Goodbye to a Good Friend

We had to say goodbye to our wonderful dog Irbe this weekend. We found out he had cancer a little over a month ago, and the time had come to finally let him go.
Irbe was a wonderful dog. He was our second boxer, we got him a year after we got Bou, thinking it would be a fabulous idea to get her a friend. They couldn't have been more different, but they tolerated each other wonderfully.

We joked that Irbe wasn't the smartest dog, but actually he was much more obedient, played harder, and was just an all around large, loveable dog. When the kids came around and he moved to 2nd fiddle, there was no difference in his character. Adison has shown the most interest in the dogs, literally laying all over them and petting them with vigor and Irbe would simply sit there and raise his head a little, proudly putting up with her.

These are some of our favorite things about Irbe:
He'd play catch until he passed out.
He thought he was a "lap dog" even though he was 80 pounds.
He loved chasing squirrels and rabbits, even though by the time he scrambled out the door he could only remember where he'd first seen it and therefore never got close.
He loved to lick anyone and everyone to death.
He would howl when the answering machine came on.

He was a wonderful dog, and we miss him.

*One week later Cole came to me this morning and asked where Irbe was. We'd been waiting for his conversation and knew it would eventually happen. Cole had gotten up before us, and had come downstairs to "keep an eye on Bou", which means follow her around. I told Cole Irbe was too sick, that the doctor couldn't fix him and that he had died. He told me we can save his leash until he comes back. When I told him that he wouldn't be coming back, my sweet, sweet boy broke down in tears and cried in my lap for 5 minutes. He also asked if we could pray to God to help Irbe get better. It was a somber time for Cole this morning, but it was so touching to be reminded of how tender his little heart is. We ended up praying that God would help us not to be sad, and to take extra special care of Bou.*

Lost

Yes. I took the wrong subway attempting to get back to the hotel by myself and ended up very far from the city...somewhere on 21st street. Here's what I learned:

1. If you tink you are close enough to walk to your hotel: do it.

2. If you take the wrong subway, stay in the subway and ask the irritated but helpful metro employee how to get back.

3. It only takes about 15 minutes to walk from 1 East 47th street to 248 West 47th street.

4. It doesn't matter how hard I try, I cannot hail a cab in New York City.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

Grand central station

Made a pit stop here on our last day. Haerd to believe this is it! Next: Brooklyn Bridge.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

Wicked

We went and saw the broadway show Wicked tonight which is meant to be a prequal to the Wizard of Oz. It really was a fantastic show and I'm a big time fan now. It was everything I hoped it would be. Here we are at the stage door with one of the main characters. The two girls we went with had already seen it several times, so they wanted to get some autographs and it was really fun to meet them.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

Times Square

We are staying 2 blocks from here.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

Times Square

We are staying 2 blocks from here.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

Cab for Four

Our dogs were barking after Central Park so we hailed a cab to thhe Apple Store. Tight squeeze.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

Subway

We ate lunch at Tom's Restaurant -- of Seinfeld fame -- and now headed to Central Park.

Note: due to technical difficulties this post is out of order.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

Central Park

We walked some of it. I hope to go back wednesday. This bridge was pretty.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

Subway guy with headphones

Wicked awesome.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

New York City

I've been in New York since saturday and having a great time. I'm trying out blogger on my phone. Saturday one of the things we did was go to the top of the rock at Rockefeller center. It was a beautiful day and we could see all of the city.
Sent via BlackBerry from SunCom Wireless

First Hair Cut

Today Adison had her first real hair cut at 20 months. It was a decision I made on a whim; we had just dropped Cole off at VBS, and she'd pulled the clips out of her hair and looked like a lion on the back seat.

Her hair is so curly in the back, just super super tight. But in the front for some reason it's just kind of wavy straight.

So off we went to a kids hair salon and she was a champ! She sat there in awe and halfway through asked to get down, but never cried or put up a fuss.

I didn't have my "big" camera, so I took these with my phone.

I Finally Did It.

The I'm-Going-To-NY-In-June-Dress I wanted to make turned out to be a I'll-Just-Wear-It-Around-The-House-Dress.

Mom and I gave it our best effort, but it required so many alterations to get it to work on me, it ended up being kind of a traffic jam of seams and raw edges on the inside and it kind of showed.

Enter Kwik Sew 3599. First of all, I found Kwik Sew's pattern so MUCH easier to read and understand. I got a couple yards of fabric in a few weeks ago and I had two patterns on the list to try. I decided on the Kwik Sew because it really seemed easy.

And it was!!

I started it Sunday afternoon and finished it (minus the bottom hem) this morning during nap time. I am LOVING this dress. I need to tweak a few things next time I make one -- which will be soon, I assure you -- and make it just a tad longer, as it's not Playground with the kids material, but I am totally loving it and loving the fabric and feeling quite proud of myself for actually making an item of clothing for me.

Can't think of a great name for this dress right now but I'm working on it.