Family Pet

This is the story of how we came to have a rabbit for our family pet.

We can't have a dog.  Brian is allergic to dogs.  And, before you say, "I am allergic to dogs too, but I still have a dog" -- I must add that he is deathly allergic.  Not just in an itchy eyes and throat sort of way, but in a closed off windpipe sort of way.  So, we can't have a dog.

We also can't have a cat.  I personally wouldn't mind an outdoor mouser, but Brian doesn't care for the company of felines and has firmly put his foot down.

Fish?  Meh.

Bird?  Maybe.

Hamster?

Here is a story about a hamster.

When we were living in China, Ian celebrated his 4th Birthday.  A friend gave him a pet hamster, complete with cage and all, for his gift.  Brian and I were a little unsure at first, but what could we do? 

We named the little guy Joey and he turned out to be one of the best things about our days in China.  The kids would get him out and play with him for hours.  He was friendly and cute.  We had a large, shallow, cardboard box and the kids would build playlands out of duplo legos for him to climb around on.  Joey was the perfect family pet.

Unfortunately, airline restrictions made it too complicated for us to bring Joey back to America.  So, we found him a nice home to stay at in China.

We moved back into our house in the summer of 2007 and it seemed obvious to me that a hamster was the perfect family pet.  So, I ran right out to the pet store, bought a fancy cage, and picked out what seemed like a nice hamster.

I was wrong.  He needed an exorcism.  He bit (and drew blood from) the first hand that tried to play with him.  He went straight back to the store.  They accepted him back and refunded my money, but sadly they told me that most hamsters from pet stores are mean like that because they can't be sold until they are older and they miss an important window when they could become socialized like Joey was.

I meant to shop around for someone who sold hamsters from their home, but I never got around to it.  Eventually the hamster cage was given away and here we were, five years later in the summer of 2012 still thinking about what our perfect family pet would be.

Ian said "bearded dragon."  But, I'm sorry, I just don't do reptile care.  Not that I have anything against them.  I'm just inexperienced in that department.

In fact, about the only pet department I am experienced in is rabbit.  When I was twelve-years-old my grandparents sent me $15 for my birthday and I took the money to the pet store and bought a gorgeous, tan, lop-eared rabbit named Christopher.  He lived on an enclosed deck right outside my bedroom (on the second floor).  It was the perfect arrangement and I loved that bunny.  He wasn't very tame and never let me carry him.  But, I loved to pet him and watch him hop around.  He lived for about 10 years and died after I had moved away to college.

I have been convinced for a long time that a bunny would be our perfect family pet, and Sophie became obsessed with the idea a little over a year ago.  But, we put it off because, first, Brian was not convinced, then, we were in the middle of moving to a new house.  After we got to the new house, we had no yard (and, Brian was not convinced) . . . you know how these things can get put off.

Right after we moved to this house, someone offered me a free rabbit hutch and I hauled it home.  It has been sitting there empty, just waiting for a rabbit to move in, and I have been waiting for the right opportunity -- which came to us when we went to the State Fair last month.

At the fair, I love to take the kids through the different barns to look at all of the animals.  When we got to the barn that houses the rabbits, I noticed that several of them were for sale.  There were exotic ones and purebreds, giant rabbits and tiny dwarfs, and all different colors with long ears or short, lop ears or tall, fuzzy hair and sleek -- so many different rabbits.

It just so happened that one of the ladies who was sitting with the rabbits while we were there was selling a tan bunny that she had purchased one year ago when he was a baby, thinking he was a lion head, but later discovered that she was wrong.  He was a mixed breed and she keeps show rabbits, so he had to go.  He was cute and friendly and neutered and best of all, he was only $10.  He wasn't what Sophie had envisioned -- she wanted a black and white baby -- but, after some convincing she agreed to make him ours. 

So, we brought our new rabbit home and changed his name from Nugget to Caramel.  We set him up in the hutch right outside our kitchen window, gave him some food and water, and wallah!  We were pet owners.

Over the next few weeks, we brought him inside to hop around about once a day and I even bought him a tiny harness and leash so Sophie could let him hop around in the grass in the front yard.  He was so calm about being held.  My childhood bunny would have torn my arms to shreds if I had tried to carry him around the way the kids carried Caramel around.

