I have been slacking

So after reading Nate's 27 new blogs and seeing that new mommy Lynsey has posted 14 times, I have come to the conclusion that I am a major slacker. Ok, so maybe they haven't posted that much...but what is my excuse? I am on summer vacation and spend 95% of my time sitting on the couch watching TV with the computer in my lap. I should be posting just about every day, lol.

Things that have happened...

1. I finished the school year and didn't have to pull out any hair. Two of my students came to help me clean up on the last teacher work day. Totally made me smile and feel like a good teacher!

2. Mike and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We went to the Cleveland Zoo and the Melting Pot for dinner. :-)

3. Sean and Lynsey welcomed baby Connor to this world 5 weeks early. He is the cutest little guy ever! I love holding him and can't get enough.

4. Nate, Liz, Mike, Tessa and I went to Hocking Hills for a weekend and had a blast! Unfortunately, the weather stunk so we didn't get to go horseback riding or canoeing and we all nearly died by sitting in the hot tub during a storm. At least we used that time to play games and hang out. Tessa was one of the most surprising parts of the trip. We hiked probably at least 3 or 4 miles in hot weather, up and down stairs, sides of hills, through creeks and all over the Hocking Hills area. I can't believe how amazing she did.

5. Right before we left for Hocking Hills, we had to put Casper down. Earlier that week, the tumor on her belly ruptured and began to bleed. I realized how much pain she was in and tried to comfort her. After sobbing for a couple days, Mike and I (with my friend Nikki coming along for support) took her to the vet. It was horribly hard, but we knew it was the right thing to do. I am comforted in the vet's words to us before we put her down. He checked her out and did a quick exam, and not only did she have the one large tumor we knew of, but she had them all up and down her chest and belly. He guaranteed us that she was in pain and wouldn't get better. We miss her every day but know she is no longer in pain and playing with all her buddies.

6. We spent the 4th of July at the Stanley family cottage. Watching fireworks on the boat was a completely new and fun experience. When we got off the boat, the neighbors by the dock set off a ton more fireworks that startled us all. Tessa took off and wouldn't stop no matter how much we yelled. Mike was carrying one of his nephews so I took off running after her, worrying a car would find her before I did. Somehow Tessa remembered the way back to the cottage and ran down the street, up the flight of stairs, watched for me as I turned to start up the stairs, then she took off and ran the rest of the way to the cottage and was waiting there for me at the front door when I got there.

7. Last Sunday we put Smokey Bear down. She was going on 16 years old and was in a lot of pain. She had been sick for quite some time and we were all watching her go downhill lately. Her cancer had been spreading and Saturday, after Kevin and Julie's wedding, I got a call from my mom saying that Smokey was laying in the front yard and asked if I could come over and help her. I quickly left where I was and raced to my mom's house. I scooped Smokey up and we got her back inside and on a blanket in the living room. Earlier that day my mom had found Smokey sprawled out on the kitchen floor. We hoped that by Sunday she would have rested enough to walk better and not have the sway she did the night before. Unfortunately, it was clear to us that Smokey was tired and didn't want to fight anymore. We all wanted to be selfish and continue to pump her with more morphine, but we all knew she was in pain and we didn't want her to continue to fight to stay around only to please us. It was another horribly hard thing to do, but she is now happy and running and cancer free. Not a day will go by when I won't think of that little ball of fur that was found in the dumpster and full or worms and fleas.

8. Kevin and Julie got married! A fun reception followed a beautiful ceremony.

9. Nikki was in town for a while. We got to hang out and play Wii a couple times. The Friday before she left she spent the night and we looked through a bunch of notes she found from middle and high school. It was pretty comical seeing the things that we felt were important enough to write about in school. It was nice talking about our lives and funny stories from those times.

10. General is not doing so well. I gave him an ultimatum. Either he comes out of his stall, or I will put him down by the end of the month. It has now been over a month since he has come out of his stall. Last week he bumped his head on the wall and had an eye-ball-rolling-seizure. Tomorrow I will call the barn owner to notify him of my plan and ensure there is a place next to Dee Dee ready for him. I really don't want to put him down, but at this point it is all about quality of life. Is it fair for me to allow an ex racer to live out the remainder of his life in a 12 X 12 box where he is afraid to turn around to get food and water? He should be out running in the pastures and giving us all a hard time...not flinching when I touch him. Sigh...July sucks for animals.

Well, if you made it this far, I applaud you. Hopefully I will get back into a habit of blogging more often so that I don't have these 54 page blogs anymore, haha.