12/52

Summer is officially over now as of this week.  Which means it's football season, doesn't it?

When I was a kid, we always spent every Sunday afternoon with Uncle Keith and all my mom's friends watching football.  We rooted for the Bears - well, they did.  I kept busy playing tag with Randy and Nathan under bar tables.  I would watch the game for as long as it took me to drink my kiddie cocktail.  

I'm watching a little more football these days.  I've been able to see two of Jacob's games this year (Go Saxons!!) and I need to get out to see one of Luke's games.  But every Saturday morning for the next couple months, I'll be watching Isaac play.

Isaac has always liked to run.  When Brian was young, he played soccer so we thought that soccer would be a good fit for Isaac.  At that age, I can best describe soccer as one boy with the ball and the rest chasing after him.  There is definitely a lot of running in soccer.  But he didn't love it and so I didn't argue when he said he wanted to try football.  But having never really played before, I didn't think we could handle one of those teams where the boys have practice for two hours a night five nights a week.  And I'm that mom who cringes when I think of my little boy in a contact sport.  Luckily, we found a flag football league through All Star Sports.  Practice one night a week and a game every Saturday for eight weeks seemed like the right level of commitment for us. 

Isaac - on the Green Goblins in 2014.  Is it me, or does he look really small here?

In the Spring we discovered that All Star Sports had a track program.  Isaac ran track for two sessions and enjoyed it, gained speed and learned how to get off the starting line quickly.  When I asked him what he wanted to do this season, he suggested flag football again.  What a great way to put some of those running skills to use!

Coach Derek is infinitely patient and great with short and concise instructions.  He explains how to throw and catch the football in a way that even I understand.  He puts matching colored wristbands on the boys who are blocking each other.  Five seconds is all they have after each play to get back to the line.  The boys (and one girl!) will learn a lot in eight weeks. 

Saturday was their first game: Red Rockets versus the Green Goblins.

Isaac with the ball. 

The boy with the yellow jersey is one of the best players the other team (I'm not sure why he didn't have a green team shirt on) and eventually caught one of Isaac's flags.  But not after Isaac ran about 20 yards!

About two strides behind Evan.  So close!!

One of the last plays of the game

It was a gorgeous day for a football game.  And a smile on Isaac's face during the one of the last plays of the game tells it all.

The Red Rockets earned a victory yesterday.  But the Green Goblins were tough to beat. 

If you're interested in coming out to one of his games, let me know!  I'll give you the schedule!  

11/52

Both Brian and I grew up with a dog, so it seemed very natural to want to get a dog when the kids weren't babies anymore.  Oh, I know there are plenty of breeds that are great with babies.  That wasn't the problem.  It was the amount of work it takes to have and train a dog.  In 2010, when Abigail, Emma and Isaac were 9, 8, and 4, Brian and I really started considering it.  But we had agreed that we would wait about 4 years.  The kids would be older and could help more. 

We narrowed down our choices.  We definitely wanted a dog that was good with kids, didn't shed a lot and wasn't small.  We got down to Golden Retrievers, Newfoundlands and Great Danes.  Brian's parents had two wonderful Goldens, Jackie and Murphy.  We had dog sat for them a few times and they were great with the kids.  But the clumps of dog hair they left behind left me thinking I would be forever brushing and vacuuming to keep up.  One of Brian's friends owned a Newfoundland.  It's a gorgeous teddy bear of a dog.  But apparently they drool.  All the time.  On everything.  Hmmmmm.  I'm not really a fan of dog slobber.  Then we started doing research on Great Danes.  I remember going down to Missouri for our family reunions and going to Aunt Shirley's house.  They had a few Great Danes.  The dogs were beautiful, friendly and very gentle.  They have a shorter life span than most breeds.  If we found one that was gentle with our kids, it was worth it to us.  It was settled, we would get a Great Dane. In 2014.

A few weeks later (please note this was much earlier than 2014), I get an email from Brian with a photo attachment from a breeder in Iowa.  I know what you're thinking.  Why didn't you go to a rescue?  There are so many dogs out there to love!  I know there are.  And when we had decided we wanted a Great Dane, we did talk to a couple of rescues.  Both of them refused to adopt Danes into families with children under the age of 8.  I can understand that.  Most of those dogs have a history and it's a risk to place a dog in a home with younger children that lay on dogs and pull their tails.  A dog that large can do some real damage to a small person. 