Then, one day, we had to move the hutch a little ways away from the kitchen window and I couldn't see Caramel every day when I worked on my computer.  Then, we turned the hutch so that Brian could back a load of gravel into the yard to get ready for phase two of our patio.  I felt guilty because I had to actually walk outside to see Caramel and make sure he was doing alright, but I didn't do anything about it right away.

A couple of days after that happened, Isaac went out to play on the Thursday morning of UEA weekend and came back in to announce, "Our bunny is gone."

I went outside to inspect and found that the bottom of the cage had given way and fallen out, probably sometime during the night.  The cage was old and I guess we hadn't realized that it was close to falling apart like that.

The kids, their friends, and I searched the yard thoroughly.  We searched the next door neighbor's yard.  We looked up and down the street.  We sent out an alert to the neighborhood e-mail.  At first I felt hopeful.  But, then I started to lose hope.

I thought about dogs and cars and wondered how our little Caramel could have possibly survived?

Luckily, my mom had picked Sophie up that morning and taken her shopping in Salt Lake, so she was gone the whole day.  She had no idea her bunny was missing, or I would have been dealing with her broken little heart too.

As it was, I found myself mourning the loss of this new family pet.  By afternoon, I was shedding actual tears.  I kept telling myself, "Calm down.  It was just a $10 rabbit."  But, myself would shout back hysterically, "But, I don't want another rabbit.  I want that rabbit!  I miss his funny little hair that sticks up around his ears and I will never find another rabbit as calm and pleasant as Caramel."

Then I would think about having to tell Sophie that Caramel was gone and that is when the tears would come.

But then a little miracle happened.  At 5 p.m. I went out to my car to go pick Ian up from Scouts and just at that moment, Caramel came hopping up our driveway!!!

I could not believe my eyes!  He came back!  With a little effort, I caught him and put him in a box.  I took him with me because I could not let him out of my sight.  The kids were so happy.  I was so happy.  Sophie was so happy later when we told her the whole story (and, blessedly, she didn't have to know about it until after we had the happy ending).

We enclosed him in our dining room, which has tile floors and not a lot of furniture, and there he would stay until we could mend his cage or buy a new one.  We all held him and made a big deal over him and fed him his favorite food - bananas.  That night, I held him for an hour until he started to grind his teeth (the rabbit equivalent of purring).

Over the next few days, we learned that an indoor rabbit roaming free (even enclosed in one room) can be trouble.  There was the mess of cleaning up after him (of course), but the other trouble was that he could open the door to the boys' bedroom, right off our dining room, and it turns out -- he is quite good at chewing up carpet.  So, after a few days, I decided that a family pet as adored and wonderful as ours was worth investing in.  I figured since he only cost $10, it was O.K. to buy him a decent cage.  So, I did.

Now, he lives in a cage in our family room.  And, if we ever want to, we can move the cage outside.  But, for now, we seem to like him to be indoors where we can keep an eye on him.  We don't want him wandering off in search of his next big adventure now that he's had a taste of freedom.

Summer 2012

A post I started mid-August which I will now finish . . .

I regret that I haven't taken the time to write individual posts about all the fun things we have been doing this summer.  One long post summing it up will have to do since we are practically on the eve of a new school year.

June brought outings, swimming, summer reading programs at our local library and the track club for Ian and Isaac.  Sophie started a 6-week drama camp which turned out to be one of the highlights of the summer (they performed Peter Pan in July and it was fantastic!).  Then came the 3-weeks of camping trips.  It started with a mom and me Girl Scout Camp with our troop at the gorgeous Trefoil Ranch.

 We got to go horseback riding - which was pretty cool.

 I LOVE THIS GIRL!

And, of course we spent lots of time in the arts and crafts room (here we are making rag dolls).

It was a fun three days in the mountains spending some quality one on one time with Sophie.  Here is a funny story -- We had to be careful not to take any food into our tents because of the critters, but I forgot that I had an unopened pack of gum in the side pocket of my backpack.  In the opening meeting, they told us not to even have gum in the tents.  That is when I remembered.  But, by the time I got back to my tent (it had been about an hour), something had already crawled into the pocket and chewed the gum into itty bitty pieces! 

