Bye Bye Spike

Today Fur Angels Animal Sanctuary came and picked up Spike. For those of you who don't remember, you can see my previous post about Spike here. He was not safe with our 3 dogs in the house. I received an email from the lady who takes in the birds. Here is what she said:


"I have a person who contacted me that resently lost a 19 year old Cockatiel & this might be a match for them. They are semi-retired & they sent me some real sweet photos of their previous bird. They are not in a rush, they want the right bird, & asked me to watch for them & observe & interact with the bird & let them know if I thought it was a match for them. I think Spike is a very handsome bird, he is a pied Cockatiel from what I can tell from the photo."


So, we know we did well in sending him to the sanctuary. Hopefully, he will be the right pet for the couple who emailed about wanting another cockatiel. So, farewell lil' Spike!

Lucky

It was so warm here on Friday. Kaitlynn and Sarah were in school and Terry wanted to get the grass mowed. Faith and I sat out on our back deck and enjoyed the day... then Faithie decided to help daddy mow: As you can see from the "close up" view, Faith loved being on the tractor, but she wasn't so keen on the noise. About 20 seconds after I snapped this picture, she was off the tractor and back on the deck with me.
After Kaitlynn and Sarah got home from school, they ran in the house to drop off their bookbags and were immediately out the door to play. Sarah brought home a Silver Maple tree from school. The tree was given to her for Earth Day. So we let her decide where she wanted to plant the tree. She decided to plant it near where we buried our beloved pet, Trooper. A little bit of background here, every time a family member has passed away, we have planted a tree in our yard in remembrance of them. We have a Herbert, Okie, Lucy, Cary, Larry, Joe, George, Hazel and now a Trooper tree. She wanted to name the tree Trooper after of course, our dog. After she and her daddy dug the hole, she told Terry that she needed to water her tree so it wouldn't die. Here is our sweet baby girl watering her "Trooper" tree:

Sarah and her daddy. So sweet this picture is. I love how he loves our kids. That's something you'll hear me say over and over again throughout the posts of this blog.

Now, here we go with the "Lucky" part of my post. Sarah was outside playing with her sisters and came running in the door hollering, "Mom, look what I found!" Lo and behold, she found this:

A 4 leaf clover! How lucky! Here is a better picture of it for those of you who can't see so well because of *ahem* old age. Ah! Come on, you know who you are! =)

With all the commotion going on outside, Kiara just had to get a peek! She watches over the girls. This time, she was watching over them from our 2nd story window!Here is our eldest child. She is part monkey:And lil' Faith just loves to ham it up for the camera.
The girls and I played some catch and then they decided to tackle each other. I swear sometimes you'd think they were boys. Don't believe me? Have a look for yourself! My Mom has always said, spank them 3 times a day, whether they need it or not:Nah, really I was going to help them up! HAHA They are good kids. =) Anyway, as this beautiful day drew to a close, Faith was toast. Needless to say, she slept very good from all the fresh air! Which is what I need to be doing right now, so goodnight everyone! ★☾★

Visiting The Cemetery

Wednesday was a bit of a sad day for me. I picked up my Grandpa and we went to the cemetery where my Grandma, Uncle Joe, Uncle Cary and my cousins baby, Jacob are buried. I hadn't been to the cemetery since November when Uncle Cary died, and before that I hadn't been since my Uncle Joe died... do you see a pattern here? Anyway, my grandpa wanted me to go with him so that I could see the footmarker.

It was beautiful. My Grandpa wanted it to have two hearts with "Together Forever" engraved in the banner. You can see it below, although I am not sure that you can make out what it says.
Faith was so funny. She kept saying, "Grandpa is sooo cute!" She just loves him to pieces and he loves her too! My Grandpa also had my Uncle Joe's bird. A Cockatiel named Spike. Well, my Grandpa is having a hard time taking care of Spike, so Terry and I brought him home until we can find him another permanent home. Here is a picture of Spike:
Here is what our dogs think about Spike:We are not really "bird people" we tend to stick more to dogs. And having a bird in our house for any great length of time is not very smart. Hopefully, I can find him a "forever home." And SOON!!! I sure hope Spike doesn't learn how to open the door of his cage. If he does, he will become a snack for Shyanne and Kiara.

Happy Easter

We hope that you are all having a wonderful Easter holiday with your family and friends! We had a wonderful day... Terry's mom came down to be with us yesterday morning and spent the night last night to celebrate Easter with us today. It was a very nice visit... and she did most of the cooking, so that was a bonus! As I sit here typing this, I feel bloated from all of the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, and bread that I ate. Dinner was delicious, but I am now ready to go lay on the couch and veg out in a comatose state until it's time for bed tonight. We hid 91 Easter eggs for the kids to find this morning... it was quite fun for them... and us! We managed to find all of them except one rogue egg that magically disappeared. Terry had great pleasure in hiding the eggs waaaay up high where our kids couldn't possibly reach them, but they had a blast! We also scattered them around the yard so that Faith would have an easier time. Here are the pictures of them on their Easter egg hunt:

Our poor little Sarah has a sore throat, so she wasn't feeling too great while searching for eggs, but she found quite a few! She also found the egg that had money in it!

Kaitlynn was being such a great big sister. She gave Faith a lot of her eggs.
Here is Faith showing me a dandelion that she found in the yard. It's her favorite color... YELLOW!!!

"Here grandma, this is for you!"

Here we are, still looking for that last Easter egg.

And here is Terry, my mother-in-law and our kiddos.

By the way, we never found that last Easter egg!

HAPPY EASTER!

FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!!!

Colorful Kids

Here are some pictures of the girls coloring Easter eggs in preparation for the Easter Bunny. I'll be back tomorrow with some Easter pictures!!

