Sophie's World

2:30 PM (Central time): It's been a long time since our last post, and we have been busy! Randall and I spent two weeks in Fort Worth, TX, working on the staff for the General Conference of the United Methodist Church. It was an intense and wonderful time. Our girls were well cared for during our absence. They stayed with church friends for the first week, and Randall's mom came out to stay with them for the second week. She flew home today, so that meant Randall and I only had two days to spend with her--not enough time!

Update on our new dog Butterscotch. She stayed at the home of a friend while we were away and is back home with us now. He stitches are out, but she is still not using her leg very much. She seems much more comfortable with us and doesn't whine and bark constantly when out of our sight. She is happy outside, she is happy being in my office during the day (door closed so she can't attack the cats), and she is happy being in a crate (again, so she can't attack the cats). She is so sweet and so well-behaved.

Sophie had her monthly check-up today, and her blood test results were all good. She has had a head cold for the last few days, and the doctor said it looked like allergies. We will be starting her on regular doses of Claritin to see if that makes a difference.

The girls have their dance recital on Saturday, and it's just a few more weeks until school is out. I can't believe how quickly time has flown!

Posted by Susan at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

10:37 am (TX time) We finally have some pictures to upload of our newest addition to the family (Butterscotch). Here's one of Butters with Sophie in the back yard and a couple that Lizzy took of Butters by herself:

You can see Butters' shaved leg (and a little of her scar) in this image.

We're all doing well. The recital this weekend was terrific (and lasted just under an hour!). We were so proud with how the girls danced. They sure did enjoy ballet this year. Elisabeth even got a little teary at the end of the program when all the girls got bouquets and the announcer read what each girl said was their favorite part of dancing this year (Sophie's was the jumping, Elisabeth's was the "gracefulness"--pretty much says it all, don't you think?). We have some images from the ballet class that one of the parents did (many of them are just terrific), so I guess if I say we'll try to get them up, then I'm on the hook to get it done, right? Anyway, as always, thanks for keeping up with our family!

Posted by Randall at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

8:30 AM (Central time): Yesterday was a big day! It was Sophie's 6th birthday and her kindergarten graduation ceremony. Two big milestones, and I couldn't help but think back to 3 years ago, when we couldn't even think about looking forward to such events, for fear that they wouldn't happen. But there she was up on the stage, all smiles! I think she had a wonderful day. It started with gifts, of course. She woke up on her own (that only seems to happen on Saturdays--the one day we CAN sleep in) and was so excited. At school, everyone knew it was her birthday, so she got lots of attention, and a couple from the church had a balloon and candy package delivered to Sophie at school. I wasn't there to see her reaction when it arrived, but I know she was thrilled. After school, she played with her gifts, and last night after choir practice, we took her out to dinner with friends from church. She got a birthday dessert, but the waiter just said "Happy Birthday" when he brought it to her. He said they don't sing anything at this restaurant, which made both girls happy. Neither of them had to hide under the table!

We took pictures at graduation (well, Randall did), so we'll try to get them uploaded soon.

Posted by Susan at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

12:00 PM (Central Time): We had a wonderful weekend. On Saturday, Sophie and I ran errands in Clovis, just the two of us, and we decided to visit the Clovis Zoo on the spur of the moment. It was fun! And we went ahead and bought a family pass for the year, so we can go back any time. It's very shady and much larger than I thought it would be. It's described as the second-largest zoo in New Mexico (to which we thought to ourselves--there are probably only two zoos in New Mexico!).

Sunday after church we drove down to Carlsbad (3 hours away) and met up with our friends from Albuquerque who spent the weekend camping. We stayed in White's City, which is just outside the caverns. We stayed in a motel that had a water park (two slides, and a play area for small kids). It was called a "Resort and Water Park." I have to say that description is quite a reach. When we arrived around 5:00 and went to the room, it hadn't been cleaned, which was somewhat unpleasant. But the kids changed into their swimsuits and played at the water park while we visited with our friends. The room was cleaned before too long, thank goodness. Our friends cooked dinner for us at their campsite and we stayed up late talking. The next day we slept in a little bit and then headed out to see the caverns. We took our friends' advice and took the elevator down and back up rather than hiking down and then walking around for the 1.5 miles inside. It was amazing! Then on the way back north, we stopped at the Living Desert Zoo north of Carlsbad. Interesting, but way too hot. Two zoos in one weekend!

It was just great to spend relaxing time with friends and our kids. It was a short trip, but a good one. Now.... back to reality!

Posted by Susan at 01:00 PM | Permalink