Bethany's Christmas 2008

Monday, December 29, 2008

Merry Christmas, 2008! I'm finally getting around to posting about Christmas. Bethany was really excited about all of her presents and the general gaiety of the day, as you'll see from the pictures! We had so much fun watching Bethie unwrap her gifts.









James gave me a wonderful gift--a night off with the girls! Bethany had not been sleeping well the few days prior to Christmas, and I was pretty darn tired. After giving me a bunch of my favorite pampering stuff, James explained that he had arranged it with Grandma Johnson that I could have a slumber party at her house with my mom and sister! Thoughtful, huh?! So that evening, my mom, my sister and I braved the blizzard and drove to Grandma's (and Grandpa's, didn't mean to leave you out there, Gromp). We had a wonderful time playing games, eating stuff and visiting. Then, right before I took my luxurious bubble bath and fell into bed, I called James to wish him a good night and to thank him once again. As it turns out, James had been throwing up all night--very ill. But he didn't want to tell me and ruin my night! After arguing for awhile about whether or not I would come home (I wanted to, he didn't want me to), James convinced me to stay, since Bethany was asleep and he was just going to bed anyway. Not to mention the raging blizzard outside, which was pretty dangerous by this time. So I stayed, but felt quite guilty about the whole situation! (He survived the night, brave man, and is doing better now. Stupid stomach flu.)

Some of Bethany's favorite gifts:

1. Her new slippery slide! Bethany got a new slide for Christmas! She absolutely LOVES it and has slid down it more than a hundred times already. She's such an active little kid, we needed an outlet for her energy this winter!







2. Her "Who Loves Bethany?" book that Aunt Tracee made. In it are pictures of her family--aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents--most of whom are all holding her. It's scrapbooked so cute and laminated, and Bethany really enjoys looking at the pictures and saying everyone's names!





3. Table and chair set! Bethany's grandparents gave her a small table and four little chairs. Bethany loves this ("My seat! My table! My seat!") and uses it to eat, color and everything else! (I dropped the table on my small toe while assembling--it's solid wood and we were afraid my toe was broken. Thank goodness it's not, just bruised pretty badly. Bethany now says, "Mommy toe, owie. Hurt.")

4. Her blocks. She likes to throw them. We'll have to work on this to prevent serious head-clunking.





5. Her "Doodle Pro" magnetic drawing board thingy. She loves to "Lee-da-lee" with it and we are hoping for increased sacrament meeting reverence as a result.

We had a good Christmas, but we're now looking forward to the new year! Not to contradict Michael McLean, but we do not "cry the day we take the tree down." We get those decorations down the day after Christmas (leaving them up makes them seem like a Christmas ghost town, we think) and we even have most of the pine needles vacuumed up, thanks to our new vacuum cleaner. (We had to buy a new one after our old one exploded--yes, I said exploded!) We like the season, but we also like getting back to normal! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"True-Blooded Aggies" March Through Snowy, Blowy Blizzard!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

I just wanted to say "Congratulations!" to my little (little?) brother James, who earned his degree last Saturday. And boy, was his graduation day cold! I've never seen graduates march through a blizzard before. (It was not unlike the march of the penguins, all of them in their black robes.) And there we all were, in the blizzard, cheering the graduates on! Nothing like "Pomp and Circumstance" when your circumstances are very, very cold! Below are some pictures from the snowy, blowy day!

The graduate himself: way to go, little bro!



The beautiful and supportive wife and child, loving their man through sickness and health, rain, sleet and snow . . .



Supportive us:



Bethany and Uncle Ben:

Christmas Angel

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I just had to post a picture of Bethany all dolled up in her Christmas dress! We thought she was so cute, although the flash of the camera made her eyes look red. ("Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown? Jolly old town!") And Bethany is actually really good with the tree, after the first day we put it up, when she was bent on un-decorating it as fast as I could decorate! But she seemed to get it all out of her system and now just likes looking at the pretty lights. We hear "Lighs! Wow!" a lot from Bethany these days--it's so fun to have this precious daughter to share Christmas magic with!

