Donuts with Mom!

Yep, there's nothing better than spending the morning with a few of my favorite people. Throw in some sugary breakfast treats and I'm a happy camper.
Of course, not all of us were having as good of a morning as mom . . .
was it wrong that I took this picture before consoling him?

Garden Watch 2010!

So our garden is coming along nicely. Surprising enough, everything is growing, so we must be doing something right.

And we were so excited to see our very first vegetable appear.

Grandma and Grandpa Steindorf are coming for a visit. Not only are we excited to see them, but we can't wait to pick their brains about our garden.

As promised . . .

We are happy to announce the arrival of a new family member.

Roger Geoffrey Steindorf

Adopted April 6, 2010 We decided it was time to start looking for a little creature who needed a home. Due to my allergies, I'm pretty limited to the dogs we can have. We submitted an application to Yorkie rescue and hoped they'd call soon.
And they did.
We're not exactly sure what Roger is crossed with. Yorkie and something. Probably Schnauzer since he doesn't effect my allergies. He's 14 pounds, pretty large for a Yorkie. And he has these really long legs that he's never quite sure what to do with, kind of like a baby giraffe. (hence his middle name, Geoffrey). And we think he's about 2 1/2 years old.
He's one great big ball of energy and the kids LOVE him.
Well, . . .except when he's chewing on their stuffed animals

His manners are a bit lacking. But we're working on it.

Sadie is actually doing very well with him.

Although she has no problem biting him when she's had enough.

But he doesn't hold it against her.

We feel very lucky that the powers that be brought him to us. He needed a home with lots of love and patience. And we had lots to give.

Although, I'm learning a little more patience would be nice when I find him standing on my kitchen table eating the kid's breakfast . . .

I like to think Micky would approve!

Bending it like Beckham!

Logan started soccer this week with A.J. Their team is called the "Aces" Logan, of course, is one of the best players on the team.
Just look at that form!

His first game was last Saturday. Craig and A.J.'s dad, Hector, took the boys, since Paula and I were manning our garage sales that morning.

The men came back praising the boys, saying they attacked the ball every chance they got...

Of course, Logan soon realized kicking a ball isn't the only way a boy can score . . .

He's SOOO like his father!

But I don't hold that against him!

Our Family

My little girl is almost a 5th grader!

I'm not sure how that happened!

Okay, I like this photo because I look tall....

So I'm posting it darn it!

(photo by Logan . . . which explains the vantage point)

Craig and Sadie, kickin' it in the backyard.



Logan showing off a school craft.
I never know what to do with all these wonderful works of art. Then a mom of one of my students said that she takes a picture of each one, then doesn't feel as bad when most of them get recycled. I thought that was a fantastic idea, so you'll probably be seeing lots more of these . . .


And last but not least, Grandma and Grandpa with the kids.

We loved having them here and were very sad to see them go. Hopefully someday soon their drive home will be 45 minutes instead of 4-5 days.

For Micky

It has been a little over 6 months since we lost our Mick Man. Honestly a day does not go by without us missing him. We recently found a little soul who has joined our family, but I wanted to make sure Micky had his own special post on our family blog before introducing anyone new.

Anyone who knows us, knows how special our animals are to us. I'm sure it goes without saying how much we loved Micky, but I'm going to say it anyway!

Micky, our little man with slight psychopathic tendencies who was truly perfect in his totally imperfect way. Whose heart was literally too big for his little body to contain. He was my shadow and my friend. He was my protector and my alarm clock, knowing exactly when it was 6:00pm every night!
He gave unconditional love and never held a grudge. Even when I'd forget to let him out of his time outs (which he had many!) or gave him a hair cut that was less than stellar (which was often)

He was an expert ball player. He learned to be a wonderful companion . . .
and an even better pillow.

And he completed our family. We will always be thankful

for the wonderful (and sometimes infuriating) times he was with us.

Mick Doohan Steindorf

July '96-October '09

(in case you wondered, Micky was named after an Australian motorcycle racer, said to be one of the greatest racers in history.)