Meet Baxter

Since last year when my "fur baby", Jameson, passed away suddenly, our home has not really been complete... I have had a really hard time with getting another dog, because I still miss Jameson SO SO SO very much.

Ken and I had debated another bulldog, but I am just not ready.  So our next option was a golden retriever. My Aunt & Uncle have one that I love to see when we visit, and they are great family dogs. This is much important with Calliope! She just loooooves my moms dogs, so we thought her first birthday would be a great time to get her a dog to grow up with.

I had been searching online, and came across Sooner Retriever Rescue. Man, was I thrilled!  Last week, while in OK for the World Series we went to check out some of their dogs, and found one we really liked.  He was very laid back, only 2 yrs old, and seemed to be the perfect fit. 

Here he is:

 Calliope just loves him!

 Chewing on his "rat"

 Sweet Face!

Calliope is giving him some lovin!

Drew and Peyton also pretty much bonded with him instantly too, so he seems as though he was the perfect fit.

Shower time?

This morning I was hanging some clothes to dry, and I hear a commotion behind me... This is what I turn around to find:

She was banging on the shower doors while trying to get in... Once she made it in, she was THRILLED!  I should have turned the water on, but that just would have been mean.


Isn't she just the most precious thing ever!


:)

World Series Champs! OH YEEAAAH!!!

First, let me say what an incredible season these boys had... They went 40-15 on the year! They started their 12yr old season as a AAA team, and got bumped to Major middle season, we were so proud.

The World Series that the Dragons attended was in Bixby, OK. It started on July 6th and ran through July 10th.  The weather was EXTREMELY hot, we are talking triple digits... but our boys were very resilient and did well in dealing with the heat.

Here is their record from this series:

50*	USSSA Global World Series	Arkansas Dragons	5	AVB Cowboys	3
51*	USSSA Global World Series	Arkansas Dragons	10	Oklahoma Bulls	5
52*	USSSA Global World Series	Arkansas Dragons	12	Colt .45s	5
53	USSSA Global World Series	AASA Athletics	12	Arkansas Dragons	0
54*	USSSA Global World Series	Arkansas Dragons	7	Oklahoma Jaguars	4
55*	USSSA Global World Series	Arkansas Dragons	9	ARKANSAS BULLDOGS	1
56	USSSA Global World Series	Arkansas Dragons	15	Game Time Sports	1

Here are some of my fave pics from the trip:

 Working it in the outfield

 Working it in the outfield, again....

 Working it in the outfield, and again....   :)

 Pumpin up the pitcher!

 Look at that smile, LOVE IT!

 They just won! Celebratory hug...

 Drew just tossed a pitcher full of COLD water on Coach Brian...

 Waiting to get their trophies

 Drew with his trophy and Coach Brian

 WINNING!!! :)

 As their 2nd "reward", each boy got a kiss from Ashley!

 One very happy coach!

Drew with the BIG trophy

What an INCREDIBLE group of boys! We have been beyond blessed to have been playing with these guys for 4 yrs now. The kids are great, the coaches are great, and their families are too.

Now, for a couple of weeks off for vacation, and then FALL BASEBALL starts! WOO HOO!

11 months and counting...

Pictures first this time :)

To first answer the question her shirt asks, NOPE!  I don't think she could be!

So, our little cupcake is now 11 months old, and is as busy as ever...

In the past month she has really shown me that no matter how hard I try, I can't make her slow down this whole growing up nonsense! Here are a few fun facts about her in the past month:

* She has decided she is no longer a baby, and refuses to eat baby food! She prefers to eat all by herself, and she wants the food that the bigger siblings and parents are eating.  This has proven to be a challenge for me! I didn't plan on having to cook for her each and every meal this early...
* We were able to get her off of her really expensive formula, and switch her to the sensitive formula.  We hope that this will help her transition to whole milk next month.
* She is also no longer on her reflux meds!  We weaned her off of this as well, and she has done amazing without it.
* She LOOOVES to dance.  She will drop whatever she is doing to get her groove on.  Her most recent fave song is "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars.
* She is still a total explorer, and gets into EVERYTHING! Never a dull moment I tell ya...

That is Calliope in a little nutshell for this month...  Now, a couple more sweet pictures of her and her big sister.

I <3 these kids so stinkin much!

Peyton's First Swim Meet

This summer Peyton joined the Bella Vista Stingrays, swim team... she loves to swim, and so we thought it would be perfect to keep her busy and active this summer.  They held their first swim meet on June 22 at the Pinnacle Country Clubhouse. 

For her first meet ever, she did awesome!  She swam the relay, freestyle, backstroke, and breast stroke... we couldn't have been more proud! Here are a few pictures from that night:

Waiting for her first event...

Waiting for her turn for her second event...

And she's off!



And there she is! SOOO proud of her...

Peyton diving in for her third event

They had their second meet on June 26th... Ken took this pic of Peyton and her friend Kathe.  They were waiting for their next event.  I LOOOOOVE this picture!



Shout out to Nathan at Johnny Bruscos!

Nathan at Johnny Bruscos Pizza has supported the Arkansas Dragons for three years now... and we couldn't be more appreciative! We had a tournament here in Bentonville, so between games a few of us went to have lunch there, and got to snap this photo of him and a few of our boys with some "hardware" they had won!

If you are ever near Johnny's, stop in and have the best pizza around!

In Photo: DK, Drew, Nathan, Weston, and Zaine