A New Calling for Jenny . . .I've Never Laughed So Hard at the Bishop.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Well, I've always said the Church is all about kicking us out of our comfort zones. I believe the Sunday School answer for this is, "This is how we grow." At any rate, I have been released from my very comfortable calling of gospel doctrine instructor (piece of cake) into a totally uncomfortable arena (and I do mean "arena" literally). And "uncomfortable" is putting it mildly--I am TOTALLY FREAKING OUT! There's nothing wrong with the calling, it's just a little weird that they asked ME to do it! Here goes . . .

They've asked me to be the young women sports coach. It's okay, go ahead and laugh.

After I laughed so hard in the bishop's office that I actually started leaking tears, I went home and told James (again, laughing so hard I was crying, and then he joined me). I accepted, of course--I've had enough callings in the Church to know that the Lord will help me--but have you ever heard of anything so hilarious? ME? A COACH? Those who know me well know that I have absolutely zero athletic ability and, in fact, only go to sporting events because I enjoy singing the fight songs and hanging out with people I like. I do not know what they are actually doing down there on the field, or court, or whatever--I just cheer when everyone else does.

So the other night I went to a sort of training meeting for my new calling, and learned all sorts of new things, for example: a basketball court has a front court and a back court. Who knew? I still don't know what a pick and roll is, however. But you can't learn everything at once, right?

The crazy thing is, I'm the only person (well, Julie is a close second, sorry Julie) in my family who doesn't play or "get" sports. My very athletic brothers all eat, breathe, live and die by sports (particularly the Aggies). My husband follows sports closely, my parents follow sports, my mother totally gets it, too. She can watch a football game and follow it completely. Both of my parents can. And yet they call ME to be the young women coach! ME!

There is a bright spot to all of this. I am actually going to be one of two coaches, so I'm not alone! And the other gal is very athletic and totally gets it. So I figure I'll just wash the jerseys and bring the Gatorade and love the young women. I can do all of that. And who knows, maybe I'll learn a few things. (I'll try to forget my own terrible experiences as a young woman when my team actually wanted me to stay home and my coach called me "stupid" and then came to my house later to apologize.)

Oh, and BTW--if anyone in my ward reads this post, please do not tell the young women exactly how terrified I am. I'm going to put on a confident front! (I do have some good acting ability.) Go team! Go team! Go team!

Bethany, Santa. Santa, Bethany.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Well, Bethany has been officially introduced to Santa Claus! James, Tracee and Ruby invited us to their ward party to meet the jolly old elf (our ward doesn't invite him) and it was really fun! We were worried that Bethany might freak out and cry, but she was "good for goodness sake." When we sat her on his lap and started snapping pictures, she just looked at us like, "Well, this is a little weird," sat there for a minute with a very somber expression and then got really excited about the candy cane he gave her. (Ruby didn't like Santa so much and James and Tracee got a great picture of her screaming.) All in all, she was very "ho-ho-ho" hum about the entire experience!

It's Hard to Beat Beaters!

When the weather turns cold, the oven turns on! Yep, we have a (probably-not-too-healthy) habit in the wintertime of making hot chocolate chip cookies every night. Lest you think we're Martha Stewart (we're not), all we do is make dough about once a week and then make a couple of cookies each night. Like I said, not healthy but oh-so cozy and mmmmm, mmmmm good! Bethany and James get one beater each after I make the dough. Bethie is a big fan of the beater-licking thing!

Gingerbread Houses Are a Pain in the Leg.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Okay, so gingerbread houses aren't really a pain in the leg. Just the neck. ("Pain in the leg" just came to mind because Bethany had four shots today in her legs, poor baby, see below.) Actually, we had a great time tonight decorating our gingerbread house during F.H.E., meaning we laughed a LOT trying (let me emphasize TRYING) to make our house look like the little picture on the gingerbread kit box. (They make it look so easy!) Looking at the finished product, we're just hoping that no little gingerbread building inspector men come around to check its structural soundness, 'cause this little house will not stand the test of time. And may not stand for any time whatsoever.

On a more positive note, while we decorated our sad, sorry little house we watched our favorite claymation Christmas show: The Year Without a Santa Claus. Do you remember that one? "I'm Mister Heat Miser, I'm Mister Sun!" You gotta love it. It beats the Rudolph show hands down. That Rudolph claymation just drives me crazy--what a terrible message! Sure, everyone is nice to Rudolph after he saves the day--but they should have been kind in the first place!!!! Those reindeer are downright mean. And what's with Rudolph's father being such a chauvinist? ("You stay in the cave, woman!") But again, I digress.

