Back when he was little, sweet and LITTLE! 

GRRR!

The puppy is lucky to be alive!  Tony's ready to kill Red.  I always said I would never have a puppy cuz they're like small children with fur, only worse.  So here I sit with an 8 month old pit bull that's driving us all nuts.  We've learned to put away shoes and anything leather after replacing dozens of shoes, a handful of Tony's belts and his wallet.  And as of last night, we learned not to leave him in the house with no one home.  It seems Red went on a chewing rampage in the few hours that we were gone.  That was bad enough, but some of his choices pissed off Tony.  Like the Valentine bear he got me.  Some things I'm still wondering how he got to...like a bear on top of Kayleigh's book shelf.   And some things are just odd...like a whole package of Q-Tips.   As far as puppies go, he's a great dog.  Good with the kids, minds fairly well and is very playful.  All good things for a pit bull.  BUT he's still a puppy and he reminds me on a daily basis why I swore to never have a puppy.  I wish I could blame it on Ronda for bringing me over to look at the sad sack of bones 3 months ago, but I can't.  I have no one to blame but myself.  I'm just hoping Tony doesnt harbor any animosity towards me over it...LOL.    Well, Red will get it through his thick head one of these days, I just know it.  Until then, we'll just have to keep all kinds of stuff up and away from him AND Joey and remember to keep all the doors shut.

Our Logo...LOL! 

Tony and Vince..what can I say? July 2004 

Kayleigh and her attitude! Jan 15, 2004 

Joey chillin in the dryer! 

Alan and Savannah in the Jeep 

Summer on the Harley 7-17-04 

Kids R Fun

Well, I didnt get any pics of them all in the pool, mostly because my dig camera isnt waterproof.  But boy did they all have a blast.  It's amazing how much fun babysitting can be sometimes.  We had Summer and Alan over for the evening and it was a perfect match.  Alan and Joey are only 9 months apart and Savannah and Summer are both 6.  I see Savannah and Kayleigh interact with their peers everyday.  And Joey interacts with them as well, but I never get to see Joey hang out with kids his age.  He's so cool.  Him and Alan did pretty good considering everything.  We'll have to have him over more often so that Joey has someone to play with for a change.  And I'm really glad Tony likes kids or else it could have been a nightmare!  But he does...A LOT!  How can ya not love the guy??  Tony...hugs n kisses, Hon...Love ya!  MUAH!

4th of July

Wow. What an awesome evening. It was simple, but certainly not calm or quiet. Dozens of kids, a half dozen dogs, piles of fireworks and tons of fun. If the screaming and laughing and the collective moan when it was all over was any indication, I'd have to say that no one was disappointed. Baxter the dog got to come out and play off leash for the first time and he had a blast. The dogs ran, barked, rolled in the grass, chased each other hither and yon. The kids screamed and giggled, ooohed and aaahed, ran all over the place and finished up filthy. Isnt that what summer is all about? It all started with the traditional cook out and morphed into barely controlled chaos. As exhausting as it was, it was most definitely worth it. And for the record, I'm not sure who enjoyed the fireworks more...Tony lighting them all up or the kids watching. After a full size garbage bag of burnt out rockets, cannons and bombs, Tony insisted that it wasnt enough and vowed that more would have to be invested in next year's show. Men! LOL. I guess he's going to have to purchase a little bit at a time to avoid hundreds of dollars at one pop. If nothing else, it will be interesting. ;-)

Christmas 2003 - Savannah, Kayleigh, Joey, Josh and Molly 

Life Goes on

Early this year I remember thinking..."I cant wait until the kids are out for the summer!" I wanted to give them the experiences I had as a child with a mom that didnt work outside of the home. I think all children deserve to experience a summer of freedom, late nights and sleeping in. I still believe this, but boy am I ready for school to start again! My house seems to be contstantly full of kids and dogs (my record is 5 dogs and 10 kids inside at once!) It's a good feeling when the neighborhood kids come here to escape their own parents for a few hours and even confide in us. I treat them as my own and their parents know this. I will reprimand as necessary and commend the same. How cool is it that a 14 year old boy comes over just to say "HI", insists on a hug when he's leaving and shouts, "Love ya, Ms Kim!" on the way out the door? We all have a mutual respect for each other and the boys around here tend to view Tony as a surrogate "dad". Tony seems to take the role in stride and happily drones on about fishing, cars, motorcycles, tattoos and music. He also has no problem putting them in their place when it comes to "his" girls. Tony takes his role in the neighborhood as seriously as I do mine. Several kids either have worthless or absent fathers and Tony fills that role to some extent...willingly offering advice and guidance in the behaviors of adolescent or pre-adolescent gentlemanly behavior....something I cant do. While neither of us are perfect, we like to think, or at least hope, that we have and can make even a small difference with some of these kids. Tony and I look at it this way...as long as they live in our neighborhood and associate with our children, they need guidance if it isnt received at home. If nothing else, an understanding of respect for our home and kids.