We are moving in two days,

which is a wonderful, exciting thing. However, as you can imagine, things are a bit of a mess around here right now. This is the only pillowcase Jon could find in the house for his own pillow last night.Also, regarding laundry, there was another little faux pas with an essential item of clothing already having been moved to the new house and not here tonight when needed. You'll have to use your imagination on that one...

Sparkleberry Fair, 2010 Version

We had a great time at the Sparkleberry Fair today with Carrie and Nick. Jon's world music ensemble performed and it was wonderful.

Here are Andrew and Nick seemingly hanging on Jon's every upcoming percussion concert plug word.Ethan was there, too, and was mainly just concerned about the fairgrounds possibly running out of food.

Jon and students on djembes

Andrew LOVED the Taiko performances.

Steel, with Jon on set

After the performance, we did a lot of fun things, including the obligatory fire engine visit.

Here's a video of Nick and Andrew clearly loving Taiko.

YAY Jon and students for putting on a great show, and thanks for hanging with us, Nick and Carrie! Fun day.

Dora = Dug

Is it Dora? Or is it Dug from Disney/Pixar's Up?

I do not like the Collar of Shame. I do not wear the Collar of Shame. The Collar of Shame wears me.

Poor Dora. Poor Dug.

Our Bionic Dog

Dora went under the knife Wednesday to have her back right leg fixed. The procedure the surgeon did is a relatively new one over the past decade and its purpose is essentially to eliminate the need for her ruined cruciate ligament. It involves, among other things, removing part of her bones and inserting a metal plate for stability.

Recovery is a bit of a bear right now, given all that we have going on. She requires medication, physical therapy, and icing three times a day, in addition to short leash walks for the next ten weeks. For the next two weeks, she is required to wear an Elizabethan collar at all times since, if given access to her staples, she could have those things chewed out in a matter of milliseconds. I also have to keep Maddie and the boys away from her at all times. So, of course, she is crated most of the day every day.

Yes. This high-maintenance Dora recovery period landed on top of potty training, packing, Ethan with a nasty cold, house closing, job limbo, and a little toe Jon happened to break the other day. Oh yeah, and neither boy has been sleeping through the night lately, either. Fun times.

Even though it's tough for all of us right now, I just keep telling myself that this is a very short time in the grand scheme of things and the end result will be a happier, healthier pup who is able to move like she is supposed to and have a longer life because of it.

If you want, click this sentence to learn more than you ever wanted to know about the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) procedure.

teef and motaboat show-off

Our New House

We are under contract for the new house! Even though it's not officially ours until closing (slated for April 29), the site agent has been great to let us into it anytime we want to take measurements or check other things out. Here are some pics from yesterday's trip over there:

guest bath and baby feet

peeking out dining room windows

stairs to climb once again

back yard with protected wetlands behind

Here's a direct link to a slideshow in case the one below won't play: http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r119/mburbank/Our%20New%20House/?action=view&current=f1fc3a09.pbw

Fun in the Sun

It's been in the mid-80s for the past couple of days, so we whipped out the pools and Andrew and Ethan had a blast with their friends.