As I mentioned above, Bethany had her immunizations and 18-month (can you believe she's 18 months already!) check today. She checks out great, although she's still an itty-bitty thing. She's finally (barely) hit 20 lbs. now, and is in the third percentile for her weight! Maybe if she stopped running constantly and, I don't know, ate a little more . . .but then, she wouldn't be our Bethany and we love her exactly the way she is!

Bethany forgot all about the shots as soon as the gingerbread-house candy came out. "Canny! Canny!" was her constant chant tonight, her little voice competing in volume with all of the catchy claymation tunes in the background. (And we gave her more than we should have, but let's all remember the poor girl was poked four times today. Tomorrow it's back to the veggies!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our dear family and friends! Our day started early, with the Macy's parade and Bethany helping me make huckleberry and french apple pies (talk about a mess but Bethany loved "stirring" the dry ingredients and snitching the pie dough). We always way overdo the pies and have way too many leftover, but such is our lot (and we like pie a LOT)! We had a great day with family--and we also got some good news! James and Tracee (bro and sis-in-law) found out the gender of their baby yesterday and . . .it's a girl! They made the announcement at dinner and we're so excited to have another little niece to love! (Although we would have loved a boy, too!) We're so grateful for our many, many blessings! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Well, There Goes the Changing Table . . .

So, last night James and I were reading a book out loud together in the living room, and Bethany was running around, playing with toys. She ran into her bedroom for a second, which didn't concern us because that room is baby proof, after all ( or so we thought). Anyway, after about a minute, I heard a strange noise coming from Bethie's room and when I went to check on her, there she was, on top of her changing table, sitting cross-legged and playing with a bunch of shoes. Oh, and she was also grinning like the cat that caught the canary--she was so pleased with herself! Little monkey! She was delighted to show me what she had accomplished, and when I put her down she immediately scaled the table again, quick as a wink. (Am I using too many similes here?) At any rate, the changing table now obviously has to retire to the shed. Sigh! Well, we're planning on potty-training in a few months anyway--but I do feel somewhat sentimental about the whole thing. That table and I have spent many a diaper change together, and it's one more piece of babyhood we're leaving behind too quickly . . .

Jenny's Thoughts on Twilight Movie

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Okay, so I went with the girls to Twilight last night and you know what? I LIKED it! I went with absolutely no expectations, and thinking from the previews that Edward really wasn't as good looking as he was supposed to be, but as soon as he started smiling more . . .WaZAM! I liked him! (Although his lipstick could have been toned down a bit.) And speaking of smiles, that's the thing that bugged me . . .Bella never smiled! And since I'm very sure the director will be reading my blog, anxious for my suggestions, :-) may I say, "Please have Bella change expressions once in a while, Mr. Director sir. The Bella in the book did, on occasion, smile!" Such a little thing, and no bigger budget needed. There were other little things that I hoped would be a tad different, but I loved the scenery and the music and I must have been in just the right mood because I left feeling "Ah!" and all kinds of romanticish. I asked James please, when he gets over his cold, could he scale a tree with me on his back? And he said he'd be glad to, just as soon as he was resurrected. So we have a date!

Happy Kissing Anniversary James!!!!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

It was fourteen years ago yesterday when James kissed me for the first time! I meant to blog about it yesterday, oops. Anyway, "HAPPY KISSING ANNIVERSARY (yesterday) SWEETHEART!" What a magical event that was and such an important part of our history together, much like our holding-hands anniversary on November 5th, which we forgot to celebrate. But we did celebrate our first-date anniversary on October 28th, also very important.

But back to the kissing anniversary. As I kept a detailed journal every day back then, I have the entire event recorded! (Here is where the screen goes fuzzy and waves in and out, signalling a flashback to the audience.)

There we were, in my grandparent's basement, November 19, 1994. I was sitting on their old green couch (I miss that couch, SO comfy) and James was sitting on the orange shag carpet by my feet. We were doing homework, as I recall. James turned around to ask me something, and, according to him, I gave him "THE LOOK." Also, according to him, he heard a voice boom down from the heavens saying, "IT IS TIME." Then muchas smoochas, he kissed me right on the lips. And angels burst into song and rose petals fell from the sky, and fireworks could be heard across the land. And there was much rejoicing.

