3 Men & A Little Lady

Sunday, September 1, 2013

{All Pets Center}

Kenny's dream came true today!!! After making the hard decision to leave California and finding a practice to buy in Colorado, Kenny is officially the owner to All Pets Veterinary Clinic. We are so grateful that the negotiating and paperwork is finally done, so that he can go back to work!

Day 1 - It took us two days to sign all the paperwork to make it official. The owners to All Pets were John and Linda Heideman. They were so fun to work with and genuinely sweet, generous, down to earth people. We enjoyed eating lunch with them and getting to know them better.

Day 2 - We waited hours for the money to pay the Heidemans to be wired through, so we spent several hours up at the vet clinic. I made a ginormous friend in the waiting room while we waited!

The money finally came through, so then the mountain of papers began to be signed!

Dr. John has a huge smile on his face because he is about to make a lot of money! Kenny looks a little more nervous!

August 31st is the day!

And there we have it!! The final signature was made and Kenny is the new owner to All Pets Center!

The deal was done and they passed the keys to the place over to us.

The following day Dr. John told me to take the kids with Kenny to his first day of work as an owner, just like we take our kids to school the first day. We followed him and were surprised to see the marquee sign welcoming Dr. Summers to the practice.

The kids hadn't seen the place yet, so they were eager for the first tour and to see where they would eventually be working to help their dad in the summers.

Opening up for his first business day!

The kids ran around looking all over the place. Drew was most excited about the glass window looking into the surgery room. He is planning on watching his dad hard at work from this view.

The Heidemans daughter wrote us this letter. We couldn't be happier to carry on the legacy at All Pets!

The Heidemans hosted a BBQ at their home for us and the staff, so we could all get to know each other. They were great hosts and Dr. John really showed my kids a fun time!

He shook the canoe and the kids squealed with delight as they got all wet.

The boys clothes were soaked from their boating adventure, so Dr. John gave them his shirts to wear. Ian and Owen thought the shirts were so cool that they wanted to wear them to school the next day! (I didn't let them) Dr. John made quite an impression on my kids. They all had a great time and as we drove home Owen said, "Mom, can we play with Dr. John again tomorrow?"

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

{Life is in balance...again}

Kenny left after dropping the kids and I off in Colorado back to California to work, while he waited for the paperwork to be ready for purchasing All Pets Center. We were separated from him for 3 weeks which was really difficult for Owen! Owen had the hardest time with moving only because Kenny wasn't with us. I talked about being brave all the way down to the bus stop, but he still cried as he got on that bus. He cried a lot at school too and I even received a call from his teacher and from the school secretary, informing me that he has been really sad, but to just keep sending him and hopefully he would acclimate soon. Owen kept telling his teacher that he missed his daddy. I'm sure she thought he came from a broken home! I encouraged him not to cry at school and challenged him to go one full day without crying, and if he did, I would go eat lunch with him. He met my challenge, so I thought, so I went to school to eat with him. I told his teacher that he told me he didn't cry and she just laughed and said, "He did, did he!" I guess he suckered me!

Owen loves his new teacher Mrs. Kennedy! She was so patient with him and was great at helping him adjust to a new school. Mya and I brought in pizza and chocolate milk and had fun eating lunch with Owen. The poor kid couldn't relax. He just kept saying, "Mom, you don't have to leave. You can be Mrs. Kennedy's helper all day."

This was a letter that Owen wrote to Kenny. It reads: "Dear Dad, Love Owen. I miss You and I love. I so glad when you back." He wrote him at least 3 letters to him while we were separated.

Owen had fun taking us out to his playground for recess. When the bell was about to ring I saw Ian, who was just getting ready to go and eat, so Mya and I joined him for a second lunch. Owen kept saying, "Your coming back mom right?"

Ian and his friends finished off the last of the pizza and were eager to get outside to play. As he was leaving the lunch room, Drew walked in, so I decided I might as well stay for a third lunch and hang out with him!

He scarfed down his food, so he could catch up with Ian at recess. I was able to eat and play with each of my boys at school that day! I had a blast meeting some of their new friends and talking with their teachers.

I joined in on the boys basketball game and even made a couple of shots!

We tried to make the separation from Kenny easier by keeping busy. Mya helped grandpa make several batches of homemade peach ice cream!

Which then we had to make a homemade peach pie to eat it on!

The kids cousins came from Denver to play for a couple of days, which really helped the time to pass by.

We hiked and of course Owen got hurt and has a new scar.

We swam and Owen has a new love for the high dive!

And the girls did fingernails and toenails!

The girls not only painted each other's nails, but grandmas too!

Kenny told the boys he would be arriving on Tuesday, but decided to come a day early and surprise the kids. He traveled to Colorado with the three dogs in the back. He had to drug them to keep them calm for the long car drive.

The kids had been making forts in the field, so when he arrived in Grand Junction, he let the dogs run out to find the kids!

Leo found Drew first and both of them were so excited!

Then Owen found Kenny!!!

His smile was priceless!!!

Cassie and Shelby loved joining the boys at the fort, while Kenny found Mya!

Daddy was back home with us, so everything was right in the world again!

Kenny is such a great dad and my kids need him and so do I!!!

Kenny surprised me with a gift from Melina. He brought with him in the car my favorite Andes Mint cupcakes!!! Oh I couldn't have been happier! I had my husband back and I had 12 of the yummiest cupcakes to eat!

I shared them with my little chocolate aholic!

The next morning the dogs and daddy took the boys to the bus stop.

