The Newest Member of the Family

So, surprisingly, this week the Davis family...got a dog!

His name is Diego, and we adopted him from the local SPCA. What happened was this...

For a long time, Tommy has been fascinated by dogs. I think "doggie" was one of his first clear words. Well, because of this fascination, it has been a topic of conversation for a while about when we should get a dog. I, being a cat person, have always leaned more towards the "well, let's wait until the kids are old enough to take care of it" argument, believing that (in general) dogs are smelly and time consuming.

A few weeks ago, Logan began talking about the kind of dog he'd like to get someday called a "Rhodesian Ridgeback." I'd never heard of that kind of dog before, but evidently they were bred in Africa for hunting lions. Last Saturday I was online watching a tv show, and during a commercial break (which is even more boring online since its the same commercial over, and over, and over again) I decided to do some research on the breed. Turns out that they're great family pets, very intelligent, beautiful red color, low maintenance, etc. "Hmm," I thought. "Maybe someday."

Next commercial break rolls around, and I decide to look at the SPCA website for what kind of dogs were available in our area (I'm not really sure why I did this...). As I scrolled down the list I was shocked to see...a Rhodesian Ridgeback. In Rockbridge county. What were the odds??

Okay, so he's not a purebred. He's a cross (they think) between a ridgeback and a Redbone Coonhound. While both are hunting dogs (technically) they're both said to be great with kids, non-digging (a big plus), intelligent, and, well, pretty. When Logan found out we couldn't resist the temptation to go and look, and the rest is history! Three days later we were dog owners.

Since our backyard was already fenced, we bought a kennel for his "bedroom" while we're away from home, and for him to stay in at night so that we don't worry about him getting out. So far, it's been great! He barely barks (except at the cats), and even that is so low that it's not nearly as annoying as a little yapper. He's really gentle with Tommy, and loves playing fetch and going for walks. He's a year old, so he still has a bit of the puppy in him, but in a lot of ways he's already mature and has quickly become a family member. I'm just lucky it's summer and warm outside, or I'm sure Logan would have convinced me by now to let him in the house (he's strictly an outside dog at this point).

Anywho, enjoy the pictures! Tommy LOVES the dog (he calls him "Diego Doggy) and I'm just glad Diego likes him back!

Family Photos

While Logan's parents were in town I asked Tad, Logan's dad, to take some family photos. We went up to Main Hall on campus and walked around, and found that it's hard to take pictures of a child in motion! Tommy is getting so active, and is so curious about everything. His vocabulary is expanding at a rapid rate as well, and every day brings a new adventure. I love it! It really makes me wonder how different his little brother will be (because let me tell you, as far as activity in the womb goes, Jack is much more active than his brother was! I feel like he's doing cartwheels all day...)

Anywho, I hope you enjoy the photos! We had fun taking them :-)

("Popcorn Popping")

I'm having trouble getting blogger to upload the rest of the photos, but I'll try again later :-)

Bowling for Beginners

Since Logan's parents are in town (and we want to give the impression that there are things to do around here) we decided to go bowling! It's been a long time since I've gone--I think I haven't bowled since I got married--and the road back was a bit pathetic. I bowled quite terribly (I blame my bad performance on my increased girth), but we had a lot of fun and Tommy had a blast! My only strike in the two games we played was the one time I was holding Tommy while trying to bowl. I didn't anticipate anything exciting, but when all the pins fell down all of us were surprised and excited! Tommy could hardly contain his excitement at all of the colored bowling balls he saw. He was just disappointed that they were too heavy for him to pick up.

Logan was the only one of us to "break 100", but Papa and Tad were close on his heels both games. Afterwards we stopped at the "Dairy Bar" down the street for some ice cream. A tasty treat to finish a fun evening!

Graduation Day

Logan is officially a college graduate! The graduation ceremony took place this morning at 10am, and the rain was kind enough to hold off until after the ceremony (although there were a few times we were worried it would fall despite the formality of the occasion). Graduation was held in front of Main Hall, which is a beautiful setting in the spring. The commencement speaker was Marlin k. Jensen, an emeritus general authority, and he was actually really good! Told some funny stories, made some poignant comments, and wasn't too terribly long-winded. At the ceremony were Tommy and myself, Nanna and Papa, Tad and Connie (Logan's parents), Aunt Mary and her fiance Bill, and cousin John and Alaina. We were so pleased that they could come! Afterwards we had some delicious strawberries and chocolate sauce at the senior reception, took some pictures, and then headed back to Nanna and Papa's for some lunch. We relaxed, had fun, and revelled in the fact that Logan is a college graduate!

Logan receiving his diploma

The graduation support group

Logan and Tommy

3 Generations of Davis Men

The family

Logan's Run

Yesterday (Saturday) Logan competed in a local run/walk in Lexington. He'd run the race last year, and was determined to win this year. And...he did! He got little trophy and everything. Tommy and I went to the race with him, and Tommy had a great time running around the park where it was held. I tell you, I am SO GLAD we bought that "leash" for him! He gets to run around, but he can't run away. He certainly loves being outside! After Tommy's nap we went to Waynesboro, where we bought a nice new shower curtain for our bathroom. It really brightened the room up! We just enjoy going around together as a family. Don't get me wrong, Tommy has his moments where shopping is not his favorite thing, but in general we have a good time and usually bring home some good spoils from Ross'.

Today was Tommy's first day in nursury at church, and he loved it! He even came home with a little picture of a tree that "he" glued popcorn to (the teacher admitted he ate a lot more popcorn than ended up on the tree). He did much better today than last week during Sacrament meeting, so we were happy. The key seems to be sitting in a pew, because it's harder for him to try and escape!

Logan begins his last week of finals tomorrow! We're so excited :-) Just one more week, and he's done. Exciting, but...weird.

Car Wash

This past weekend Logan and I realized that for the first time in a while, we had a free Saturday! So, what did we do? Clean, of course!



And I mean a lot. Inside, outside, and even our cars got a bit o' soap. Tommy decided to "help" Daddy wash the cars, and it was so cute! He got completely soaked, and loved every moment of it. Afterwards we turned on the sprinkler, at let him play with it for a while (after all, he was already soaked!)

Tommy's growing up so much lately! He's learning new words all the time (some good, some not so good), and just seems more like a person every day. When Logan was reading to him last night, Tommy repeated a lot of the words from the book, and we were so impressed! So, of course, I tried to film it, and the monkey didn't perform. Decided he was too tired. But there are a few cute moments in there, so I'll include it anyway :-)

Greetings from California!

Well, for the past few days Tommy, Nanna and I have been in California for Aaron's baptism! It's been jolly good fun, and nice to see the family. I'm going to post some pictures and (hopefully) a video of Tommy getting to touch the Pacific ocean!

The first day we went to the LA Zoo, and got to see lots of fun animals. Tommy's favorites were the flamingos (I think because they were so brightly colored). We had to buy a "leash" for him (a backpack with an attachment to help control where the kid goes), but Tommy actually liked it because then he could be on the ground--he was just limited as to how far away he could roam!

We spent a lot of time just hangin' out with the cousins, but on Saturday we went to the beach, where Tommy got to touch the pacific ocean for the first time. He really liked it! If his Daddy had been there he would have been able to go a lot farther into the ocean, but sadly his Daddy had school :( (We missed him so much!)

Tommy also got his first basket from the Easter bunny (which had eggs filled with fruit snacks). Mostly he was just excited to get the eggs, or "balls" as he refers to them.

We fly home on Monday, and it'll be nice to be home! Vacations are great, but they can be exhausting.

At the Ocean!

Riding a scooter w/his cousin Kara

With his cousins

Playing with sand