Looking back, I feel sort of bad for James. I really didn't have a lot of experience so I wasn't that good at kissing. But thankfully, there were many more kisses to come, so I could practice my technique. :-)

And after James went home, I squealed and called my mom and my sister and told them the joyous news, and then I called something like three different friends to tell them (I definitely remember calling my cousins Maria and Mike), and I sashayed around the house and wrote the entire thing in my journal, and relived the entire event in my mind over and over while sighing multitudes of times, and drifted off to dreamland on clouds nine, ten and eleven.

And after James left me (I asked him later) he walked into his apartment, said, "Hey" to his roommates and went straight to bed. And that, my friends, is the difference between men and women.

(Wavy screen taking us now back to the present.)

And here we are, 14 years later, married and still enjoying the kissing thing. (The picture above was taken this summer. We looked better 14 years ago but oh well!) Happy Anniversary, Sweetie! Thanks for all of the smooches over the years, and I look forward to an eternity of further practice!

Letters. Lip Gloss and "Lee-da-Lees"

Monday, November 17, 2008

Bethany has three great loves these days:

1. Letters: Bethany is fascinated by the alphabet and can recognize the letters A, O and B. (Well okay, she really recognizes A and O, and every other letter she doesn't know is a B!) Because of this recent fascination, we bought her some alphabet refrigerator magnets the other day, which she very much loves! She's also starting in on recognizing some numbers. What a smart kid! She likes to take my grown-up books (meaning they don't have pictures, not "adult" like the world defines that category so get that out of your head, "I'm a good girl, I am!") and she goes over to the French doors in the kitchen, sits down and reads the book, pointing out the letters. So cute!

2. Lip Gloss: Well, I really said "lip gloss" to alliterate. She's really into any kind of makeup at all, including lip gloss but also including eyeliner, mascara, blush--you name it! When she sees me get out my makeup in the morning, she yells, "Lap!" (I guess I could have used "lap" to alliterate, too) and runs over to the hall mirror. So she sits on my lap and we put on our makeup together. (I thought we wouldn't be at this point for 11 or so more years?) The other day she did this literally--eye liner all over her face before I could stop her! And I forgot to take a picture, darn!

3. "Lee-da-Lees": Some interpretation is needed here. "Lee-da-lees" (in the short form) "lee-da-lee-da-lees" (in the medium form) and "lee-da-lee-da-lee-da-lees" (in the long form) are any kind of writing utensil, mostly crayons. She calls them this because that's how she says "co-lor-ing." "Lee-da-lee." Anyway, Bethany loves her lee-da-lees! She carries them around the house with her little notebook and calls to them like a pet when she's not with them. This picture above was taken this morning--nothing like "lee-da-lee"ing in your jammies and winter boots! Ah, the life of a child!

Day of "Rest" and Other Myths

Don't let this picture fool you! Yes, this is a picture of Bethany and James taking a nap yesterday (Sunday). Yes, they look restful and all kinds of Sabbath Day-serene. But the real story is that church was such a zoo that they came home and crashed! (Which I also wanted to do, but someone has to take the pictures around here.) Bethany was seriously boing-boing-boinging off the walls yesterday at church, beginning with a tantrum during the opening prayer when I kindly suggested she fold her arms: "Noooo! Down! Shoesssss" (She decided she wanted her shoes off during the prayer.) What I want to know is, why does Bethany, who loves to sit on my lap at home ("Lap! Lap!") not want anything to do with my lap at church? Ah well--two more weeks and then it's nursery time!

Congratulations!!!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

I'm just smiling all over right now! In the last week, three (yes, three) of our friends have added to their families through the miracle of adoption! So here's a big shout out CONGRATULATIONS to Kent and Charity (a girl), Conner and Amy (a boy), and Tom and Stephanie (a girl). We are so thrilled for you! May your sleepless nights be peppered with exquisite joy! Yay, yay and more YAY!!!!!! We couldn't be happier for you.

