i'm bowled over

a week of semi-normalcy with a weekend of full-on amazingness!  we welcomed back roger from germany on wednesday night - woohoo!

thursday was a half day, so we took our little troupe bowling for the first time.  they did great and had a blast!

they were so cute cheering for each other 

ella came in first place of all the kids with a score of 91!!  max bowled a very respectable 72.  

then, because apparently we weren't quite ready to leave, some arcade time...

friday morning, we had our parent teacher conferences.  both kids are doing awesome.  max is reading above grade level and is giving mrs. thomas a run for her money in terms of keeping him challenged.  ella's grades were beyond amazing and mrs. hensel has commented several times on how bright she is.  great job, kiddos - keep it up!!  we are super proud of you both!

speaking of being super proud, roger was given a president's award for his work on an acquisition.  it was a fabulous evening and, roger - you are truly amazing for where you have taken you career and for all you have achieved.

super relaxing day on saturday, and then we were off to gaslight for their showing of "the vampire."

sunday morning, was my much-anticipated birthday present from rog.  we drove up to phoenix (thank you, mom and dad, for watching the kids on friday and all day sunday!!).  best day ever - a quick stop at lulu for new workout gear, a little bit of tailgating, an exciting W for the bears, and a stop at my childhood fave, portillo's.

our seats were amazing!  thanks again, babe.  love you and had a fantabulous time with you.  

it's not easy being green

another rough-ish week.  but we are getting there.  slowly but surely.  

monday we were back at the vet to follow-up from our saturday night ER visit.  dr. krauss said that his heart sounds (and looks - she did an x-ray) good and we just need to continue to monitor his pain level.  roger left for germany (tear!).  then jill and i had a delightful lunch with jenny and winnell at our fave, prep & pastry.  

tuesday, jill, my parents and i spent some time looking through quail creek.  trying not to get our hopes up, but would beyond love it if jill considered moving to tucson!  

on thursday, we had george's pain patch removed and then jill and i spent the afternoon with ella in her science lab!

friday morning, we joined the kiddos at school for donuts with darlings (previously muffins with mom).  

after friday folders in max's classroom, we headed back to quail creek for a bit.

last friday, max tested for his green belt - this friday, he had his belt results ceremony.

congrats max!!!!  we are so proud of you and your dedication to karate.  you started a year ago and you've progressed so far already.  keep it up!!

oh george.  he had a very rough night - so saturday morning, we were back at the vet.  i left with several cans of prescription food, a powder that needs to be mixed in once a day, gel that needs to be administered orally every 8 hours, an antibiotic every 12 hours, and an anti-anxiety collar.  you're worth it, buddy and we will get you feeling better soon!!

we said our good-byes to nana.  max was so sad for her to leave.  thank you thank you, jill, for everything.  we loved having you and miss you already.  we hope to see you very soon in SUNNY tucson.  :-)

sunday, we were hermits.  i left the house briefly because we had no food.  this was nice.  and necessary.  

headliners

well.  this was quite the eventful week.  some good.  some a little disastrous.  but we are surviving.  

memorial day - we welcomed nana to our new house and got our inflatables pool-ready!!

wednesday was a super busy day - we began it with max's career day.  he wants to be a paleontologist!!!  although he is concerned about how far this career path will take him from the state of arizona (and from me).  aww...

with his first grade class and ready for the career day parade!

after school, ella participated in the school's chalk art marathon.

enjoying an eegee's after putting the finishing touches on her cheetah (who was holding science beakers)

beautiful work, ella!!!

she even made the front page of thursday's arizona daily star!!!!  

friday night, els joined a couple of her friends at skate country for the school fundraiser

the kids were most excited to make applesauce with nana!

on saturday, the kids welcomed the rain.  well.  ella did, anyway.  max immediately produced an umbrella.  ella stood under a rain gutter because the downpour was not enough for her.  :-)

oh man.   after this mid-afternoon swim, the kiddos were helping roger clear some bushes and they accidentally disturbed a hive that we didn't know was in the wash.  a small swarm of bees attacked and max was stung in the face twice and ella was stung on her hand.  thank goodness it wasn't worse. but beyond scary for all.  and then george, who had been doing better since his snakebite incident, was incredibly lethargic all day, then struggled to get up and walk around.  nana had offered to watch the kids for a date night - we spent our date night in the animal ER again.  he had a very elevated heart rate which they determined was due to pain.  they gave him pain meds to bring his heart rate back to normal and put on a pain patch.  poor george.  it's been a rough adjustment to open desert.  

we love you george.  you're been such a trooper.  

it bit

what a week.  i spent a lot of time stuck in the house 'supervising' workers as they finished up things around the house.  but that gave me time to finish unpacking - woohoo!!  

our contractor's wife (they're also our neighbors) sent the kids the cutest cake pops!!

on friday, max went to his best friend, ryan's, house for a playdate after school.  i think this was his first "drop-off" playdate with a friend he made on his own at school.

on saturday, roger left for cincinnati for jonathan and tatiana's wedding, and we were errand-running champions, then spent the afternoon hanging out and swimming with the cotters.

 dinner down the street at saguaro corners.  love that this chill pub is down the street from both our houses!

oh and then things got rough.  we came home and after dessert and face timing with roger, max was showering in our bathroom and ella was showering in the kids' bath and i was back and forth between them getting them towels.  i let georgie outside after he ate his dinner and he came back a few minutes later.  as i was getting something for max, i heard george on our bed, whimpering.  then he started following me around, still crying, which he doesn't do a lot.  i noticed he was limping and his paw was swollen and had some red bumps on it.  i couldn't tell what it was - it was late at night and there wasn't an easy solution to having someone watch the kiddos.  overnight, it went from bad to worse and i could tell poor george was miserable.  his paw kept swelling and the swelling traveled up his leg.  neither of us slept.  i waited until 5 a.m., then called my parents - they came up and my mom stayed with the kids and my dad came with me to the emergency vet where they confirmed a rattlesnake bite.  ugh.  i felt so bad for george; i was so sad he was in pain.  they gave him a lot of pain meds and administered antivenin and then we had to wait for it to take effect.

my dad and i headed back to the house and hung out with my mom and the kids - in the afternoon, max had wanted to see christopher robin at the movie theatre so my mom treated us to popcorn and the show and i took a much-needed nap (at the theatre).  after the movie, we stopped at the ER to visit george.

we went back to the house to have dinner (also courtesy of my parents and it was delicious) and just as i was finishing cleaning up, the vet called and his blood test results were "impeccable."  woohoo!!!!  the kiddos brushed teeth, got in their pj's, and grabbed stuffed animals for a late night mini-movie session at the cotters' with jack and josie, while i ran back to the ER to pick up george.  i'm thankful for the care he received.  they told me that they have seen, on average, 5 rattlesnake bites on a daily (DAILY!) basis.  

i'm so thankful to my parents.  thank you for all you did.  to jenny for watching the kids.  to everyone who checked on us and george throughout his ordeal.  we're still keeping an eye on him and it's super scary (roger will be going through the backyard to help seal off entry points even though he already put snake fencing around the perimeter).  i'm thankful that george is healthy and that the antivenin worked.  we have the sweetest pup ever - love you, george.  i'm over the moon that you are back home with us.  

roger and his mom both looking fabulous at jonathan and tati's wedding.  wish we had all been there!

welcome home, buddy.