Family walk and bowling with friends

We started our day off with a nice long walk, this time hoping to wear the dog out, not the children!  HA!

She thought we were going for a ride!  Not exactly, sister.


All ready to go!   And yes, Mia insisted on going for a walk in a dress.  She is a MAJOR clothes diva already. Changing constantly.  Loves dresses and play heels.  God, help me!


Mia wanted to walk Sam, and surprisingly, Sam didn’t pull her at all.  She was actually so good, there was slack in the leash and it kept getting wrapped up in her legs!


Dave tried to walk Sam up in the big field, but all she could do is keep looking back to make sure the girls and I were still there :)  Protective girl!


After our walk, the girls and I headed to the Bowling Alley with my friend Katie and her boys Alex and Max and the little princess Jenna!  Mia just LOVES Alex!

Mia’s very first time bowling…


Max, Alex and Mia




She got so excited to knock down some pins!  HAHA


Sweet matching little sister!


We then went to Jason’s Deli for lunch and Gigi’s for cupcakes.  Unfortunately, Mia didn’t get a cupcake due to behavior and not listening to her momma.  As much as it broke my heart and I wanted to cave in and get her one, I had to stick to my word, so that she knows I am serious. But, I REALLY wanted to cave.

On the way home, we stopped by Poppy’s house because Grand Poppy was over visiting.  He just got back from Paris and brought the girls back some cute shirts! 

We came home. Mia had meltdown of epic proportions. Stayed in her room for an hour. Multiple spankings. Momma in tears.  Story for whole different post.

The furry sister

Although Sam may be a raging maniac when it comes to protecting, she is so good with the girls.  I admit, her level of protection is a little over-the-top, can sometimes be annoying, and she comes off as a down right mean dog, we wouldn’t trade her for any other dog.  She is doing exactly the job we got her for.  She loves this family, especially Mia and Finley SO much!

Here is some proof…

TOTALLY UNPROMPTED. I just happened to have the camera readily available!




How sweet is this???



It’s amazing how she knows to be so easy with the baby and how she can play a little bit rougher with Mia.  And she just turned a year old.  Love that dang dog!



So true.  When Mia goes outside, she knows Sam has to go with her :)

Sammy girl turns ONE

Our pretty fur baby girl is almost ONE.  June 20, 2013 is her birthday, to be exact.  It has been a whirlwind year, but we just love our Sammy girl!



She is SO loyal and super protective.  Some people think she is mean, or scary, or obnoxious, but the truth is, she is just super protective of her family!  And we wouldn’t have it any other way!


Our beautiful girl…


Sam is so loving and playful with the girls.  She wants to be with Mia wherever she goes.  It is so funny to see the two of them “wrastle.”  She loves the girls so much!


“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.  You are his life, his love, his leader.  He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.”



Sam is exactly what we wanted when we were looking for a pet.  We wanted to have a dog who would “protect” us, especially our girls. And that is exactly what she does.  We actually have a physical fence, along with an electric fence in our yard.  One day Mia was by the physical fence, by the next door neighbors dog and Sam was literally putting herself IN the electric fence, barking and biting at the fence trying to protect Mia.  She didn’t know that Mia was not in any danger, and she was making sure of it!  LOVE IT!


“Whoever said diamonds are a girls best friend, never owned a dog.”


She also loves her Meme and Poppy and Ben! She gets SO excited to see them when they come over.  She also tries to protect them from their own dogs!!  She claims them as her own as well!  All others all suspect.  If we have visitors, Sam has to go outside first, then our guests come in, and then Sam can come in.  Even then, she is questionable.  She doesn't exactly *make friends* real well.  However, she is not a mean dog.  Just always working and making sure her family is safe.



“A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb.  Give him your heart and he’ll give you his.  How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special?  How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”  John Grogan



Happy first birthday to our Sammy girl! 

Bernheim Forest

First of all, let me just say that Friday, May 24 FINLEY ROLLED OVER FOR THE FIRST TIME!!  She rolled from belly to back and now she has the hang of it!!  Time slow down, please! 
My cuddle bunny…


Funny how milestones creep up on you soo fast with the second child but couldn’t come soon enough with the first baby.
So Saturday, the weather was mid 70’s and sunny.  We decided to take Sam and the fam to Bernheim forest and walk some trails!  Good exercise and family bonding time as well!  Of course, Meme had to work (yet again, miss out on all the fun) so Dave, the girls, Poppy, Ben, Sam and Mash all headed out together.

Before we left.  I prepared for bugs/ticks by putting her in long pants, tall socks, tennis shoes and a hat with hair pulled up!  I’m not exactly what you would call, ahem, outdoorsy, ahem.


Making memories!  Mia walked with Poppy the whole time and momma carried Finley in the Moby.


So special.  Pretty sure she took my spot as the number one girl in his heart.  And I’m ok with that.  She steals all of my men’s hearts, and I can see how.  ;)


You’re definitely probably not allowed to do this, but he was engraving “DH loves LH.”  So romantic.  And cheesy.  I love it!


My perfectly well rounded little girl!


She actually fell asleep in the Moby while walking.  Such a sweet baby girl!


Poppy caught a frog and Mia wanted to hold it!  She did not get that from me  :)


On the way home.  “NO momma, I not sleepy and don’t WANNA take a nap!!”


Just a side note: We got EIGHT ticks off of Mia. EIGHT.  One on her arm, 4 in her head and 3 around her waist line.  Yet another reason why I’m not a outdoorsy/adventurous person.

We then all came home, took naps and once Meme got home, we all went to their house for pizza!
Such a great Saturday.  Nothing better than time with the family!

A *mostly* restful weekend

Saturday I ended up working until 3 and then Dave had to go to work as soon as I got off.  :(  So I came home and the girls and I went to eat some Mexican food with my parents.  We then came back and relaxed.  Very low key Saturday.

Sunday after church, Dave and I were super tired, so we skipped ABF and ran to the grocery.  We had ZERO food!  We got done at the grocery, came home and put them away while Mia played outside with Sam in her little kiddie pool.  It’s so nice because it’s a little bitty pool, right on our deck (redneck? yes.) and our yard is fenced in.  Plus Sam stays right by Mia the whole time!  So we can actually go inside (keep our eye out through the glass back door) and get some stuff done!

Our happy girl!


She is seriously this happy, 95% of the time.

Our pretty, wet girl, courtesy of Mia splashes!



We then went to Meme and Poppy’s for some delicious dinner!  Mia helped me make banana pudding! 

She has never had whipped cream before and I had to make her try it.  After that?  You tell me how she felt about it…

hahahaha!!