Saying Goodbye

This is tough to write. A couple weeks ago we had to say our goodbyes to Madison. It was her time to go. Her heart was weak and her legs were giving out on her. It was time, but just because it was time doesn't make it any easier. Max said goodbye and went to school. Later that day we had someone come to our house, just like we did with Izzy, and put her down. There were plenty of tears from everyone in our house and Zoe has been very sad. 

She was 13 years old and she lived a crazy 13 years. There are so many memories, especially during the first couple of years of her life, that I can laugh at now. Her behavior wasn't funny back then, but now I find it hilarious. Like the time when she ate the rubber off my pot lids, or the many times she ate our baseboards, or how about that time she ate a hole right in the middle of our drywall? And don't ever leave anything on the counter because Madison always ate it. I remember the time when I turned my back for a minute and she stole and ate, a whole raw chicken breast. She also rummaged through house guest bags to find items to eat such as my nephew's sock. Good thing she puked the sock back up hours later. 

She was a good dog that protected our house like no other. Nobody could even think of looking in the direction of our house and she would let everyone know there was potential harm to our house. As much as I found her barking obnoxious it's eerily missed in the house now. It's a much quieter house, yes, even with Zoe in it.

Well, Madison, it was great to have you in our lives for so long and it's really hard to say goodbye. We all know you are enjoying your time up in heaven with Izzy, Captain and grandma V's dog, Shadow.

Starting to feel like Halloween

 To get into the Fall and Halloween mood we went to a farm for some outdoor activities and pick out our pumpkins. We went to this farm a couple years ago and had a good time so thought we would give it a try again especially since they were selling a limited number of tickets each day.

I bought our tickets for first thing when they opened in hopes of having some cooler weather. I was right and it was a nice cool morning. It actually felt a little like Fall, but not WI Fall weather.

We did a bunch of activities.

Of course we had to see how tall Max has grown.

On Sunday we carved two of the pumpkins and Max painted one. It was a lot more fun to do this year because Max actually participated and helped carve his pumpkin. He also helped gather all the seeds for me to season and roast.

It was a fun weekend filled with Halloween activities. 

Vacation: Part IV

 One night we ordered food from a nice restaurant and as I was reading the menu for Max, he replied in a matter of fact way that he will have the lobster. This is what happens when you have a foodie as a seven year old. 

We went to breakfast one morning and this guy was hanging out right next to my chair.

Then there was this guy at our pool hanging on the side of the palm tree. 

The kids grabbed a golf cart ride to the pool while the adults walked. The kids thought this was funny and cool.

We did do a couple days at the pool even though I much rather prefer the beach. Max got his naked shaved ice that the kids ordered daily. I believe it helped cool them off from the crazy humidity.

Of course Max took a nap by the pool.

On the last night, we went to another really nice restaurant where Mr. Foodie enjoyed himself. 

We had such a fun framily vacation. Despite the crazy humidity, and the insane amount of bugs, I had a fantastic time and would love to go back to the VIs again someday. 

Vacation: Part III

 Two days during the week we went to Trunk Bay. If you don't know, this beach is a top 10 world famous beach. Once our taxi arrived, I definitely could see why this is a world famous beach. The water was crystal clear. You could easily see the fish swimming around your ankles even though the fish were the same color as the white sand. It was crystal clear. The sand was very smooth and soft. The snorkeling was also amazing.  The drive to the beach was also just beautiful. Basically, the moral to the story is that St. John is a beautiful island with crystal clear water.

The kids enjoyed playing in the sand and of course their afternoon ice cream snack.

Both days were fun and relaxing on the beach. It didn't hurt that they had a snack stand where they sold adult beverages as well.

Just a few fish pictures that were taken at Trunk Bay.

Vacation: Part II

 One day we chartered a boat to snorkel and cruise around the water. This was probably my favorite day of the whole week. I loved the beauty of the island and the water was just amazing no mater where we were. We had the boat for seven hours and I soaked up every minute of it.

We stopped at three different snorkel spots. We saw sea turtles and plenty of beautiful fish. We also saw plenty of jelly fish and that kind of freaked me out. I really was not interested in getting stung by a jelly fish so I just really tried to stay away from them. Max did a great job snorkeling during this vacation. This is definitely different from the snorkeling we attempted to do last year on the cruise. I am very proud of him and I know he really enjoyed seeing the turtles and brightly colored fish. 

We had a fantastic captain. He was really good with the kids. He spent time explaining to Max how the boat works and what everything does. He even let each kid drive the boat.

The captain took us to a small island filled with hermit crabs. This was pretty cool because once we walked on the land it just seems as if the land came alive as there were so many hermit crabs that went from seashells to walking around. It was crazy! The pictures definitely don't do the hermit crab island justice.