Hucks passed on

Our dog Huckleberry died today of parvo. I feel sick with grief. This is just a hard time of year for us. He was our dream dog & we only had him for a little over a month. We miss him already. Who knows, maybe Cooper has really been itchin' for a puppy.

Three years ago today around 3 am in the morning , Laun and I were here:

We were saying goodbye to Cooper & holding him as he took his last breath in this earthly life.


This picture was taken the day before Cooper passed & it was the only time that we were together as a family & the first time that Laun got to hold Cooper.

Time is healing. The pain will never go away but, it gets less sharp over time.
When Laun had his back surgery recently at UMC, I couldn't help but think of how ironic it was that we were in the same place 3 years earlier (Cooper would have been 4 days old, 3 years earlier). So while Laun was sleeping in his hospital bed, I went up to the 8th floor to visit the NICU. I was so happy & emotional to see my favorite nurse that took care of my Coop. She remembered me & my Cooper Trooper (that is what she calls him) & it was an emotional reunion for us. We hugged each other & cried. Not very many people met Cooper while he was alive & so I have a special bond with the few that shared his short 2 weeks with me. Even though we miss him & sometimes I just want to time travel to 3 years ago to hold him again, I am grateful that we are where we are now. We miss you & love you Cooper!



This morning Marlee got tubes put in both her ears since she has been having constant ear infections. What a day for this to happen but, everything went great & I am glad that Marlee can start feeling better. She woke up pretty angry & sad but, luckily the boys both had tubes when they were little so I was prepared for that reaction. Here is Marlee before her 4 minute surgery (it has got to be the fastest operation on earth):

I love this girl^

Easter

If our kids look tired it is because Laun wakes them up on every holiday because he gets too excited to wait for them. This year the easter bunny brought candy for all, ties for the boys, & hair clips for Marlee. I decided last years easter consisted of way too much candy so, I sent out a memo for the easter bunny to bring less this year. Apparently Porter noticed because the first thing he said was,"this is it, this is all he brought?"
What I love about this picture is the amount of candy that Clay has shoved in his mouth- he looks like a chickmunk.


Marlee thought the cadbury egg was divine:


Even though she was trying to bite through the peep box, she realized that they just don't compete with chocolate.


We enjoyed watching General Confrence today. For dinner we invited the Allen family over. Laun & Jamie are in grad school together. Jamie & Rachel have 4 kids all around the same ages as our children. The only difference is that they have 3 girls & then 1 boy-opposite order of us.
After dinner the older kids went on an easter egg hunt.

It was a great weekend with General Conference, Easter, & company.

Where's Marlee?

Since Laun had surgery he is not suppose to sit a lot, so we have this mattress in the living room for him to lay on. And in case anyone is looking for Marlee in the next 7 weeks (while Laun is recovering) this is where she can be found:

She cannot get enough of her Daddy.

Before & After:

Marlee with a sucker:

Marlee without a sucker:

First Place

Clayton participated in his 1st science fair & he got 1st place out of all the 2nd graders! His experiment was : Which do mice prefer, cheese or peanut butter? Clayton's hypothesis was that they would like peanut butter more & he was right. Lucky for Clayton his Dad has great ideas & was a huge help. The whole family had a great time helping with this experiment. The mice are adorable & there names are: AS1, BS3, FS9, & CC7. Way to go Clayton, we are so proud of you!

My cute kids...

Marlee loves getting into the kleenex or toilet paper. She also loves the remote control, cell phones, computer, dishwasher (which she can now unlock), small objects she could choke on, you know how it is. Why is it that she has toys all over the living room yet, she just goes for everything she shouldn't have! Although I do have to admit that her busy little personality is cute.



This is how I found my boys today:

I LOVE that they have eachother & I love that they enjoy reading.

But I don't really love the way a grass/weed yard looks in Tucson.

science fair prep

Clayton is participating in the upcoming science fair at his school.

He is dong an experiment with mice to see what they prefer, peanut butter or cheese.

 

The mice are so cute & Marlee thinks so, too.

 

She is on a touch mice basis only, if she holds them we might be one mouse short.

 

Poor Clayton has a black eye, but here he is ready to start his experiment. This is a family effort, we are helping with timing the mice, the poster, etc.

 

This guy is feeling cheesy.

 

This one is checking out the peanut butter.

 

This one doesn’t appear to care for either the cheese or the peanut butter. He just wants to climb under the cardboard.

The big results will be shared at the school science fair.

love this messy face girl

love this little lady

all dressed up…

Laun’s Aunt Chery got this pretty pink dress for Marlee.

 

thumb sucker

 

love my baby girl

Grandpa Jeff stopped by & played chess with the boys.

Everyone is so happy to have Laun home from the hospital.

Marlee was so excited & she wouldn't take a nap, she wanted to see her Daddy 24/7.


Lucy's birthday is coming up this sunday so, we took her out to Guadalajara for dinner.


Then we picked up some thrifty ice cream- here are the boys scarfing it down:

Best flavor ever- Chocolate Malted Crunch

(I'm pretty sure my sister Laura will drool when she sees this picture):

We will miss Grandma when she goes home tommorow. She was such a huge help.