What's up!!

Well.....just a more of the same, that's what's up. There has not been a lot of excitement of which to blog about this last week. I find ourselves trying to figure out our schedule and routine, so we can get everything done and kids to be at a decent hour. This last week we had soccer 4 nights, Bible Study one night, back to school BBQ, 5 soccer games (both kids played a league game, then Ally had a tournament all weekend), I was in a class all day Saturday, and both Steve and I had to work. And we aren't even as busy as many people I know! There are many nights that we don't have dinner until 7:30 or 8pm at night. Where is the time for ourselves and family? Boo, hoo you say....I know we chose this for ourselves. It is fun to watch Ally and AJ play soccer. Especially when you have as beautiful of weather as we did this weekend. Sunny and 70 degrees! So, I need to remember to find joy in every day, despite the busyness of it all. The sun is beautiful and warm and we did spend some family time together at the soccer field. Here's to another busy week!

Things are not always as they seem!

We came home one afternoon to find Luke (yes, it is Luke) standing on his dog crate. Don't know quite how he got there, but he had trouble getting down. How can something so cute, make you so frustrated? Because, today I found this mess!
I was in the house and turned my back for only 10 minutes!!! He was trying to dig out I think! This is my new flower bed that Steve and I worked so hard to build this summer. He nearly destroyed one of my hostas! Any good ideas to keep dogs from digging?

Our Sweet Simba!

This is our beautiful cat, Simba. She has been with us for 14 years. Unfortunately, the last few weeks she has not been feeling well and her health has been declining. Sad to say, she passed away last night. Steve found her lying next to her litter box. We are very sad. The Lord must have been looking out for us, because Luke, the puppy came just in time to soften the blow. We will miss our pretty kitty. Her ashes will be spread over Mount Rainier to enjoy the beautiful sunrise and sunsets!

The Newest Member of the Downey Family!

Is it Luke? Is it Lucky? Well, we can't decide. After you hear how we got him, then maybe you can help us. We found this little guy at the animal shelter in Shelton (which is about 1 hour from where we live). Steve actually found him on Petfinder.com. We had been looking for a dog for some time, but never found the right one. So, we took a chance and drove to Shelton today (Wed.) to adopt this cute dog. When we got to Shelton, there were 7 other people who also wanted him. In that case, they put numbers in a box and draw like a raffle. Well, our number was drawn. We were very surprised, because we never win anything! There was a mother and her daughter who drove there from Portland who also really wanted him. She even offered us $200 for him (the adoption fee was only $75). We did not take the offer, feeling that he was meant to be ours! So....maybe we should call him Lucky!
The kids were SO surprised! They had no idea we were even going there. We tried to get their excited looks, but didn't quite capture it. At any rate, they were very surprised and elated! He is a 3 month old golden retriever/lab mix. He is very calm and mild mannered so far! Great with the kids. I will let you know after our first night of "sleeping".


We got dog? Is it really ours? Do we get to keep him? For how long? Were all the questions that we got today!



The neighbor kids have been very excited. Here are a few of them taking Lucky for a walk.





SHHH!!! Nap time!




First Bath!
Ally's friend Kaylee and our neighbor Katie help us give Lucky a bath. He wasn't so sure about it, but did pretty well. He was so much cleaner afterwards! Thanks, girls!!

AJ's hurt again!!!

AJ came home from school yesterday, with tears in his eyes...saying that he hurt his foot at school. I guess he was running outside and twisted his right ankle. He has done this many times before and this one isn't as bad as the last. AJ tends to be our accident prone child and has weak ankles anyway. (mommy needs to help him get stronger, I guess) He is hobbling around and not wanting to play, but hopefully, it should heal up quickly.


Here is the foot....not much swelling or bruising. It should heal very quickly.

First day of school!

First day of school 2008. Ally is in the 4th grade and AJ is in the 2nd grade. So far, they seem to like their teachers. Many of their friends from last year were all separated into different classes. This is the year to make new friends, I guess. We are praying for another great year!



Ready for school. This is AJ with a couple of boys from the neighborhood, Dorian and Joey.


Girls from the neighborhood....looking fashionably great for the first day! Ally, Jordan, Tate, Kennedy and Lizzie.
Time to go! Everyone was so excited that they were ready 20 minutes before the bus came!

Last day of summer!!

We spent the last day before school at the Point Defiance Zoo. We met up with Aunt Sue and cousins Sam and Sarah and had a great day. Outside the zoo were this family of deer, just grazing and enjoying the fresh cut grass. "Which one is Bambi?"



Look at these cute little birdies!


AJ and Sam waiting for the Outdoor Theater Show.


Ally and Sarah....



Watch out for that SHARK!!!!


One of the beluga whales "sunning" himself!:)

We got to watch the trainers with the walruses...this is ET, the male walrus. He does great tricks....as long as he gets his fish!