But this picture...It's this blue-eyed, white and gray creature with four long legs and a tail.  He fell in love with her instantly.  I did too, honestly, but was hesitant at first, thinking about the reality of taking on the responsibility of a puppy.

Zoey at two months.

She is a Merle Great Dane.  Merle is her coat pattern (the gray splotches and black spots). Without having met her, Brian picked her up from the breeder on October 3, 2010.  We didn't say a word to the kids.  Brian just walked in the house with her.  Emma happened to be walking up the stairs and caught sight of Brian with something in his arms.  Within a couple seconds she had figured it out and yelled to Abigail and Isaac to come downstairs - Dad had a puppy!

Plum tuckered out after meeting all of us.

We did a family vote to name her.  We had some very good runners up.  Roxie, Casper, Cookie Dough, Sparkles, T-Rex.  But Zoey won.

I will admit, Brian did all the hard work with Zoey.  He trained her, but more so, he trained me and the kids. He trained us to not let her do anything fun like jump on us or lay on the furniture - even though we thought all that stuff was cute!

A few months later, it occurred to us that she didn't respond to sounds like dogs normally do.  Our voices didn't make her ears perk up, commands like "No" or "Drop it" weren't being followed.  We started doing experiments.  Brian would call her from the other room.  We would yell her name when we were next to her while she was sleeping.  It didn't wake her up.  We realized that she was deaf.  And always had been.  And after some research, it can be common in Merle dogs.

Again, Brian helped us through this.  We needed to communicate with her using hand signals or touch.  She took to it right away.  Pointing your hand into a gun shape and tipping it down means sit.  The stop hand signal is stay.  And lowering your flat hand is lay down.  We discovered some of the advantages of having a deaf dog - you could really call her anything you wanted.  She didn't know the difference.  She isn't affected by sirens, storms, vacuum cleaners, other barking dogs or smoke alarms.  But then we realized a few disadvantages.  To reprimand her, you have to get eye contact with her.  You have to clap your hands or stomp on the floor to elicit vibration or be close enough to her to touch her.  I wasn't comfortable boarding her in a kennel with strangers who might not know how to work with deaf dogs, so she stays with my Mom and Papa (and gets SPOILED) when we are gone for vacations.  If she ever got loose, we wouldn't be able to call her name to find her.  So we installed an Invisible Fence. I didn't love the idea at first, but I did like that she has free reign in the backyard and most of the front yard.  Her natural timidity makes her a great candidate.  She wouldn't push the boundaries of the fence to necessitate higher voltage for the fence. 

Having a big dog means having to watch food on your tables and counters.  She isn't allowed to counter surf.  She isn't allowed on beds or furniture.  When people come to our house, a Great Dane could topple someone over, so we didn't let her jump on anyone.  In fact, we think in part due to her deafness, she is quite afraid of new people.

The top of Zoey's head measures about 37 inches from the ground.

As you can see, now that she's five, she has grown into those long legs.  She weighs 120 pounds and the top of her back is about to my hips.  It's funny how her size is "normal" to us.  When we meet other dogs, the kids and I always whisper about how small the other dog is.  People generally have questions and comments about her breed and size.  We've even seen owners of small dogs pick them up and walk the other way. 

Zoey, in "stalker/guard dog" position.

I know we made the right choice for our family.  Zoey is the most gentle and tolerant dog I've ever met.  And she does all kinds of crazy things.  She sleeps under our bed.  Yes, I said UNDER.  She barely fits, but it must feel safe to her, like a den.  She rarely barks, unless someone is coming to our door.  When she is excited, she puts her ears down and makes a happy growly sound.  If Brian or I sit on the floor, she immediately sits in our lap and twists all around so that you will rub her belly.  If we are sitting in a chair in the family room and we have our feet on the ottoman, she wedges in between the chair and the ottoman to lay under your legs.  There are certain people she likes so much she attempts to groom them with her large long tongue.  She naps during the day on one of our stairs.  She loves to be in the car - so much so that she attempted to get into the Highlander once when it was packed floor to ceiling with boxes and bags destined for Goodwill.  "No matter about all this stuff, Ma, I'll just wedge myself right into the tiny space here on the floor behind the driver's seat."  And on weekends, when she apparently thinks I have overslept, she stands over me and makes this loud Chewbacca sound.  No joke.

10/52

What a fantastically busy weekend!  I feel like I need another weekend to recover!

