End of School

Today was the first official day of the kids' summer holidays.  Whew!  It felt so strange this morning to not have a school run and to have them both around all day.  We did a few of the fun summer items that I had planned, we baked a cake for Jon's birthday tonight, and we went to the Milton Keynes Play Association.  It was a nice warm day, too, sunny enough for sunscreen and Popsicles (ice lollies) and a cool bath when we got home. 

It was a very good school year for both Joseph and Jocelyn.  Joe started at his primary school in year three and has really grown into such a little man, even though he hasn't changed much in stature this year.  He did very well in school going from struggling in reading to attending the highest level.  His annual report was very impressive as he got an A for effort in each subject and was either at or above expectations in each subject.  Then, with a week left before the end of school we got a letter asking us to attend the end of year awards ceremony as Joe had been selected to receive the class award, but it was to be kept a secret from him until the ceremony as they wanted it to be a surprise.  When the day came, I was nearly bursting with anticipation for Joe.  When they called him up he was absolutely shocked and so, so happy.  We are very, very proud of him and all the hard work and amazing attitude that he has shown towards school this year.

Jocelyn had a bit of a rough year at school, or so I thought.  She had been thrust into year one almost a full year behind the other children in her class.  She didn't know how to read when she first started, and just tonight she read A Tiger Came to Tea to me.  Joci does have a problem with fidgeting in class and at lunchtime, which has garnered her a nickname of ants-in-her-pants.  Jocelyn is excelling at numeracy and art, especially in her color selection and usage.  She has made such enormous progress and is looking forward to doing even better in year two.  She is my baby, and thus the one that I worry about most, as I did all year with her.  Then, at the end of the year after really talking and listening to her teachers I found out that I had worried so much about her lagging behind that I had not really seen how far she had to truly come.  We are so proud of her and how much work and effort she's really had to do to progress so much.

So, as we have fun this summer we are looking forward to the new school year quickly riding towards us from the horizon. 

Joe with his lovely teacher.  She was such a guiding light to him this year.

Goodbye Clay

Today I got the sad news that our sweet, gentle giant Boxer, Clay, has passed away.  My heart is so heavy tonight.  I have cried, pretty much all day and night with sweet memories pulling on my emotions, prying laughs at funny memories, and more tears at the thought of the permanence.

We got Clay from a friend of ours when our lab, Logan, was still a young puppy.  Our friend worked too many hours to be able to care for Clay the way he needed and we happily took him.  It turns out he would end up being quite the ladies, um, dog.  Clay would follow me all around the house.  Upstairs or down, in the kitchen, out to our office, many times into the bathroom with me while I would take a bath.  He was the first dog I'd had that was 'mine'.  That's not to say he didn't love the kids and Jon, far from it.  But, he was definitely one of mind with me.  We had an understanding.

One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was to rehome Clay before we left for the UK.  We really wanted to bring him, but knew that the weather would really wear on him with his stiff joints and age.  We found a woman, but after we left, she took him to the animal shelter.  They found him to be aggressive and after they were able to get ahold of Jon, he begged them to talk to him using his name.  Quickly, he became the front office favorite, and they then reached out to our saviors, Boxer Luv Rescue.  They picked up our scared boy and got him to his foster home.  We were so blessed that Clay was saved.  We could have very easily never known that he was in trouble.  This story is, of course, much longer, but I'm trying to be positive about it.

BLR contacted Jon this morning.  Here is their email:
"I wanted to let you know that Clay passed away today. He had been slowing down and yesterday he just could not get up. His foster family took him to the Vet and we discovered that he had a mass in his lung. He was helped to the Bridge with the family there with him. I thought that you would like to know that he was loved by his foster family and will be missed, especially by the three children who spent so much time with him every day. He was such a gentle boy and even though he could have gone anywhere in the house that he wanted to, you could always find him right in the middle of all of the activity. When the children were outside, so was Clay. If they were watching TV then Clay was laying there right next to the other dogs and the children. He has given this family a lot of love and they, in turn, have included him in every aspect of their lives. He will be missed."

