Hello everyone.

Just a little update, or brand new news for those on my side of the family.

Monday, Zuma and Molly got into a dog fight in the midst of the family gathering.

Most of those present saw Don Small interrupt the fight when he grab Zuma by the collar, stand up lifting her from the fight, turn and then throw Zuma approximately 4 feet in the air and a distance of 6 feet. She landed with a yelp in pain.

For the next 17 hours, Zuma did not place weight on her foot at all.

The update:

Zuma finally was seen by the veterinarian and x-rays taken, anti-iflammatory and pain killer medications prescribed and a temporary split applied... $197.00. This is to hold Zuma over until the surgeon is seen and a high probablity for surgery because she has been very seriously injured. The injury Don's actions have imposed on Zuma is: Traumatic Luxation (dislocation) of her left tarsal-metatarsal joint with possible fracture. She has 3, possibly all 4, of her toes/metatarsals dislocated and a possible fracture. Right now, they say she must be seen by a surgeon who specializes in and repairs these types of injuries. The current vet said that surgery is very likely, without surgery, if left to "heal" on it's own, it is likely she will not have use of her foot. She will be seen on Friday by a surgeon who will view her xrays and make a recommendation as to Zuma's care.

Surgery has been estimated between.... $2,000 and $4,000.



Even with the splint, she still isn't putting weight on it, and she has started to periodically yelp. The splint is a weight she isn't used to, so not she is off balance, hobbling and has a hard time getting up from a laying position.

With the information we have right now, I suppose the choices on the table are:

1) Proceed with all needed medical care to repair the injury Zuma has sustained.
2) Do nothing and live with an untreated injury leaving Zuma crippled in both body and quality of life because of someone's "accident".
or
3) the unthinkable, some would consider putting the her down if she was to live crippled.

I feel that, even in the events of "accidents", reparations have to be made. That's true in cars, children and in the Bible.




As you can imagine, despite the summer weather, a dark cloud has descended upon our home and emotions. I don't want to think about any of these choices, and I really don't want to have explain them to Caleb. He loves Zuma so much. Until Friday and more information is available, I am most concerned with watching Zuma to ensure shock or other secondary side effects are not observed, praying that the best possible prognosis is found for Zuma, and keeping the kids and Tigger away from her until Friday.


I most likely will not be able to update this posting until after Zuma's appointment on Friday.

If something specific changes in the lives of Zuma or the kids, I will of course post and update.

Aquarium pictures:

OK, I admit to "borrowing" these from Kristina's Blog. I wasn't there, but someone with a camera was, and I have Grandparents that check out this site that aren't Grammy and Papa Dahl who were present for the aquarium event. So thanks for the loan of the pictures. Isn't Caleb and Tessa cute?! And they held still and both looked at the camera at the same time!

Wow that was the easiest posting ever. TTFN.

Good Morning.

Caleb spent this last weekend with Grammy and Papa Dahl. He had a great time. They visited the Aquarium with Tessa, Auntie Kristina, and GG. He was excited to see sharks. He told me about petting a starfish with one finger. Caleb also did a great job swimmng; he's going to greater and greater distances each time he tries. Caleb is getting tall enough to stand flat footed at the shallow end of the pool, which is great for his confidence. One of the nights, Caleb went to sleep at 6:30pm, now why doesn't he do that at our house?!

Joshy had a great time here at the house. I think he likes being an only child sometimes. He was significantly less cranky, whiny or crying. He played, he cuddled, he talked. He liked the peace and quiet. He curled up with books. Josy did try to get into my scrapbooking supplies, but that's the worst things got. He was more easy going, although definitely still TWO. He says "No" and crosses his arms in the cutest and most frustrating way.

Last week was the end of VBS for the summer. That leaves the next 5-6 weeks plan free, with the very rare exception. I have got to come up with activities for the boys to keep them busy and mischief free. Maybe the zoo. Maybe open gym time at the local gymnastics facility. I don't think I'll try to manage both in the pool at the same time, but maybe I'll do a system of taking turns and using the Club's daycare. We'll see. Of course there are the parks and walks when the current rain clears up. And Blackberry picking is just a few weeks away. If the kids can pick more than they eat, then we will get ahead for storing berries for the winter.

So there isn't much else to tell right now. Time to get the guys moving for the day, maybe grocery shopping. Who knows. But have a great day and talk to you later.

Welcome back. Has it been that long?!

Well, let's see what the family has been up to...