Thoughts on Growing Up Too Fast

Saturday, November 8, 2008

So, today I looked at James and said, "What happened to the little baby we brought home? And where did this big kid come from?" Seriously, such a weird concept if you think about it. Bethany was just this sweet little lump one day, and then all of a sudden time passes and WHAM! She's a kid that runs around at top speed and says things like, "More crackers, please." When did it all happen? And really, when did it all happen for any of us?

You see, I still feel like I'm 20 years old. I am not under some delusion that I've stopped aging at age 20; I do realize that the calendar (and other indicators I won't bring up) says I'm 34. But honestly, when I was younger I thought that when I was 34 I'd feel 34. I'd feel older, more mature and very wise. I'd be a wife and a mother and a tax payer and I'd pretty much know the answer to any question. (My mom did, didn't she?) In short: I'd feel like a "grown up." And you know what? It's different than I thought. My spirit still feels 20--although a trip to the McDonald's play land with my daughter yesterday did finally convince me that my body is not 20 anymore! (Crawling through those tubes was just a wee bit more tiring than it used to be.) Does anyone else feel that way? Like your spirit says, "Wait, I'm young and vibrant and on the threshold of life! I'm in college and I'm spunky and cute and I can stay up until 3:00 and still have energy for my 7:30 class!" And then, of course, your body says, "No way Jose. Take a nap, you big dreamer."

Am I going to look at myself in the mirror in the rest home someday when I'm 92 1/2 and think, "Now, who's that old lady and why is she staring at me?" And as they cart me down the hall to the cafeteria, will I yell at the nurse who's wheeling my chair, screaming "No--wait! You don't understand! I'm 20! I'm your age! Let's paint our nails and talk about boys! I'm 20, I sweeeaaarrr!!!!???" And they'll pat my arm and give me something to sedate me, I'm sure. But I digress yet again. I want to brag about Bethany, not treat you to the rantings of a middle-aged woman with a forever young spirit.

Bethany's vocabulary is ever expanding! My favorite words she's learned this week are, "love you" (I can't get enough of that one), "strawberry", "lap" and "okay." Her "okay" just cracks me up. It used to be that she'd come to me and say, "Wa-wa!" And I'd say, "You want water?" and she'd nod and say, "Please." Then I'd say, "Okay" and go and get her some. Now, it's like this: "Wa-wa?" "You want water?" And then she says, "Okay!" and runs off. She just gets cuter every day! Hey, that's what's really happening to all of us! We're not just getting older, we're all getting cuter every day! I like that. My 92 1/2 self will be a total babe, I know it. (I can't wait to see James as a great-grandpa with that "wrinkly twinkly smile," the hottie!)



On to other subjects. It was nice to see the sunshine today! All week, the weather has just been blah, blah, dreary blah blah. And today the sun shone, happy day! James, Bethany, Panda and I went on a walk and hit two parks so Bethany could "Lide! Lide!" And "lide" she did! We had so much fun. Well, this post has been all over the map, but such my thought processes are when it's getting late and I'm tired. (10:00 p.m. would have been early when I was 20! And here I am, just ready to crash! Of course, I wasn't chasing a toddler back then, so cut me a little slack, please.) And the more tired I become, the more "philosophical" I become so I'd better take these weird little thoughts of mine and hit the hay! Bye!

Happy Adoption Month!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Happy National Adoption Month! How great to have a whole month to celebrate adoption and how fitting that it's in November, the month we give thanks for our blessings! We are so grateful for adoption and for our little miracle! We're so grateful for Bethany's birth families and for their courage and strength in placing her with us! We can't imagine our lives without Bethany. (And if I can say that right after a night of Bethany throwing a screaming tantrum for two hours in the middle of the night, I must really mean it, huh!) We're so grateful to be Bethany's parents, and our hearts are completely wrapped around her, we love her so much.



To celebrate adoption, we had a fun weekend with our Logan Families Supporting Adoption (FSA) chapter. On Saturday, we went bowling for a couple of hours. Bethany had a blast ("Ball! Ball!") and loved rolling the ball down the little ramp thing. The sad thing is, she's a better bowler than I am. I'm simply terrible. I think the highest I've ever scored in bowling is about 80. Keeps me humble. At any rate, Bethany had several strikes and just loved watching that ball roll! It was fun to be with our friends and their adorable kids. Bethany's cousin Ruby came to bowl with her, too, and she had a great time with Uncle James and Aunt Tracee. (I must have donated my share of bowling genes to my brother James, he's much better than I am.)