Dad, cousins, and dogs...everyone is happy!

Kenny went to Owen's school the next day and met Mrs. Kennedy and brought the kids treats to celebrate his arrival back to his family! Owen didn't shed another tear after that day!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

{New School}

Our Motto for the new school year is "Be Brave!" We thought this was fitting since the kids are starting a new school year at a new school, meeting new teachers, and making new friends.

Drew - 9

Ian - 8

Owen - 6

The older boys did not seem anxious at all. Owen was a little apprehensive, but put on a strong face...the first day!

They were most excited about riding the school bus. I too couldn't wait for the bus. My days of sitting at the school everyday in long lines waiting to pick up my kids is over!

they are off....

The sun greeting the boys as they walk to the bus stop.

Here comes the bus!

Wingate is the school Kenny went to when he was in elementary school. It is a great school and I know our kids will thrive there. I'm anxious for them to start at a new school, but know they will do great, as long as they be brave!

Mya started preschool at Ms. Angie's house! She was ecstatic to go and loves going there twice a week. When I picked her up she didn't want to leave! I guess thats a good sign :)

They say the cutest things.....

Mya, my little girl, said in her prayers last night, "Please help us to be strong and healthy like the Hulk!"

Owen almost ran straight into a woman as we entered a dark parking garage. As I told him to watch out, he quickly yelled, "Well she's all black!" Coincidentally she was African American! She was wearing a black dress, which is what he was referring too!

Owen told me today, "You are the best mom I ever had! I love you all the way up to Jesus!" He also loves kissing and told Kenny, "I just want to stay home from school and kiss mom all day!"

Drew lost a tooth at school when he bit into his apple. He felt the tooth inside his mouth as he was chewing and when I asked him about it, he said, "I didn't realize it was mine and I wondered if it was one of the workers!"

While at church, a teacher asked the kids what happened to Jesus right after he was baptized and brought up from the water. Ian enthusiastically raised his hand and said, "He asked for a towel!"

After a long struggle with my boys, to get them inside, bathed, and into bed, I yelled, "I am done, go to sleep!" Owen looked up at me and said, "Mommy I'm sorry you're sad, but the problem is that you don't beat up Drew and Ian. Just beat them up and I will be on your team!"

We are not a family who eats beans, so when Drew went to a friends house to play and eat dinner, he was hesitant to eat the burrito that had refried beans in it. When I picked him up he said to me, "Mom she put mud inside the burrito!"

Aunt Connie pleaded with Owen to shoot his daddy with the gun instead of her and his response, "No, he's the best daddy i've ever had!"

I begged the boys to quit fighting and Drew looked at me and said, "Its not Mothers Day anymore mom!"

Owen got kicked in his "man hood" and said, "Oh, I hurt my Tenders!"

Drew asked this morning, "Mom in 2011 can we get a cat?"

Everytime I feed Mya prunes, Owen comes up to me and says, "Me like chocolate mom!" I give him a bite and his face turns to total disgust.

Owen ran up to me after wrestling the dogs and said, "Me see Cassie's boobies!"

While I was nursing Mya, Drew walked in and said, "Is she done drinking from your boob?" I replied, "No and it is called a breast, thats the proper way to say it." He looked at me puzzled and said, "No thats the Spanish word for it."

Kenny opened the fridge and said, "Something in here stinks." Ian looked at him and said, "Dad, sometimes I toot over there!"

Last night as the boys were saying good night to Mya, Drew looked up at me and said, "Mom, Mya has a boy haircut!"

Drew was reminding me about how when we saw macaws in Hawaii, that one of the macaws was chewing on a woman's hair. He said, about the macaw, "Thats not very nice, it's not choosing the right."

My favorite word Drew and Ian used to say when they were toddlers was, Laddie- for water. I thought it was such a cute word. Owen comes to the fridge and points his little finger and says, "Wa-Wa" for water. So cute!

Last night Kenny went in on a call to deliver a goat and Ian came into our bed. He climbed in and snuggled up beside me, he usually snuggles into Kenny. I asked him why he was snuggling with me and he said, "I can snuggle you because daddy isn't here mom!" He is such a daddy's boy.

Ian is such a daddy's boy. The other night Kenny had to go to the clinic and Ian was sobbing for him for a good twenty minutes because he wanted to go too. When I asked him why he was so upset he replied, "I just want my daddy, he is my favorite boy!"

Birthday parties celebrated in California are usually BIG! There is always a huge jumper, pinata, food for the whole family, and tons of presents. Well we went to a party last night and the boys spent 2 hrs. jumping in a big jumper. On our way home we saw another party going on that had an even bigger jumper with a slide attached. Ian asked, "Can we go to that party too?" I replied, "We don't even know who those people are. " His response, "Well lets just go ask them their names."

As we prepared to go to the Glenwood Springs pool in Colorado with Kenny's four sisters Drew impatiently said, "Come on girls, you're taking too long!" Kenny told him, "Get used to it, this is what men do, wait for girls to get ready."

Much to my dismay I found black ink all over our white sheets on our bed. I of course went straight to Ian and asked very sternly, "Did you write on my sheets with a pen?" With an innocent look he replied, "I was just trying to write my name."

Drew was watching me as I divided my hair into sections with clips to straighten it. He looked up at me and said, "Wow, you look beautiful!" Then when I was completely done with my hair he said, "You're a cute little mommy!"

Ian was dipping his finger in Kenny's contact solution and then touching his eye. I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "Just putting my eyes in mom!"