Tour de Char

Awhile back Andy & I decided to plan a trip for the original 3 members of our family - the 2 of us and Charlie. We were going to go visit all of our favorite places in Vermillion and Yankton. We knew it would be one of the last trips Charlie would take with us and we wanted to see him enjoy his favorite places one last time. 

Unfortunately, our timing did not work out the way we had planned. 

However, we still wanted to take the trip with Charlie - just in a different way. 

This time, we would say goodbye to Charlie, spread his ashes, and reminisce about all the fun times we had with him at our favorite places in South Dakota.

We started in Vermillion at our favorite Friday night gravel road.  It is just out of town with very few houses around, but plenty of pheasants to flush. 

We loved to grab a quick dinner, usually from Taco Johns or Dairy Queen and head to the gravel road. 

Charlie would run like he had never run before. Ducking in and out of the ditches, flushing pheasants, chasing rabbits, and of course barking at the cattle.
He loved this road in the summer, fall, winter, and spring. 

Our next stop was Spirit Mound which is north of Vermillion.

When Charlie and Andy went to Spirit Mound, they would stay off the trail. 

  They liked to walk through the tall grass and look for pheasants. 

Charlie and I would stay on the trail - hiking to the very top, enjoying the view, and then running back down the hill together.
At the top of Spirit Mound sits a bench.  Charlie and I used to rest at the bench after our climb.
Andy etched Char's name into that same bench.

This is a quiet place with a small stream running through the land where Sunny is resting as well. 

Our final stop in Vermillion was our favorite dock at Clay County Park.

This is where we took Charlie so he would get used to the water. 

This is also where we played fetch, rehabilitated his leg after his first surgery, and where we lost him over and over again to those pesky deer in the woods.

We spent so many Sunday afternoons and evenings right at this spot.  

Charlie loved to play fetch here and cool off from the summer heat.  

Andy & I laughed thinking of all the times we sat at the tree line just waiting for Charlie to come back to us after one of his adventures in the trees.

After Vermillion, we drove to Yankton. 

In the summer, we used to drive to Yankton to enjoy the beach and river during the week when it wasn't filled with campers and swimmers. 

 Charlie loved to swim in the river, play fetch, and explore the trails. 

After moving to Sioux City, we made a quick trip to Yankton last summer. 

Charlie remembered the beach immediately and spent all day swimming and laying in the sand.  

 Charlie's final stop was home...exactly where he loved to be the most.  

Charlie will continue to watch over us, guard the house, and keep an eye on Gus.

 Although this trip was different than what we had planned, it was such a great way to officially say good-bye to Charlie.
We loved thinking back and laughing about all the adventures we had with our dog.
  Without him, I don't think we would have discovered our favorite South Dakota places.

Nature Center

 

So far our summer weather has been less than enjoyable...cloudy, cool, and rainy.  

Unfortunately this weather has not only cut into our pool time, but also into our vacation time.  We were supposed to spend some time in Okoboji this past weekend but due to the cold weather and some spring colds for the kiddos, we opted to stay home.  

But that didn't stop Daddy from planning some fun activities. 

We headed to the Dorothy Pecaut nature near Sioux City. 

 The center was full of hands on exhibits featuring animals, plants, and birds found in northwest Iowa.

Marie and Bennett both loved it. 

They got to crawl through tunnels like badgers and see raptors up close and personal.

Because of the rain we didn't get to hike on the trails around the center and state park. 

We are planning on doing this again this summer so we can experience the trails first hand.

 This was a fun way to spend a rainy Saturday morning.

But hopefully we get to see the sun soon!

Chilly Memorial Day Weekend

Our Memorial Day was packed with travel and family time.  Andy had the weekend off so we thought we should take advantage of it and get out of town for awhile.

We started out by heading to Spencer to visit with Grammy, Papa, and 

Aunt Liz.  Marie was so excited to get on Papa's boat!  Too bad the weather didn't cooperate, but we still got our boat ride, ice cream, and Arnold's Park adventures in between the rain showers.

Marie played with Aunt Liz until she nearly fell over from exhaustion.  Bennett had a blast being adventurous with his new crawling skill and hamming it up for his audience, and Gus was a fantastic puppy on his first visit to Grammy & Papa's house.  

Next we went to Rock Valley to join the Van Beek family for our annual trip to the cemetery.

