Rest In Peace Caleb

Yesterday was the saddest day ever for us. We had to put our dog Caleb to sleep. It broke our hearts to make the decision but it was the right thing to do.

We don't know exactly what happened but I found Caleb in the garage Wednesday evening with a huge cut on his stomach. It was about a foot long and spread apart at least 6 inches. There wasn't any damage to his organs, it just looked like a big cut with very little blood.

We cleaned him up and bandaged him, then took him to the vet first thing yesterday morning. We were hoping that they would be able to stitch him up but the vet said that his injuries were too extensive. The cut wasn't spread apart, his skin was actually missing from that spot.

She said that they could do surgery but he would need skin graphs and not just one surgery but several. Plus to make sure he didn't mess up any of the skin graphs, he would have to be sedated 24/7 for a couple of months and because of how large the wound was, he would more than likely get an infection and still die.

So Aaron and I decided that it would be best for him not to have to go through that. We went and got the kids and brought them to the clinic so they could say good bye to him. My mom met us up there and took the kids outside while Aaron and I stayed with Caleb. He died looking me right in the eye.

Caleb was a very good and loving dog. I'm glad he isn't hurting anymore and in my heart of hearts I know that he knew how much we loved him. We showed him that every day.

Emma took it the hardest. She loved Caleb with all of her heart. They were best friends.

Caleb was my shadow. My stalker dog. It didn't feel right yesterday when I went to bed and he didn't follow me in there and jump up on the bed with me. I never knew how much it would hurt to lose a pet like this. It kills me because he was a part of our family. One of the kids. I'm just physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted right now.

Caleb Ann Bagby
January 31, 2007-April 29, 2010

Vacation Countdown...and change of plans!

Awhile back I posted on here about our upcoming vacation to Europe. In fact, we were set to leave 6 days from now. That is, until a volcano in Iceland decided to go off, shutting down European air travel completely for a week!

We didn't know what we should do about our travel plans. What kept running through our heads is that even if we managed to make it over there, what if the volcano went off again and we ended up stuck in Europe.

So we made the decision to cancel our trip....and book a different trip!

Instead of Europe, Aaron and I are now going on a 13 night Ultimate Alaskan cruise!!

Just the two of us for two weeks aboard the Radiance of the Seas! All meals are included in the trip, plus there is nightly entertainment...shows, bands, dancing...there is a casino, adult only enclosed pool, mini golf course, billiards, the list goes on and on!

We got a great deal on an interior cabin. We researched online ourselves and then went to a travel agent to book the trip. This is what our cabin will look like!

We will be flying from Dallas to San Diego to get on the cruise ship there. Look at how pretty downtown San Diego is!

After a day of cruising we will stop in San Francisco for the day! My aunt is going to try and meet up with us, which will be great since I haven't seen her since we got married over 8 years ago!

Once we leave San Francisco we will cruise for two days before stopping in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Here is the former Ketchikan "Red Light District". Here we will so a shore excursion to see the Great American Lumberjack Show!

Next we will be on to Juneau. There we will be visiting the Alaskan Brewing Company.

Here is the beautiful little town of Skagway...we will be here for a day.

This is the Hubbard Glacier. It is one of the longest and most active freshwater glaciers in the world. Look at that blue ice! We will be cruising around here for 4 hours.

Can I just move here now? This is our next stop, Sitka, Alaska.

Our last Alaskan stop is Nanaimo.

Then we are on to Victoria, British Columbia. We are hoping to take a whale watching tour from here.

Our final destination (at least cruise wise), Vancouver.

We plan on staying the night in Vancouver before getting on a train the next morning to check out the scenery between Vancouver and Seattle.

How excited am I to see my 2 favorites cities (San Francisco and Seattle)??? So excited!!

From Seattle we will fly back home. As soon as we land, we are going straight out of camp out with our friends to celebrate a birthday.

Let me thank my mom in advance for agreeing to live in our house and watch the kids for 2 weeks!!! And thanks for taking me shopping for a whole new wardrobe to wear on the trip!!

I will be taking four 2GB memory cards with me on the trip so I will have a ton of pictures! Plus one of Aaron's employees is letting me borrow his DSLR camera for the trip!! I can't wait!!

12 days and counting!!!

Girl Scout Mini Golf

I have been so behind on my blogging, I feel so bad.

These are from last week. Emma's Girl Scout troop does a lot of activities at the end of the year and last week they did mini golf and bumper boats at Mountasia.

Sara came along too.

After the troop left we stuck around and played some games.

Then we headed over to Sonic and had some slushes (I had a cherry limeade) yum!

This week they are going bowling, which should be a lot of fun!

What my kids read this week

The kids had a book fair at school this week and I picked them up some cute books. Oh how I love books!!

I got each girl two books and one poster. Sara's poster has a cute puppy and kitty on it and Emma's has horses.

Here is one of Emma's books, Shampoodle. It is a really cute book for kids. It has silly humor and a fast-paced story line.

Emma's second book is The Very Cranky Bear. As soon as I opened this one and saw a zebra, lion, moose and sheep playing cards, I knew Emma would love it! And she does!

Sara loves dinosaurs so I had to get her a dino book! How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs? The one I got for her is a board book (she loves them because they are small)...cute book, shows you how to and not to, care for your dog.

Sara's second book was a perfect match for her! As much as she is a mama's girl, that girl loves to push my buttons! She fights with me about something every single day.

I find the best way to deal with Sara is to calm down and just talk with her. Most of the time she is just frustrated and doesn't know how to vent.

Other books we have been reading...

The Everything Kids Environment Book. I love this book! It gives a lot of information about our planet; how to recycle, reduce and reuse. It also has a lot of easy experiments to do....lots of good information and fun for everyone in the family.

Sara loves this book! I love Lois Ehlert's books. Her and Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) are so similar and they both have awesome kids books.

We love Skippyjon Jones in our house!! If you haven't read a Skippyjon Jones book yet, go out and find one right now!! You and your kids will love them. They are a lot of fun.

This is one of Sara's favorites. This whole "How Do Dinosaurs" series is super cute. Check them out!

And then there is One Nosy Pup. Sara loves it. Can you tell that Sara loves books? She loves to read. She will sit on my bed and look at books for an hour at a time.

So what have your kids been reading this week?