha!)

I so wish I would have gotten that footage on video!  Not to sound melodramatic, but it was almost like a movie, where the underdog gets a personal win (with a little - or.... a lot - of help from his friends).  

How amazing and heart-warming though... Ramsey's teammates determined and rallying for him, a plethora people we didn't even know cheering him for the score...   That made my heart nearly burst.  OK, maybe that does sound overly dramatic. Oh well!  It reminded me that people are good... and kind.  

After the game, and the boys giving the other team their high-fives, the coach and assistance coach awarded each of The Buccaneer boys a soccer medal, for giving it their all and improving every game.

I know that getting that goal helped Ramsey's confidence in the game.  He cannot wait for soccer camp this summer and for soccer season to start again this Fall!

Sidenote:  Eric and I both joked hat Ramsey had to be the "most improved" of the season; from wriggling around on the ground and trying to get laughs from his teammates - to actually becoming a bit of a hustler and getting after the ball.  I hope he continues on the latter path!  ;-) 

Just Some Damn Cute Pics of a Puppy and His Daddy

Awww!!!

I had to throw these pics in this blog.  So cute! 

On a slightly different note, Jango actually watches TV.   We've never had a dog who actually watched TV.  And, he doesn't give a rip about puppies on TV.... but he'll watch Game of Thrones, Alone, Wicked Tuna, or any of Eric's "Alaska shows".  Too funny!

 

Back Seat Buddies + "Buccaneers" Soccer

Jango's gotten to go with us to a few of Ramsey's soccer games.  Ramsey loves having his pup with him in the back seat for road trips, even if they're short ones to the soccer fields.

This soccer day was picture day.   Here's Ramsey's U7 soccer team.... "The Buccaneers".  :-)

L to R:  Enoch, Cole, Ramsey, Jamison, Wyatt, Gunnar.

These boys bonded so well this season!

Jango - My Good Traveler

 Oh Jango.... what a sweet little pup.  He's getting to be such a good traveler!

In this case, I just took him to the vet for another round of shots.  But he was such a good boy and rode so well.

The sunlight peering through the glass and the hum of the 4-cylinder engine puts him to sleep.  Sweet little Jango.  :-)

Thursday Fun Night

 Just your typical Thursday night.... a little bubble gun action, a kid on a Hot Wheels (AKA Hell On Wheels), and a playful pup.

While Jango is still "small", posting some videos.  I'm sure we'll look back on these in just a few weeks in shock and awe and amazement!   This pup is growing like a flippin' weed!

And, what's an evening on the lake without some fishing action?    Connor had invited his friend Brayden to fish.  They caught enough fish (crappies, bluegill, and perch) for a few fish suppers.  Yum!

Sunday Picnic After Church

 What a day!  For just a typical Sunday, it was blissful and had such happy moments that made my heart smile.

To begin, it was our first time back to actual church... inside the sanctuary!  Church had been open for quite some time, via reservation and mask-wearing, but since we hadn't been vaccinated and had high-risk family members, we opted out of in-church services.   Our place of worship also had outside services (in-car), but again, we had opted out (just wasn't the same - but, we certainly could have gone in our pajamas without the hustle and bustle of trying to get ready - ha!). 

Because puppy still had tummy issues, Ramsey and I attended; Eric remained behind to puppysit.  Connor was staying elsewhere.  

Being inside the sanctuary gave me such a euphoric feeling, with my heart nearly bursting with happiness - and my eyes welling up, with gratitude.  I suppose it was from being in public again, surrounded by people, in a shared and caring environment, with everyone gathering for the same purpose.  It was beautiful.   And, better yet... NO MASKS!!!!

After church service, there was a picnic, with face-painting, bouncy castles, hot dogs and hamburgers, a cookie contest, and music.   When we woke up that morning, the weather had been drizzly and dreary, to the point I figured the outside fun would be canceled.  But, by the grace of God, the sun had come out by the time church ended, and it was gorgeous with blue skies and warm rays.  

Ramsey was in heaven, between the bouncy castles and seeing some of his friends from soccer and bible school.  I had to peel him away from the fun to come enjoy a bite to eat.

While he played more, I visited with people at the round folding tables, happy to meet new friends, as well as familiar faces and friends.

When we returned, we enjoyed the rest of the day playing outside, taking Jango for a walk, and doing a little cooking.  #Thankful :-)

An Afternoon Outing

 So... Eric, gone to a pool tournament for the weekend.   Connor... with his friends, doing his thang.  Just Ramsey and me and Jango. It's a beautiful day and we decided we could just just sit around!