The very next week, we took the whole family up to our friends' gorgeous cabin on the water's edge at Bear Lake.  This is one of our favorite summer traditions that we have been enjoying for about nine years now.

I just realized that all of the good pictures from this trip are on Brian's computer.  But, here is one with a funny story.  When I asked the kids what treats they wanted me to buy for the trip, Sophie and Ian both said, "Starbursts to roast over the fire."  You see a couple of years ago, the kids ran out of marshmallows and started roasting Starbursts instead.  I almost denied their request, passing it off as silly, but then humored them by buying a pack of Starbursts to take along.  On the first night we were there, all of the kids (from the other families) pulled out Starbursts to roast over the fire.  And, then I realized - they have created their own tradition.  Awwwww.

I had just one day to wash all of the laundry, re-stock the groceries and re-pack the van before our third camping trip in three weeks -- the annual Nicholson family reunion at Moosehorn Lake in the Uintahs.

We had such a wonderful time, canoeing on the lake, sleeping under the stars in our tent, playing a wild game of wiffle ball and making a mean chuck wagon breakfast in the mountains on the 4th of July. 

 Sophie and Grandma Nicholson show off their matching Moosehorn t-shirts

Isaac poses by the beautiful lake

Isaac and Katie

 And in between all of our camping trips and outings, there was plenty of this going on . . .

It was the summer of putting in the yard.  Here is a photo of our back patio -- or, what was left of it after Brian jack hammered it to pieces.  It was a really nice patio and I was sad to see it go, but Brian had a vision for a lovely patio coming off the back sliding glass doors of our family room (north of where the old patio was) and it was just too complicated to bring together the new and the old.  They landscaping deserves a post all of its own.  For now, I will just say -- it was the summer of putting in they yard (oh boy!).

In August, we headed back to Bear Lake for a huge extended family reunion on my side.  My mom and her three siblings take turns hosting a reunion every other year, which means this was my mom's once every eight years turn to be in charge.

Katie and I flew to Indiana two years ago to attend the last one which was hosted by my mom's brother, and, boy was it one BIG party!  I think the reunions (they started about 10 years ago) get better and better each time, so the pressure was on for something really spectacular.

I am happy to say, my mom pulled it off with amazing style.

She and my dad rented a gorgeous cabin near Bear Lake, and packed about one ton of food as well as every possible thing we could have ever needed (beach toys, sunscreen, an elaborate first aid kit - there was no scenario left to chance) and we spent a long weekend enjoying delicious food, great company, the fabulous beach and gorgeous water. 

It was wonderful to see aunts and uncles that I only see every four or so years (I can usually only make it to every other reunion since two of the four require flying).  And, I am always grateful for time with my beloved Pappa (that is southern-speak for Grandpa, he's from Kentucky you see). 

Then, it was back home for a missionary farewell.  Brian's parents are off to the Philippines for two years to serve a temple mission.  We sure do miss them, but they are having a wonderful adventure. 

To top off the summer, Isaac turned seven in the middle of August.  And, then, the kids went back to school a week and a half later.  Isaac is seeming more grown up all the time.  He sure has grown up (literally in height) a lot in the past few months.  And, he is transitioning to first grade beautifully (I was a little worried. 

There was never any question about his academics.  He is at the top of his class in every subject.  That boy is so smart!  That's probably the problem.  Haha.  No one warned me how tricky it is to raise such intelligent kids.  But, seriously, he loves to play and he loves to do things on his own terms.  So, I was a little worried about how sitting at a desk all day would sit with him.  So far -- it's fabulous (oh, this is the October 26 me writing now). 

I guess that wraps up our summer.  I wish I had documented all the details.  But, this will have to do.  Summer of 2012 was a fantastic time and so far Fall of 2012 is even better . . .

 

Summer Love 2012

(Brian snapped this photo of Sophie and Katie at the Ogden Arts Festival last weekend).

This summer feels like such a blessing.  My kids are still young enough for me to really enjoy them and we have had time to go and do some really fun things together.

