Mr. Handsome

This handsome pup turned 6 this summer.

He went from spazy puppy to mellow old man over night.

Unless he is with his brother, who also turned 6 July 5th. 

Duke has always acted like an old man unless he is with my Max.

Then they both act like they are still puppies and nothing can hurt them.

I hope they are always like that.

Max has also always thought of himself as a 10lb dog.

When we first got Max at 8 weeks we already had a tiny papipoo named Ollie. 

He wasn't the best role model for my sweet little flat coat puppy and had to move on to a better life by the beach with my aunt in sunny California.

 In the year that Max and Ollie shared a home it was enough time for Max to think that he was the same size as Ollie. Still to this day he thinks that he can fit in a dog bed made for a little dog.

Even though he thinks he is a small dog he also thinks that he can run forever. Which makes him the best running partner. (Don't tell Colin I said that)

And swim forever.

When you read stories about the loyalty and love of a dog they are surely written about him. He would never leave us, he would do anything for us.

and...

 We would do anything for him.

We are his world.

And he is the best dog in the world.

Just writing this makes me tear up.

When an awesome opportunity came up to try something that could help Max I jumped at it!
The great folks over at bestpethealth.com sent me a bottle of the Wild Alaska Salmon oil by nutri-Vet to try out for a couple of weeks on Max.
You wouldn't know it by looking at Max but he has a ton of allergies. The main culprits are wheat, chicken and meat. If he does get a hold of them look out. He is gassy and his ears smell like nasty wet socks within hours. Plus the itching....it goes on all night....
Poor dog is a mess. 
As long as I keep him on a fish and sweet potatoes diet he is fine. But his skin has always been super dry. I was really hoping this would help him.
Guess what? It did!!!

All I do is put a few pumps on his food at night. Max only eats once a day and usually at night while we are sleeping. I was a little worried the oil would go bad before he got around to eating it but the opposite happened. He now eats right when I feed him and all of his food at once. 
We are so happy with  the Wild Alaska Salmon Oil and extremely thankful we got the chance to try it.


The folk over at bestpethealth.com are so awesome that they are offering  50% off any of their Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil (regular or the drip less odor less option) for dogs and cats.  You can also receive free shipping if you spend $45 or more, otherwise it’s only $5.95.
They ship anywhere to the USA.
The coupon code is HALFOFFSO (should be entered in all caps) and Expires 8/1/2011.


You can also check them out over at facebook or twitter @bestpethealth


Let me know it you try it and how it works out!




 

catch up

The rest of our week was great.

  Colin finished up sports camp and loved it. The week was topped off  by having sleep overs with their buds.

Colin stayed with his friend and Emilie had a friend stay with her.

She was on cloud nine.

Once Colin rolled home he was tired and in need for a nice down day to recover from all the late nights he had during sports camp.

If I would have had it my way we would have had 3 down days.

The next morning the girls and I made the most amazing zucchini muffins with a nutella swirl.

The rest of the family finished the morning off with a drawing session.

 If Colin could have it his way he would draw with his dad all day everyday.

We did eventually get out of the house.

Doug found a gift card to LOWES and it was burning a hole in his wallet.

I'm glad it was because we used it to finally get rid of our pedestal sink in our down stairs bathroom and replaced it with a sink on a cabinet.

Fantastic!!

A trip to Issaquah is not complete without lunch at our favorite teryiaki place and a Cold stone ice cream shop stop.

Monday Emilie and Colin started VBS.

This is Emilie's first year at VBS. For two years she watched Colin go and have a ton of fun. Finally it's her turn.

Now its Molly's turn to wait....

It's not as cool as VBS but I thought it would be nice for molly to have something special.

I stayed up way to late and finished her quilt.

She loves it and I love it.

Tuesday my little's played outside like it was summer and ignored the dreary dark cloud that hung out with us all day.

While they played outside looking for meteorites and dinosaur bones I made them  super yummy cookies. Emilie actually said they were amazing. She never calls food amazing.

Lots of things are happening around our home.

 First the bathroom redo and now the banister is on the home stretch to being completed!!

I'm hoping in the next few weeks I can get some walls painted, kiddos rooms finished and our room put back together. 

I can't wait!

not so little...

Just yesterday this little home girl was curled up on her daddy's lap pretending to sleep like a little baby.

She looked so small and Quietly I sighed some relief seeing her that way.

 She already thinks that she is 4 and she is the size of a 3 year old.  For a brief moment she actually looked like the 2 year old she is.

Very brief.

Because when she woke up this morning once again she had aged.

When Molly ages its not by baby steps but leaps and bounds. 