Here is a picture of the girls and I cracking a couple of eggs to make some egg sandwiches!

HAPPY EASTER FROM THE GOSE'S

How Well...

... do our kids know us? This is a fun little thing that I couldn't pass up on posting:


What is something Mom always says to you?
K: I love you KaDiddle
S: I love you
F: I love you too!
What is something Dad always says to you?
K: I love you KJG
S: Hey SB Nelson, scratch my head!
F: Fa Meistro

What makes Mom happy?
K: Doing stuff without being told
S: That I am your little bear
F: When we play Wii Sports
What makes Dad happy?
K: Doing things without being told
S: He married mommy
F: Playing Wii with Joey

What makes Mom sad?
K: Saying mean things to her
S: That Trooper died
F: Bowling
What makes Dad sad?
K: When we aren't home
S: When mommy is hurt
F: {just makes a funny face}

How does your Mom make you laugh?
K: By saying silly things
S: She tickles me
F: Toys
How does your Dad make you laugh?
K: By tickling me
S: He does siafu to me (tickles me)
F: He tickles me

What was your Mom like as a child?
K: Really sweet and smart
S: Kind hearted
F: A baby
What was your Dad like as a child?
K: Crazy and uber discombobulated
S: Funny
F: He was little and tiny

How old is your Mom?
K: 31 and a half (Thanks for adding that half in there, Kaitlynn!)
S: 30
F: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13
How old is your Dad?
K: 42 and a half
S: 42
F: 5

How tall is your Mom?
K: 5' 6" or 5' 11"
S: 5' 11"
F: Little
How tall is your Dad?
K: 6'2"
S: 8'11"
F: Bigger

What is her favorite thing to do?
K: Play with me
S: Spend time with her little bear
F: Eat Pizza
What is his favorite thing to do?
K: Play with me
S: Watch the weather
F: Look at stars and paint

What does your Mom do when you’re not around?
K: She's lonely without me
S: She cries and misses me
F: Goes to the store
What does your Dad do when you’re not around?
K: Be annoying
S: He cries
F: Work

If your Mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
K: Doing slide shows or singing
S: Her cooking
F: I love you too mommy
If your Dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
K: Riding a horse in a clown rodeo
S: For saving the town from criminals
F: Reindeers

What is your Mom really good at?
K: Being nice
S: Her slide show business
F: Games
What is your Dad really good at?
K: Being annoying
S: Being a cop
F: Baseball

What is your Mom not very good at?
K: Controlling her moods
S: Mom isn't good at lying
F: Winning
What is your Dad not very good at?
K: Being mean
S: Writing neat
F: Bowling

What does your Mom do for a job?
K: She does slide shows for people
S: She has her own business
F: On the computer
What does your Dad do for a job?
K: He's a cop
S: He's a cop
F: Works at his computer

What is your Mom’s favorite food?
K: Tacos and brownies
S: Pizza
F: Cookies
What is your Dad’s favorite food?
K: Tomatos
S: Steak
F: Bread

What makes you proud of your Mom?
K: That she loves me
S: That she had me as her daughter and that she calls me Little Bear
F: I love Mommy
What makes you proud of your Dad?
K: That he does his best
S: That he loves me
F: I love Daddy

If your Mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
K: Betty Boop
S: Betty Boop
F: Mickey Mouse
If your Dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?
K: Duck Dodgers
S: Wyle E. Coyote
F: Mickey Mouse (Do you see a general trend here?)

What do you and your Mom do together?
K: We play and talk
S: Watch t.v.
F: Play Games
What do you and your Dad do together?
K: My math homework
S: Wrestle
F: Play Boxing

How are you and your Mom the same?
K: We're both funny
S: We both love each other
F: We have blue eyes
How are you and your Dad the same?
K: We're both crazy
S: We both have brown eyes
F: I love Daddy

How are you and your Mom different?
K: Mom likes sloppy joes and I don't
S: She has blue eyes and I have brown eyes
F: I'm little, You're big
How are you and your Dad different?
K: I'm nice and he's annoying
S: He's bald and I have hair
F: Daddy has black eyes

How do you know your Mom loves you?
K: She talks to me
S: She had me for a daughter
F: Cause I love you too
How do you know your Dad loves you?
K: We're playful with each other
S: He calls me SB Nelson
F: He only likes me

What does your Mom like most about your Dad?
K: His bald head
S: His kisses
F: Mommy doesn't like Daddys boogers
What does your Dad like most about your Mom?
K: Her eyes
S: She's the prettiest woman ever! (Aww, Sarah... I love you!!!)
F: He loves Mommy

Where is your Mom’s favorite place to go?
K: Chili's or Bath and Body Works
S: Aurelio's
F: The store
Where is your Dad’s favorite place to go?
K: Valplayso (park)
S: The Beach
F: Work

Waiting...

Do I have your attention?

This year it has been so difficult to wait for Spring to truly be here!

I look for any sign of spring. Any sign of green that decides to pop up from the brown, drab ground and make itself known just makes my day.

I have been looking forward to going outside to ride bikes with the kids. Looking forward to doing what we have done for the past 2 years... and that is trying to lose all the pounds we put on over the winter months when it's too cold to go outside and actually exercise! I've been looking through pictures like this one of Kaitlynn enjoying a gorgeous sunflower field:

And it makes me yearn for SPRING!

Okay, so these pictures are not from this year... or even last year for that matter. They are from 2007, but who cares? They make me feel all warm and cozy inside! And, I've been so bad... I haven't taken any pictures for about a week now. YIKES! I'll get right on that though and will have some new ones by the time I post the next blog entry!

I guess the saying, "Without winter, no spring would be so lovely." is very, very true!