Have you ever thought...

...that the author of Peter Pan had it right when he made the DOG the kids' nanny? There's something about the way pets seem to know when we are under the weather. Somehow they know when we need TLC and they take on the role of nurse-maid. Case in point...

Today, Jackie came home from school with a fever of 103. A visit to the doctor confirmed that she had a nasty case of the flu. So I medicated her, wrapped her in a half dozen blankets, and tucked her into bed. That's when the pets jumped in to help.

It started with Smokey and Sassy (the cats) who snuggled in around Jackie's feet and legs. They did their best to keep her warm.

Then Sassy decided that Smokey needed a bath.

Not to be outdone in showing concern, Jake had to stick HIS big nose into the hospital-scene.

Of course, wherever Jake turns up, Milo isn't far behind, so HE had to check things out for himself.

The cats, being cats, couldn't understand why we would even allow the dogs in the house, let alone near "their" patient...

With so much TLC, Jackie should be on the mend quicker than you can say "meow" or "woof".

...Valentine's Day...and boxes...and blizzards...OH MY!!!

This is the box we built to hold Jackie's Valentine's for school...

I finished at 2:00 this morning. Why 2:00a.m., you ask????? I'll tell you a tale of a fateful trip...It started from this tropic port, aboard a tiny ship...(oops, different trip haha).

At 4:15p.m., I, and my intrepid brother, Marc (who volunteered to drive his car because it handles better in the snow) left home to go about 8 miles up the freeway to pick Kevin up from work. Did I mention that we were having a blizzard?? Yup...a full-fledged-white-out-takes an hour to go a half-mile-BLIZZARD!!! While Marc and I were stuck on I-15 in the mile just before the exit to Kevin's work, Kev called to say the road up to the plant had been closed due to white-out conditions. Kev managed to get a ride home and told us to just turn around and head home, too.

The first half of that mile took us an hour. The second half took TWO HOURS, halfway through which, Kevin arrived home before us. I felt like we needed to send a rescue for the rescuers. At this point, we'd been on the freeway for 4 hours, moving at about 2 miles per hour (when we moved at all)! It took us another 2 hours to get home. In total, our little rescue "Kevin from work-adventure" lasted a little over 6 hours. When we finally managed to get off the freeway and tried to head home on the surface streets, Marc summed up the experience with his usual wit and aplomb. He said, "Hell HAS frozen over, and we're in it!!!"

This was the Valentine's present we had on our front door this morning.
(oh, and after I got home, I still had to make Jackie's box for school)

I said "YES"

20 years ago...
He asked... and I said, "YES"...

Best choice we ever made!

After The Storms...

...the frozen breath of Winter...

We Thank Thee, Oh God, For a Prophet...

Beloved Prophet
President Gordon B. Hinckley

June 23, 1910 - January 27, 2008


"God Be With You 'til We Meet Again..."

...As Time Goes By...

I have two wonderful nieces, both of whom have birthdays this weekend. I have loved them both as if they were mine; since they were born. This weekend kind of marks milestones in both their lives.

Tomorrow, my niece, Stephanie, will celebrate her 18th birthday.

This June, she'll graduate from High School!!

She's changed quite a bit in the last 18 years. See for yourself.

This was her FIRST Birthday.

Just look at her, now!!!

Sunday, my niece, Chelsea, will celebrate her 21st Birthday.

Chelsea's done some changing, too. Take a look...

In these pictures she's 3 and 1, I think.

This past year, Chelsea got married.

She made a beautiful, VERY HAPPY, bride.

This summer will mark another milestone in Chelsea's life.

Chel is expecting her first baby.

Happy Birthday to both "my" girls! I love you both, with all my heart!

...and may all your Birthday-Wishes come true!

Goin' to the dogs...

Maybe they can sense an animal-lover. Maybe it's just having a new person from whom to get attention. Either way, whenever Marc and Debra come up to visit, they get visited by every animal in our house. Poor Marc got dog-piled, yesterday.

I say "Poor-Marc", but in reality, he held his own fairly well. He was sitting on the floor talking to me while I folded laundry, when Jake and Milo decided to honor him with their presence.

For Jake, that meant getting all the love and snuggles he could.

For Milo, that meant being as hyper and playful as he could. (Being a terrier, that was quite a bit!!)

Being needy and jealous, it soon degenerated into a free-for-all, with BOTH dogs piling all over Marc for attention. He was a good sport about it and gave as good as he got.

On laundry-day at our house, you never know what might turn up in the wash...
Sassy decided to take refuge from the doggy-chaos by hiding in my laundry basket. Thank goodness it was empty of all the clean clothes.

Being an avid proponent of fair-play, Marc decided that Sassy needed some attention. Kind of like the spin cycle on the washer...

Needless to say, once she got over being dizzy, Her Royal-Highness, Miss Sassy, was NOT amused. The REST of us were laughing hysterically, but Sassy was not.

I guess you could call this a "Dog (and cat) day-afternoon".