Last Friday we took a beautiful hike with a group of moms and their kids in the morning, and in the afternoon, we were invited to swim at a friend's pool.

Swimming in a backyard pool is so relaxing.  I like being able to see all of my kids all of the time in a small enclosed area.

We had such a good time, that today we did pretty much the same thing.  We went on a hike with the same group of friends.  This time, it was to our little pond that is just .75 miles from our front door.  I love being able to walk to the mountains.

We have started taking family hikes every Sunday morning to this pond (and other lookouts a little further up the trail).  The kids often complain, especially when we are getting started.  But, I hope that when they grow up, these hikes are one of the things they will remember about their childhoods.

After lunch, we headed to the North Shore Aquatic Center, a large pool in North Ogden.

The outing started out warm and the forecast said it should be in the upper 80s.  But, after we were there for an hour or so, a pretty strong wind kicked up and big clouds covered the sun.  Standing in the wind soaking wet with no sunshine felt pretty cold.  Staying in the water wasn't bad, but after a couple of hours we took a break, dried off and had some snacks.

I'm telling you, I am no fan of being cold and after I had dried off, I was feeling in the mood to be a supervisor from the side of the kiddie pool for the rest of the day.  But, my cute little Isaac really wanted to go down the big slide.  Kids under 48" can slide down with an adult and anyone over 48" can slide alone.  He is 47".

I made him go back to the lazy river for another 30-minutes while I thought about what to do.  I really did not want to get back into that water.  But, then I realized that my son would always remember that I took him on the slide (or, that I didn't).

He was so patient and cute.  He just kept playing in the lazy river without complaint.  I think he assumed we would go on the big slide soon.

I knew what had to be done.  So, I left the comfort of being dry by the side of the pool and marched that kid up several flights of stairs to the top of the slide.  I told myself that we would go down that slide as many times as it took to make him satisfied and then I would get dry and warm again.

We had an exciting ride to the bottom and a splash down that took us both under the water head to toe.  As soon as we emerged, the announcement came over the loudspeaker that they would be evacuating all of the pools for 10 minutes for a "safety check."

You know what that meant.  Ten minutes of getting dry and warm before we could go down the slide again (hahahaha).

When the pools re-opened I asked Isaac how many times he thought he would need to go down and he said 10.

I said 5.  He said O.K.

Dear Isaac,

I want you to always remember that I took you down the big slide even though I was warm and dry and the weather was cold and windy.  I hope you remember how we both screamed as we whipped around the corners.  And, that sometimes we closed our eyes.  And, once, while we were closing our eyes, you slammed your head into the side of the slide but you didn't even cry.  In fact, I'm pretty sure we both had smiles glued onto our faces as we hustled up those steps so that we could ride down the big slide over and over and over.  Ten times.  Even though you were shivering all over and your lips were blue.  I love you.

Love,

Mom

Do it Like This!

Somehow, Brian was able to take these amazing photos in a completely dark theatre, with no flash, from our seats, which were not super close to the stage.  I am so grateful for his talent so that we have these to remember Sophie's beautiful hip hop performance to "Do it Like This" at Weber State (the fact that her group is wearing the school's colors is purely coincidental).

She was so pleased with herself when she finally mastered this move - the coffee grinder.

Sophie told me that hip hop is the most fun thing she has done out of ballet, piano, basketball, softball, gymnastics, track or any other extracurricular activity we have signed her up for so far.  Looks like we'll be signing her up for another year of it!  

I am so proud of that girl.

Let Summer Begin!

I have a lot to be grateful for right now.

For one thing, Brian got the swamp cooler installed.  Hooray for a cooling system!!!  A funny story is that, after he worked non-stop through four days of sweltering heat, he hooked up the last part and turned it on for the first time just as the temperature dropped by 30-something degrees.  Poor guy!  After days of our house being 84-degrees inside (despite our best efforts to cool it), when he finally flipped the switch, the kids and I said, "turn it off we're too cold!"  Hahaha.  The irony of life.  That night, the heater turned on even though we had the thermostat set to 62. 

At least we are ready for the next big heat wave.

