Father's Day

It wasn't an over-the-top Father's Day celebration this year, but Jason seemed to enjoy it.  He was woken up by Rory calling him on his cell phone (after I snuck the phone right next to him on the bed) requesting his presence in the dining room.  The bedroom door was covered by a Happy Father's Day sign.  In the dining room, Rory and I were waiting with fresh-baked (vegan) blueberry scones, tea and peaches.  And of course, no fancy breakfast is complete without hats:

In the afternoon Jason went out and when he returned, we greeted him with our new t-shirts on, which of course we wore the rest of the day:

Happy Father's Day, Jason!

Summer Camp

Rory is in summer camp this summer for the first time.  Some weeks she is at camp at the JCC where she gets to swim, do arts & crafts, sports, etc.  Some weeks she is at COCA, doing creative arts like singing and dancing.  This week she was at COCA and her class put together a performance during the first 4 days, then did a performance the last day.  Below is video of the performance.  In my eagerness to applaud at the end of the first number, I hit Stop on my camera, so to continue the show you'll have to click the second video.  I was very impressed with what they did with the kids in just a few days!  Rory loved it so much that she cried off and on for about an hour afterward because the class was over. I'm telling you, these theatrical types are her people!

A Spoonful of COCA, part 1 (2 min)

A Spoonful of COCA, part 2 (7 min)

Maybe baby, I'll have yooo-u

Here's the latest Lustberg... Maybe!  Yes, her name is Maybe.

She's a 2 year old rescue, a spaniel/beagle mix.  We couldn't have found a better dog!  She is incredibly mellow (bordering on sedated), loves to sit on laps and be petted, and hasn't tried to kill Sydney yet.  The two of them just seem to be taking shifts being in the main part of the house.

Rory couldn't be more in love with Maybe!  She's been asking for a dog for about a year and we kept telling her that we had to wait until Sydney died.  Last week I took Syd to the vet for her annual check-up and asked about the prospect of Sydney co-existing with a dog.  The vet seemed optimistic, so we started to do our research.

We found this little doggie online via the St. Louis Senior Dog Rescue Project.  Great organization!  The dogs stay with foster families, so when you get one, you can talk with someone who has seen the dog in a home environment and talk about its personality.

We took Rory to the pet store where the foster families were bringing the dogs for adoption.  We told her we were coming "to pet some dogs that need love".  She had a great time.  And finally, when our Maybe arrived, we took her out for a walk and petted her.  Rory asked if these dogs were for sale and we said we thought they were.  After a while she asked if we could buy this dog and we said "Yes".  She thought we were kidding!  She could NOT have been more excited when she realized we weren't!

Rory says "Come on over and see our new dog!"

Rory's drawing of Maybe.

Such a sweetie!

I have to say, as a parent, this is one of the most rewarding things we've done.  Seeing Rory so happy with this dog, after wanting one for so long, is really gratifying.