The kids take their cleaning jobs very seriously.

 

This was Marie's 2nd time here to visit Papa Rick and Bennett's first.

Marie was filled with questions this time and left feeling a little confused but understood it was a special place to visit and an important day for Mommy. I look forward to continuing this tradition with them as they get older and hope they find comfort in it like I do.

It was great to spend time with family and we are looking forward to June - full of travels and fun summer time adventures!

The Big 3-0!

Andy turned 30 this past week!

He is now a man in his 30s married to a girl in her 20s :)

well...at least for a few more weeks.

We had a great celebration week for him filled with some of his 

favorite treats: macadamia nut cookies and strawberry rhubarb pie

-and-

favorite past-times:  landscape and yard work, baseball game, and boating.

 

Happy Birthday to the greatest Dad and Husband around!

Bennett at 11 months

Bennett is 11 months old and loving it!  He has done so much growing in the past month it is unreal.

He has 4 teeth, he is moving around, pulling himself up on furniture, opening cupboards and drawers, and causing quite the mess.  He loves playing outside and especially enjoys the swing and sand.

 He continues to be kind of a momma's boy.  

He thinks his sister is hilarious.  

If Andy walks by and doesn't pick him up Bennett causes quite the fuss. 

He and Gus are continuing to want the same toy at the same time but they figuring out how to share with each other. 

We will be celebrating his 1st birthday next month!  

What a year it has been!

Our Charlie Boy

We said good-bye to our dear Charlie boy on Saturday.  We kissed him, patted his head, scratched his ears, let him know how much we love him, how much fun we have had with him, and how much joy he has brought to our life.  We thanked him for watching over us and let him know that we will be okay.

 Char lived his life to the fullest. 

He ran as fast as he could through every field, chased every rabbit he could see, and flushed as many pheasants as his nose could find.  He was a favorite napping buddy for all of us, loved cuddling in blankets, lived for his evening walks, and stole many granola bars and bananas. He had this amazing ability to know when he could be hyper and crazy with people or when he needed to be calm and collected making him a great big brother to Marie and Bennett. So many people would comment on how good he was with children.

Char loved being home.  

He knew several of them as he made many moves with us.  As long as we had his bed and our couch - he was home.  He took his job as guard dog very seriously, especially if Andy was gone and I was home alone with the kids.  I will never forget him sleeping in the hallway in between our room and Marie's room when Andy was gone for a medical school rotation. I would invite him to his bed every night but he would insist on staying near both of his girls.  

Char was the greatest dog.
When he came to us, he needed us.  He needed a home.  Charlie has been a part of every major event in our adult life...our engagement, wedding, graduations, buying our first home, medical school, and birth of our children. He was such a part of us and soon we were the ones who needed him.

Our home doesn't feel the same.  We miss him very much. Marie is making sense of it the best she can. She knows he is in heaven. She knows he can look down and watch her play.
Even in his last days, he was taking the time to teach Gus how to be the family dog.

Char spent his final days at home...exactly where he loved to be.

Charlie

February 15, 2005 - May 18, 2013

Mother's Day

Our Mother's Day weekend was a full one! 

Aunt Katie flew in to spend some quality time with Marie and Bennett.  They both loved their play time with Katie.  Even though Marie has been fighting a virus since Thursday,  we still were able to pack our weekend with some fun.  

We made it out to the farmers market, got our flowers planted, went to brunch with Papa & Grammy, and played outside. 

My mother's day was full of so many things that I love.  I got to devour several different kinds of desserts, read a magazine out in the sun with no interruptions, go for a walk with Bennett, dance & sing in the band shell at the park with Marie, ate breakfast in bed with Charlie, and played outside with Gus.   

Being a mom has been nothing I expected and everything I could ever hope for all wrapped into one. Recently when asked what she would be when she grew up, Marie answered, "A Mom."  I am hoping she thought of that because she sees how rewarding my job as a mom really is. 

However, she did ask me recently, "Mom, why do you do so many things with only one hand when you tell me to use both of my hands?"
I laughed and said, "Because Mommies don't always have both hands to use to get a job done."

She replied, "But doing things with one hand is harder isn't it?"

Today is one of those days where I don't have both hands to get jobs done...a sick girl, new puppy potty training, old dog, and clingy baby boy.  Although the jobs seem harder today and my hands are full, I am so thankful they are not empty.