We called The Girls and loaded up in the jeep.   We had a fun afternoon of pigging out at the Twist Cone (it was "interesting" with puppy there, getting so much attention - but he eventually settled down), then off to the park on the lake, and finally back home to run wild!

Jango - Growing at Warp Speed!

 Jango is growing at a mad speed!  When he was at the vet for shots on April 21st, he weighed  24 lbs.  One month prior, he weighed 12.5 lbs, so he nearly doubled his weight in one month!   When we weighed him yesterday, he weighed a whopping 41 lbs!   Forty one pounds at 14 weeks... crazy!  

The breeder reached out to the litter's new owners via Facebook to get updates yesterday.  All of the other pups were between 24 and 28 lbs.  Jango has definitely superceded our expectations for his size and is the giant of his litter.  Eric joked that we should give him his old name (from the breeder) back; "Tank".

Sidenote:  As of the last two weeks, Jango has had a very upset G.I. tract (you can gather what this means!).  His diet hadn't changed, he didn't eat anything odd... After those things were ruled out, we then assumed it was anxiety.   After we ruled that out as a possibility, as the days progressed, we decided he needed to see the vet.  They did poo samples and checked him out.  The tests came back fine.  The vet said, "His paws are like giant clubs."  And, she informed us that sometimes when pups are growing SO rapidly, their body just gets out of whack and needs time to adapt.  He's now taking probiotics, eating probiotic yogurt, and I made him some healthy cookies to give his diet more bulk.   We're shocked that he's gaining weight so rapidly, considering his tummy issues. 

Eric and I have both done some research online for how large Jango will get.   An estimation using the information Eric read online shows Jango will be 102 lbs.   The online calculator I punched numbers into shows that he could be 153 lbs!  Ha!  I certainly hope he doesn't get quite that large; dog food will to be awfully expensive!

As you can imagine.... these two are turning into BFFs!!!

Surprise Visitor

On the Friday that Connor moved out of his dorms, he came back home with a surprise guest - Bridger!  We were all quite shocked to see him.  To say that Ramsey was over the moon is an understatement!

Bridger ended upstaying with us the entire weekend and left on Sunday afternoon to head back with his Mom, West River.

As it turns out, Bridger will be staying back here quite a bit with his Dad before they all go back to Rapid City to stay there permantly (in August).   We'll be seeing him quite a lot this summer.

Happy Mother's Day!

Q&A with Ramsey - for Mother's Day

1) What is something Mommy always says to you?
Ramsey:  "I love you!"

2) What makes Mommy happy?
Ramsey: "When I hug you."

3) What makes Mommy sad?
Ramsey: "When I don't listen."

4) How does Mommy make you laugh?
Ramsey: "You're a funny individual!"

5) What was Mommy like as a little girl?  
Ramsey:  "You showed cattle.  And, you loved a wooden chair.  It is in my bedroom."  (Ramsey is referring to a brown child-size rocking chair that was mine when I was little.  My Mom had it made for me.  A blind man actually made it.  My aunt painted daisies on it.  It's his little reading chair now.)

6) How old is Mommy?
Ramsey: "44"

7) How tall is Mommy?
Ramsey: "Uhhh.... seven foot?!?!"

8) What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Ramsey: "Kiss me!"

9) What does Momma do when you're not around?
Ramsey: "You take care of the puppy and work."

10) What is Mommy really good at?
Ramsey: "Taking the dog for poops."

11) What is Mommy not very good at?
Ramsey:  "Hiding my Kindle sometimes."   (Wrong! ha!)

12) What does Momma do for a job?
Ramsey: "Works for [name of my company]."

13) What is Mommy's favorite food?
Ramsey: "Salad."

14)  What makes you proud of Mommy?
Ramsey: "Giving me my Kindle."    (scratching head here)

15) If Mommy were a movie or cartoon character, who would I be?
Ramsey:  "I don't want to answer that one.  It would be a little weird."   After me continuing to press, he stated "Princess Leia".

16) What do you and Mommy do together?
Ramsey: "Watch movies and have snacks."

17) How do you know Mommy loves you?
Ramsey:  "You say it a lot!"

18) What does Mommy like most about Daddy?
Ramsey: "He is a good parent."

19) Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Ramsey: "Nana Karen's."

20) How old was Mom when you were born?
Ramsey:  "I don't remember."  Then, doing the math, he replied, "37."

21) If Mommy would become famous, what would I be famous for?
Ramsey: "For being so good at your job."

22) How are you and Mommy the same?
Ramsey: "We love each other."

23)  How are you and Mommy different?
Ramsey: "I am a boy and you're a girl."

24) What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?
Ramsey: "Kiss you and watch movies!"

25) What's your favorite thing about Mommy?
Ramsey:  "Your mole."