Today Molly had an appointment with her Ear, nose, throat doctor.

She has had 4 ear infections since November and it was time to find out why.

The best part of the trip was that it was just me and her.

She was smiles the whole way and sang out loud to her new favorite song.

Rolling in the deep by Adele

I know a crazy choice for a 2 year old but I think it speaks to her old soul.

I was feeling a little bad about taking her to the doctor so I let her bring her baby {who is always filthy} and treated her to a mini chocolate Doughnut. 

We ended up being 30 minutes early and she did great. We watched a show, read some books and chatted it up with some very nice strangers.

Those dark circles under her eyes are not from lack of sleep. Molly is a champion sleeper.

They are allergy shiners and one of the reasons for our visit today.

It was a very thorough visit. I learned some cool facts about the ears and sinus cavities and Molly had her hearing tested big kid style.

It was fun to watch her communicate with the tester and follow his commands. Just like a big kid.

I blew up one of the thousands of rubber gloves that are always  around and that was all she needed to get through the day.

Next stop was x-rays to check her adenoids. And once again she blew me away with how calm and patient she was.

I was saving the best for last. 

Blood draw...

I thought for sure she would be a train wreck. Possibly even bite me.

Once again I was wrong. Not even an ouch.

Just a thank you when the tech took the needle out of her tiny little arm.

5 minutes after I took the last picture she was out.

I was reminded today on the importance of doing things with each of my kiddos individually. 

I get to see who they really are away from the controlled and sometimes uncontrolled chaos that we live in and they also get to see who I am.

I remember thinking the same thing when Emilie was 2 and she got admitted into Childrens hospital overnight. It was just the two of us. 

It was mostly her sleeping/healing and me watching but once she was awake the next day it was such a special time.

It really sucks that I wait until a medical issue to take the time to get to know my little's. 

Once we got home and Molly woke up from her so-so car nap she was a train wreck. Sleepy, hungry and bitter.

That didn't matter, because when she catches me looking at her she gives me a little dance and smile and we both giggle and remember what a great day we had.

Thank you my sweet little girl. 

Even on this crazy rainy day you are still my sunshine.

last night

Last night Doug took Colin to his first night of sports camp. 

Its from 7-9. Doesn't that seem late.

While they were gone I  put the girls to bed, sat back and enjoyed a perfect view.

Until...

This little man came home.
And he became my new perfect view.

He had an awesome time.

Good thing he has 4 more nights of it.

*************************************************************************************

Today we headed north to my sisters to drop some stuff off and get some bicycle time on flat ground.

Molly kept running around saying" bye mom, bye."

We spent some time enjoying the ant show in front of my sister home.

We finally made it to the Sammamish trail.

Go Emilie, Go!

Before she rode her bike she rode in the stroller so I could run.

4.5 miles + pushing 60 pounds of little girls = very sore legs

Once on her bike she got a little tired so I tethered her to the stroller. 

It worked out perfect! 

She had so much more confidence.  Especially on the down hills.

I am so proud of my little kiddos and their love of being outside.

weekend fun

Saturday morning we decided to head down to one our favorite places.

I am always amazed at how many pictures I have of Molly. And the lack of photos of her brother and sister. If they would stop moving for just a few seconds I could probably get some more.

Molly and her grandpa heading out for a walk on the beach.

A change for us this summer is everywhere we go the kiddos bikes are in the back of the car. 

Everywhere...

I finally got to see the bald eagle that lives by the cabin.

Were my giant feet ever the small?

A couple more photos of home girl.

She is just so darn cute.

The day always comes to an end.

And we eventually have to start the trek home.

Thank goodness its less then an hour away.

After a very relaxing day at the beach on Saturday we went the opposite on Sunday.

We spent a fun day at a very crowded zoo.

Senior photo?

This was Emilie's favorite stop. 

She loved watching the gorilla's move and take care of each other.

We all loved this stop!

Growing up where Grizzlies roam we would see them cross the road, run threw a field. 

But never this close.

Amazing!

One even came down for a swim.

Did I mention it was amazing?

Woodland Park zoo has a dino show going on this month.

 It was really cool.

Short but the kiddos loved it.

Flamingo's are such a fascinating bird.

The Jaguar was taking a nap, again.

Still fun to watch.

I love the new penguin habitat.

What is a day at the zoo without a carousel ride.

I am so glad Doug took these pictures. 

He has better luck when it comes to taking action shots. 

All of mine would have been a giant blur.

It was a great weekend

After last weeks stomach flu fun I am so glad we were able to get out and have a great time.

Together.