Saturday was a gorgeous day for a wedding.  Many thanks to Robin's friends, Dina and Greg, for letting us take over their home to get Robin ready and take a few pictures.  Robin looked stunning.  Her hair, her jewelry, her dress - and even her sparkly shoes.

There's no place like home.

Robin is a very lovely, down-to-earth, thoughtful and kind person, always putting her family first.  She's fun and just a little bit crazy.  I admire her spunk and tenacity - and the way she lives life to the fullest.  I am honored to have captured the beginning of this new chapter in her life, marrying her best friend and a man who is utterly devoted to her.

Robin, just before the ceremony. 

The ceremony was officiated by my father-in-law, Harlan, and he did a fantastic job.  It was beautiful, the food was delicious and Robin and Jim kicked off the rest of the evening with their first dance.  Robin, the playlist you created was awesome!  This is easily my favorite photo from the wedding.  It encapsulates the love Robin and Jim have for each other - and the fun atmosphere they've created for their family.  This little guy is Alex.  Just outside the room we were in was a table full of photo booth props for the wedding next to us.  These props were begging to be used.  So he borrowed one and jumped in the shot.

Robin, Jim and Private Alex

Robin and Jim, thanks for letting me be a part of your special day.  We had a TON of fun celebrating with you.  And I know everyone else did too.  I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

Congratulations and best wishes to the new Mr. and Mrs. Phillos!

9/52

Wow.  Labor Day Weekend.  The end of summer.  And boy, did we get summer weather today.  While we are waiting for Brian to get home from his super awesome motorcycle vacation,  the kids and I served for River City Church and helped out at the Batavia Block Party. I knew we wouldn't know many people, so I let each of the girls bring a friend.  Emma invited Jessica and Abbi invited Lauren.  On the way to the Batavia Block Party, I reviewed the rules with the girls.  Keep their cell phones handy so if I text, I can get an immediate response.  If someone in a van pulls up and offers candy, you should not take the candy or get in.  In true Abbi form, she responds, "what if they have free wifi?" You have NO idea how thankful I am that Lauren was with her and keeps her out of vans with candy and a mobile hotspot.  :)
 

I was disappointed when Abbi and Lauren flat out refused to have their picture taken.  They literally ran away when I asked them to pose for me.  Ran!  I really did think that Abbi would be less difficult to photograph if she had a friend to pose with.  I mean, Emma detests having her picture taken, but look at her smile here with Jessica!

Peace, Love and Batavia

So I had to revise my strategy.  Of all my kids, Abbi is the only one that hasn't been featured on my blog.  Abbi is the spitting image of Brian, her dad, who is the spitting image of his mom, Rosemary (who is celebrating a birthday today! Happy birthday!!)  She is a freshman in high school and so far, she loves it.  She comes home with crazy stories and claims of being this teacher's favorite and that teacher's favorite (I will say that at back to school night, a couple teachers had very complimentary things to say about Abbi, but don't tell her that).  Abbi has taken piano lessons with the very awesome Mary Hwang, and has taught herself many other songs - the latest being a recommendation from Emma, Mad World by Gary Jules.  She sings like an angel (I'm laughing because my mom said the same thing about me when I was a kid, but I'm for real here).  Last summer and this summer she even attended a choir camp at University of Illinois.  And you should see her absolutely beautiful handwriting (which she gets from my side of the family - my dad, my mom, my brother and I were all blessed with stunning penmanship.  How my brother and I acquired that gorgeous penmanship is a story for another day).

Today, at the block party, I had a great time chatting with my friends at River City Church.  I even got an impromptu photography lesson from Alex as well as an invitation to help take pictures at church events.  Even more opportunities to practice!  Hooray!

As we got ready to leave, the kids and I walked down to the Fox River.  Abbi and Lauren were tossing pine cones down and I was able to get this shot.

Remember that choir camp I told you that Abbi went to this summer?  I just had a brilliant idea.  During the week-long camp, the students worked on several new songs.  On the last day of camp, when the parents come to pick them up, they perform all the songs they learned that week.  Lauren attended this camp with Abbi.  And I got a picture.

So this is Abbi, Lauren and Natalie. 

It was a fabulous day and a pretty incredible summer.  And I have pictures to prove it!  I'm thankful for all your support.  Some of you have told me that you are having trouble commenting here on the blog.  And I have figured out why.  You need to have a google account to do so (and you have to be signed in).  If you don't have one, click here!  Then you can sign in and comment to your heart's content!