Goodbye Snappy Cheesies

For Ivy's ninth birthday we bought her a hamster. She was so excited. Honestly, I think it is her all-time favorite birthday present. She has been so good with her little pet. She was so protective of him, always making sure that the little sisters didn't play too rough with him. She always cleaned out his cage, and made sure he had enough food and water. I am so proud of her. She took care of him till the very end.

Sadly, he passed away yesterday. Hamsters only have about a two year life span, and we had him for just over a year and a half. Last week, when she was cleaning out his cage I noticed that he didn't look so good. He was dragging his hind legs, and he had lost a lot weight. Ivy and I took him to the vet. I was worried that the girls might have hurt him, and that he was in pain. Turns out, he was just old. Every day since then, I've been checking on him. Yesterday, after the girls left for school, I went to check on him and found his little stiff body.

When Ivy and Addie got home, I broke the news to them. They took it better than I thought they would. They both asked to see his body which I had placed in a box. Ivy wrote him a goodbye letter, and Addie drew and colored a paper bed for him to rest on. When Jason got home he dug a little grave, and we held a little funeral service. Everyone said goodbye to Snappy, we said a prayer, and Ivy placed him in his grave. Addie and Ivy took turns putting the dirt in the hole. Ivy and Jason finished up while I took a sobbing Addie back in the house. Shortly after the funeral, we left for Lake House for the long weekend. I think that is helping to ease the pain, and I am super thankful that Snappy chose Friday to die and not Saturday. We wouldn't have found him till Monday night, and I think that would have been much more traumatic for everyone!

Overall, I think this has been a good experience for our family. The process of life and death is a beautiful part of our existence. It is bitter-sweet, and I love that my girls are learning how to deal with it now. On that note, I do not look forward to the day our dog Penny dies. I don't think any of us will handle that well at all!

Water Garden Fun

Last week, on my last day of summer vacation, I went with some mommy friends to the Fort Worth Water Gardens. I took the Kids too, of course. We had a great time, and I brought my camera to document the outing. I loved going with some many people. The girls had so many friends to play with,      a I love having other  moms hand out with. It also tired the girls out, and we had a nice quiet afternoon as everyone rested. 

It was wonderful way to spend my last day of summer. The girls still had 3 full days of summer left, but sadly my University goes by it's own schedule.  So I had to make the best of my last day.

Fire Station Field Trip

Yikes! It's been a long time since I posted anything here. I guess being MIA for a month, and then being sucked into a Statistics Black Hole will do that to a blog. So, I guess it's time to get back into the swing of things.

This last Tuesday our lovely play group leader/organizer set up a tour of one of the local fire stations. Luckily, it happened to be the one right next to our house. I love a field trip that I can walk to! The kiddos and I set out around 10:15am and met up with the biggest play-grorp I have ever seen. There were no less than 50 parents and children in attendance. The fireman giving the tour said this was the largest group they had ever had. Go Burleson Ward!

The kids had a great time checking out the fire truck and watching as one of the firemen put on his gear for them to see. He looked a little scary with his mask on, and he sounded a bit like Darth Vader too.

We have lived practically next door this station for 5 1/2 years and this was the first time I have gone to take a tour. Addie, and Ivy have both been, and Jason has even been before. I am so glad I went. I love living so close to a fire station, it makes me feel good know they are so close to my home. If I ever need them, they are literally right down the street.