My barfer boys

Stan woke us up the other night at 3:30 when he barfed on the bed. On the bottom sheet, specifically, which necessitated the instant removal of the sheet plus the mattress pad. Fortunately it did not seep down into the super-comfy foam topper. I think it’s the first time he threw up in bed. He was probably jealous of Sherman, who hurled in the car on the way home from Connecticut.

If you squint you might see my new Kindle on the nightstand. Yes, new. Here’s a lesson: if you bring your Kindle to the beach, don’t drop it in the sand. I dropped it in Jamaica and the next day it died. I called Amazon when I got home and since it was still under the one-year warranty, they sent me a replacement, no questions asked. It was possibly the best customer service experience I’ve ever had. Next trip I’m buying a protective case, or going paperback.

The grass is always greener at the neighbors’

I had to Photoshop the boys into the picture because I could NOT get them outside while the sprinkler was running. The yard is a disaster. A total disaster. Part of it is due to last summer’s drought, and part to the fact that we don’t do much about it except mow. You can see the bare area near the bench; it’s even worse near the Taj Ma Patio, having never grown in since its installation. Plus half of the green is from weeds. We planted a bunch of grass seed last weekend and are now watering it twice a day. This has caused the grass to grow exponentially and I anticipate a double mowing when I can finally get to it on Saturday. Oh well, at least it isn’t snow.

Passover, the outtakes

Moses blended into the sofa so well that he needed a traffic cone so no one would sit on him.

Despite many entreaties that we use this Two-Minute Haggadah, the seder took a little longer than that, tiring out some of the participants.

Passover part 2

Phillip’s older brother Wayne has four children, who have three children among them. This is Gabrielle with her 6-month old son Cole. He came with his very own toy seder plate which included the matzoh there on the floor. I kept wanting to pick it up to keep it away from the boys.

This of course is no surprise – Sherman demanding attention from 9-year old Maia.

And finally he gets her all to himself!

Passover part 1

The best pictures from our Passover weekend were unfortunately not taken. The first was Stanley running away with a large piece of gefilite fish in his mouth and the second was Sherman standing on top of the the coffee table, licking furiously from a bowl of chopped liver. If they weren’t Jewish before, they certainly are now! And here is Moses eating a piece of Matzoh with Phillip’s brother, Wayne. Moses is so devoted to Wayne that he even tries to follow him into the bathroom.

There were five dogs total. In addition to the boys and Moses, Levi the mutt and Elizabeth the golden/lab mix were in attendance. Elizabeth is only about a year old and she kept getting in Stanley’s face, which made him freak out each and every time. By the end of the day he was exhausted. He climbed onto my lap here and went right to sleep. They did well at night – we got our own room with twin beds and the boys switched off sleeping with Phillip and me. My mother-in-law Gitty was a saint AND a good cook!

Zzzzz….

This was from last Saturday, the day after the boys returned from what I’m starting to think must have been BOOT camp given their level of fatigue. Or maybe they were just making up for lost naps. This picture reminds me of a couple I saw on the beach. They arrived each day by 7:30, pointed their chairs to the sun, then slept the day away, pausing only for lunch, sunscreen application, and rotating their chairs like it was Stonehenge.

Tomorrow we head to Connecticut for a belated Passover seder with Phillip’s family. That means Moses, biblical and canine. Photos on Monday!

The boys

I’m hugging our boys extra tight.

Stanley reminded me of Huey Dandelion.

And this is Boscoe. Christy said of the first picture, “The Morning one is probably the way I remember him most. He was a serious bed-bug. He loved bedtime and was a clown about it. He gave great photo face there.” And of the second, “This is his pretty picture when he was still losing weight and before he got all of the ACL repairs and other fixes that helped him become that active boy he was afterwards. It is one of my favorites.”

So sorry

Christy wrote last night in the comments section of yesterday’s post that Boscoe has gone to the Bridge. I know I speak for everyone in expressing my very deep sympathy. Christy, please email me your favorite photo of your boy. In the meantime, here are the last of the vacation photos and I hope that they will evoke a sense of peace that we all need right now. The boys return tomorrow.

Friends, now and forever

I’ve mentioned Cathy and Judy several times but I’m not sure if I’ve included their photos, so here they are! They were our “witnesses” at the VRC (Vow Renewal Ceremony). Cathy and Judy were of course the moms of Skipper.

And here is Skipper, along with Spenser, from exactly two years ago today.

Huey Dandelion Kneeland has no doubt met up with them at the Bridge. I’ve known Sue, Huey’s mom, for many years. She very generously and skillfully handled reader questions to Beagles on the Web (before I gave the site to Caron). Sue, your whole family is in my thoughts. May Huey rest in peace.

We’re home!

First off, many, many thanks to Courtneay, Lance and Maggie for taking such good care of the boys. They were waiting when we got home on Friday night, and while they were just a tad confused for a day, as you can see everything and everyone is back to normal. Second, I just loved Courtneay’s photo of Sherman on the laptop and it will definitely go on the 2012 calendar! And third, I’m so sorry for Sue K. and her family on the loss of Huey Dandelion. I’ll post a photo of him this week.

Guess who? Is he a manly scuba diver or what?

This is me and that’s a sea cucumber. They sit on the sand at the bottom with their relatives the starfish. Sea cucumbers are amazingly soft.

Thursday was our 20th anniversary and we renewed our vows on the beach. It was really lovely. Our friends Cathy, Judy, Ron and Sharon all attended, along with the people who were sunning themselves near us. We had a lavish Jamaican fruitcake with champagne after the ceremony. And now we enter the next 20 years! I wonder if that’s when he’ll learn to replace the empty toilet paper roll?