Niko 1998 - 2010

After 13 strong years our good friend and faithful companion Niko was put to rest. She was a terrific dog. The kids loved her and are very sad to see her go. We didn’t think she would survive the move to Seattle, but she did and still had enough in the tank to make her presence felt to several dogs that got to close. Her health had been on a steady decline in the past 6 months. She had lost most of her ability to see and hear.

Libby and I had many exciting times with Niko. In her early days she was great to take on hikes and got to make the trip into Ryder Lake several times. At our first house in Bountiful we would often wake to find dead rats placed outside of our bedroom window. This offering was small token of her efforts to keep us safe throughout the night. Vermin and critters, both large and small could find no harbor on her watch. The adrenalin rush of standing outside in your underwear in the middle of the night shining a flash at a raccoon up tree as she went nuts at the base will not soon be forgotten. She never really made much noise unless she was treeing a Coon or barking at the Jehovah’s Witnesses. (This was fine unless you lived next to Jehovah’s Witnesses…like we did in that first house).

She was all business with other dogs, but she couldn’t have been kinder to the kids. My true affection for her came from watching her with my kids. She was always gentle and tolerant. The kids never had trouble sleeping at night for fear of monsters because they knew Niko was watching the house while they slept and Niko ate monsters.

Dodgers

Augie's baseball season has come to an end. This picture pretty much sums the year up. Aug loved every minute of it. Most of our games were played in the rain, but the it made no difference to him. As long as he got to play he was smiling.

Dance Recital

Eden had her dance recital on Saturday. She looked adorable in the corsage that her Grandma Dixie sent. Grandma Emilee and Grandpa Val graciously sat through an hour and a half of dancing for the three minuets that they got to see Eden dance to "Let it Be." She did an awesome job!! This girl has some major stage presence!

Eden and her friend Kesley at the dress rehearsal. They had a great year of dancing where every Tuesday night after dance the highlight was getting a gum ball. Needless to say we are completely out of quarters.

We also went to the bike rodeo and in "biker" style August gave a real tribute to his mother.

We had a surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa. They flew in late Thursday night after the kids went to bed. The kids woke Friday morning to the steady buzz of Grandpa snoring (allegedly) and two familiar faces. As you can imagine, it was exciting. We hit many of the wonderful places Seattle has to offer including Pikes.

One stop was the Experience Music Project (shown above, courtesy of the EMP website). The EMP is a Rock & Roll museum. The current exhibition called "Taking Aim" is collection of unforgettable Rock & Roll photographs.

Grandma Dixie was drawn to this photo of Johnny Cash. The photo caption read "Jon Cash reacts to the news of his horses being sold by his brothers". This was the only time I heard her say "I miss Chris".

Grandpa Jake saw himself in this photo taken in 1994 of the hand of legendary blues man John Lee Hooker. Note: John Lee Hooker was born in 1915. Grandpa Jake was not. However, playing the blues for 90 years has the same affect on your hands as being a radiator man for 40 years.

The "Fab Four" with the "Threatening Three".

This photo was chosen to be the album cover of our self titled debut "Tight Genes". Tragically, the album will never be released. Band turmoil arouse between Grandpa Jake and Sophie Jane. Jake wanted more fans, while Jane wanted more stage. Citing creative differences, the band has agreed to part...for now.

Mariner's tickets for three $165...Stadium Parking $10...Fried clams, "Rally Fries", chocolate covered popcorn and drinks $50....Going to see the M's with your Best Bud and Old Man...priceless.

We hope they had as much fun as we did. We loved having them here and can't wait to see them again. Bear Lake is right around the conner.

Mother's Day Tea

Eden's kindergarten class did a Mother's Day Tea. She was so exited she made me a banner and some paper flowers to commemorate the event. They did a play about the signs of spring. It was really sweet. I can't believe Kindergarten is almost over.

The Tulip Festival!! It was amazing, this is definitely something I want to do every year. Polly and Ove came out for a few days and this was the highlight of the trip.

A few nights ago there was a catastrophe while playing tag. Sophie fell and broke her arm. When I was two, I broke my arm falling off of a retaining wall. Here are both photos. Sophie was so tough at the Doctors office and she was really exited about her pink cast. The first day she kept saying I don't want to break my arm. The highlight for her has been some bubble tape that Matt got her. It hasn't left her good hand in over a day.

P.S. This is not an April fools Joke!!!