Another Summer Night Soccer Match

Peanut (far right) and a few of her teammates running across the field in a celebratory victory lap. Three more matches, then it's off to the District and State Tournaments.

Dog Days Are Here

Tootsie and Koko are having a ball in the front yard whilst delinquents play and adults relax. Toots is a changed hound after her two week excursion in Eastern Iowa. She generally can stay untethered as we lounge on the front stoop. She makes very little attempt to run, and her sidekick, The Ko, is just to big, slow and lazy to move more than 10 yards without a break. Life is good.

Catching up on Pics

Here are two from Father's day.

Hostage Crisis Continues

Sidetrack and Beaner are floating on a canoe in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), and have been incommunicado since Wednesday last week. Meanwhile Chalupa soccer team has gone 2 - 0 and Peanut's soccer team has gone 3-1. Lots of games, lots of scurrying around, but plenty of FUN.

Throughout the soccer palooza, Big Dawg has battled a summer bug with a 'bouts of periodic fever and discomfort.

No, our house has NOT sold and nibbles seem to be fewer and farther between. The dog days of summer are upon us and we will settle in for a final week of sanity in Monkeydoo, before we undertake a major assault into the community (and house) where our family adventures will begin the next chapter.

Pics of Flooding

They say a picture is worth 1000 words. Follow This LINK and scroll through some very compelling photos of the flood in SE Iowa. Each photo tells a tale that most of us can only imagine.

Flooding in Iowa City

[picture on flikr - posted by WHS8402]

Sure is a mess down there. Laura's work is removed from the flooding and the home we are purchasing is also high and dry. She's currently in MonkeyDoo and told not to bother to come down to work for all the water and problems IC is currently having. A few University Buildings took a hit as well as a few neighborhoods in what once was the river basin (before the Coraville dam). Mosquito flats is toast, Normandy Drive is toast, the Coralville strip is toast. At one point... all the bridges across the Iowa River were toast, but are slowly being reclaimed as the water recedes.

That's the bad news... the good news is that despite being evacuated, JoAnn, Mindy and her house managed to survive the scare by a matter of inches.

Now comes the clean-up. It will be nasty. And if you multiply the mess and smell by 50 you'll come close to what it's like in Cedar Rapids. For all intents and purposes, what was once the thriving Cedar Rapids downtown will need to be gutted and rebuilt. The scars will be permanent and the previous landscape will never return.

Hitched! (Formally) -- One Way to Grow the Family

Congratulations to our cousin ... Charlie Pop and our newest cousin, long time friend ... "Lolly" Pop.

It just goes to show... elopment is an affordable option to a big ol' fancy wedding.

Now if I can convince these terrific cousins to convince our girls!

CONGRATS from the Taylor's!

Long Day

Summer is exhausting. Big Dawg is pictured here after a loOong day. This is what summer is all about.

Peanut had her soccer match postponed because of "tomato"warnings (that's what WE call them) . --funny how tomatos are in the news as of late. Anyway, no "tomatos" here.

News from the other half of our contingent is that sand bagging might be a worthy activity to undertake. Beaner and Side Track are high and dry, but are surrounded by many flooding rivers.

Tootsie IS FOUND

After wondering off and surviving a tornado, Tootsie has been found 15 miles from Uncle Pffft's home!

A family located 15 miles northwest of Uncle Pfffft's property found Tootsie wondering vaguely quite of her own accord. The family has three kids and two dogs so Tootsie fit right in.

Leon, the father, was at work on Saturday, two weeks after Tootsie disapeared, telling his co-workers about this big dog that showed up at his house. One of the co-workers saw our LOST DOG ad in the paper and asked if he (Leon) had seen it. Well that's when Leon called.

It was a good match for Tootsie because the kids and dogs loved Tootsie, but the Toots was happy to see Uncle Pfft when he showed up. As Uncle Pfffftphooot tells it, "They were sad to see her go, but realized she would be happier at home."

So all's well that ends well. We'll be glad to have her home.

BREAKING NEWS!

We have an unconfirmed report that Tootsie has been found! Uncle Pffft is going to investigate. Stay tuned for futher developments.

Big Dawg's Day (and more)

Big Dawg graduates pre(p)-school.

His sisters share the Love.

But it's not all hugs and kisses. Once-in-a-while, TIME OUT!

The bounce-back is some book time with Side Track.
Congrats BIG DAWG. Yo Da Man! We love ya and are proud of ya.

Beaner Goes the Distance

You can't see it, but my eyes were beginning to well up. It was the flash... We blinked and look what happened. I remember when she "graduated" kindergarten. I cried openly. My skin is tougher these days... it needs to be. She fights through her own battles, as we all do, every day, and we know it. And yes, this is proof positive: she's winning. Beaner is becoming a beautiful young lady and we are very proud of her; VERY proud of her. And we love her very much.
Now if you'll excuse me... I think I have something in my eye. :)

Incoming

Look closely and you'll see...
this very goofy activity...
all to help celebrate Chalupa's 11th birthday!
CATCH!