Some of my fondest memories of Clay:
- When I was pregnant with Joe, he would lay with me on the futon that we had as couch (unfolded in front of the tv) and every time my belly would kick Clay, he would wag his tail.  
-Also when I was pregnant, I would take a nice relaxing bath every night and Clay would come and lay on the rug, waiting for me.
-When the kids came, he was so patient and kind with them.  He would let them climb over him, tug on his ears, and just be plain annoying.  But he always loved being around them.  
-He would follow me everywhere and loved to lay at my feet in the office when I would work from home.  
-He would sing, yes sing, with Jon and every time Jon whistled, he would come running.
-He snored something awful.  Louder than me, and that's saying something.
-When we lived in Scottsdale we lived in a house with a big pool.  It was impossible to keep him out and believe it or not he knew how to swim.  He would like to wait for the pool raft to come to the edge so that he could climb on and just float around the pool.  Other times he would lay down on the step and just chillax.
-Once when we were play boxing, yes Boxers box, he accidentally pawed my eye and I had a corneal tear.  It was so painful, but I never held it against him.
-When the kids were tiny, we would put blankets on the ground for them to lay on and inevitably Clay would find some tiny corner to lay some part of his body on.  He was always super cautious around the kids as they were babies and older.
-He would literally sit on Logan.
-He was the only dog at the dog park that would rather just lay down and wait for the time to leave rather than run around and play.
-He loved snuggling with Joci's blankies.  I had to wash them so many times after catching him lying on them.

These are just a few of the memories that I have of my sweet Clay.  He was beyond a doubt the sweetest, gentlist dog I have ever had the pleasure to meet, let alone love.  I missed him so much coming to the UK, but somehow now, knowing he's gone forever, my heart feels torn to pieces.  I will always remember him, my silly, goofball Clay.  My funny, happy Clay.  My caring, loving Clay.

I hope he knew that we loved him so dearly.

Joe and Joci had a hard time understanding what happened.  I had to explain what putting a dog to sleep meant, and that realization truly hurt Joseph.  Jocelyn cried when we looked at pictures of him.  They both drew me lovely pictures so that I will always remember him.  They are so sweet.  I hope they never forget him, too.

Goodbye Clay.  I love you so much.  
You were the BEST DOG EVER!

Clay and Logan, best buddies for 10 years!

Clay loved snuggling on Joci's blankies, too!

Joci's picture for Clay.

He had such patience with the kids.

Joe's picture for Clay.

Clay

2001-2012

The London 2012 Olympic Torch

I got to see something earlier this week that I never really thought I'd ever see, the Olympic torch being carried.  The kids and I went down to Bletchley to see the torch relay.  I thought we were going to be late and so we rushed quite a bit to get there only to wait for over an hour, and so the kids were quite a bit bored before all the excitement began.  But, just when we were at our wit's end, the little procession began with big buses and dancers leading the way and then, the torch bearer.  It was amazing and I realized it's something that I had to wait 39 years to see while my children got to see it when they are quite young.  I wonder if they will ever see it again. 

I believe our runner's name was Annie Jankowiak, you can read more about her here.

Happy Birthday!

Wishing my husband and my country a very happy birthday!  That's 40 years (the BIG one!) for Jon and 236 years for the USA!

Last year while my parents were in town we hosted a BBQ for them and the friends that we'd made thus far in England.  After lots of inquiries from our friends wondering when they can partake in Jon's famous BBQ ribs again, Jon decided we were going to have a 4th of July and Jon's BBQ party all rolled into one.  So, last Saturday, the 7th, we had about 40 people over to our tiny house and had a major BBQ, a keg of beer, and fireworks.  We grossly underestimated the amount of food and beer people would eat running out of almost everything.  We served BBQ baked beans, American style coleslaw, hot dogs, polish sausages, ribs, burgers, pulled chicken, peanut butter cookies, and chocolate chip cookies.  The only thing we had left was some beans!  I was told that I was a very good cook, too!  Woot!

Everyone, including the kids, got on well, and the fireworks display was AMAZING!  Even though we had a bit of rain, typical English summer, we all had a lot of fun.

Oh, did I mention it was 'fancy dress'?  Fancy dress here is wearing a costume, and the Brits LOVE doing fancy dress, so we thought it would be fun to have folks come as their favorite American.  I was Wonderwoman, Jon was 40 year old virgin, Joe was Abe Lincoln, and Jocelyn was Barbie.  We also had another Abe Lincoln, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Madonna, Elvis, Slash (although we found out later he is British), Indiana Jones, Minnie Mouse, the Griswolds, Kojak, a Cowboy, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Batman, a  few pirates, Darth Vader and a Storm trooper, and who can forget...Rambo!

We even did a quiz with lots of American questions.  We awarded the winners with packages of Kraft Mac and Cheese and the losers with American Ramen noodles. 

Jon says he had a great time, and that was counted most to me.  Others have told me how much fun it was, too, and so that's just the icing on the cake.  So, hopefully, turning 40 won't be so bad.