We took a long camping trip. We left, Tuesday, July 3rd and headed to our favorite Anacortes. We were there until Sunday, July 8th. It was a nice long trip, great weather. We saw deer everyday, including the Mother and Fawn that we saw in May. It was nice to see little bambi growing and getting along well. Caleb and I even got to creep up on bambi and got about 20 feet from him. It was special and amazing. It made a big impression on Caleb, so that everytime I spotted a deer but he didn't get a chance to see it he was a little sad.

True to form, our boys were boys and played in the rocks, dirt, sticks and tried to poke the fire. It was a challenge to keep them out of the fire or from adding extra things to the flames, but in the end, they were satisfied with Mom and Dad cooking the special jam and butter biscuit treats...as long as we kept them coming! Marshmallows have food color, so we use ready made biscuits pressed over the end of stick which is covered in tin foil. It takes a little while longer to cook that a quick to burn marshmallow, but when it is finally toasty brown it is delicious to pull off the stick and coat the inside with butter and jam. Caleb doesn't even know that he is missing out on something, probably because he's not.

We went on quite a few walks, visited the park, threw rocks at the beach. We drove to the dog park, attended the Farmer's Market. Visited a few thrift store, luck Joshy got size 6 shoes for .75 cents... because I couldn't find his shoes, he had been crammed into 5 1/2s for the first few days! Mike and I both picked up a little something to read. Mike liked the idea because it meant that he relaxed and slowed down enough to read. We watched movies to wind down each night. It was great family time and a great price... movies are free this month due to one of mommy's "jobs". The other major thing: Caleb is showing all signs of being a little shutter bug, like mommy! He is really into taking pictures and then seeing what they look like. He wants to look around and capture certain things. Of course, his interests are bowed by being a boy, so he thinks bum shots are entertaining. But he took some great shots of me and Joshy. I was actually shocked and impressed, and grateful since I don't often pictures of me with the kids. I'm always the one behind the camera, but if Caleb is going to start showing interest and skill in photography, I think that is great! I wonder if he would like to enter a picture into the contest at the fair?! I'll have to ask. I'll try to post some of the pictures Caleb took here so that you can take a look for yourself.

Caleb took these:

We arrived home safely, and just in time for a hot week. Caleb got to spend the mornings of this week at VBS at Cascade Church. Next week it will be VBS at Peace Luthern/Little Doves Preschool. He likes keeping busy and doing all the crafts etc. He needs time independent of Joshy (and me I think too) and yet he is always so great at excitedly greeting me when I pick him up. Joshy also gets to have one-on-one time with me. We read, chat, and do errands. He doesn't have to fight over toys either which is a plus. Joshy says "I'm cold" and does a little fake shiver, so cute. He also says "I'm cute", "I did it", "Hot".... and ones I'm not so proud of "poop" and "more coke", oh, and the near constant "NO". It was just two weeks ago that I was hoping he would stop saying poop non-stop, but now that he has exchanged that word for NO... What was I thinking?! This is something amazing about Joshy: He is learning the sounds of his letters and the alpahbet song. He of course is not exact and has no understanding of it's significants, but he is doing both with weekly improvement! Caleb is also skyrocketing with his alphabet. He can name 90% of the letters and their sounds, and from there we sound out words together; he is truly doing awesome!

Tomorrow is the last VBS this week. I am a mom-helper tomorrow, sigh. I like my kids, but a gaggle of strange children seems daunting. But I have to do what I have to do. We don't have plans until next week where we plunge into the next VBS week. I guess we will have to occupy ourselves with having a good time in the great weather, which is easier to do since Daddy brought home and help set up the bouncy house in the back yard. That has been a daily treat for most of the week. I am so pleased with the joy BOTH boys get out of this apparatus. Joshy has shocked me that he can get in all by himself without help... which is a miracle since I don't have the endurance to stand in the sun for an hour helping to lift him in each time. And they play so well in the bouncy house, and I am so grateful for the foresight of buying one with a slide included. That is 50% of their fun. Daddy even snuck into the bouncy house with Joshy today!

Well, it's late. I will try to attach a couple pictures of the camping trip. Good Night.

The following pictures I took, but they are only the second part of the trip.

Mike is howling, Tigger joins in, Caleb is whacking everything insight with the bottle, and Joshy is bare-bummed. I sit calming in the back.

Joshy, our little pink pirate. Head wear made from an imfamous "Shirt".

And, Our boys, of course, with sticks:

Note: Caleb's summer SHORT haircut. I'll try to get a better shot soon.