My Aunt Fern and Uncle Al live on the property that my mom grew up on. The well in the above picture is the well that she used to pump water from when she was a little girl, so my mom wanted a picture of Katie and her by the well.
My sister Linda, who drove up from Florida, brought her German Shepherd Bailey. My Aunt Fern and Uncle Al have a pond on their property, so Katie entertained herself and Bailey by throwing rocks in the pond.
We had a birthday party for Katie in Michigan. Even Bailey had to wear a hat. She was none too happy despite my Aunt Fern telling her that she looked beautiful.
Katie with her Michigan birthday cake. It was a My Little Pony cake as were all the decorations.
After Katie's birthday party, Linda, Bailey, Katie and I went to our cousin Cheryl's who has a place on Lake Superior. Here's Katie testing the water. Lake Superior never really warms up, but Katie was bound and determined to go into the lake.
Katie and Bailey. . .
and more Katie and Bailey frolicking in the Lake.
Katie with my cousin Cheryl's White Pyrennes Lola. Lola is one big puffball and a sweet dog.
Here's Katie's Texas birthday. I reused the My Little Pony decorations. Thrifty!
Rick set up a treasure hunt for Katie. The first clue we delivered to her on her breakfast tray. She had to solve the riddle. The answer to the riddle would lead her to another location on our property. She was back and forth across this place, at the mailbox, by the water treatment shed, at the Quonset Hut. There were 10 clues in all. In the picture above, she had to scale the entrance to the missile base to find the next riddle. Yes, she is at least 20' in the air.
The last riddle led her to Level 1 of the Launch Control Center in the missile base. There she found her big birthday present which was a Hummer bicycle.
We also got her a matching Tour de France helmet and gloves. She will proudly tell you that her Hummer has seven speeds while Mommy's Hummer only has four. She forgets to mention that mine has four tires and engine.
Opening presents in Texas. By the expression on her face, she likes the paintable birdhouse.
Ah the joy of unwrapping presents. I managed to catch a little piece of pink paper in flight right in front of her face in this picture.
She likes her present. Another Lego Friends building set. Now Rick on the other hand doesn't look so thrilled. Perhaps it is the odds that he will be stepping on Lego parts for the next few weeks.
Making a wish and blowing out the candles on her beautiful butterfly cake.
Now jumping ahead to this past Monday, here is Katie on the first day of school and her first day in second grade. She got her hair cut about a week prior and I had curled it that morning. She's was a little nervous about the first day and really didn't have an appetite. After school and after tae kwon do, she broke down crying. Her best friends, twin girls who were in foster care, have been taken in by an biological aunt who lives elsewhere. We knew it was a possibility and it was confirmed last week, but after the first day of school and they were not there to play with at recess, it hit her pretty hard. Yesterday she started crying on the way to gymnastics. My heart just breaks. The twins' foster parents are going to get me the phone number for the aunt and I am going to call and see if Katie can talk to the twins on the phone and then we will go from there.
That's pretty much the last month. Actually more has gone on, but when you only post once in a blue moon, the little day to day funny things fall by the wayside. Ciao!
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