The Mayor

Abby's two-week theatre summer camp ended today with the final performance of Dr. Seuss' Daisy Headed Maisy. Abby played The Mayor. She was fantastic and we were so impressed. She broke her arm (in three places) the Friday before theatre camp started, so she was dealing with a lot at the start of camp.

Abby and her friends Ani and Olivia toast a successful performance!

And all four grandparents of course thought Abby did a great job!

LIfe with an English Springer Spaniel

It's hard to explain, but we have an English Springer Spaniel. This may sound like a strange statement, but those in the know, will simply shake their head and say, "Ohhhh, a Springer Spaniel." Some will say they are sorry, others will smile a strange little smile. And a few will say, "What in the world were you thinking! And one in particular will share stories of her Springer Spaniel, Butch...

Our English Springer Spaniel is Daphne. She's five and somehow we all are surviving...

Today we took her out for a swim. She surprised us by actually retrieving a stick over and over again...

We praised her and cheered for her!

And then we stood in wonder (totally confused) as she swam out to retrieve a paddle boarder. We really can't explain it, but we love this dog!

Mira

Earlier this week we lost our beloved little red-headed neurotic cat -- Mira. Will and I adopted her shortly after we got married. She lived with us in both of our apartments in DC and in our three houses (1 in DC and two in Rochester). She flew from DCA to MSP with Will and ate lunch with him in the Minneapolis airport. We loved her and are grieving her loss.

She was Abby's first pet and tolerated baby Abby and young Abby beautifully! Sweet, ten-year-old Abby feels so sad and wishes that "Mira was on vacation and would just come home..."

Our Backyard

A year or so after we bought this house, I paid THE local landscape business to come and design a plan for our backyard. The plan involved a lot of "boulders" and would have cost more than $30,000 to execute. Will and I both thought the plan itself was silly (and cost prohibitive). We've since puttered in the backyard with little to no direction. The result is a wild and untamed mess, but we love it! And it attracts critters...

...critters that drive our dog C-R-A-Z-Y!!!