On Sunday, we had a special fireside to commemorate adoption. It was really nice. The speakers did a great job (there was a birth mother, an adoptive father and our agency director, Rick Hill) and all the kids sang "Families Can Be Together Forever." Then James and I sang a song called "The House of the Lord" during a nice slide show of sealing pictures. I had decided to take Bethany with us up there to sing, because she usually goes hysterical if I leave her with someone in the audience (ward choir is really getting to be a problem for me) and Bethany ended up completely upstaging us! She wriggled her way out of our arms, climbed the step stool and beamed at the audience, ran across the platform and down the stairs to the main part of the chapel, and ran right up and down the aisles, all while we were singing. Then the very last slide was a picture of our family on our sealing day and right as we were singing the last note Bethany pointed up at the screen and yelled, "Mommy! Daddy!" It was actually a really cute end to our song. The little monkey stole the show, but that's what we were celebrating so it was somehow fitting!
Happy National Adoption Month, everyone!

Not in Kansas (er, Texas and Blanding) Anymore: There's No Place Like Home!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween! James is home from Texas (hooray!)and we drove home together from Blanding yesterday. We had a great time, but it's good to be home! And for a busy little girl who hates being strapped in her car seat, Bethany endured the seven-hour trip very well (thanks to lots of DVDs and fruit snacks). And speaking of DVDs, I was in deep thought the other day (uh-oh, you're in for it now) about DVDs in the car. Thought I, "How did our parents manage to haul us around on long trips without the help of DVDs and not go completely insane?" Then the answer came to me as an epiphany: they didn't have to confine their kids in car seats, that's how. When I was a kid, they didn't have seat belt laws. I just roamed the car as I pleased. I remember laying in the back of our station wagon with my little bare feet pressed against the window (it felt good and cold). I even clearly remember my brother, who shall remain nameless, using a porta-potty in the back of the car while we cruised down I-15. So all I have to say is it's a darn good thing we have portable DVD players these days, since they make us tie our kids up and restrict their freedom! But no use pining for the good ole days, I guess it's safer now (but sadly, not as much fun). But I've digressed yet again.

Anyway, we made it home last night just in time for our ward Halloween carnival. We were so excited to wear the costumes we worked so hard on! (Um, we're thinking of simplifying a little next year!) Thanks again, Dad, Annie and Mom (Lyman) for all of your help with the costumes! Bethany was the cutest little Dorothy ever. And James was the hunkiest Tin Man I've ever seen! We had so much fun dressing up we're hitting another carnival tonight and the FSA Halloween party tomorrow. We need to get some mileage out of these costumes! Below are some more pics from last night. Happy Halloween, everybody!

Move Over, Strawberry Shortcake!

Here comes "Blueberry Beth!" I think all of that sticky sweetness would be the perfect action figure doll, don't you? Messy hair and all? Bethie sure loves her blueberries! And interestingly enough, every blueberry-eating-day somehow becomes laundry day . . . hmmmm. I wonder if they're connected?

Authentic Navajo Tacos and Other Thoughts from the Southeast

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Ya'ta'he! from southeastern Utah! Bethany and I are having a blast. Today we went down to Bluff to the Twin Rocks Cafe for some authentic Navajo tacos--meaning they were made by actual Navajos and not by me in our kitchen at home--yummy! And Sweetheart, seeing as you're in Texas I went ahead and ate onions on my taco. Good thing this isn't smell-a-blog. ("I stink! I stink!") Anyway, the scenery down here is so great! Pictured above are the Navajo Twins. Bethany was enthralled ("Rock! Rock!").

We also stopped by the old Bluff Fort. I can't imagine having seven children and having to live in a tiny one-room cabin. I'd be so cranky all the time! No wonder they never smiled for the pictures! Bethany loved running around the fort and even sampled some of the dirt--mmmmm. (She ate sand the other day, too. What's with the southeastern dirt that she finds so appealing? She never eats dirt at home!) Anyway, enjoy the pictures from today and happy trails to you! We love you and miss you Daddy!