Happy 4th of July

My sister's boat

Girl Scouts for Cece

Cece had been happy and excited getting ready for her first sleep-over Girl Scout camp.  But now as it's time to go...

Cece with Nora and Sophie…now much happier to go home for the night on Daddy' s boat.  Will return tomorrow morning for more GS fun.  (We had gotten and packed all her gear just in case she wanted to stay overnight.)

Cece, our GS Daisy, waiting in line to 'bridge' over to become a Brownie

Cece…now officially is a Brownie!

Cece walking with the girl scouts in the Crab Fest parade 2014

Spring Break San Diego 2014

Sophie and the giraffes at the San Diego Zoo

Cece was so excited to see the penguin exhibit

Sophie mesmerized by penguins

Cece and the turtles

Giraffe Love

The girls made penguin masks.

Seal beach (can you see Mike and Cece in the upper left corner?)

Sophie...just a bit grumpy

This March our little family was blessed with a trip to San Diego.  We rented a home with a pool which was perfect for Cece after her recent surgery.  The warmth of the sun and the new adventures for all of us was simply wonderful.  More pics to follow in following posts.

Horses and other Winter 2014 pics

Teaching her right at an early age

Magnetic earings

Cece and Miss Becca on King

Sophie and Miss Bree on Bob

Cece wanted an outdoor picnic- post-surgery

Grandma Joanie and the girls

Winter 2014

Christmas 2013

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Eagles on a cannary

Sledding...enjoying the little snow we got this winter

Sophie acrobatics

Writing Valentines with intense focus

Emma, our dog and devious mastermind

     Emma came into my life when she was a puppy and her owner was leaving Valdez, AK.  She joined my little family at the time- two large dogs, Kenzie and Vixen, and one cat, Hou.  She became our "little" dog, as her 80# were much less than Kenzie and Vixen who were each about 2x her weight.  Though despite this weight difference, she was the top dog of our little troupe.
     Since she was a pup, Emma has had a definite talent for wiggling out of any collar or harness, no matter how tight.  In our last house, her escapes were focused on the fenced-in back yard.  Her ability to wiggle through the smallest of spaces is truly incredible.
     Recently Emma has upped her game.  In the past year, my morning routine before work included shutting all bedroom doors, turning up all our sofa's cushions, picking up all throw blankets and pillows, and making sure the stove is cleared of all pots and pans...all necessary precautions as Emma knows beds and sofas are quite comfortable to lie on and any pans left on the stove are a tempting treat.  (On two occasions, Mike has come home for lunch and found the stovetop on...obviously by Emma as the thoroughly licked pans were evidence of her presence there.)
     Then a few months ago in mid July, Emma discovered she could open our arctic entry way door (round knob!).  She obviously was quite determined as seen by the claw marks on the metal door and door knob.  She has since mastered opening the sliding door to the back porch and kitchen window (above the kitchen counter) which has helped her escape outdoors while we're at work.  In response to her devious escapes, I've begun locking the back door.  Yesterday, Emma slept on all the sofas leaving plenty of back hair behind as well as 2 messes on the floor (I'll let you guess what she left :(((  And then today, she decided the sofas weren't comfortable enough.  So she opened Cece's bedroom door, turned on the lights and slept comfortably in her bed all day long.  Sigh  -R
 

First day of school 2013 (First Grade and Preschool)

Cece's first day of First Grade at Northstar Elementary School

Cece hugging Sophie good-bye

Sophie off for her 2nd year of Preschool

After school fun at the beach

Our ol' girl, Emma...happy at the beach too