Brian really wanted to put a central air unit in our attic (we don't have a furnace - we have a boiler and awesome radiant heat).  But, the central air unit was 3x as expensive as a swamp cooler.  And, the swamp cooler was 4x as expensive as the one we installed on our last house 13-years ago.  Holy sticker shock!  After much discussion, Brian was able to put aside his disappointment and install the swamp cooler.  I told him to think of it as our way of "going green." 

I, on the other hand, love swamp coolers and I especially love the power bill that comes with them.  So, I couldn't be happier with the way things turned out.

Last weekend, it was the swamp cooler and this weekend it was the Ogden Arts Festival.  Brian set up a booth last night.  He is selling his Ogden book.  This year, he took a printer and a backdrop down with him so that for $10 extra buyers can have their own photo taken and inserted into the book.  I think it has helped boost sales.

The festival is going on all day today.  I took the kids down to look around, make art projects, get their faces painted, and eat cookies and kettle corn.  Good times!

Next week, I guess it will be back to the yard.  I asked Brian if he is getting tired.  He works SO hard!  In between all of this working on our house and yard, he has also been working on drywall projects for other people in the evenings.  Sometimes he works all day, comes home for 5-minutes and then works on drywall until well after midnight.  He said he is loving it!  For that, I am very grateful.  Because, if he ever gets burned out of working on this place . . . we are going to be in big trouble!

I am also grateful for all of the things I have been able to do with my kids this summer already.  We have taken numerous hikes, visited the Hill Aerospace Museum, taken multiple trips to the library for different events, gone to a movie, and yesterday we got to go to a friend's house to swim in their pool.  It is so nice to get to spend this precious time with them.  I am truly blessed.

We found a summer acting camp for Sophie.  It is funded by the RAMP tax and the 6-week camp cost only $30!  I was so happy to find something so affordable to keep her busy and entertained this summer.  They are putting on the show "Peter Pan" in July and she is cast as a mermaid named Abalone, an "extra" in an Indian scene, and Jane.

Her 5th grade put on "Aladdin" in May.  She was the Magic Carpet and did such a great job.  She is a natural on the stage and when we were prepping her for Peter Pan try-outs I was amazed at her ability to quickly memorize lines.

The boys are in a track club that practices twice a week.  I love how dedicated their coaches are and seeing the kids' little red, sweaty faces as they run their hearts out in the heat.

Sophie had a great year learning hip hop from a dance studio and her performance last week was stunning.  I am so tempted to put Katie in the 3-5 year old Jazz and Tumbling class next year . . . Is it too soon?  The tiny dancers were too cute to be believed and Katie has always loved dancing.  I know all kids love to dance, but I think that, like Ian and piano, there is something more to Katie and dancing.

There are a lot of things that I am feeling happy about right now.  We also got the plans back for our yard, and it is going to be so, so lovely!  I can't believe that we will be able to transform it in just a few short months.  

A Memorable Memorial Day 2012

The pictures I posted of the yard in my last entry were taken in the late 1980s.  It is my understanding that the yard has been in "decline" for about 20 years since the original owners moved out. 

Our neighbors told us it was especially neglected by the multiple owners who have moved in and out over the past 8-10 years.  And, if I am being told correctly, the yard had almost zero maintenance while the the house was empty for one or two years before we bought it.

We are sketchy on all of the details, but that - or something similar to that - is the story of what brought us to the sad state that we found the yard in when we purchased our home in the fall of 2011. 

We have had to cut down at least half a dozen trees because they were dead.  And, by "we," I mostly mean my father-in-law.  He has been great to show up and cut down trees and haul away the wood for us.  Luckily, there are still several magnificent large trees that survived. 

The grass was completely beyond saving.  We haven't seen a single blade of anything but crabgrass.  There was an ancient sprinkler system in place, but Brian has decided we will install a completely new system, so parts have already been ripped out and currently there is no outdoor water hooked up. 

There is a lot of overgrowth covering the half-acre of land we find ourselves newly in charge of.

Brian was optimistic when we decided to purchase this project.  I was certain we could handle the indoors.  He is such a great handyman and worked wonders with the complete remodel of our last house.  But, this yard was daunting.  While is is true that we did manage to plant a yard in our last home, that yard was so much smaller and less complicated.  Plus it took us five-years to complete the front and back yards! 

I guess it was quite a feat to remove two enormous pine trees towering in the front yard - planted way too close to the home about 80-years earlier in our last home (and I have my dad to thank for helping us get those down).  I remember that Brian and I spent our entire first summer digging the roots from those giant trees out of the ground and leveling the soil with a rake.  We put in little flower beds and a brick path from the driveway to the front porch.  I guess we did alright with that yard.  But, it was tiny.  And, it took us five years!  And, the end result was fine, but not spectacular the way we would like this yard to eventually be.

We are starting out our first summer in our new home, hoping that we can transform this enormous, overgrown lot into a gorgeous, magical haven in one year instead of five.  We've been a little worried.  Luckily, a kind group of neighbors have said they will combine forces to help us lay the sprinkler pipes, level the ground, and plant grass.  But, it is up to us to do a lot of clearing and preparation.

In honor of the holiday, Brian put on his grubby clothes and went to work cutting and trimming out in the yard this morning.  Around 11 a.m., much to our surprise, his dad and one of his brothers showed up and started helping him!  It is amazing how much more work three men can accomplish than one.  By 3 p.m., they had cleared a lot of garbage trees that have been growing in odd places for a few years, two more large landscaping trees that didn't make it, and a lot more shrubbery. 

Our house was abuzz with my brother-in-law's wife and seven kids, our kids, and my mother-in-law.  I felt so grateful for family donating their time on a holiday, when I am sure they had several projects of their own, coming together to work on our yard.  What a gift!

It is exciting to see things coming together.  It is amazing how much the face of our yard changes every time another tree is taken down or an area is cleared.  It seems impossible to imagine that there will be a new sprinkler system and grass growing by the time we head into fall. 

The kids were sad to see two more large trees come down today.  I was sad too.  But, it seems they had to go, so we might as well do it before the major landscaping rather than after. 

We had planned for the whole family to go see "The Lorax" this evening, but Brian had to head in to the office so I ended up taking the kids by myself. 

At the end of the movie, the kids said, "Daddy should have watched that movie so he wouldn't have chopped down our trees!"  Haha!

  

The Yard

 (photos from our yard's glory days)

(this last one shows the previous owner who I am told was a master gardener)

The other day, Ian interrupted a serious conversation that Brian and I were having to say, "All you guys ever talk about is money and the yard."

It is true.  We've been a pretty focused but boring pair lately.  It has been nice to get so many projects started on our house and the yard is a big one for sure.  The grass is completely, 100% dead.  Before we can plant new grass, we are installing a new sprinkler system.  Before we begin installing our massive watering apparatus, we need to figure out what to do for AC, since we have none.  So far, the weather has been merciful.  But, warmer temps are on the very near horizon.

When the dandelions first bloomed a month or so ago, it was one of the most breathtaking fields I have ever seen.  I'm not saying that to be sarcastic.  Our lawn looked so happy with literally hundreds of their bright yellow faces covering every inch.  It was almost sad that Brian had to kill them all with round-up. 

I have had the feeling since the first day we moved in and our neighbors started to introduce themselves that everyone is pretty anxious for us to get the yard going.  Apparently, this house use to have one of the nicest yards.  But, sadly, it has been neglected for so long that some of the ornamental trees have even died.

Our neighbors are so incredible.  Now they are talking about getting a group of volunteers together on a Saturday to help us put in the sprinkler system.  Can you imagine?  It makes me feel really happy and blessed.  When we bought this house, we wanted to make it a really cool place for our kids to finish growing up.  But, sometimes, when I look around at all the projects, I wonder how much of their childhoods will be left by the time we are able to make this the place we want it to be.  Having a nice yard for them to play in by next summer would be so nice.  When Brian told me the news, I said, "Well, let them help with the front yard since they have to look at it," and he said, "No, they want to help with the backyard too."  What kind of people care enough to donate their time so my kids can have a nice backyard to play in?  Another reason I love living here.

In the meantime, I think we need a little get away with a rule that no one talks about the yard (or the money it will take to landscape it).